We are going to Italy for ten days. We have two and a half days in Rome. What are the absolute MUST SEES. My husband likes architecture. I like art. Time is limited. It's also our anniversary and a great dinner is imperative. We'll need time to rest. I'm going nuts. I don't know if we'll be able to go back and I'm concerned. I want to see what most people tend to rave about. I just purchased two guide books, but would love to hear what experienced travellers have to say.

The coliseum and the Roman Forum. The Golden House of Nero if you have time. The Borghese Gallery.

The Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. As many other churches as you have time for, but certainly San Clemente, San Giovanni Laterano, the Gesu.

The Piazza Navona, with the Bernini fountain. The Spanish Steps. The Fountain of Trevi.

And there go your 2-1/2 days!

The three essental elements for me are ancient Rome, the Vatican, and Centro Storico. That means a half day (minimum) each for the Colosseum/Forum area, St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums, and around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon area. You will love it -- there's art and architecture everywhere you turn in Rome.
Guided tours will help you get the most out of your limited time for ancient ruins and the vast museums.

Some of the best advice I ever got was to travel with the assumption that you'll go back someday, so take that advice and "breathe".

We went to Paris in 2003 and I got sick there -- so bad I had to see a doctor. Well, we missed so much...now 2 years later we're going again. Don't be surprised what life can hand you -- and don't freak out if you don't see it all. We were in Rome for 4 days and didn't see it all, but felt like we had a good handle on the city.

3.5 days should be great. See the Forum/Colosseum area, St. Peters/The Vatican and Vatican Museum, and the Pantheon/Spanish Steps. Trevi Fountain too while you're at it. The nice thing about Rome is all the really old cool stuff is all right in the center of the city. Stay there -- in the city center, and you'll save time travelling as you can walk more (Rome has a crappy subway system).

Rome is a little rough around the edges, but a jewel of Western Civilization...you will see ancient and cool architecture no matter where you go.

Have fun!

Jules

AAF,

Stay in the historical center (the area around Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori/Pantheon) and you'll see great architecture at every turn - coming and going to your hotel. Poke your head in every church you walk by to see great art.

Plan on a FULL DAY in Vatican City. Half a day in the Vatican Museum and half a day to see the Basilica, Castle St. Angelo and the rest of the area. While the museum cafe is OK, you might want to eat (a LONG) lunch in the neighborhood outside of Vatican City to better rest, relax and recharge. Plan ahead where you'll eat to save time wandering aimlessly.

Take a TAXI (quick and cheap) to see the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. With only two+ days in Rome you should get a guided tour to maximize your time. Plan on at least half a day.

One suggestion for an anniversary dinner is Osteria dell'Antiquario
Piazzetta di S. Simeone 26-27 (on Via dei Coronari near Piazza Navona)
ph. 06-6879694

You're sure to get more...

Just curious... when do these two and a half days fall, in the scheme of your ten days? You'll be much more prepared to enjoy Rome at <i><b>its</b></i> pace if it falls near the end. If it falls at the beginning, then you may need a different approach, lest you leave Rome hating it, and wondering why you went there. Rome is very intense, and it takes easily 48 hours, to get used to its sights, its sounds, its crowds, its pace, its scooters...

When do you arrive? (in Rome? in Italy?) and when is your anniversary? Remember... it's your anniversary when you say it is... have the great dinner when and where you can be sure you will enjoy it.

Best wishes...

...for another decade or more in the new life you began - - on your wedding day...

Rex

I would love to see the Popes' gown collection. It is a shame that the Vatican doesn't put them on display the way other museums put costumes on display (like the Met and the V&amp;A).

I'm going to enter a dissenting opinion here.

Unless you take an extremely good guided tour of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum (such as those offered by ContextRome), you will have just as good an idea of the Roman Forum if you go to the Campidoglio (designed by Michelangelo and one of the most beautiful spaces in Rome) and look out on it from behind the Palazzo Senatorio. The Colosseum from the outside is almost as interesting as looking at it from the inside. Nero's Domus Aurea, to my mind, is not a must-see in 2 1/2 days.

Architecture: Do not miss the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area, but in my opinion, you can skip the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Instead, go to the churches of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Borromini) and Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (Bernini), which are very close to each other. Not too far away is Santa Maria alla Vittoria with Bernini's Santa Teresa, probably one of the most fascinating works of art in Rome.

Art: The Galleria Borghese is a must-see (google it and reserve in advance), but what period interests you most? For Roman art, the Museo Nazionale Romano at the Palazzo Massimo; for High Renaissance and the Baroque, Palazzo Barberini. Not much happened in art in Rome between the Romans and the High Renaissance, unless you include early Christian art, which is scattered among a number of churches: Santa Sabina and Santa Prisca on the Aventine and Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura (out on the via Nomentana) and the adjoining Santa Costanza, a round church with mosaics that are a blend of pagan and Christian motifs. San Clemente, while interesting, is not at the top of my list. Neither, for that matter, is San Giovanni in Laterano or the Gesu. For art, I would recommend San Luigi dei Francesi (in the Piazza Navona area) for the Caravaggios.

St. Peter's Basilica is probably a must-see, but at the moment -- I was there last week -- the lines are endless, because of the many, many people who want to visit the tomb of John Paul II. If you have enough advance time, reserve a tour

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/in...040112_en.html

of the Roman necropoli under St. Peter's (about 75 minutes); it lets you out within a few feet of John Paul II's tomb and then allows you to enter St. Peter's without standing in the endless lines. As for the Vatican Museums, decide in advance which parts you want to see and do not lose time on those that do not interest you. If you search here for &lt;Vatican Museums&gt;, you will see a number of opinions of the best time to visit without encountering more endless lines. I haven't visited them in years, but my guess is that around 1:00 p.m. would be a good time to go.

But I see in another post that you have 10 days for three cities in Italy. If those are 10 full days, perhaps you should consider giving Rome more than 2 1/2 days: perhaps four in Rome, three in Florence, three in Venice, flying into Venice and out of Rome (Rome is the most demanding, and starting in Venice would allow you to adjust more slowly).

And no matter how limited your time is, do take an hour or two to sit at a cafe and just enjoy the fact that you are in Rome. It will cost a little more, but if you choose a cafe on the Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon or one in the Piazza Navona, you can enjoy looking at the architecture as well.

I wish I could suggest a place for a great anniversary dinner, but I tend to prefer the simpler restaurants that do (the rather plain) Roman cuisine well.

ThinGorjus,

Good one!

AAF, with the little bit of time you have, you're going to be missing a lot of what Rome has to offer (heck, most of what Rome has to offer!). Since you've already bought two guidebooks, it will be very easy to scan them and see what the biggies are. You could visit as many as you can on Day 1. Then, you could do this:

What I suggest you do is get your hands on a third guidebook of sorts, a book called &quot;City Secrets Rome&quot; edited by Robert Kahn. It's a little jewel of a book that is available on Amazon. It's small enough to fit in your purse and has pages for notes. It is full of quirky, interesting, compelling, and fascinating things to see in Rome. You could read it on the way to Italy, on the plane. There is bound to be something in it that will grab your attention and pique your interest. You could see some of the biggies that the whole world sees, and then spend the other day you have seeing the things that would interest you and your husband alone. It would make your tour of Rome an intensely personal tour.

While at the Campodiglio be sure to look up at the magnificent equestrian statue. I read that when the sculptor finished the work he looked up at the horse and said &quot;Walk!&quot; and you do expect that it can.

I recommend that you pick one or two tourist attractions to see and then otherwise just wander around and enjoy yourself. The first time I went to Rome was at the end of a two week whirlwind trip. I spent about a day and a half rushing around seeing sights and didn't leave with the best impression of Rome. I went back 8 years later for a week and discovered its charms and now consider it quite possibly my favorite city in the world.

I know Rome well, and completely agree with people who say, wander around the Navona/Pantheon area and take your time. If your time is really limited, skip the Vatican museum. Certainly wander through St. Peter's, but don't spend an entire day missing the flavor and architecture and cafes of Rome for (even one of the world's finest) museums. I agree -- skip the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain (especially if it's tourist season). Do not skip the Pantheon, Navona, Piazza Farnese, Campo D'Fiori, etc. Wander through the Forum, if you like, but don't spend hours standing in line at the Col. -- it's just as impressive from the outside. The Villa Borghese is a great museum, and beautiful, and relaxing, because they only let in a limited number of people. Anniversary dinner? Hmmm. Maybe Clemente alla Maddalena (sp?) near the Pantheon, an outdoor table, and order the lobster pasta for two, among other things.

Thank you! Great ideas. We are going on a hosted tour. This means that our hotels and transportation between cities are pre-paid and pre-arranged. Rome is our first stop. We get a city tour upon arrival, but then are on our own. I double checked and we actually have three days in Rome. I wish it was more, but it is a little better than I thought. I now information about pre-booking a tour to the Vatican.

The tour I think the one poster was talking about was the SCAVI tour and must be prebooked. It was one of our highlights of Rome. St Peters and at least the Sistine Chapel would be mus sees. The Vatican Museum is so large and overwhelming we took a tour and they take you to the highlights and finish in the Sistine chapel. There a free tour guides who do impromtu tours of the Cathedral and they were excellent for the few dollars gratuity I handed them. We also took the Rome Context Tour of The Forum and Colloseum and it made it all make sense. Pantheon, Piazza Navona are for the character and walking around. My boys also really like Castel St Angelo's very much. We had our best meal at Nino's near the spanish steps. If you need to cut things out you could live without the spanish steps and the Trevi. (Although you could sneak that in late after dinner one night and get a gelato) We loved all the churches. Each one was so beautiful and magical.

Also I forgot, the Borghese is wonderful and take a tour with a guide. Ours was excellent and I came away understanding all the important pieces I saw. This you must make a reservation for.