Rome Itinerary Critique

Old Jul 9th, 2014, 09:54 PM
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Rome Itinerary Critique

Hi all - I am getting into the detailed planning of our visit to italy in October. My husband and I have never been to Rome, so we are mapping out our attack for the very standard first timers sights of Rome. I would be very appreciative of some feedback on what I have come up with thus far through tons of forum and other online & paper book research.

Some back story first:
Arriving Rome on Fri 10/10 for 5 night stay in Trastevere apartment very near tram line #8
Arrival day - we will arrive in the evening & after a long day (leaving Positano that morning with stop in Pompeii & Naples)
We think it will suit us well to take some small guided tours of at least the main sights. I have researched a particular tour company called Walks of Italy, I'm thinking of using them for 2-3 tours, as described below. After the main sights are accounted for, I have a "side list" of other sights that we can fit in here and there as we feel or when makes the most sense geographically or as they relate to other sights we will be seeing. So advice on where to fit those sights in would be great. As well as lunch spots daily. We are not set on seeing "everything" or go-go-going during our time in Rome. We can return in the future Here goes!

10/10 Arrive Rome 7(ish) pm. Taxi to apartment, check-in. Get dinner, back to apartment, settle in, bed.
10/11 @ 1:30pm Tour of Colosseum/Palentine Hill/Forum with Walks of Italy (will also need to get some F&B supplies for the apartment this day)
10/12 @ 12:30pm Villa Borghese visit (maybe picnic lunch). Borghese Gallery tour with WOI @ 2:45pm
10/13 @7:30am "Pristine Sistine" tour with WOI. (tour starts in museums, continues to basilica.
10/14 - Day trip to Orvieto (or not, if we want to stay & kick it in Rome when the day comes)
10/15 - Depart Rome, train to Florence. Lunch followed by Accademia. Perhaps walk around a bit, then train to Bologna for 4 nights.

Side List:
Pantheon
Campo de Fori
Piazza Navona
San Lugi dei Francesi
Santa Maria in Trastevere
Some "look-out points" - Maybe Sant'Angelo or Victor Emmanuel Monument, or a better suggestion for day time view? My husband would be interested to see any WW2 content at Victor Emmanuel.
A nice, sweet sunset view

I'm also wondering if we do book the "pristine sistine" tour with WOI, how can we coordinate that with a scavi tour request with the Vatican? I have the impression I should give the Vatican a range of dates/times to assign us to a tour?

We picked Trastevere as our base because I read that there are good restaurants there & in nearby Testaccio. It seemed easier to stumble across a good place for dinner that way. With as much targeted planning as the rest of the stay in Rome requires, some ease & flexibility in dining options at night seemed nice. That said, we welcome dinner suggestions too!

We are not studied in art or ancient Rome, nor do we have personal religious interests. I have learned more in the past couple months about some of the history, artists and such than in my entire life combined and my interest is growing rapidly. Better set this daily itinerary before I AM trying to pack too much in!

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read this very long inquiry and offer advice
limmy is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2014, 12:59 AM
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Something you might want to consider before you book tours with fixed dates is that it might be raining that morning. One of the perennial sights of Rome is large groups of tourists swathed in clear plastic ponchos standing in pouring rain, squinting upwards to look at the architecture their tour guide is describing, and wiping the water off their camera lens.

You could get sunny weather for your outdoor tours but you might get a lot of rain in October.

You can stumble across a good restaurant in any area of Rome. I'm not kidding! And you can also stumble into a poor restaurant in any area of Rome that doesn't look like a tourist trap but is. That is quite true in Trastevere, and one of the downsides of Trastevere is that once you go back there at night after a day of sightseeing, you will most likely be too tired and footsore to want to go anywhere but Trastevere to eat. If you think you would enjoy walking around Rome at night even if the temps drop to very cool -- all the monuments are very beautifully lit -- then you might consider someplace less removed. Like I said, there are good restaurants everywhere. I might want to stay in Trastevere for its ancient village-y feel. I wouldn't stay there out of the belief it is a better neighborhood for casual restaurants. Myth.

If you would like to leave your eating up to chance, the strike zone for getting good food in Rome is pretty wide. If you want to improve your odds of finding good food, there must be a zillion sources online now about eating in Rome, most of them all recommending the exact same 20 restaurants. The one I find the most congenial is Tavole Romane because it is one of very few written by an actual Italian. The rest lean pretty heavily on American ideas of what eating and eating out should be.

http://www.tavoleromane.it/foodtours/en/?page_id=100
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 02:11 AM
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From someone currently traveling in Rome and staying in Trastevere:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/981832
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 06:35 AM
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Pristine Sistine tour is in the early am, you could possibly do the afternoon scavi tour and then tour the Basilica afterwards. When we were in Rome, we did them on separate days because of scavi tour availability.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 08:47 AM
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In my experience with the Scavi tour last November, I had to give them my travel dates and they sent me an email with the set date and time. We then took the confirmation and invoice and paid at the site. I also set up a Colosseum and Forum tour and used Through Eternity (Excellent small group tour). We then planned our days around those 2 set times. We did have a rainy day for the Forum tour but, Oh well - it was still worth it. We also did a day tour to Orvieto - a nice break from the city on a bright sunny day.

My general MO is to list 3 things that I would like to do each day, research the heck out of them and then be perfectly content if I only get to 2 of them. This way I've got my routes in mind, schedules confirmed, and enough flexibility to go with the flow. Have a wonderful time!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 08:53 AM
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We loved the Walks of Italy tours, but in Rome we took the food one (which my daughters call "fatties of Rome") and I cannot recommend it highly enough!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 08:58 AM
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You need to be sure to see the Pantheon. For a good vista and something otherwise great, go to the stop of the Spanish Steps. If you choose one of the Night Walks offered by various walking tour companies, you'll see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona -- all three are generally considered musts!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 10:04 AM
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We recently returned from Italy, with an 8-night stay in Rome (with a day trip to Orvieto). We did a lot of the things you are considering, so here is what worked for us:

On the day we took the afternoon tour with WOI to the Colosseum – in the morning we visited Basilica San Clemente and Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.

On the day we took the Pristine Sistine tour with WOI, we also visited Castel Sant'Angelo in the afternoon. This was a very full day, so I guess you can combine it with the Scavi tour (which we did not do), if you are lucky to have it scheduled the same day in the afternoon.

For dinner, we picked each day an area that we wanted to see at night: Colosseum, Trevi, Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Navona, Trastevere, etc. and made reservations to a restaurant close to that particular point of interest. Rome at night is beautiful, so try to see some if it at night, too.

All the things on your “side list” (except Santa Maria in Trastevere) are close together, so use google maps to see distances and make an itinerary that will take you from one to another. As it is, your plans are fine, and will let you see a lot, without rushing it too much. Have a great trip!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 11:50 AM
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Sandralist - "there are good restaurants everywhere. I might want to stay in Trastevere for its ancient village-y feel. I wouldn't stay there out of the belief it is a better neighborhood for casual restaurants."

I know there are good & bad restaurants spread across all areas of Rome, and your good reasoning for basing in Trastevere is actually closer to why we chose Trastevere than the reasoning I gave. We also wanted some space from the crowds at the end of the day, and the apartment we found that ticked the most boxes was in Trastevere. I'm not sure why I didn't phrase it that way to start with - trying not to be too wordy I guess. Yes, we would like to see some of ancient Rome at night as well, if we are too tired to hoof it we can splurge for a taxi. I'm told that tram line that is a stone throw from our apartment can get us to the center in 10 minutes too.

The rain & the tours - I know! I considered this heavily! Ultimately, we really think guided tours are best for us on this go around. I am notoriously horrible at time management, I'm easily distracted & crowds make me pretty uneasy. For these reasons & more I think we need to be lead rather than lead ourselves. Even if that makes us the classic poncho wearing tourist dolts in a tour group! I'm bad at time management but pretty good at humility, haha

Thank you for your advice & the food links - I'm going to scour them over the weekend.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 12:17 PM
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Whoops - I cut that off somehow.

M34aggie: The Pantheon is priority #1 on the "side list". The Trevi fountain is under construction! We are disappointed to miss it, but we will be back someday, even without tossing that coin! My "side list" is really a "must list", I just don't think it's necessary to dedicate a very specific appointment to them ahead of time. But I could be wrong about this too? Thanks for advice.

Xyz - thanks for the info! We will definitely see Rome at night. With sunset around 6:30 during our stay it should be pretty easy to make some rounds in that beautiful night light.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 12:26 PM
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Gosh do I feel old. My computer just did "something weird" as my mom would say and half my reply disappeared.

Vivi - What time window did you give when requesting your tickets? I have the impression that "Monday 10/13 10:30am or later" is not an acceptable request to give. If it is, then great, that would be perfect!

Because we have time committed tours planned on 3 days, I'm unsure how to approach our scavi request.

Thanks for your reply. I read through your itinerary discussion recently & it was super helpful!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 12:27 PM
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Monica - thanks for the input. The company and their reviews do seem pretty legit. Good price points too.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 01:19 PM
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@xyz99, I like that you picked a different area to go to for dinner each night. I was thinking of doing the same for a four night stay next May (our first). Were there any areas you like better than others at night? Also, did you make reservations over the phone or once you got there? Any trouble being understood (or do you speak Italian)? I wish I were a just wing it kind of a girl, but I tend to get really anxious/irritable when I'm hungry and I do better if I have a plan for dinner.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 01:29 PM
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Whilst my stay in Rome, I pre-booked online the entry to the Vatican and the Colosseum.
This made easy entry to both these beautiful sights without queuing.

We just walked to all of the sights, personally I think that this is better than being with a tour. You have the freedom to stay as long or as short as you want at a particular spot. Also you can stop at anytime for a coffee or something to eat at anytime.

At the Vatican you can hire audio equipment that can talk you through all the amazing art and history of it.

Enjoy your stay in one of the most beautiful cities!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 01:47 PM
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Trastevere is a very big area, and some parts of it don't have any sort of village-y feel at all. Apartment owners tend to stretch the borders of Trastevere even farther, to be able to rent their apartments for a bit more.

The part of Trastevere that seems old and quaint is near the Tiber (Tevere) river, on the stretch that includes the Isola Tiburina, the only large island in the river. If you look at Viale di Trastevere on a map, you'll see where it's northern end crosses the river. From there, to the left, you'll see the Botanical Gardens (Orto Botanico), which is a green space shaped a bit like a ship. The charming part of Trastevere stretches from where Viale di Trastevere crosses the river as far to the left as the "smokestack" of the ship, as far to the right as the river (after it's made a big bend to the south), and as far inland as a straight line drawn from the "waterline" of the ship to the river.

The part of Trastevere directly across from Testaccio is not picturesque.

I really don't think Trastevere is an ideal location for a first visit to Rome. I stayed in an apartment in Trastevere once with my two daughters and my granddaughter. It was by no means my first visit, and probably not even my fifth visit. However, I've never chosen to stay there again. It's true that it's near other parts of the city, and once we did walk across the bridge in the evening to Campo de'Fiori, but, as Sandralist said, but the time we returned to Trastevere in the late afternoon, we pretty much confined ourselves to Trastevere for the rest of the evening.

I usually stay in apartments when traveling in a family group, so that we'll have a living area to socialize, and bedrooms for the early-to-bed types. Other than that, I much prefer to stay in a hotel, and I think that, especially for people who are new to a country and don't speak the language, the support offered by a hotel is priceless.

As for your itinerary, for my taste it has too many tours. I prefer to keep my schedule flexible and to visit museums on my own, with a good guide book. That said, the Roman Forum really benefits from a good guide, because it's very hard to figure out on your own. There aren't many signs, and, even with a decent map, it's hard to find particular things, or understand what it is you're looking at.

Your itinerary hits all of the "Big five" things to see in Rome, all of which are very crowded tourist sites. If you're planning to return to Rome in the future, why not leave some of these biggies for the next trip? If you've already seen the "must-sees", you're less likely to return, you know.

Why don't you skip either the Colosseum or the Vatican Museums? It's not a heresy. One of my daughters, a real art lover, still hasn't seen the Vatican Museums, nor the Borghese Gallery, although she's seen half a dozen other museums in Rome.

Why not visit one of Rome's wonderful, but lesser-known museums, instead of the Borghese Gallery? (I could suggest the Barberini Gallery, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, the Villa Farnesina, the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, or the Capitoline Museums, just for starters.)

Some of my favorite memories of Rome are from times I was just strolling around, with no particular destination in mind; or when I was sitting on a bench in a park watching the world go by. The overly beaten path from the Vatican to Piazza Navona to Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum has many great monuments, but it's not what makes Rome unforgettable to me.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 02:07 PM
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Here are some spots for great views of Rome:

Piazza Garibaldi on the Janiculum Hill, one of the very best.

The Pincian Overlook, above Piazza del Popolo, in the Villa Borghese garden.

The orangerie beside the Basilica of Santa Sabina, on the Aventine Hill.

The view of the Roman Forum from Piazza del Campidoglio; go around to the side of the central building (the Rome City Hall). Another good view of the Roman Forum is from the Palatine Hill, where you can also get a great view of the Colosseum. And, there is a balcony inside the Capitoline Museums that has a great view of the Roman Forum, especially lit up at night. In October, the sun sets well before the Capitoline Museums close, so you can get a good night shot of the Forum from that balcony.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 02:17 PM
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Between the tours and the time-reserved visits, you risk making your time all too inflexible. It gets to be more like your job and less like your vacation.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 02:44 PM
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@indyhiker,
We absolutely loved Rome, so it's hard to pick areas that we like more. The main attractions are nicely lit at night, and each has a different atmosphere. For 4 nights, just pick 4 that call you...google the sites, look up pictures and decide.

We did that, than used TA and chowhound Italy to find restaurants in the area. For each area, I had a couple choices, then we made reservations by phone when we got in Rome. Most times, calling 1 day in advance was ok. The only exception was Armando al Pantheon, which was booked for the next 6 nights when we got there. We were lucky, we stayed 8 nights in Rome...

We do not speak Italian, but never had a problem being understood. You'll have a great trip!
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 04:22 PM
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There are great 360-degree views from the top of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, including the Forum, Colosseum, Trajan's Market. There's an elevator to the roof accessed at the back of the building. But there is nothing related to WWII in the Monument. It was built to honor the first king of unified Italy. There is a tomb to an unknown soldier from WWI, and a changing of its guard on the front side of the building.

But from Piazza Venezia in front of the Monument, you can see the balcony of Palazzo Venezia where Mussolini gave his bombastic speeches to enormous, enthusiastic crowds.

http://www.ila-chateau.com/magnolia/...-Mussolini.jpg

If WWII is a particular interest of your husband, this year is the 70th anniversary of the Anzio and Nettuno beach landings. The Anzio Beachhead Museum is near the Anzio train station, and there are U.S. and British cemeteries nearby.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 04:54 PM
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Jean: Anzio was on the table at one point but Orvieto won if we do in deed day trip one day. Knowing that its the 70th anniversary might change that though. I'll do a littke reasearch & see what i dig up. Thanks for pointing that out.

I could have sworn I read about a WW2 museum inside the Victor Emmanuel Monument. It must have been a different place? It was definitely in Rome & there were remarks about signage or at least English signage being lacking & that was disappointing.

Thanks for the scoop on the view from the monument & Mussolinis speech in the piazza.
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