A spirit-lifting and unique guided tour experience
Imagine having run from one breath-taking location to the other all day in a city that you can’t seem to get enough of, but you are too tired to keep on going. Imagine that you would like to know more about Roman stories, but all you seem to get is history with a capital H, which you have read in books and guides before coming and which has already been recited to you by multiple tour operators. Imagine you really enjoy the Italian-style aperitivo and love meeting new people. Then the tipsy tour is perfect for you! We are talking about a three-hour guided tour that reproduces the exquisite art of the aperitivo, including the social aspects of it, whereby one mingles and gossips in the streets of historic Rome.
Colosseum, sunset and wine
Bonum vinum laetificat cor hominis, ‘good wine gladdens the heart’, is what ancient Romans used to say and it is on the basis of this simple principle that the tipsy tour kicks off. Very friendly tour guides welcome participants with a glass of wine at sunset, making you feel immediately at ease in front of one of the world’s most famous wonders, the Colosseum. After some ice-breakers enabling everyone to get comfortable and curious the guide begins to tell “dark and dirty stories” of ancient Rome. These are the secrets and rumours that pervaded everyday life at emperors’ palaces – whose partner cheated on who, whose brother had gone nuts, whose vanity overtook their reason, who poisoned whose drink and so on and so on, the list is endless.
Monti, narrow streets and spritz … and the story goes on
The tour goes on in the historic area of Monti, now a hipster-trendy neighbourhood, but once a suburb, frequented by prostitutes and men seeking their services. Here, the story goes on, with revelations about who and how often left the high-end palaces to enjoy the ladies’ company, and about how these attracted, tricked and seduced their customers. Before entering such an exciting underbelly however, you get a chance at reenergizing with a typical caffè corretto, that is a coffee with a twist that only true Italians know about.
Once the good mood has entirely kicked in and those who less than an hour before were total strangers feel familiar and friendly, the tipsy tour guides come out with the king of the aperitivo: Aperol or Campari spritz – a cocktail invented in the north and quickly exported to the rest of the nation to paint playful and light evening chats red and orange.
Hailing Caesar with a limoncello
Finally, the tour couldn’t end anywhere but in front of Julius Caesar, the Roman par excellence, where a little is revealed about his love life whilst everyone sips limoncello, the exquisite lemon-flavoured liqueur that usually closes meals.
In short, the tipsy tour brings together experience, relax and sociality, the three pillars of vacationing – plus it is a chance to make new friends as well as a very good memory to bring back home – suited to lone travellers as well as groups.
You can book a tour any day of the week for a maximum of 15 people. Tours start at 7 or 8 pm and last for about three hours.
