Hops and Stops Rome: History and Beer Walking Tour in the Eternal City

We begin our tour by greeting you at the Shamrock Pub Roma. Famous for its football and rugby fans, this Italian owned Irish pub is a classic in Rome. Your tour guide and greeter will be waiting here for you when you arrive and offer you pizza to get you prepped for the drinking and walking ahead. You will have a chance to get acquainted with your guide as well as the other people joining the tour to ensure that you have a fun time learning about Rome and drinking Italian beer. Feel free to arrive a few minutes early to relax at one of the outdoor tables or inside in the air-conditioned pub.

At this small corner in the famous neighborhood of Monti, your guide will show you one of the local favorite alimentari shops where you will get your first official tour beer. These little shops are all over Italy and they are where the locals get everything from bread, to sandwiches and beer to small necessities for home. Always affordable and often overlooked, these shops are a staple for Italian residents. Francesco, the owner, will greet you with a smile as your guide purchases your Italian Peroni beer and you learn how to spot these hidden gem shops for the rest of your vacation in Italy. After saying goodbye to Francesco, your guide will take you a few doors down to show you the "Stolpersteine" or "Stumbling Stones". These small brass cobblestones are a part of a European memorial art installation to those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Your guide will explain their meaning as well as the inscriptions they hold as you take in the moving story of their creation.

From the quiet cobblestone streets of Monti, you will soon arrive on the large and bustling Via dei Fori Imperiali. Your guide will tell you all about the archaeological ruins that surround you and the Roman Emperors (and Julius Caesar) who built these Imperial Forums on either side of the road. After a view of the Colosseum, your guide will choose his favorite emperor and stop in front of his statue to tell you the history of the man and his forum as you step back in time in this part of the city. By now your Peroni is nearly empty, so after one more stop, you will get to the beer tasting portion of the tour.

At the end of Via dei Fori Imperiali you will arrive in the center of Rome at Piazza Venezia. Looming above the piazza is the huge monument Altare della Patria, also known as the Vittoriano, and jokingly called the "wedding cake". Here your guide will take you into the center of the piazza for a photo op as well as a perfect view of the monument. If the timing is right, you will be able to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier which sits in the center of the monument. Here you will also see the famous Palazzo Venezia, a 15th century palace that became Mussolini's headquarters in Rome. After learning about the monument and the Unification of Italy, you will follow your guide to your next stop...an Italian beer tasting and a much needed bathroom break! Just around the corner you will head into a small, local caffe where you will get to sample 2-3 different Italian beers and take your favorite one with you on your way to your next stop.

With your favorite Italian beer in hand, pass by the Crypta Balbi to see an example of the archaeological ruins that lie under the modern city.

This is a favorite stop on the tour for visitors and guides alike. As you come upon this excavated city block in the middle of the modern city, your tour guide will explain the ruins to you as well as uncover the Ancient Roman event that happened here. This remains an unexpected gem to everyone who visits and we wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for you, so join the tour if you can't handle the suspense.

After discovering the historical event at the last stop, your guide will take you past the busy main road and onto the smaller, quieter cobblestone streets in the historic center as you make your way to the incredible Piazza Navona. This piazza is famous for its nightlife as well as its Ancient Roman history and Bernini's spectacular Fountain of the Four Rivers. You may recognize the square and the fountain from films and television, it is one of the most popular for street performers and Italians meeting before heading off to an aperitivo. Your guide will conclude your tour here after telling you all about the history of the square and will purchase your final drink. One of our favorite restaurants on the square was revived after covid-19 when the family owners reinvented the menu and made this a local hot spot, an oasis in the midst of overpriced tourist traps. Here we recommend you try the famous Aperol spritz, or you can stick with beer if you prefer.