We have always found that the best way to discover a city is with a local - they know which touristy sites to miss and which ones are worth it, and they know all the best off-the-beaten-path places that you just won't find by yourself on holiday. Showaround understands this and has come up with the perfect concept: It connects you with locals who are ready to show you around!
An Honest Review of the Showaround App
We tried Show Around in Rome and this is what we thought:
Showaround Website Review
First of all, we signed up to Showaround, which was really quick and easy and then we set about searching for locals in Rome. A simple search of Rome found us 195 locals ready to show us around! This gave us lots of choice. There were some advanced filters to narrow down our search:
As you can see the prices of the tours range from 0-110 Euros (yes there are even hosts that offer free tours!) and you can filter to make sure your local speaks your language/ is interested in the same activity as you. In the end, we chose Giulia, partly because she speaks English, partly because she is a born and raised real-life Roman, but mainly because she's also a travel blogger:
We were really keen to discover off-the-beaten-path parts of Rome and thought she'd be perfect for the job. But back to the app: all in all, the digital side of Showaround was really easy to use and had filters to make everything even easier. We loved that you could email the locals first - to check that they were available for your dates and wanted to see the same things as you. The only downside I found was that the emails from Showaround (which said Giulia had replied to our message/agreed to show us around etc), persistently went into my junk email folder - though that may be more to do with Hotmail than Showaround, as many other tour's messages go into my junk email folder :( I check my junk email folder every day though (there's almost always something important in there) so it wasn't a big deal, but for people who never check theirs, it's important to note!
Using Showaround in Italy: Being Shown Around Rome by a Real Local
Giulia met us at our hotel, which we really appreciated (we'd been trying to find places in Rome all week, so it was nice to just step outside and not worry about getting lost). She was perfectly punctual (really important for us as we are always early and everyone else is always late). She was really bubbly and friendly and we got on straight away. We found out that she'd actually lived in Bristol (where I'm from) so we had lots to talk about! At my request, our first stop was at the Colosseum - it's really hard to get a good photo of the Colosseum on a selfie stick, and Giulia agreed to take a nice photo for us:
Next, we took the tube over to Testaccio, our tube ticket was included which was a nice surprise!
#1. Pyramid of Cestius
We saw the awesome Pyramid of Cestius - did you know there is a 2000 year old pyramid in Rome?
Giulia had actually been in the pyramid herself (it's open once a month), and said that there is nothing in there, it's surprisingly small inside and there are lots of holes where grave diggers tried to dig in and steal things. Giulia said that one of the things that was successfully stolen was Cestius himself!
#2. Protestant Graveyard
Next up we saw the beautiful Protestant graveyard, which was absolutely stunning, and reminiscent of British graveyards (except more beautiful and less creepy).
Rome has been Roman Catholic for a very long time (officially since 380AD), but many protestants passed through Rome, and as some died here they needed a place to be buried.
We saw the prettiest tiger cat and Giulia said that cats have a special right in Rome - if they were born there, they get to stay there:
The pyramid is also incorporated into the graveyard, as it's a non-catholic burial place.
Weirdly, we stumbled across Keats' grave here - I had no idea he was buried in Rome!
#3. Testaccio Markets
Our next stop was the new Testaccio Market - it was so great to be shown around by a local, because Giulia knew all the local goss: the new Testaccio market is on the site of the old Testaccio market (which was on the site of the super old Roman markets, which you can still see the ruins of)! The old Testaccio markets were a bit grimy and grungy and would often see rats and cats hanging out there afterwards. So they revamped it, put in some nice little indoor stalls and put lots of money into it.
But Giulia says the locals don't like the revamp - everything is more expensive.
#4. The Slaughter House
Our next stop was the old slaughterhouse which has now been partly renovated to house a museum, coffee shops and markets.
What we all liked about it was the fact that some of the old slaughter bits haven't been renovated yet and you can peak in:
We stopped for a coffee here. Want a more vegan version of Rome? Check out this vegan Italy guide.
#5. The Graffiti Tour
Where Giulia really excelled, was with her knowledge about local graffiti artists. We love graffiti and it's always great to hear the stories behind them, better though, Giulia had actually met and toured with some of these super famous artists!
First, we saw this piece by Roa:
Roa comes from Belgium and typically does large animal pieces. This 30 metre one is a wolf, because Rome's symbol is... the wolf! (Remember the story about Romulus and Remus?) Next came two pieces: an anonymous face by Sten&Lex and a gangster by MTO:
There were many more great pieces like this one about mental health:
This one by an Argentinian artist:
But our favourite piece was by Blu:
Blu was nominated by the Observer as one of the top 10 street artists in the world. This piece was massive and is painted onto a squat where 400 people live. The piece is a massive piece of symbolism highlighting the issues he wants to fight: pollution, war and the housing crisis:
One year later he came back and painted the side of the building:
It's a pirate ship which represents an industrial metropolis ready to sink. What a liked the most is the idea that he did all this work without scaffolding - just ropes!
Wrap Up: An Honest Review of Showaround
All in all, we think Showaround is a great way to see a city whilst on holiday or travelling, who knows a city better than its locals? Who else knows the hidden sites tourists just don't get to see? To book your own tour head over to their website - www.showaround.com or find them on Viator. Special thanks to Giulia for showing us around! You can also find out more about Showaround and our day in our vlog!
Check out our other posts about Italy:
- House sitting in Italy: the ultimate house sit!
- Dining with locals in an Italian home restaurant: our review of the BonAppetour app;
- Italy's most recommended walking food tour: our review of Eating Italy Food Tours;
- 4 unforgettable experiences to have when you visit Italy: don't miss out!
- Taste the city with locals: our review of using VizEat in Italy;
- A traveller's guide to must-have essentials in Italy: unlocking Italy's wonders with the right travel gear;
- 8 family-friendly famous places in Italy: discover Italy's treasures with your family!
- how to apply for Italy’s digital nomad visa: a guide for remote workers;
- Group travel in Italy: six things to do and practical tips;
- Vegan travel in Italy: the best-known vegan Italian restaurants!
- What to see in Sciacca (and where to go to the beach!)
- Italian fountains: discovering the most famous water wonders of Italy;
- The best things to do in Milan during the summer: title says it all!
- The best places to see an opera in Italy: Palermo, Rome and more!
- Naples in a nutshell: the essential 48-hour city break guide;
- The top destinations for cruise passengers in Italy: discovering Italy's hidden charms;
- Must-visit sights and hidden treasures in Rome: the Eternal City's beauty!
- how to spend 24 hours in Rome : the title says it all!
This post was written in association with Showaround, but all opinions are Travelling Weasels own as always. P.S. Make sure to check out Beehive Rome - a cheap and great place to stay in Rome with vegan food available! P.S.: If you're interested in a way of travelling and getting accommodation cheaply, you might wanna check out house sitting. Trustedhousesitters.com was kind enough to provide us and our readers with a 10% discount, feel free to click on the link to use it :)
