Trastevere and Rome's Jewish Ghetto Half-Day Walking Tour

Rome, Italy

Escape Rome's crowds to explore parts of the historic center that most tourists don't get to visit. You'll enjoy a leisurely stroll through the fascinating Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere area, Rome's more traditional districts, accompanied by your knowledgeable guide.

Your guided tour of Rome's little-known jewels Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto starts at Largo Argentina and the Senate House, where Julius Caesar was murdered. Your tour concludes three hours later at lovely Campo de'Fiori, the site of executions during the Inquisition and today one of Rome's liveliest piazzas.

On this entertaining and enlightening walking tour you will get a chance to see parts of the ancient city hidden below the modern street level. Rome certainly wasn't built in a day, so you'll see other periods in between, from Medieval to Renaissance and Baroque.

Your Rome-ophile guide will share their enthusiasm for these hidden parts of the city, entertaining you with the legends and secrets of Rome's most authentic neighborhoods and their cafés, synagogues and churches. You'll broaden your experience of Rome with a visit to areas most tourists don't visit, and be able to ask questions right on the spot about their history and significance.

All tour guides are native English-speakers or Roman archaeologist, hold university degrees in teaching and the humanities, and adhere to the highest standards of education.

USD $38.30

Review by: travelfan	March 2012
I now know the real truth in why the Jewish religion had to leave Europe and live elsewhere. It was because they were not accepting the Catholic religion and were forced to live in the ghetto by the Pope as their punishment. I can accept the Catholic religion and other religions even if some of my religion can not. The tour guide explained everything about the history of the Jewish people in Rome and that answered all my questions. The Romans were good to the Jews when they had to leave Israel because of Syrians and they came to Italy in 1161 BC.

Review by: Charles P	March 2012
I have already sent a very positive review direct to "Enjoy Rome" about this tour and in particular our tour guide. The entire 3 hours were packed with interest and made all the more enjoyable by the cheerful and friendly demeanour of our guide. We shall most certainly recommend this tour to others and would hope to be back again in Rome soon.

Review by: savannah b	February 2012
The tour was great. Our guide was very informative. The tour was a bit too long. I would have preferred it end about a half an hour earlier.

Review by: Alice K	February 2012
Enjoyed the history of the Jewish Getto but that lasted about 45 minutes and the rest was more about churches. Could have been shorter, but it was ok.

Review by: Maryse D	January 2012
We enjoyed the tour, our guide was very nice and informative, she was American who lived in Rome for 12 years, was very passionate about the city. If it is your first time in Rome I would recommend other tours, but if you know the city a bit (like we do), this tour is perfect to get into details.

Review by: Joan D	January 2012
Couldn't locate the starting point, so I missed the tour.

Review by: cmg	November 2011
Despite the rain in the last 1.5hours, an excellent tour and highly recommended tour. Priscilla was just wonderful (a real plus of this tour) - can't beat the knowledge, very friendly, great sense of humor.

Review by: Jay	November 2011
Rosella (Scarlett) is an excellent and informed guide who knows this area well. She was interesting, open to questions and very informative. The tour begain formally but by the end of it she was relaxed and personal. The small group (only 5) made for an excellent and well paced tour. If all Viator tours are like this, I'll be booking more! Thanks for a great afternoon.

Review by: dave	November 2011
Good tour. Could use more talking during the walking.

Review by: demaro	November 2011
It was very nice, but a lot of walking after a though day! The guide was from Puerto Rico, so we could talk in Spanish too!

Review by: Ann L	November 2011
I so wanted to go inside the Grand Temple, but it was Friday evening. That was so enjoyable and our guide was really very lovely and informative. Sister and I treated ourselves to a huge gelato afterwords. Many blessings and thanks for offering us insight into a most important facet of Rome.

Review by: Lynette D	November 2011
this was a great overview of areas we hadn't been before with details we would have not known if not for this tour. Guide kept the tour interesting and she was well informed

Review by: ANDREA W	October 2011
Again the Tour guide was so interesting .I should have written her name down.Up to now whenever we have booked ,we have had the most knowledgeable and interesting guides.Its been a delight to meet them.

Review by: Laurence G	October 2011
Outstanding and knowledgeable guide and fascinating sights.

Review by: Stephen B	October 2011
This was a very low key stroll around the Jewish areas. Inge really enjoyed showing the areas she knew and answered questions with in-depth knowledge. Beautiful places to see. We managed to experience the St Cecilia Basilica and the nuns singing their vespers.

Review by: Marjut	October 2011
This was a lovely tour in the Ghetto and in Trastevere area. It was nice to see Rome around the time sun was going down and to hear stories about the fate of the Roman Jews, to see the theater of Marcellus and walk in the narrow alleys of Trastevere. The Santa Maria in Trastevere is a magnificent church. Our guide was Janet, who had studied art history in Rome and knew her subject so well!

Review by: Michael C	September 2011
Would like to have gone into more aspects of Jewish cultural life. I'm not Jewish so i was looking forward to getting just a little more insight into the Jewish experience of Rome over the two thousand year history of their presence there. The second section of the tour, the Trasvetere part was outstanding, especially since it took place at sunset and the lights were coming on. Very charming, And the fourth century Catholic church in the plaza was absolutely stunning. Tour guide Janet had an excellent knowledge of Roman Catholic religious beliefs and practices.

Review by: Douglas M	September 2011
Excellent tour and our guide was excellent and knew her stuff. Would recomend this tourn to anyon einterested inthe Jewish Ghetto and what happened to them during Wird War 11.

Review by: ALAN M	September 2011
We completely enjoyed this tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and very professional. We would recommend this tour to anyone who might be interested to learn about the Jewish heritage of Rome.

Review by: Todd B	September 2011
We all enjoyed seeing an area of Rome we hadn't seen before and learning some history.

Review by: peterjayrothenberg	August 2011
Our walking tour was led by art history grad Inger, who led a leisurely paced path through the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere, pointing out history no one would spot without a guide. Tours of piazzas, churches and bridges made for a wonderful, unforgettable evening.

Review by: Jodi W	August 2011
Our tour guide was great--she was actually American and it was interesting to hear about life in Rome from somebody who has lived in both places. Sites were great and conversation was interesting and non-stop!

Review by: BARRY A	July 2011
We really enjoyed this tour which opened up a whole new area of the city that we might not have went to otherwise . Our guide Rosa was extremely knowledgeable and brought the whole area and history to life . Well worth doing . BAARY A .

Review by: Carol R	July 2011
Ingar was such a very lovely Tour Guide. This was a very interesting Tour, We really enjoyed this tour walking around at Dusk. Any question we asked Ingar she responded to so warmly and knowledgeably. Thank you Viator and Ingar.

Review by: Ira G	June 2011
on a rainy night, our entire group met and was casually and informatively led through the streets of the jewish ghetto and over the Tiber into Travstevere. Great guide..Wonderful evening.

Review by: David	June 2011
Inge was an excellent tour guide. We only had five people on our tour, but that made it nice and personable. This walking tour is fantastic, you get to see a very quiet and somewhat private view of a part of Rome, and it is a tour we would highly recommend.

Review by: gene1747	June 2011
We liked the Panoramic Rome tour better. The opera singing at the restaurant was great. Our guide was great.

Review by: norma S	June 2011
This was a most interesting tour that I think more people should take. A great deal of history of the Jewish people in Italy and how they made Italy their home.

Review by: Melvin G	May 2011
My 13 y/o son and I had a wonderful tour. Jeanette was very personable and knowledgeable. I recommend this walking tour as a must do while visiting Rome.

Review by: Esther H	May 2011
Was very good - went to the main areas. Very informative guide and was able to answer questions.

Review by: Brian W	May 2011
I am not sure what it was but by the time I had reached the end of the tour I felt it was a bit of a let down. I am sure that we must have visited all the places that mattered but none of it seemed to gel. Maybe my own expectations were too high? Maybe we needed some kind of explanation supported by a map showing the route to be taken, after all, once done it only needs to be copied for each group. That could then provide a background for exploration at one's own pace. Maybe a pdf could be provided with the confirmation to satisfy that.

Review by: bruce a	May 2011
Jeanette was our guide, and we were very pleased with our tour of Trastevere and Rome's Jewish ghetto. She was very interesting and knowledgeable, and would recommend her to anyone wishing to learn the history of the area. She is an American living in Rome for the past six years, and majored in art history.

Review by: Chaoim	April 2011
Fascinating tour guide. I learnt so much about this area from the guide

Review by: Kathleen C	March 2011
This was such a good tour. I learned so much but it wasn't overwhelming. Tour guide was GREAT!

Review by: Barbara L F	January 2011
The tour guide was fine but the tour content itself, wasn't quite as "full" of interesting sites as many of the other tours we had experienced.

Review by: Justin M	January 2011
I really enjoyed this walking tour. There was only four of us (I suspect that one less and it would have been canceled). Although primarily concerned with Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto, the guide (and please forgive me but I have forgotten her name) spent quite a bit of time on aspects of ancient Rome which all four of us found extremely interesting. She is knowledgeable, a good communicator and good at managing a group. As my wife and I had been in Rome for about a week before this tour we had a number of queries about things we had seen previously and she was more than happy to answer them although they may not have been on the subject of the tour (eg, the cats at Largo di Torre Argentina). But I do wish she would eat more vegetables!

Review by: Anthony H	November 2010
I would have liked to spend more time in the Jewish ghetto exploring and less time talking about the history of the Roman Empire. Of course, this was my second tour of the day so I might have been tired. Our guide was knowledgeable and peronsable.

Review by: Ellee	November 2010
Wonderful tour; great guide. Very well informed. Area contains too much history to absorb in one visit.

Review by: BRETT K	November 2010
Good wee tour. Well worth doing. Rosa the tour guide was very good.

Review by: Leanne J	October 2010
This tour highlights a history of Rome that probably few people are aware of. There is lots of walking but the tour is very informative, and definitely worth including in your list of things to do in Rome.

Review by: JAMES B, United States of America	April 2010
I've been to Rome before, but never saw this interesting area until my most recent trip. Very informative.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	January 2010
Great insight into the real history of Rome.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	November 2009
The rain really came down hard when our tour began, but had let up by the end. This was a very interesting tour, it's the other side of Rome, more blue collar and relaxed. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed it in spite of the weather.

Review by: Julie D, United States of America	July 2009
We met our guide for our walking tour in the evening. As luck would have it, the other attendees scheduled had to cancel, so my family of five total essentially got a private tour. The weather was fabulous, and our guide was spectacular. She was knowledgeable about all aspects of Roman history, being a native, not just about the Trastevere. This was my very favorite tour, primarily because the guide was so good. She has widespread knowledge, not just of Rome, but of the surrounding area and other parts of Europe. I would recommend her to anyone traveling there.

Review by: Richard L, United States of America	May 2009
Tour guide was absolutely wonderful.

Review by: Andrea G, United States of America	April 2009
Interesting and informative...in addition, our guide was lovely and adjusted our tour so that we got to experience the Jewish bakery in the Jewish Ghetto during Passover! We very much appreciated that!! Thank you for showing us the secrets of Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto...definitely worth it!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	March 2009
Guide was wonderful. She was patient with the older, slower walkers, answered everyone's questions with all the detail requested and was highly knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tour if you are looking for something other than the top historic sites. The only thing that needs to be changed is that the meeting place isn't really "next to" the bookstore. At least it isn't by USA standard directions.

Review by: Alan C, United Kingdom	February 2009
Really interesting tour around two lesser known areas of the city. Plenty of historical input from the excellent guide. Only downside was the weather which was cold and drizzly. Otherwise everything first class.

Review by: Kierna C, United Kingdom	January 2009
Fantastic, our local guide was a font of knowledge - mostly stuff not in the guide books. It was cold & wet but the 3 hours flew!

Review by: David P, United States of America	December 2008
It was a great tour. We saw a lot of interesting places. We really enjoyed ourselves.