junk4rp

We (family of 5, 3 kids included) will arrive in Rome on July 19th at 5pm and leave Rome on July 24th at 2pm by international flight. So excited to be finally making it to Italy for the first time... Have done a lot of reserach and still feel very inadequate.

We will be buying the Roma pass when we arrive (what is the best place to buy it?). We will arrive at Termini station and stay near the Colesseum.

Please review our itinerary and let me know if I should tweak this:

July 19th, Thursday:

Night time walk or HoHo bus tour.

Question: What is the best HoHo bus for a family with kids?

July 20th, Friday:

Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, Borghese Museum (reservation made for 5-7pm)

Question: Is the order of sites correct?

July 21st, Saturday:

Campo di Fiori, Pantheon, , Piazza Novana, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Venezia,Trevi Fountain, Circus Maximus, Arch of Contastine, Capitoline Hill and square

Question: Is the order of sites correct? Is this day too packed? If it please suggest adjustment.

July 22nd, Sunday:

Ostia Antica, back in Rome for self guided city walks.

July 23rd, Monday:

Vatican Museum (reservation done for the morning at 9:30am), Sistine Chappel, St Peter’s Basilica, Castel sant Angelo and the Ponte sant Angelo

Please let me know your suggestion quickly. Am I missing something important?

Thanks a lot!

adrienne

Your kids would like the Colosseum. Reverse the order on Saturday and do things that don't have much shade earlier in the day. Later on you can go into the many churches to cool off.

junk4rp

Thanks adrienne. I thought Campo di Fiori is only open in the morning and it is close to Pantheon. Can you please suggest the detail order on Satuday please?

baldrick

Campo di Fiori is alwas 'open', it is a public space. It's just that markets are held in the morning, which adds to the local color.
You could regroup your 2 first days in one day 'Roman' Rome: Forum Romanum, Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus, Capitoline, Constantine Arch. It is all in the same neighbourhood. I would suggest to take a picnic and sufficient water. I'm sure you'll find a nice place to picnic somewhere up Palatine Hill.
Day 2 would be Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Rome with Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, Fontana di Trevi, Spanish steps and the likes, which are all more North of the 'Roman' center.

junk4rp

I am switching things between Friday and Saturday based on suggestion of another visitor on another site:

July 20th, Friday:

Campo di Fiori, Piazza Novana, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Venezia, Borghese Museum (have reservation at 5pm), Via Veneto

July 21st, Saturday:

Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Arch of Constantine, Capitoline Hill and square

Grouping looks better now. However, does the ordering looks fine?

ggreen

<i>Later on you can go into the many churches to cool off.</i>

Be careful about this, since churches have specific opening hours which I believe are (always?) in the morning. Check your guidebook to make sure.

One exception to this is the Pantheon, which has long opening hours. It's also fairly centrally located, so you could see it on any of your days...

On Friday, you'll want to be at the Borghese by about 4:30pm so that you have time to pick up your tickets and check your personal items before the doors open at 5pm.

Of your list of things to see that day, the Piazza del Popolo and Spanish Steps are closest to the Villa Borghese park in which the gallery resides; either of these are about a 20-30 minute leisurely walk away through the park. (The park is nicely shady and there are pretty views above Piazza del Popolo out towards St. Peters dome and the rest of the city. You can rent bikes and stuff there too, so you might want to plan your day to have more time there ahead of the museum.)

Also on Friday, keep in mind that <i>piazzas</i> are just that: urban squares with the occasional pretty fountain or statue in the middle. Maybe not the most interesting for kids! Piazza Navona can be reached on your Vatican day (just across the river from Castel sant Angelo). It's *very* touristy and IMO the food in the cafes there isn't at all noteworthy...

ggreen

On Saturday, I think you're wise to start with the Roman Forum - the most "bang for your buck" visually of the ruins on/around the Palatine Hill, when you and the kids will be the most fresh. You could walk through the Forum, up Palatine Hill and out to Circus Maximus (for a picnic lunch?), then back past the Arch of Constantine to the Colosseum - the other "bang for your buck" and a bit of a change of pace after you've likely gotten your fill of the more fragmented remains in the other areas...

cybertraveler

bookmarking

javafan1

bookmarking

daveesl

Go to my website, it is all free and you don't register for anything. Click on the Googlemaps menu, this will show you a map with about 60 locations marked in Rome. These are broken into 6 "tours", so you can see what things work in similar areas. You'll also see a menu link for the online video tours, these are all free (but they are 3.5 hours long for all 6). In the Library area you'll find downloadable MP3 audio guides for each of the tours (includes walking/metro/bus directions) and a downloadable and printable guidebook. You'll also find info on my favorite bus routes. Have fun and let me know if I need to update stuff. Last time I was in Rome was February, so I doubt much has changed. dave

www.passagetoroma.com

karens

Here is my bestest tip for Rome: Buy your combo ticket for the Forum/Coloseum at the Forum. When we went (~10:30am), the line was about 10 deep at the Forum. When we got to the Coloseum, the line had to be at the very least, an hour long. It was LONG.

<<Be careful about this, since churches have specific opening hours which I believe are (always?) in the morning. Check your guidebook to make sure.

This was our experience - many of the churches close in the afternoon; many re-opened during the evening.

ggreen

<i>Here is my bestest tip for Rome: Buy your combo ticket for the Forum/Coloseum at the Forum. </i>

Or at the Palatine Hill entrance. Basically, anywhere but the Colosseum!

indy_dad

Our experience with kids albeit at a cooler time; link to blog w/ photos as well:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...log-photos.cfm