kellie2448

My colleague and I have the opportunity to visit Rome at the end of a business trip for two days during the second week of October. We will arrive mid-day Thursday and fly out Sunday mid-morning. Neither of us has visited Rome. This is obviously not enough time to do much but want to hit some of the highlights and make the most of our two days. I am looking for suggestions on the best neighborhoods to stay and what would be the definite must see places. We are both females in good shape that don't mind a lot of walking! Please help! Thanks in advance.

PalenQ

Stay anywhere in central Rome, a surprisingly compact area - and you can walk to many famous sights - the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Novona, Via Cavour (fashionable shopping street) and Trevi Fountain - except the Pantheon those are all just open spaces

and Must Sights include the Vatican and St Peter's and the Colosseum and the adjacent Forum - plan a half-day at each though that may be too rushed.

PalenQ

Two full days - one day at the Colosseum and roman Forum area

one day at Vatican and central Rome - Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza Novona, etc - these sights are always open (except Pantheon) so can see at night.

kellie2448

Thanks PalenQ!

greg

The "central Rome" is marked roughly by making a circle containing the Spanish Steps, Colosseum, and Piazza Navona.

The core is mostly pedestrian. While buses and trams do go through certain parts of the center, making beeline connections between sights inside the core area often end up on foot.

Are you from the US? While many people I have travelled with mentioned "in good shape that don't mind a lot of walking," what I often found out was that their definition of a lot of walking fell short of what was needed in Rome. If you visit the Colosseum, and its natural counterparts, the Palatine Hill, and the Forum, ending up in Campidoglio, you might end up walking all the way back to the center because getting to a bus stop going the right direction in Piazza Venezia is almost as much walk. It is not difficult ending up walking more than 6 miles in one day. If you visit St. Peters area on the same day, you might be walking more than 10 miles.

bvlenci

If I had only two days, I wouldn't spend one of them at the Vatican and the other in the vicinity of the Colosseum. I would chooze ONE big famous sight in Rome, and one only, and spend the rest of the time away from the huge crowds, exploring the hidden gems of Rome.

sandralist

On such a short trip I wouldn't bother with going inside the Vatican museums (just visit St Peters) nor would I bother to actually walk through the Forum! Instead, I would see the Colosseo and go to viewpoints that overlook the Forum, and otherwise explore the city of Rome -- walking through its oldest quarters. Many sights can be enjoyed to night. I would save your feet for nighttime strolling. when the city looks beautiful all lit up. The one sight that MUST be seen during the daylight is the Pantheon.

Have a plan B in case it rains. I suggest staying roughly between the Campo de'Fiori and the piazza Navona. If you can, have at least one dinner in the Jewish Ghetto, near the Portico d'Otttavia. It is incredibly atmospheric at night.

You can find online many walking tours that say "If you only have 2 days in Rome°. You can knock off what doesn't sound interesting to you. You will need an up-to-date guidebook even for just 2 days, with maps, and any good guidebook will also have a 1 day and 2 day walking map of the most famous sights.

sandralist

One more tip -- if you find yourself really disliking some famous sights of Rome, leave them and go do something else. Rome is a wonderful, dynamic, living city, and sometimes the °educational° forced march, especially the overblown aspects of the Vatican or the too-touristy and shabby Spanish steps, are completely off-putting and leave many people with a bad taste in their mouth about the city that they wouldn't have had they taken a breather and followed their own nose into interesting cafes, piazze. shops and ancient streets.

isabel

With two days I would not go IN to the Colosseum, Forum or Vatican. While it can be interesting to walk in the Forum, you can see the over view of it very well from several points, the best being behind the main building of the Campidoglio, itself one of the prettiest piazzas in Rome. The Colosseum is most impressive from the outside (although one portion of it is currently under scaffolding, however around the other side looks great). The mob to get into the Colosseum is just not worth it, especially if you only have two days.

I would stay in the area between the train station (Termini) and the Trevi Fountain (also under scaffolding at present). Two hotels I have stayed at and recommend are Hotel Julia and Hotel Floris. The Floris is about 100€ a night double and the Julia slightly more. Both are on booking.com

Most guidebooks have a 'Heart of Rome' walk which includes the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori and Spanish Steps. If you walked from either of those hotels to and around those places you will see the 'best' part of old Rome.

You could do half a day 'heart of Rome' area, half a day to walk around 'ancient' Rome (Colosseum, Campidoglio, etc), and half a day to walk to St Peter's (church and piazza, skip the Vatican museums). On the way there walk over Pont Sant Angelo and if you have time going into Castel St Angelo is fun and has nice views and there's rarely any lines for that. If you still have a half day walk around Trastevere.

Here are my photos of Rome (these are from numerous trips) www.pbase.com/annforcier/rome

nytraveler

I think the OP needs to checek out the sights in a couple of guidebooks and decide what their real interets are.

IMHO visiting Rome without entering the Colosseum and the Forum is close to criminal - since it gives such a wonderful picture of how people lived more than two millennia ago. Not suggesting they avoid any relaxing - definitely make time for sitting in a cafe with a drink and watching the world go by.

But the world famous sights are that for a reason and I wouldn't miss them for anything - but the OPs need to decide what THEY have to see.

sandralist

Calling people criminals is hardly an expression of having an open mind about what other people should do on their travels to Rome. But the more important point is that for people who know a little history then the excitement of Rome is that you understand that everywhere you go in Rome you are walking on the foundations of the ancient city and you can actually see that and experience it.

The Forum was actually a special place that was quite separate from residential life in Rome. It was but one aspect of what made a Rome a city. The ancient markets and baths and craft making centers were located in other parts of the city that are still being used that way today in modern dress. The Vatican (famously) is a world unto itself across the river that has nothing to do with how people lived in ancient Rome.

Anybody who wants to go to the Forum to see that aspect of ancient Roman life or wants to go to the Vatican to see what that is should of course go. But people who have read a quality history of Rome are not going to have any trouble getting a picture of how people lived more than 2 millennia ago by visiting the market of the Campo de'Fiore or the piazza Navona or the hundreds of other corners of Rome where the original footprint and foundation of Rome is still being used to support urban life.

For many travelers the whole glory of visiting the "eternal city" is precisely this continuity. In other places in the world sightseeing means you go to a special "old" preserved area of the city with your guidebook in hand or you tour a museum where the past is on display. In Rome the entire ancient past is still the fabric of the living city everywhere you go. You don't need to enter the Forum to see it or feel it nor do you need to tour the Vatican museums to see great religious art .

You are not a criminal if you go to Rome with open eyes and see the city in its entirety instead of gluing your eyes to other people's (incomplete) picture of Rome.

LucyStanmore

Hi there,

The top attractions that you must not miss while in Rome are the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Basilica and either the Roman Forum or the Pantheon, depending on your time. Enjoy your visit!

kellie2448

We are looking to book a Vatican tour with Dark Rome - has anyone had any experience with this company? I know it's not necessary to use a tour company but it's an option we're looking at. Thanks!

Mikenmass

We used Dark Rome for a tour in Milan and enjoyed it a great deal. They pre-book sites that are hard to get into saving you precious time.

The guide we had was very knowledgeable and fun. I would recommend them based on our experience.

LR220

I'm not sure the Trevi Fountain will be worth the visit this October if it still has scaffolding and the Spanish Steps this month had a huge billboard + scaffolding on the fountain and looked bad, so it might not be worth your time if it's still the same.

For what it's worth, we had 3 days in Rome and in one of those days we did a tour of the Vatican that was about 3.5 hours, walked from there to Altare della Patria and did some further sightseeing in that area, ended up in Piazza di Pietra to see the sights around there and grab a drink and then ended up walking up to the fashion streets like via Condotti as it got darker and then walked back to our hostel in Trastevere. We hadn't planned it like this, but had covered most of the other major sites in previous days and wanted to see the things we felt we needed to explore more. We weren't really tired nor did it feel rushed and every corner of Rome was beautiful. So I think it's definitely walkable, don't bother with any bus tours.

I'd spend 1/2 a day at the Vatican, but you can spend less and then from there go to Castel Sant'Angelo (skip it if you don't have time but still go there to see the Bridge of Aelius) and then go to Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Popolo and on the second day go to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and spend some time visiting the sites around that area. I think it's doable to see a large majority of famous sites without feeling rushed.