Itinerary for 3.5 days in Rome

Old May 27th, 2014, 09:57 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Itinerary for 3.5 days in Rome

Our final stop on our vacation is Rome. We will be arriving on June 27th around 1pm as we already have a ticket booked with Trenitalia from Sorrento. Our apartment is only 2km away from Roma Termini and is located on Via Panisperna. We will have the remainder of Friday and full days on Sat, Sun and Mon before we leave to fly back to Canada on Tues July 1.

Here are the attractions we are interested in visiting during our time in Rome:

Colosseum
Roman Forum
St. Peter's Square
Vatican City (Museum)
Pantheon
Trevi Fountain
Ancient Rome
Forum of Augustus
Jewish Ghetto (Museum)

Which attractions do you think I can see together (same day) during my stay in Rome?

Would you suggest I pre-book anything? Maybe even a walking tour?

Anything else I might be missing that you could point our would be great! I'm hoping to put together an itinerary for each day in Rome. Thanks!
Nightfawl is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 10:30 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
the Rome Pass may benefit you

http://www.romapass.it/?l=en


Colosseum
Roman Forum
Ancient Rome ( this is composed of the two fori - Roman and Augustus, right? Or do you mean Appian Way which is way out
Forum of Augustus

St. Peter's Square
Vatican City (Museum)
Pantheon
Trevi Fountain


Jewish Ghetto (Museum)

Not sure where Jewish Museum is but I'd group the others like above - not saying you may not want to spend more than day in say Vatican and St Peter's and Pantheon-Trevi Fountain which are in central Rome - add the Piazza Navona and Piazza Populi Spanish Steps and Via Cavour to see the highlights of Rome
PalenQ is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 11:24 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
While you're in St. Peters square I would go into the Basilica. Send mail from the Vatican post office (located in the square) as mail from there will get to the destination very fast.

Pantheon - also stop and look at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and Piazza Navona.

After the Jewish Museum you might want to wander around Trastevere.

The Borghese Gallery is a Roman highlight - must book ahead.

Context has some of the best walking tours but they are expensive. There's lots of other walking tour companies. I think it's interesting to take a tour of the Vatican unless you are well versed in art history. The Vatican offers their own tours or you can book a walking tour through any of the other tour companies.

Prebook Colosseum, Forum, and Vatican Museums.
adrienne is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 11:35 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
While you're in St. Peters square I would go into the Basilica. Send mail from the Vatican post office (located in the square) as mail from there will get to the destination very fast>

when I said this recently I was upbraided by an Italian who said this was dated and now there is no difference - but I always heard that too - that the Vatican post office would get things processed quicker - so not sure that this is true - but a postcard with a Vatican City stamp on it is neat.
PalenQ is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 11:42 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Pal - Vatican mail - I experienced it so this was first-hand knowledge as of my last visit to Rome. It may no longer be true now, I can't say but it is cool to send a PC with a Vatican stamp or buy a few stamps for your favorite stamp collector.
adrienne is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 11:45 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
and you can get Vatican euro coins at the Vatican post office - same as any euro coin but with the Vatican on the rear!
PalenQ is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 12:19 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Since you'll be in Rome on my birthday and I don't think I can afford to travel then, I hope you don't mind if I hide in your luggage!

I was in Rome a few months ago. If you get a Roma Pass, it seems there's no need to prebook the Colosseum, aa I sailed past an immense line there just by going to the spot where Roma Pass holders go, and voila! The Roman Forum is adjacent to the Colosseum, and both are covered by a single admission ticket.

The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain aren't all that far from each other.

I would try to find transport that gets you as close as possible to the entrance to the Vatican Museum, as that entrance is a fair hike away from the center of Vatican City, as my feet made me aware. I'd tell you to go there later on the Friday, but that would be too much on your arrival day, trust me, so to avoid the weekend crowds I'd opt for going to the Vatican Museum on the Monday, and in the afternoon. I prebooked the Vatican Museum and for peace of mind you may wish to do the same, even though you may find it easy to walk right in without a reservation in the afternoon.

Have a good trip!
TheEurogoer is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 12:36 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,933
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There have been lots of complaints (in TA forums) that postcards mailed from the Vatican are taking very long times to arrive, or not arriving at all. See for example:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ome_Lazio.html

Anyway, I heard that they just pass them on to the Italian postal service anyway, but I don't know if that's true. If the stamps mean something to you, use the Vatican Post Office, otherwise don't bother.

The idea that the Italian postal services are unreliable and extremely slow is definitely dated. The service from my little rural post office in Italy is excellent. I've had letters arrive to my sister in rural Virginia in as little as four days, although six is more typical.

It's getting hard to find stamps in my local post office, though. They always want to put a sticker with a bar code on my letters instead. When I send something to my granddaughter, I want to put a pretty Italian stamp on it! The last time I asked for a stamp, they had to go looking for them, and I felt guilty holding up the line. Then they brought me three different denominations, which had to be pieced together and took up more than their fair share of the envelope.
bvlenci is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 01:08 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,933
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I don't understand how you booked a train from Sorrento to Rome on Trenitalia, as Sorrento isn't served by Trenitalia. The nearest major train stations are in Naples and Salerno. There is a little commuter train, the Circumvesuviana, that connects Sorrento and Naples, but Trenitalia neither shows their schedules nor sells their tickets.

The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays. Saturdays and Mondays are absolutely the worst days to visit, because of that. In the summer the Vatican Museums are always unbearably crowded and hot, and on Saturdays the level of crowding is insane. In July the Vatican Museums will be offering Friday night visits, by reservation only, and I would suggest you visit then, if at all possible. The visiting hours start at 7 PM, which is the time St. Peter's Basilica closes in the summer. I suggest you go to the Basilica at around 5 PM, when the crowds there will normally have died down and the security line will be short or nonexistent. Then, at around 7:40, head to the Vatican Museums for a 7 PM entry.

As I said, the Friday evening visits have to be booked in advance, but even at other times you should book your visit in advance, unless you want to wait in the ticket queue for one to two hours.

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/...?weblang=en&do

The Roma Pass will allow you to visit two municipal or state museums or archaeological sites free over a three-day period, and will give you reduced-price entry into as many others as you can squeeze into the three days. (I hate squeezing too many things into my holiday itineraries, but some people think that their holidays should be as pressurized as their jobs.) It also gives you use of the buses, trams, and metro lines of Rome. If you'll not be visiting any other covered museums or archaeological sites, the Roma Pass is a waste of money.(The Vatican Museums, not being a state museum of Italy, nor a municipal museum of Rome, are not covered.)

You can skip the ticket queue at the Colosseum by buying your tickets online and printing them at home. This will cost you €14 as opposed to €36 for the Roma Pass.

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Note that while entry tickets can be bought on-line and printed at home, tours can be reserved only by calling the number shown.

You can get a three-day transport pass for €16, but that is also a waste of money for most people, as single tickets cost only €1.50 and are good for 100 minutes, including transfers. You'd have to use at least four of these a day to make the transport pass pay off.

The Colosseum, Roman Forum (and don't forget the Palatine Hill), the Imperial Forums (including the Forum of Augustus), Trajan's Market, and many other remains of ancient Rome are all near each other. (Of course there are many other Roman ruins scattered about Rome and all of Italy.) You could visit all of these in a single day if you have lots of energy.

The Pantheon and Trevi Fountain are very near each other, and the pedestrian route is marked by brown signs.

The Jewish Museum is part of the complex of the Great Synagogue, which is on the Lungotevere Cenci (a riverside road). The former Jewish Ghetto is inland from the Synagogue, as far as Via dei Funari, and roughly from the Teatro di Marcello to Via Arenula. You could easily walk to the Ghetto area from the Pantheon, but you could also walk there from the ancient Roman area. In fact, Rome is a very walkable city, which is why a transport pass is usually a waste of money.

There are hundreds of great things to see and do in Rome. What sorts of things are you interested in? Art? Antiquities? Architecture?

I suggest that you not over-plan your visit, but leave a lot of time for wandering around, from one piazza to another, or from one fountain to another. Visit the Villa Borghese Park, or the top of the Janiculum Hill, or both. Wander around Trastevere. Some of my best memories of Rome were brought about by pure serendipity.
bvlenci is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 01:12 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 248
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
>>

Unless things have changed you can only view the Forum of Augustus from the sidewalk.
~10-12yrs ago I was able to get a reserved tour of the Imperial Forums but in following years it was not available.

In the photo
http://tinyurl.com/lucmbyh
the Forum of Augustus are the ruins in top Middle of the photo.
The smaller Forum of Nerva is too the right of that and to the left of that are the hemi-circular ruins of the "Market" and Forum of Trajan which is hopefully open to visitors (its been on and off for years but I believe it is likely open now after the restorations were completed a few years ago).

Personally I would add the Palatine Hill even as just a walk-thru from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum.
Rostra is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 01:15 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,067
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Isn't it also true that you can skip the Cososseum and Forum lines by buying your ticket at Palatine Hill entrance? Or is it safer to buy the ticket on-line ahead of time?
isabel is offline  
Old May 27th, 2014, 01:51 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
>

I'm sure the OP means from Naples and is taking the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Naples.
adrienne is offline  
Old May 28th, 2014, 06:46 PM
  #13  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sorry, yes I am taking Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Naples and then Trenitalia.

Based off of all your feedback, here is where I am at in terms of an itinerary for Rome:

Day 1 – Friday (Starting approx. 2pm)
Pantheon
Piazza Navona
Trevi Fountain

Day 2 – Saturday
Colosseum (Prebook)
Roman Forum (Prebook)
Palentine Hill
Forum of Augustus

Day 3 – Sunday
Jewish Ghetto
Jewish Museum of Rome
Trastevere

Day 4 – Monday
Vatican City (Walking Tour)
Vatican Museum (Prebook)
St. Peter’s Square

A couple of notes:

I may flip Day 1 and Day 4 and do the Vatican and St. Peter's late afternoon on Friday and then make a reservation for Vatican Museum in the evening (as suggested by bvlenci). The only hesitation I have about this is being pretty tired after travelling from Sorrento. So I may keep it for Monday.

I definitely want to prebook the Colosseum and even book a walking tour. I heard about a tour that takes you underneath or downstairs of the Colosseum. Is that true? I also heard there is a combined Colosseum/Roman Forum ticket?

Not really considering prebooking anything besides Vatican and Colosseum as I want to keep my schedule as flexible as possible and use my itinerary as a guide. Also probably will not go with the romapass. Not sure its worth it for what I am planning.
Nightfawl is offline  
Old May 28th, 2014, 06:48 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
bookmarking
LR220 is offline  
Old May 28th, 2014, 07:49 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 670
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
your ticket for the Jewish Museum includes a tour of the Great Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue in English. The tours are given hourly, so you can coordinate your time and do both while there.
maxima is offline  
Old May 28th, 2014, 07:55 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Bookmarking
cbgetaway2015 is offline  
Old May 29th, 2014, 03:06 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,503
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We have 4.5 days in Rome starting next Saturday, have pre-booked tickets for the Vatican and Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill, we were also lucky to get slots for the Scavi. This will be two full days of tours, don't have any fixed plans for the rest of the time, we'll just walk around and savour the dolce vita
geetika is online now  
Old May 29th, 2014, 05:56 PM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,754
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Nightfawl,

Arranging your sightseeing by area does really help an itinerary for Rome. One suggestion - if you enjoy art and architecture (plus religion), research a little on the hundreds of churches in Rome. They are full of amazing art, like Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Michelangelo). Keep the list handy and know what is nearby your main sightseeing objective each day, then if you have extra time and energy, you can try popping in for quick visits. This worked very well for me on the last Rome trip.

There is a very good old thread here called something like "Churches of Rome" where everyone gave their favorites. Excellent!

Buon viaggio!
Dayle is offline  
Old Jun 12th, 2014, 09:14 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Fabulous thread - great advice - bookmarking
mogsanova is offline  
Old Jun 14th, 2014, 10:01 AM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 248
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Isabel; >>

[Past Post]

www.capitolium.org/eng/fori/pianta.htm (Using this Map)

From the Colosseum walk-down the 'Via di San Gregorio', see where this cul-de-sac (`)== is to the left of the 'EG' in "GREGORIO", that is the Palatine Hill Ticket entrance. (No or very short Lines! Get your tickets there even if you skip the Palatine and have to walk back (~300m) to the Colosseum and then later head over to the Forum)

(Photo of Palatine Hill entrance)
http://inspiringpretty.com/wp-conten...ome-italy.jpeg
(OR) http://tinyurl.com/k7lzwe2

(IF you decide to visit the Palatine Hill)

To the left of the entrance is either a direct naturally stepped steep path or a zig-zag (less steeper) path up the slope (this path takes you past an aqueduct) and both these areas are in a tree-like rustic park.

At the top walk straight across (right to left on the map) and view the ruins of an Emperor's massive Palace, then the modest 2 houses of Emperor Augustus and his wife and finally outside under a roof the post holes and drainage channels cut into bedrock that once had mud-thatched huts of Rome's original Founders build there (it has been claimed since ancient times to be the Hut of Romulus).

Now walk up on the map and near #1 (Arch of Titus) you can either exit here (this is an Exit ONLY #22) and walk over to the Colosseum or
walk thru the Roman Forum with the Entrance/Exit at #41 (so if you skip the Palatine Hill and walk back and visit the Colosseum this #41 is where later you can enter the Roman Forum).

Also IN the Roman Forum you can exit behind #16 (Arch of Septimus Severus: This is an Exit ONLY also) and up the stairs to the Capitoline Hill (2 fabulous museums) and see the Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo and exit down its grand staircase to the Via Teatro di Marcello.
Rostra is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -