1st Time Visitor to Rome
 

Traveling to Rome and Venice for the first time with my three adult boys on Jan 2nd. of 2016. I see a lot of information online about how crowed Rome is and about purchasing in advance all of your tour packages. Since we will be traveling in the beginning of Jan. will the city be a lot less crowded than normal? Do we really need to purchase in advance tickets to Vatican to avoid the early morning long lines?

Trying to decide if we want to spend the money on a tour guide or go at our own pace? Do we really need a tour company to assist in visiting the Colosseum and the Forum Staying near the Patheon so i'm also looking for some affordable places to eat while in Rome with my boys? Thanks Tim

It is always better to have advance ticket for the Vatican to avoid the worst of the lines.

If you want tours you have a couple of options:

For many the audio guides are sufficient - esp if you already have some background info and have an idea of what you want to see. For instance - at the Vatican do you just want to see the Museum and basilica - or do you also want to see the Dome, Treasury, Scavi and head to the Castel St Angelo,

If you are coming without any background info and are unlikely to do a lot of reading a guide can be helpful - but depending on your level of interest the public least common denominator tours may be enough - and they can be picked up while you are in Rome. If you want really in-depth tours with a lot of back and forth Q&A with the guide just for you then you will need to reserve in advance and it will be expensive.

You'll be traveling right at Christmas/New Year's when Rome can be a popular destination so there could be higher traffic than there is in more regular low-season times like November or February (I've been during both as well as high season summer - there are still noticeable numbers of visitors but not as jammed as summer).

In addition, the Jubilee Year of Mercy is beginning on December 8th so it's expected that there will be more pilgrims than normal. The Holy Doors (the big bronze ones on the right side of each of the four papal basilicas) will be opening on a graduated basis beginning with St. Peter’s on Dec 8, when the jubilee officially begin.

St. John Lateran’s door will open Dec 13, St. Mary Major’s Jan 1, and St. Paul Outside the Walls will open Jan 26.

So if you plan to visit any of those places (which are all beautiful and notable in their own way and which I would heartily recommend) there will likely be more people present because of the jubilee.

I remember the crowds on January 5, 2005 in Rome being so intense as to make me feel I was being bodily lifted through the crush. This was between the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. I was not at all frightened by it, but it was remarkable. Otherwise, through the rest of my trip to Rome, I never felt crowded (other than when I took the suggestion from this forum to go to McDonald's at the Pantheon to use the restroom -- the lineup was extraordinary, and I just went back to my centrally located hotel instead).

"Do we really need a tour company to assist in visiting the Colosseum and the Forum Staying near the Patheon so i'm also looking for some affordable places to eat while in Rome with my boys? Thanks Tim "

No, but you might benefit from a good guide book to understand what you see ie the Rough Guide does pretty well.

Affordable, "Pantheon" every letter counts in Italian. not an area I know well but last time I walked around there were hoggins of tourist places and some posh ones, what I've found is something like a buffet works out best especially if the guys eat a lot, Pantha Rei is an odd little place near there that might work out well, but keep an eye out for Chinese as that works out inexpensive.

As already noted, the period between Christmas and Epiphany is high season in Rome. I would reserve the places you want to visit that are among the most popular. However, I urge you to search out some of the hidden gems, which are equally worth seeing even if they're not on the "Top Ten" lists.

Whether or not you should take guided tours depends on your personal approach to traveling, and also on the places you want to visit. I rarely take guided tours, because a high percentage of what most guides consider fascinating doesn't interest me. I prefer to use a good guide book for most visits. Some places, though, are so dense that a good guide helps tremendously. One of those places is the Roman Forum; the Colosseum, where many people take tours, doesn't require one, in my opinion.

As already noted, the period between Christmas and Epiphany is high season in Rome. I would reserve the places you want to visit that are among the most popular. However, I urge you to search out some of the hidden gems, which are equally worth seeing even if they're not on the "Top Ten" lists.

Whether or not you should take guided tours depends on your personal approach to traveling, and also on the places you want to visit. I rarely take guided tours, because a high percentage of what most guides consider fascinating doesn't interest me. I prefer to use a good guide book for most visits. Some places, though, are so dense that a good guide helps tremendously. One of those places is the Roman Forum; the Colosseum, where many people take tours, doesn't require one, in my opinion.

I didn't see your original request for restaurants - here are some inexpensive ones (meaning you can just get pizza or just the primo/pasta course and it won't break the bank + it'll be delicious):

- Navona Notte a little east of Piazza Navona - I had great pizza here
- Osteria del Sostegno one block north of the Pantheon on a tiny little alley that essentially just leads to this greatly little osteria...blink and you'll miss it
- Abruzzi - a few blocks east of the Pantheon and well worth it. The carbonara was so great I ate it twice in two successive nights.
- for a caffe', go to Sant' Eustachio which is just east of the Pantheon. It's one of my favorites - it's cash only and to pay less, drink standing at the counter.

Also, there is a Despar grocery on Via Giustiniani so if you're in need of a snack of some kind you can easily get it here. I usually get some things to eat for breakfast here (I like staying near the Pantheon, but in an apartment).

in my experience, as late as a month ago, you can't go wrong with the small docent led tours from Context Tours Rome. Especially if the tour is led by the wonderful Philip Ditchfield.

Much appreciate all the advice to my post. Thanks Tim