An extra day - stay in Rome or day trip?
 

I'm working on a trip to Italy.

The way thinks are just now I have an extra day to spend there.

Should I stay in Rome (I was originally staying there for 3 whole days/4 nights) or should I try and make a day trip somewhere? If so where? (Is Florence worth visiting for a day? I find the tours to be very expensive.)

Here's what I was going to do in Rome;-

Day 1

Visit the Vatican Museams and St Peters,

Day 2

Visit the Forum/Palaine Hill and the Colloseum, spend remainder of day strolling around. Visit Trevi at night.

Day 3

Visit Borghese Galleria, Spanish steps, etc. Do last minute souvenir shopping.

Day 4 leave.

What should I do with my extra day?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You could stay in Rome. It's possible to do a daytrip on your own. It's also possible to stop there for a few hours on your way there from Venice.

Actually, I just looked again and didn't notice your "extra day." Where is it?

Obviously, there's so many more interesting things in Rome than the few on your 3-day itinerary. I recommend you stay in Rome.

BTW, it's possible to go from Rome to Florence by train for a day. You don't need a tour, and if you can find it here Ira has posted a good walking route from the train station to the top sights. But do I suggest you do this after only 3 days in Rome? No.

There are about a million more great things to do in Rome. I would just stay there for the extra day.

Thanks for all the feedback.

ellenem, sorry I wasn't too clear.
I will be travelling to Venice first and then to Rome. I will arrive in Rome a day earlier than I had orginally planned. So, I'm now trying to deceide how to spend the extra day.

I did think of visiting Florence enroute to Rome, but I've deceided against it, mainly because of the luggage that I'll be traveling with.

The Day 1 to Day 4 that I described in my orginal post is what I had originally planned. I think the reason I posted this, is because this is all I had planned on visiting in Rome.

I'm not complaining, I do have an extra day and I'm wondering what I should do.

So, I'm open to suggestionsof how to spend Day 4 in Rome, or as a day trip form Rome.

Thanks.

going,

There is no such thing as an "extra" day in Roma!

Possibilites, depending on your interests:

Capitoline Museums

all the churches with incredible art - Santa Maria Sopra Minerva has a Michelangelo you can walk right up to and no crowds; San Pietro in Vincoli, another Michelangelo "Moses". Endless others!

What about the beautiful and famous piazzi (SP?) - Piazza Navona, Piazza della Republica, etc., etc.

Trastevere?? Castello Sant'Angelo? The Villa Dora Pamphilli (SP?) the Pantheon??

Stay in Rome!

Stay in Rome.

Sincerely,
Rome Lover

got back from 10 days in Rome Not the first visit - and still too short.
Don't worry , is a great place full of wonderful sights.

There is a luggage check in Florence you could use if you wanted to stop there for a few hours. It is in the train station.

Stay in Rome. We spent there 7 days and did not visit all things that are iunteresting for us.

Rome is a museum in open air, so many fountains, statues, beautiful buildings! Even you don't enter any museum this day, you will have what to see.

STAY IN ROME.

There are many places to see in ROME, Especially on a first visit there. 3 DAYS IS NOT ENOUGH.

It is an amazing vibrant city........and don't get me started about THE GREAT FOOD.

Just "eating" in ROME is wonderful, and deserves "time" and attention.

You will enjoy all Rome has to offer if you aren't "rushing from 1 sight to the next" without stopping and enjoying dining.
Don't forget to wear your DESIGNER SUNGLASSES "when in Rome" at all times!
Italy & Rome is amazing.


SAVE FLORENCE, & other Italian destinations for another trip to ITALY.

I am very partial to Florence as it is magical and easy walking. Venture out and take the train to Florence early in the morning. Rome needs a lot of time, but can be tedious getting around and the lines...! If you just walk around Florence and view the Baptistry Doors, the Duomo, the Pitti Palace, the shops on the Ponte Vecchio that overlooks the Arno River, the Bell Tower and more. All can be done by walking with no taxis or extra expense. Eat outside for sure. A piece of pizza, a caprese with a glass of red wine for lunch...well, nobody does it better than in Florence! All of Italy is wonderful, but to go home without seeing Florence would be a travesty.

I just have to add to the suggestions to stay in Rome. It truly is an amazing city and there is so much to see. After three trips I still have a rather lengthy list of things I want to see.

I highly recommend adding the Baths of Caracalla to your itinerary. Wonderful, and they are in a nice green park a little outside the center so it may be a little quieter. The Pyramid of Cestius is also interesting and in a neat part of town. And I too suggest visiting some of the beautiful churches. Santa Maria in Trastevere and San Pietro in Vicoli are two of my favorites but they are all amazing.

Tracy

Another vote for staying in Rome. Use that extra day at the end of your trip to just walk around the city, sit at a cafe and soak it all in. You never know, there may be places that you wanted to visit that you didn't have time for, so use that extra day for that.

IMO, you can't have too much time in Rome, especially on your first trip! My first trip there was for only three days and I barely scratched the surface. There is so much more to Rome than you can imagine!

If considering a day trip, maybe consider Tivoli or Ostia Antica (I've been to neither). Florence is not a bad idea either, of course.

I think that Piazza Navona, Pantheon, etc. can be squeezed in very easily especially if you're there during summertime. You don't need an extra day to see those sights.

You might want to squeeze these in on day 4 (not in alphabetical order, of course):

Altar of Peace
Augustus's Mausoleum
Basilica di San Clemente
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Baths of Caracalla
Campo de' Fiori
Capitoline Museum
Castel Sant'Angelo
Catacombs of St. Callixtus
Catacombs of St. Domitilla
Catacombs of St. Sebastian
Circus Maximus
Diocletian Bath
Galleria Colonna
Galleria Doria Pamphilj
Galleria Nazional d'Arte Antica in Barberini Palace
Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Corsini
Golden House of Nero
Hadrian's Villa
Janiculum Hill
Jewish Museum
Keats-Shelley House
Montemartini Museum
Monumental Cemetery of the Capuchin Brothers
Museum of Roman Civilization
National Etruscan Museum
National Gallery of Ancient Art
National Gallery of Modern Art
National Museum of Palazzo Venezia
Ostia Antica's Ruins
Palazzo Altemps
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
Palazzo del Quirinale
Palazzo Spada
Pantheon
Park of the Monsters
Piazza Barberini
Piazza Navona
Protestant Cemetery
Pyramid of Caius Cestius
Palatine Museum
San Clemente
San Luigi dei Francesi
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Santa Maria d'Aracoeli
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Santa Maria in Trastevere
Santa Sabina
St. Paul Outside the Walls
St. Peter in Chains
Subterranean Rome (tour groups only)
Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
Vatican Gardens
Villa dei Medici Gardens
Villa Farnesina
Villa Gregoriana
Villa Lante
Villa d'Este

Also, make time to relax and explore the shops, cafes, piazzas, parks, in each of the neighborhoods these sights are located in.

While I like to be thorough as well, I can't understand why someone who wants a more rushed itinerary tends to be discouraged here (with a long laundry list of what else there's to do).

I've lived in NYC for many years. There're tons of things I've not seen in NYC. Why can't a casual visitor to Rome for 4 days find something else to see outside of Rome even if there're still a million things that I bet many Romans haven't seen?

For what it's worth, I don't think that the Borghese Gallery, Doria Pamphilj, Barberini Gallery, etc. are essential for someone who may not be interested in art. None of this really ranks with the greatest art museums in the world. Call me blasphemous, but that's the case. But you can't skip the Vatican Museums.

There are such things called "prioritization" and "preference."

I'd stop in Florence on the way, store your luggage, and spend the day walking around. It's a shame to be so close to Florence, and not see it. This would be easier than making a day-trip from Rome, I think.

Absolutely stay in Rome. Just walking around ,visiting the piazzas,people watching, sitting in a cafe with a coffee, stopping in to any church that you came across all this is a part of the joy of Rome. I spent 10 days there last fall and I am returning this fall for another 7 days. Have a great trip.