3 days in Rome
 

My husband and I are going to Rome for the 1st time in May...We will have only 3 days there. What are the most important places to see, to do, etc. Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi

You might want to start with the fodors.com miniguide to Rome.

We had 3 days in Rome in early Sept. last year and were real pleased with how much we could see. We stayed near Campo de Fiori which is within walking distance (about 1 mile) of the Vatican and ancient Roman ruins. One day worked well for each. We spent one day just walking around. Be sure to see/experiene the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Villa Borghese (park) and Spanish Steps. Although it was a lot of walking we did it without killing ourselves. Rome is a great city and people very friendly. Enjoy! Bob

Halcyon,
You may want to read the thread on this board "Rome- to do's and not do".
There are very good summaries of the top things to see/do. Enjoy!

Correction: the post mentioned in my previous post is titled "Rome -must do's & don't do's"

www.twenj.net Have fun !

Welcome to the forum, halcyon. I see that your very first post here was to give someone else information before you asked a question about your own needs. Detailed and specific it was, too. I can only guess that you know a good deal about Ireland, and so, you realize how thick a book it would take to describe Ireland fully.

It takes every bit as thick a book to describe Rome. Sure, it would be possible to write you a 100 word answer, giving a skeletal outline as to how one might spend 3 days in Rome. But you still need to read "the book"; you owe to yourself to read a hundred pages, maybe even 500 pages. Because there are at least twenty different "best ways to spend three days in Rome" - - and YOUR way ought to be the particular collection of items that matches YOUR interests. Some people can and should spend six hours a day, all three days, wining and dining; others could spend eight hours a day, all three days at the Vatican; some will have no use for the Forum, others would not miss three, or even five hours there for the world.

I write this, fresh off a great three hour lunch, spent yesterday, with a half dozen other "Fodorites" - - and this was a common theme: for every day you spend in Europe, spend every bit of eight hours, reading, investigating and visualizing the places you could go on that one day. Learn about fifteen places that are _opportunities_ for you to visit there, knowing full well that you might really only get to three.

That way, whether you make it to Europe fifty days each year or only ten in a given decade - - you can give yourself the treat of "being" in Europe, pretty much 52 weeks a year.

Way too "into it"? Well yes, maybe. But loving it, and that's a lot of what's this forum is about.

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

I assume that you are Maureen, "halcyon"? I appreciate your e-mail note.

Obviously, a good guide book is invaluable. But there's so much to see and do, and 3 days is such a short time, you really should find that recent thread here where we all listed our top 5 sites in Rome.

As for me, I would insist that you see:

1. St. Peter's and the Vatican museums (including and especially the Sistine chapel).

2. The Colosseum and the Fora (that's plural of "forum"); I list them together because they are close to each other.

3. The Trevi Fountain at night.

4. The piazza Navonna and the Campo Fiore, and the surrounding neighborhood. My favorite part of Rome, strolling among the sidewalk cafes, etc.

5. Castel Sant Angello. Not everyone likes this as much as I did; I thought it was fascinating.

6. Trastevere area...old, "real Rome" neighborhood.

7. Borghese gallery. Gotta get your tickets ahead of time. A wealth of art/sculpture treasures in a smallish building.

8. Pantheon! Arg...I can't believe I forgot this one till just now. Read up on it first.

That'll get you started. If there's any time left after that, chill out and have a gelato.