LUISS

The typical night in Rome begins at a restaurant(I particularly liked the little restaurants around Piazza Navona and in Trastevere) with a group of friends and continues either just strolling around the historical center with a good gelato or in a disco pub. In the summer there are numerous music festivals (not to miss the Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival). Not to be missed also is a trip to the nearby Castelli Romani, their villages lakes, and stop for a very rustic dinner at Ariccia, famous for its "porchetta"

Campo dei Fiori offers a fabulous social scene,particularly "la vineria" or "Heartbreak"- v.popular with foreign students. Trastevere/Testaccio have v.good restaurants and are the main nightclub areas due to licensing issues in the centre. Views from "Gianicolo" & "Pincio" are not to be missed, as well as the main city centre sights. A day out to Ostai Anitca is also worthwhile!

Very few student activities on offer (no good student theatre, music, sport, debating etc. as in the UK). All of Trastevere, the area around Campo dei Fiori and round the back of the Vatican are great for cafés, both night and day. Testaccio is the club area (Metro Piramide). Erasmus students all go to the Baja on the river, though this can get horribly crowded. Ice cream on via del Panteon has the largest selection - mix them with the mousses. LUISS's greatest feature is its terrace café, which in the sun is a delight. It serves excellent hot chocolate. It's very difficult to integrate with the Italians, even if you do buy very big sunglasses! LUISS students are generally friendly in the superficial sense - I waited 7 months to be invited by any Italian there to do anything outside of uni. However, other Erasmus students make up for this. NB It rains a lot in Rome, and when it does there is nothing to do. The university has no common rooms, just silent study rooms. It takes longer to get anywhere in the rain, as people stop using their motorini and take to their cars.

Favourite nights sport? I guess that dancing is the best one! In Rome there are hundreds of places were you can have a great time…the one that you can not miss an are considered the best night-districts are Transtevere and Testaccio;)

I wouldn't miss the small restaurants in and around Trastevere, the decadence of the Baja, the American crowd at La Cuccagna, the Gianicolo, the small d'essai cinema "Sordi-Trevi", and the hours you can spend around the Pantheon.

In general, calm places where you can talk with friends while you listen to music, like the Irish cafe, la Vineria de campo di fiori, Jazz Cafe. Also, dinners at a friend house. Concerts organized by associations like the one at Castel San Angelo or the ones in the Jazz cafe