Forget the bus.. all river stops lead to Rome’s tourist sites!

HOW do you surprise a man who has lived for 70 years and been everywhere? A trip down Memory Lane, on the river of his home city. At least that was the plan.

And while it might be delightful to have the wind in your hair on the Hudson, Seine, Elbe, or Venice’s Grand Canal, cold sleet on Glasgow’s dirty River Clyde doesn’t quite match up. Well, in my defence, it’s not my fault Dad was a winter baby.

As it was, we did get a unique view of our home city.

Similarly, the best way to take in Manhattan and Liberty Island is by water. The Beast party speedboat will whizz you along the Hudson, blasting out Bon Jovi and Springsteen songs in deference to New Jersey on the other side.

Of course a slower river boat lets you dwell more on a city’s architecture. Even better if the local public transport is a water bus, as is the case with Venice.

Most of us though take buses, taxis, or Ubers which are often driven by people who have just arrived in the city themselves and don’t know where they’re going, as is the case in Washington DC.

So, we’ve decided then that it’s a river boat. I confess I hadn’t considered it on my last trip into Rome which I arrived in having walked 100kms from Viterbo on the Via Francigena. Unimaginitively, with a day and a half to spend there, I just walked round and round in circles.

Now cruising along the Tiber has just shot up the list of options after the authorities banned tourist coaches on its thoroughfares, just leaving the roads to mad car and scooter drivers.

Rome Boat Experience offers a hop-on, hop-off cruise from a reasonable €18 per adult, €12 for children, aged 11-14 with 0-10 free.

Stops along the way include Municipal Hill (500m) and the Colosseum (1.5km); Angelo Bridge, where guests can explore Sant Angelo Castle (50m), the Vatican City (800m), Vatican Museum (1km), Navona Square (600m) and the Pantheon (1km); Cavour Bridge, where you can take in the Trevi Fountain (1km)and Spagna Square (800m) and finally, Ponte Margherita to discover Popolo Square (400m).

Multi-lingual guides are free and there are bar and toilet facilities. (www.romeboatexperience.com).

Come to think of it there were English-speaking visitors on that Glasgow river cruise who could have done with a translator!