Suggestions for 7 hours at Rome Airport, FCO?
Feb 17th, 2016, 04:47 PM
#1
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Suggestions for 7 hours at Rome Airport, FCO?
We will arrive at FCO at 9am via transport from the cruise port, and our departing flight is not until almost 6 pm. We have been to Rome three times already, and always thoroughly enjoy ourselves. I am thinking that we’ll stash our luggage at FCO and head out, planning to be back before 4pm.
We’d be most interested in strolling a neighborhood in Rome or elsewhere, and want to avoid anxiety about getting back in time. We’re not interested in going to Termini and working our way back to somewhere we’d feed like wandering. I see that there are local trains but am unfamiliar with the stops.
I’d appreciate any suggestions on this or other ways to spend the time. I should add that Rome is celebrating a holiday this day – Monday, April 25.
Thank you!
We’d be most interested in strolling a neighborhood in Rome or elsewhere, and want to avoid anxiety about getting back in time. We’re not interested in going to Termini and working our way back to somewhere we’d feed like wandering. I see that there are local trains but am unfamiliar with the stops.
I’d appreciate any suggestions on this or other ways to spend the time. I should add that Rome is celebrating a holiday this day – Monday, April 25.
Thank you!
Feb 17th, 2016, 09:41 PM
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I would have suggested visiting Ostia Antica but it is closed Mondays.
Are you departing from the Schengen zone or taking a domestic flight? This will help inform as to when you need to be back at FCO. If you're leaving for USA, Canada or Asia you need to be at the airport 3 hours before departure - so that makes it 3pm.
I would use a car service in and out. They cost 52 euro (Rome Cabs). This way you won't waste time on local trains as you seem to want to avoid Termini where the Leonardo Express arrives.
Are you departing from the Schengen zone or taking a domestic flight? This will help inform as to when you need to be back at FCO. If you're leaving for USA, Canada or Asia you need to be at the airport 3 hours before departure - so that makes it 3pm.
I would use a car service in and out. They cost 52 euro (Rome Cabs). This way you won't waste time on local trains as you seem to want to avoid Termini where the Leonardo Express arrives.
Feb 18th, 2016, 04:30 AM
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Thanks. I was aware of Ostia Antica being closed on Mondays unfortunately. We aren't especially interested in Termini as we have been to the area several times. And given the time constraints, it didn't seem wise to make plans that also involve local transportation once we'd get to Termini. We have also been to Trastevere several times.
We are staying in the Schengen zone -- headed to Riga on AirBaltic, which I understand leaves from terminal 3, were the baggage storage facility also is.
Are there stops closer to FCO along the local train that are worth exploring?
We are staying in the Schengen zone -- headed to Riga on AirBaltic, which I understand leaves from terminal 3, were the baggage storage facility also is.
Are there stops closer to FCO along the local train that are worth exploring?
Feb 18th, 2016, 04:35 AM
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I just wrote a long post about things you could do, and accidentally obliterated it. I'm not going into as much detail this time, but if one of these ideas interests you, I'll elaborate.
The FL1 train (not the Leonardo Express) makes several stops at several stations in Rome, skipping Termini station. Two of them especially might interest you.
At the Trastevere station stop, you could catch the number 8 tram (direction Venezia) and get off at Piazza Sonnino. (If you cross the river, you went too far, but you can walk back one stop.) There are many things you can see and do in Trastevere; there are lots of shops and restaurants, and some quaint streets to wander. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere has beautiful 8th century golden mosaics in the Byzantine style. The Basilica of Santa Cecilia has the remains of a Roman house, which you can visit, beneath the church. The Corsini Gallery, a small museum with a great collection of art, mostly Italian Renaissance, will be open that day.
Ostiense station has a metro stop (Piramide) but there are also many interesting things in walking distance. The Baths of Caracalla, about a 15-minute walk from the station, are open on Mondays, including the 25th of April, with the last entrance at 1 PM. The Circus Maximus is near the Baths.
The Pyramid of Caius Sestius is right near the station, but it won't be open.
You can walk up the Aventine Hill from Ostiense station, and see many interesting things along the way, the famous keyhole in the door of the villa of the Knights of Malta, for one. Further along is the ancient Roman Basilica of Santa Sabina, which has a 5th century wooden door carved with Biblical scenes; very few ancient Roman works of art in wood have survived to our time. Inside, the original dedication of the basilica is on a mosaic over the main door, which depicts Christianity as two matrons, one Hebrew and one Greek, representing the two branches of the Christian church at that time. The basilica has some medieval modifications, but its original appearance is well preserved.
Next to the Basilica is the city orange grove, from which there are nice views over the Tiber river and the opposite bank. Finally, when you go down the other side of the hill, you can visit the city rose garden, which will be open for its most spectacular season. There is a memorial there to remember the former site of a Jewish cemetery that was later moved to a different site. The entire walk would take less than half an hour.
The Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, which conserves the remains of the Apostle, is very near Ostiense station. This is another ancient Christian Basilica, but reconstructed after a devastating fire in the 19th century. It has a beautiful cloister (maybe two cloisters, I can't remember).
You can get a bus outside Ostiense station that will take you near the Via Appia Antica, where you can walk along a stretch of ancient Roman road, or maybe visit one of the three catacombs in the vicinity. At least one is open on any given day; I would suggest the Catacomb of Domitilla, open Mondays, which has some nice paintings and is not usually crowded. Nearby, there is a memorial (open every day) commemorating the Fosse Ardeatine, where 335 random victims, mostly Jews and political prisoners, were slaughtered by the Nazi occupiers as a reprisal for a partisan bomb that killed 35 German soldiers.
The FL1 train (not the Leonardo Express) makes several stops at several stations in Rome, skipping Termini station. Two of them especially might interest you.
At the Trastevere station stop, you could catch the number 8 tram (direction Venezia) and get off at Piazza Sonnino. (If you cross the river, you went too far, but you can walk back one stop.) There are many things you can see and do in Trastevere; there are lots of shops and restaurants, and some quaint streets to wander. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere has beautiful 8th century golden mosaics in the Byzantine style. The Basilica of Santa Cecilia has the remains of a Roman house, which you can visit, beneath the church. The Corsini Gallery, a small museum with a great collection of art, mostly Italian Renaissance, will be open that day.
Ostiense station has a metro stop (Piramide) but there are also many interesting things in walking distance. The Baths of Caracalla, about a 15-minute walk from the station, are open on Mondays, including the 25th of April, with the last entrance at 1 PM. The Circus Maximus is near the Baths.
The Pyramid of Caius Sestius is right near the station, but it won't be open.
You can walk up the Aventine Hill from Ostiense station, and see many interesting things along the way, the famous keyhole in the door of the villa of the Knights of Malta, for one. Further along is the ancient Roman Basilica of Santa Sabina, which has a 5th century wooden door carved with Biblical scenes; very few ancient Roman works of art in wood have survived to our time. Inside, the original dedication of the basilica is on a mosaic over the main door, which depicts Christianity as two matrons, one Hebrew and one Greek, representing the two branches of the Christian church at that time. The basilica has some medieval modifications, but its original appearance is well preserved.
Next to the Basilica is the city orange grove, from which there are nice views over the Tiber river and the opposite bank. Finally, when you go down the other side of the hill, you can visit the city rose garden, which will be open for its most spectacular season. There is a memorial there to remember the former site of a Jewish cemetery that was later moved to a different site. The entire walk would take less than half an hour.
The Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, which conserves the remains of the Apostle, is very near Ostiense station. This is another ancient Christian Basilica, but reconstructed after a devastating fire in the 19th century. It has a beautiful cloister (maybe two cloisters, I can't remember).
You can get a bus outside Ostiense station that will take you near the Via Appia Antica, where you can walk along a stretch of ancient Roman road, or maybe visit one of the three catacombs in the vicinity. At least one is open on any given day; I would suggest the Catacomb of Domitilla, open Mondays, which has some nice paintings and is not usually crowded. Nearby, there is a memorial (open every day) commemorating the Fosse Ardeatine, where 335 random victims, mostly Jews and political prisoners, were slaughtered by the Nazi occupiers as a reprisal for a partisan bomb that killed 35 German soldiers.
Apr 1st, 2016, 06:29 PM
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Thanks bvlenci; the area around Ostiense station sounds like a great fit for that day. You offered to elaborate -- is there more to know about that area? (I apologize for the delayed response.)
Any specific tips about getting train tickets -- should we just wait until we are ready to leave FCO? And any concerns about getting back on time, like the possibility of last minute strikes or similar?
Any specific tips about getting train tickets -- should we just wait until we are ready to leave FCO? And any concerns about getting back on time, like the possibility of last minute strikes or similar?
Apr 2nd, 2016, 12:04 AM
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Is anyone with more Rome experience than I have worried about the holiday causing delalys? A couple of years ago, we were in Rome for May 1 Labor Day, and I remember they shut down the subway for a bit after a huge event ended... just wonder whether the OP should be concerned about this on a holiday??
Apr 2nd, 2016, 02:54 AM
#7
>>>Any specific tips about getting train tickets -- should we just wait until we are ready to leave FCO?<<<
Buy your tickets (8€)at the FCO train station. Be sure to validate them before boarding. The local train to Trastevere normally runs every 15 minutes (travel time to Trastevere is about 25 minutes). On holidays, the train may run only every 30 minutes.
The stops are shown on the transport map.
http://atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4
The tram stops:
http://atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5
Tram/metro tickets are 1.50€. Be sure to validate the tram ticket also.
Buy your tickets (8€)at the FCO train station. Be sure to validate them before boarding. The local train to Trastevere normally runs every 15 minutes (travel time to Trastevere is about 25 minutes). On holidays, the train may run only every 30 minutes.
The stops are shown on the transport map.
http://atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4
The tram stops:
http://atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5
Tram/metro tickets are 1.50€. Be sure to validate the tram ticket also.
