RomeBound

My wife and I will be spending 3 days in Rome starting Oct 19th. What are the must sees? Can anyone suggest an itinary? How about a nice none tourist place for dinner. Any and all ideas welcome. Thanks.

Rex

You still have four weeks. You really owe it to yourself to do some serious reading - - and the "must sees" will pop right out at you: St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi fountain - - this actually leaves you with the better part of a day and a half left - - so the question is not so much the "must sees" - - but rather "the really great sees", and this dependes in part upon you and your tastes. Are you more museum oriented? a shopper? Interested in ancient or medieval history? Are you Catholic? or interested in the culture of the Roman Catholic church?<BR><BR>Strongly recommend the website www.twenj.net - - though no longer updated since the death of its creator, Ed Gehrlein (and longtime contributor here) - - still a very, VERY useful resource and delightful labor of love.<BR><BR>I'll recommend Le Volte as a nice tourist restaurant (near the Pantheon) - - there are hundreds of other similar recommendations to be found on this forum. Try searching "Volte" - - and you will find threads on which ?I have made this suggestion before (and others will have listed many of their favorites there as well, as a corollary).<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Linda

One of our favorite places to eat was Da Meo Patacca in Trastevere (across the Tiber) where singers travel from table to table. You actually get entertained while you eat.Check out their website. And most important of all, the food was excellent. This place is pretty touristy but in October (that's when we went) it was not crowded. And, it was still nice enough to eat outside. Artichokes are the best!<BR><BR>Here's what we did:<BR>First day - Roman Forum and Colisseum. Lots to do in this area.<BR>Lunch at Piazza Navona<BR>Second Day - Vatican and Sistine Chapel<BR>Third Day - Necropolis and Galleria Borghese<BR>Those were just the highlights. In between the must do's, We walked, walked, walked to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, around the Roman ruins, Pantheon, etc. Rome is a great walking city. Bring good walking shoes.<BR><BR>The highlight of our visit to Rome was The Vatican Necropolis. Only about 100 visitors per day are allowed to take the tour. The Necropolis is 30 feet under St. Peter's. It's an ancient pagan cemetary where they found St. Peter's tomb. Find it on the twenj website. Make reservations via email [email protected]. They will probably turn you down. If they do, go see the Swiss Guard (on the post office side of the vatican piazza) and ask directions to the Office of the Scavi. When they find you are serious, they will make reservations for you to take this tour. <BR><BR>Our motto was if you've seen one museum, you've seen them all. If you must do a museum, the Galleria Borghese located in the beautiful Borghese Gardens was wonderful.<BR><BR>Sorry my response was so long, but, we really had a wonderful Rome experience. I would go back in a heart beat.<BR><BR>DON'T TAKE THE HORSE AND BUGGY RIDE - A RIPOFF.

elaine

I would strongly recommend one or two walking tours with an organization called scala reale. www.scalareale.org<BR>If you are interested, you could take their 4-hours each tours of the Vatican and of the Forum and Colosseum. If you sign up, also an Orientation Walk will be included in the price.<BR><BR>They are informative but not boring for one second, and it is an efficient use of your time if those historical/cultural sites interest you.<BR>There are other tours as well.<BR><BR>Look at the website Rex mentioned<BR>twenj.net as well as other good websites such as the Rome section right here at fodors.com<BR>Much good info. I strongly recommend that you buy at least one map and a good guidebook<BR>(Fodors for Rome is excellent) so that you can find things that interest you.<BR><BR>If you do a search on this message board for Rome restaurant you will find many suggestions. My favorite that I've mentioned often (and that should turn up in your search) is La Tartaruga, not far from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.<BR><BR>I have a file on Rome; if you'd like to see it, email me.

M

You might try a restaurant outside the Campo de' Fiori, called "La Pollarola." I was there on a weekday night, and there was a combination of local families with their small children and some couples. The food is simple with some good Roman dishes, the price is moderate, and it is NOT geared to the tourist crowd. In fact, you would need to ask for its exact location once you get to the Campo de'Fiori because it is hidden behind a couple of sharp turns.<BR><BR>M

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