1 day in Rome
 

We have one full day in Rome for sightseeing. Would we be better off to take a full day guided tour or go on our own and take the "hop-on; hop-off" bus? We are both in our sixties, but are still able to walk some distances. Any advice would be appreciated.

If you only have one day in Rome, I would recommend that you definitely take a tour to get the most out of that one day. I leave other posters, with actual tour guide experiences, to offer recommendations.

If I had one day, I would zero in on one or two areas which appeal to me most. Then, I would book one or two tours with a group such as Scala Reale. They offer smaller more personal tours which I found excellent.<BR><BR>But you must take the time to have either lunch or dinner in a piazza such as near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona.<BR><BR>Rome is such a great city...have fun.

On your own.<BR><BR>If you are pretty mobile you can design a walking tour that will take you around all of the major sites. Of course, you won't get inside any of the museums, etc.<BR><BR>Walking:<BR>From St Peters - Spanish Steps 30 min.<BR>Spanish Steps - Fountain of Trevi 15-20.<BR>Fountain - Pantheon 10.<BR>Pantheon - Piazza Navona - 5.<BR>Piazza Navona - Pizza Campidoglio (Head of Forum) 20 min.<BR>Then to Via Veneto 20-30 min.<BR>Up to top of Spanish Steps 20 min.<BR><BR>Now factor in spending some time around each place and I'll bet you can add more to the day.<BR><BR>We've done things like this. Great walking around the town.<BR><BR>have a great time.<BR>

That's a tough question! I think I would take a guided tour - but I would take two half day tours. One in the morning for an Ancient Rome overview (Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, etc). Then have lunch in one of the piazzas (Pza. Navona has several restaurants and fabulous people watching!). Then after your lunch and the rest that provides you, you can have another half-day tour featuring another aspect of Rome.<BR><BR>In Oct 2001 we used &quot;Enjoy Rome&quot; tours. The price was very reasonable and the tour very informative. I'd done a great deal of research about Rome before we went, but I learned quite a bit from the tour. Several people on this forum recommend Scala Reale tours. They are quite a bit more expensive.<BR><BR>The historic area of Rome is actually quite small, only about one mile by three miles, so you could still walk around and see things after the tour is over.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip. It will make you want to return to Rome!<BR><BR>Mary Kay

Thank you all for your reply; we really appreciate it. Taking 2 half-day tours sounds good; I'll look into that.