nycuwsapt

I’m a solo traveler headed to Italy for the first time in early May. I’ll have a little less than 3 days to spend in Rome before moving on to join friends at a villa in Puglia. I’ve put together a preliminary itinerary for the 3 days based on my interests, but, I wanted to run it buy all of you, the experts, and have you weigh in. I’ll be arriving on Thursday around noon and have to be on a 1 pm flight on Sunday out of FCO for my travels to the villa. During my time in Rome, I’ve already arranged to rent a cute studio apartment near Campo de Fiori. This is what I have planned for now:

Thursday afternoon: arrive, settle into the apartment. Walk around surrounding area to see the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the kitties at Torre Argentina.

Friday: walking tour of the Jewish ghetto area in the morning, Sistine Chapel and Vatican in the afternoon

Saturday: Galleria Borghese in the am, catch the Spanish steps and Trevi Fountain after leaving Galleria Borghese, spend the rest of the day at the Forum and Coliseum

Sunday am: open – not sure how much time I need to get back to FCO to catch my 1 pm flight to Bari

I’m also trying to figure out how I can fit in a three-hour culinary walking tour of Rome. Is there room for the tour anywhere? They are offered either at 9 am or 3 pm. Is this realistic, or will I run myself ragged? I’ve lived in large cities for most of my adult life and I’m used to walking a lot, but, I’m still trying to get a sense of what’s walkable on this list and what isn’t. I realize there aren't too many “off the beaten path” items on my itinerary . Since this is my first trip to Rome, and I’m not sure when I’ll get back, I want to make sure I hit all the must-sees on this trip and save the more not so touristy things to do for a later trip.

Thanks for all your help! - Jen

nycuwsapt

Topping for all the Rome experts out there. Thanks!

nytraveler

You only have 2.5 days. If your flight leaves at 1 pm Sunday you won;t see anything in the am unless you start at 7 am (and I don;t know what's open then - except churches - and that will be for masses - not tourists).

I think you already have an awful lot packed in and are scheduling things very close together. No opportunity to do a walking tour unless you cut out something major.

bachslunch

A good thing about the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain is that you can see these any time of day. I'd save them for a morning before or evening after your basic itinerary on any particular day.

nytraveler is right, you won't be able to do much of anything Sunday. The rest of your itinerary is very busy, but seems do-able. You may find that St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum will take the better part of a day -- not sure how long the Jewish ghetto tour takes. Definitely try to get the earliest possible time for Galleria Borghese, as the Colosseum/Forum area is good-sized and requires a solid amount of time.

nycuwsapt

Thanks so much for your ideas. I actually decided to extend my stay in Rome for a day to make everything a little more manageable and to squeeze in the culinary tour as well. Luckily the apartment I'm renting was available and the airlines were willing to cooperate!

JAX9000

Anyway cut the Galerie Borghese ans spend more time walking around the Centro Storico. Don't get me wrong. The Borghese is great but the atmosphere of the streets is what's unique about Rome. If you wantoto go to a Musuem, try the Musei Capitolini and observe ther ruins of the forum from the hill.