Rome for a week
Feb 11th, 2016, 07:37 AM
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Rome for a week
Hello everyone. I am so happy to announce my next trip. Fodorists have been of great help in my last two trips, my first solo trip to Paris in 2013 and to London last year. This year is Rome, so I rented an apartment in the heart of Rome. I am quite becoming the "expert" on booking great apartments...hehe. I was thinking of spending all my week in Rome but I also want to see Pompeii, any suggestions to a must do. Is it Pompeii a good idea due to the fact that we'll be there only one week? Suggestions appreciated.
Thank you all very much
Viri
Thank you all very much
Viri
Feb 11th, 2016, 08:07 AM
#2
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Really depends on your level of interest in ancient sites, and maybe too what time of year you will be there. Pompei can be very hot between May-Oct, so if you are not an early riser, willing to head out at the crack of dawn so you arrive by 8/9 am, it can be tough. The ruins of Pompei cover a huge area.
Many of the most important treasures of Pompei are now housed in the archeological museum in Naples, so if you are very interested in this period of history, you probably want to go to the museum as part of exploring Pompeii -- and that makes for a very long day.
If you simply want to see this super-famous site for a few hours, then it is certainly easy to take the train down and walk around until you feel like leaving.
Just so you know, the abandoned Roman town of Ostia Antica is a shorter trip from Rome and quite a few people find that it is actually easier to understand what a living Roman community was by visiting Ostia Antica rather than the annihilated Pompei because it is slightly better preserved. You can see where the fire brigade lived, where the bakery was, where the communal cafeteria was, where the market and central public square was a bit more easily. It is more compact and breezier, being closer to the sea and having pine trees for shade.
If you have not been to Rome, you might wait to see how interested you are in the sights of antiquity that are right in Rome -- and make up your mind when you are there how much more effort you want to make to see more.
Many of the most important treasures of Pompei are now housed in the archeological museum in Naples, so if you are very interested in this period of history, you probably want to go to the museum as part of exploring Pompeii -- and that makes for a very long day.
If you simply want to see this super-famous site for a few hours, then it is certainly easy to take the train down and walk around until you feel like leaving.
Just so you know, the abandoned Roman town of Ostia Antica is a shorter trip from Rome and quite a few people find that it is actually easier to understand what a living Roman community was by visiting Ostia Antica rather than the annihilated Pompei because it is slightly better preserved. You can see where the fire brigade lived, where the bakery was, where the communal cafeteria was, where the market and central public square was a bit more easily. It is more compact and breezier, being closer to the sea and having pine trees for shade.
If you have not been to Rome, you might wait to see how interested you are in the sights of antiquity that are right in Rome -- and make up your mind when you are there how much more effort you want to make to see more.
Feb 11th, 2016, 08:23 AM
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Rome is an amazing city with so many things to see and do.
WITH ONLY 1 WEEK IN ROME, I would spend all the time in wonderful Roma and really explore the city.
Save Pompei for a future visit......This will give you a future trip to Italy to look forward to.
There are tons of ruins to see in Rome & although Pompei is special, I would enjoy every single day of your 1 week in Rome.
TrendGirl2
WITH ONLY 1 WEEK IN ROME, I would spend all the time in wonderful Roma and really explore the city.
Save Pompei for a future visit......This will give you a future trip to Italy to look forward to.
There are tons of ruins to see in Rome & although Pompei is special, I would enjoy every single day of your 1 week in Rome.
TrendGirl2
Feb 11th, 2016, 09:41 AM
#4
You don't say whether you've been to Rome before, but I'd spend the entire week there. Pompeii is fascinating, but it's not the only reason to visit Campania. That's another whole trip. There are many day trip options from Rome, some easier overall than Pompeii.
You also don't say when this week is.
You also don't say when this week is.
Feb 12th, 2016, 03:04 AM
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Thank you so much for your input.
@Jean, I have never been to Italy, this is our first trip. We will be there from April 16th to the 24th.
@Sandralist, thank you so very much, your insight is perfect. I will try to see if Ostia Antica is an option. You hear so much about Pompeii it make it seem its the only choice, this is why I always ask in here what is best, I will save Pompeii for another time.
@TrendGirl2, you are absolutely right...it seems we will stay in Rome for the week and explore more of the city...one week is never enough just to be in one great place.
I already bought tickets online to see the Coleseum and Roman Forum... I also purchased "Fodor's 25 Best-Rome 2016"... the map is a treasure!
Thank you all
@Jean, I have never been to Italy, this is our first trip. We will be there from April 16th to the 24th.
@Sandralist, thank you so very much, your insight is perfect. I will try to see if Ostia Antica is an option. You hear so much about Pompeii it make it seem its the only choice, this is why I always ask in here what is best, I will save Pompeii for another time.
@TrendGirl2, you are absolutely right...it seems we will stay in Rome for the week and explore more of the city...one week is never enough just to be in one great place.
I already bought tickets online to see the Coleseum and Roman Forum... I also purchased "Fodor's 25 Best-Rome 2016"... the map is a treasure!
Thank you all
Feb 12th, 2016, 03:57 AM
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I think you've made the right choice. You may find this website about Ostia Antica useful:
www.ostia-antica.org
If you click on the link, "Visiting the Ruins", you'll see three useful links. One is their free PDF tourist guide, which has a proposed itinerary and a map. Another is a link to an e-Book, which isn't free, but very inexpensive, and which has a lot of interesting background about the ancient port city. There is also a link for an app, which I haven't downloaded, but which claims to have computer reconstructions of what the various buildings looked like, which could make your visit more interesting.
I have been to both Ostia Antica and Pompeii multiple times, and both are certainly well worth seeing. I do find Ostia Antica more
interesting, because of its many layers of history. It was a flourishing city for over 500 years, while Pompeii had a fairly short life, between its destruction by an earthquake and its burial by a volcanic eruption. Also, Ostia was a more heterogeneous city than Pompeii, which was mostly a residential city.
My main reason for encouraging you to save Pompeii for another visit is that, as someone else said, there's so much more to do in the area. You could easily spend an entire week there.
www.ostia-antica.org
If you click on the link, "Visiting the Ruins", you'll see three useful links. One is their free PDF tourist guide, which has a proposed itinerary and a map. Another is a link to an e-Book, which isn't free, but very inexpensive, and which has a lot of interesting background about the ancient port city. There is also a link for an app, which I haven't downloaded, but which claims to have computer reconstructions of what the various buildings looked like, which could make your visit more interesting.
I have been to both Ostia Antica and Pompeii multiple times, and both are certainly well worth seeing. I do find Ostia Antica more
interesting, because of its many layers of history. It was a flourishing city for over 500 years, while Pompeii had a fairly short life, between its destruction by an earthquake and its burial by a volcanic eruption. Also, Ostia was a more heterogeneous city than Pompeii, which was mostly a residential city.
My main reason for encouraging you to save Pompeii for another visit is that, as someone else said, there's so much more to do in the area. You could easily spend an entire week there.
Feb 12th, 2016, 11:08 AM
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Bvlenci - your information about Pompeii is categorically wrong. There is evidence of occupation, most likely by the Oscans, that dates back to the seventh century BC. Pompeii itself can be dated back to the Samnites to about 450BC. There is evidence in Pompeii of Oscan alphabet, Samnite buildings and Samnite burials. They built the Stabian bathhouse and the third city wall around Pompeii in the second century BC.
Pompeii was far from a 'residential city'. It was a thriving centre for the production of Garum - for which it was famous, it had a wine industry and many commercial activities going on such as textile working and metalworking.
I have no idea how you can say Pompeii had a 'fairly short life' between the earthquake in AD62 and the Vesuvian eruption in AD79 - that is simply a bizarre comment.
Pompeii was far from a 'residential city'. It was a thriving centre for the production of Garum - for which it was famous, it had a wine industry and many commercial activities going on such as textile working and metalworking.
I have no idea how you can say Pompeii had a 'fairly short life' between the earthquake in AD62 and the Vesuvian eruption in AD79 - that is simply a bizarre comment.
Feb 15th, 2016, 04:58 AM
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Judy, I would really appreciate your input on the trip...please keep me posted...so far I have Friday to "spare" if you really want to call it like that and I was thinking on going to Ostia Antica. I always buy the Fodor's 25 Best and Ostia Antica is one of them.
Have a great trip
Viri
Have a great trip
Viri
