critique of Rome Itinerary
Sep 14th, 2011, 03:10 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
critique of Rome Itinerary
I'm having some trouble with our Rome Itinerary, there is just so much to see and do. We will have 5 nights in Rome, so 4 full days, the second week of October.
We are staying in an apartment very near the Pantheon. The only museum we intend to visit is the Vatican. We are going to skip the Borghese. I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions. I've read so much I've gotten a bit overwhelmed by it all. I want to allow time to just BE in Rome, sit in Piazzas, stroll through the neighborhoods, but still see some of the amazing historical sights.
Wednesday, Planned arrival via train at 13:24. Cab or bus to apartment. Spend evening getting settled in apartment, checking out neighborhood. Pantheon open until 7:30, SM Sopra Minerva until 7. Pizza or Panini out or eat in apt., depending on grocery shopping. Stroll to Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiore, up Via Giulia.
Thursday. 9:30 Scavi tour, prox 90 minutes. After visit St Peters, visit Dome.
Lunch out somewher near Vatican. After lunch, Castel San Angelo? Or just stroll past. Evening open.
Friday morning. Colosseum, Forum, Palentine Hill, Campidoglio, Pallazzo Valentini? Unsure whether to get Roma Pass as this looks like the only use we would make of it. Is this too much to try to do in one morning?
When done, back to room for a rest, supper, Leave plenty of time to walk to Vatican.
20:15, reservation for Vatican tour at Vatican under the stars. Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. Need to get cab after or walk back?
Saturday, Morning, walk to Aventine Hill, pack lunch for picnic in Orange Garden.
Would like to see San Clemente hours 9-12:30, 3-6 & San Pietro in Vincoli 8-12:30, 3-6
Sunday, Morning, Mass somewhere. Afterwards,
Stroll past Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, on way to Borghese Gardens. Pack picnic lunch.
Considering visiting Santa Maria della Vittoria 3-6 Sundays & Santa Maria degli Angli 7-730
Leaving following morning so eat out? Near Pantheon.
Thanks for your help CIndyP
We are staying in an apartment very near the Pantheon. The only museum we intend to visit is the Vatican. We are going to skip the Borghese. I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions. I've read so much I've gotten a bit overwhelmed by it all. I want to allow time to just BE in Rome, sit in Piazzas, stroll through the neighborhoods, but still see some of the amazing historical sights.
Wednesday, Planned arrival via train at 13:24. Cab or bus to apartment. Spend evening getting settled in apartment, checking out neighborhood. Pantheon open until 7:30, SM Sopra Minerva until 7. Pizza or Panini out or eat in apt., depending on grocery shopping. Stroll to Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiore, up Via Giulia.
Thursday. 9:30 Scavi tour, prox 90 minutes. After visit St Peters, visit Dome.
Lunch out somewher near Vatican. After lunch, Castel San Angelo? Or just stroll past. Evening open.
Friday morning. Colosseum, Forum, Palentine Hill, Campidoglio, Pallazzo Valentini? Unsure whether to get Roma Pass as this looks like the only use we would make of it. Is this too much to try to do in one morning?
When done, back to room for a rest, supper, Leave plenty of time to walk to Vatican.
20:15, reservation for Vatican tour at Vatican under the stars. Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. Need to get cab after or walk back?
Saturday, Morning, walk to Aventine Hill, pack lunch for picnic in Orange Garden.
Would like to see San Clemente hours 9-12:30, 3-6 & San Pietro in Vincoli 8-12:30, 3-6
Sunday, Morning, Mass somewhere. Afterwards,
Stroll past Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, on way to Borghese Gardens. Pack picnic lunch.
Considering visiting Santa Maria della Vittoria 3-6 Sundays & Santa Maria degli Angli 7-730
Leaving following morning so eat out? Near Pantheon.
Thanks for your help CIndyP
Sep 14th, 2011, 06:28 PM
#2
Sounds good to me, but I'd rather spend 2 hours in the Borghese than see/visit 3 churches in one (your last) day. You might even be able to do it all. The SM della Vittoria and the SM degli Angeli are not very far apart and not very far from the Borghese Galleria, and your time in the Borghese Galleria is limited to two hours.
FWIW, we enjoyed the Castello a lot, as well as the Ara Pacis which is on the other side of the river and a little farther north. The Ara Pacis is open Tues-Sun 9:00a-7:00p.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_Pacis
FWIW, we enjoyed the Castello a lot, as well as the Ara Pacis which is on the other side of the river and a little farther north. The Ara Pacis is open Tues-Sun 9:00a-7:00p.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_Pacis
Sep 14th, 2011, 06:49 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your Friday sounds very busy. I wouldn't want to plan to see both what I call "ancient Rome" (even though it's all over) and the Vatican museums all in the same day.
Especially if your apartment is near the Pantheon, I wouldn't be surprised if you spent time strolling past the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo d' Fiore and of course the Pantheon every day, and sometimes sitting at a cafe at any of those locations on a daily basis! So you may not have to allocate specific times/days on your itinerary for those (except the interior of the Pantheon).
I agree about visiting the Borghese vs. those churches, as well, but you may have already considered your own personal preferences between those.
Especially if your apartment is near the Pantheon, I wouldn't be surprised if you spent time strolling past the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo d' Fiore and of course the Pantheon every day, and sometimes sitting at a cafe at any of those locations on a daily basis! So you may not have to allocate specific times/days on your itinerary for those (except the interior of the Pantheon).
I agree about visiting the Borghese vs. those churches, as well, but you may have already considered your own personal preferences between those.
Sep 15th, 2011, 04:10 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lexma, Yes I'm concerned about Friday being too busy myself. I'm trying to see how I can shuffle things around, maybe go to the Ancient Rome sights on Saturday or see how Thursday afternoon shapes up.
Other then the two reservations at the Vatican our schedule is very flexible, I just want to have some kind of plan so we don't find ourselves wondering around aimlessly. Not that some aimless wondering isn't great, but there is just so much to see that I'd like our wondering to have a goal.
CindyP.
Other then the two reservations at the Vatican our schedule is very flexible, I just want to have some kind of plan so we don't find ourselves wondering around aimlessly. Not that some aimless wondering isn't great, but there is just so much to see that I'd like our wondering to have a goal.
CindyP.
Sep 15th, 2011, 04:30 AM
#5
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,026
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you want, go to my website and first look at the GoogleMaps menu and choose the Passage map. This gives you essentially 5 half-day "tours" of the city. Each location has an associated MP3 audio file.
You can then download the free guidebook (sorry you have to print it yourself-but the instructions on how to do so are on the first page) from the Library area. Under the Photo Gallery area you can look at photos of the various locations that might be of interest. You can also download, for free, the entire MP3 audio guide, which is an audio version of the guidebook, that you can load onto your MP3 player or iPod.
www.passagetoroma.com
dave
You can then download the free guidebook (sorry you have to print it yourself-but the instructions on how to do so are on the first page) from the Library area. Under the Photo Gallery area you can look at photos of the various locations that might be of interest. You can also download, for free, the entire MP3 audio guide, which is an audio version of the guidebook, that you can load onto your MP3 player or iPod.
www.passagetoroma.com
dave
Sep 15th, 2011, 06:49 AM
#6
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 7,142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
On <b>Thursday</b>, after that CLIMB up the Dome, I suggest a quick cross back over the river to http://www.ristorantesangallo.com/ on Via dei Coronari - an uber-charming little street that is a great pleasure to stroll. This cafe/restaurant is about a 5 minute walk from Castle St. Angelo - midway Castle San Angelo and Piazza Navona. After your morning, you'll definitely want a 2-hour rest stop before more walking. I can't think of a more convenient, relaxing, charming, and delicious stop than <b>Ristorante Sangallo</b>.
If that doesn't happen, consider a dinner there.
Also, make sure you see all the art inside the basilica. You could spend hours there - even if you didn't do the Scavi tour or the dome.
<b>Friday</b> morning. If you are exhausted, have sore feet, legs or something, then take a cab. Otherwise, walk back (via a route you have not taken yet).
<b>Sunday, Morning</b>, consider walking across the Ponte Sisto and attending Mass somewhere in Trastevere - just to get you over there for a look around. Come back via a different bridge (maybe the Ponte Fabricio?). Sunday evening dinner near the Pantheon? You're spoiled with choices. Here's just one that is casual, nice, and inexpensive - http://www.casacoppelle.it/
Basically, all your plans look fine. These are just enhancement suggestions.
If that doesn't happen, consider a dinner there.
Also, make sure you see all the art inside the basilica. You could spend hours there - even if you didn't do the Scavi tour or the dome.
<b>Friday</b> morning. If you are exhausted, have sore feet, legs or something, then take a cab. Otherwise, walk back (via a route you have not taken yet).
<b>Sunday, Morning</b>, consider walking across the Ponte Sisto and attending Mass somewhere in Trastevere - just to get you over there for a look around. Come back via a different bridge (maybe the Ponte Fabricio?). Sunday evening dinner near the Pantheon? You're spoiled with choices. Here's just one that is casual, nice, and inexpensive - http://www.casacoppelle.it/
Basically, all your plans look fine. These are just enhancement suggestions.
Sep 15th, 2011, 07:00 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dave, I downloaded your guidebook, some great stuff there. Thank you, this is a very generous thing for you to do.
Bardo, Thanks for the suggestions. The restaurant near the Castel San Angelo sounds like something we will need. I am concerned about wearing ourselves out. I love their logo!
The suggestion for mass in Trastevere is a great one. I was wondering how to get a little Trastevere in my agenda and that sounds perfect. I will investigate churches and mass times.
Casacoppelle looks lovely and a short walk for us!
Great ideas, thank you so much!
CindyP.
Bardo, Thanks for the suggestions. The restaurant near the Castel San Angelo sounds like something we will need. I am concerned about wearing ourselves out. I love their logo!
The suggestion for mass in Trastevere is a great one. I was wondering how to get a little Trastevere in my agenda and that sounds perfect. I will investigate churches and mass times.
Casacoppelle looks lovely and a short walk for us!
Great ideas, thank you so much!
CindyP.
Sep 15th, 2011, 07:18 AM
#8
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 7,142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cindy,
Weather may be nice enough to sit outside at Ristorante Sangallo - it it is, do. Via dei Coronari is a pedestrian only street and the restaurant is on a hidden little piazza with with a tiny fountain. Pretty nice.
Weather may be nice enough to sit outside at Ristorante Sangallo - it it is, do. Via dei Coronari is a pedestrian only street and the restaurant is on a hidden little piazza with with a tiny fountain. Pretty nice.
Sep 15th, 2011, 08:29 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
On your ancient Rome morning/day, you asked if Colosseum, Forum, Palentine Hill, Campidoglio, Pallazzo Valentini was too much in one go. I'd say probably yes, but see how you feel. I am a very detailed history person, so I take several guidebooks and usually refer to all of them. For our visit to the Palentine Hill, which is more fragmented than the Forum, we did take one of our rare guided tours, through Context Rome. That trip, we visited the Palentine Hill, the Colosseum and the Forum. On our last trip, which was our DD's first trip to Italy, we only visited the Colosseum and the Forum before she'd had enough (and that was a several-hour visit in itself, because I guess she inherited her mother's history genes).
On one trip to Rome, we visited Trastevere on a Sunday morning. The down side is that some churches may be closed for visits due to masses being held, but the up side is that some churches that are not usually open MAY BE open on Sunday.
We arrived at tiny San Benedetto just as services finished. A large group of priests dressed in clothes that looked rather like Spanish conquistadors (including knee-high black leather boots) were leaving the church to take over the bar (with lovely outdoor seating) next door. One of those wonderful vacation memories.
I loved St. Cecilia's - the 1600s sculpture of St. Cecilia, to me, looks very modern. I also enjoyed San Crisogono, with a beautiful Comatesque floor (and some mosaics).
Sunday lunch is a big family meal time, and Trastevere was full of families lunching together. We had a very nice lunch in the interior courtyard of Osteria Checco er Carettiere, at one of the few tables that hadn't been reserved in advance.
On one trip to Rome, we visited Trastevere on a Sunday morning. The down side is that some churches may be closed for visits due to masses being held, but the up side is that some churches that are not usually open MAY BE open on Sunday.
We arrived at tiny San Benedetto just as services finished. A large group of priests dressed in clothes that looked rather like Spanish conquistadors (including knee-high black leather boots) were leaving the church to take over the bar (with lovely outdoor seating) next door. One of those wonderful vacation memories.
I loved St. Cecilia's - the 1600s sculpture of St. Cecilia, to me, looks very modern. I also enjoyed San Crisogono, with a beautiful Comatesque floor (and some mosaics).
Sunday lunch is a big family meal time, and Trastevere was full of families lunching together. We had a very nice lunch in the interior courtyard of Osteria Checco er Carettiere, at one of the few tables that hadn't been reserved in advance.
Sep 15th, 2011, 10:35 AM
#12
Your plan looks solid with a good amount of flexibility built in. I like Bardo's enhancements, and of course daveesl's website is extremely useful (I check to see what he's added before each trip to Rome).
Like Lexma I am history and culture-oriented, so everything I visit seems to take twice as long as it does for a normal person. You'll be fine. If you visit Santa Cecilia, there is a nice little restaurant right on the piazza, Roma Sparita. Good cacio e pepe--and apparently pizza too, though we had lunch so no pizza was being served. I believe they are open for Sunday lunch, but I would bet you'd need to reserve. Anyway, if you happen to be nearby you could give it a try.
http://www.romasparita.com/
Like Lexma I am history and culture-oriented, so everything I visit seems to take twice as long as it does for a normal person. You'll be fine. If you visit Santa Cecilia, there is a nice little restaurant right on the piazza, Roma Sparita. Good cacio e pepe--and apparently pizza too, though we had lunch so no pizza was being served. I believe they are open for Sunday lunch, but I would bet you'd need to reserve. Anyway, if you happen to be nearby you could give it a try.
http://www.romasparita.com/
Sep 15th, 2011, 10:38 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ellen,: Darn it I've been so conscientious about my spelling!!!! It took me weeks to get Colosseum right. I stand corrected, thank you. I wish we could go back and edit our posts here. I hate to have someone else copy my error.
Lexma, I'm willing to cut the Pallazzo Valentini if we spend a lot of time at the Forum. It sounds incredibly cool, but I'm trying not to be too rigid in my plans. The Colosseum and Forum are part of the main reason I wanted to go to Italy in the first place, so I'm not going to cut them short if we are enjoying ourselves. If we are "ruined" on history by that point then I think the Pallazzo might be a good switch up. I'm definitely going to have to investigate Mass times in Trastevere, I'd love to go to Mass in a little church instead of a huge one. A couple of my most memorable experiences in Ireland are from Mass in litle churches where everything was in Gaelic.
CindyP
Lexma, I'm willing to cut the Pallazzo Valentini if we spend a lot of time at the Forum. It sounds incredibly cool, but I'm trying not to be too rigid in my plans. The Colosseum and Forum are part of the main reason I wanted to go to Italy in the first place, so I'm not going to cut them short if we are enjoying ourselves. If we are "ruined" on history by that point then I think the Pallazzo might be a good switch up. I'm definitely going to have to investigate Mass times in Trastevere, I'd love to go to Mass in a little church instead of a huge one. A couple of my most memorable experiences in Ireland are from Mass in litle churches where everything was in Gaelic.
CindyP
Sep 15th, 2011, 10:42 AM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Leely, Oh my, If I look at many more restaurant sites I'm going to have to go get something to eat right now. Thank you for the recommendation.
I definitely get it about things taking twice as long. I'd rather linger in one place I am enjoying then rush off to something else.
CindyP.
I definitely get it about things taking twice as long. I'd rather linger in one place I am enjoying then rush off to something else.
CindyP.
Sep 15th, 2011, 01:21 PM
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think I knew that Palazzo only had one L. But then again... It's the easy stuff that I get wrong, the hard stuff I make sure I have right. Don't know what that's going to mean when I get to Italy?
And yes, pun definitely intended!
And yes, pun definitely intended!
Sep 15th, 2011, 02:03 PM
#18
Via dei Coronari is a pedestrian only street and the restaurant is on a hidden little piazza with with a tiny fountain. Pretty nice.>>
don't think that any one told the italians that the via coronari is pedestrians only - we almost got run down several times. it was about 5 minutes from our apartment and we spent quite a lot of time there - the restaurant mentioned by bardo is by no means the only good one on the street and there is a great gelateria too.
in fact the whole of that area is fascinating with loads of interesting shops and workshops, and is a great place for a passagiatta.
don't think that any one told the italians that the via coronari is pedestrians only - we almost got run down several times. it was about 5 minutes from our apartment and we spent quite a lot of time there - the restaurant mentioned by bardo is by no means the only good one on the street and there is a great gelateria too.
in fact the whole of that area is fascinating with loads of interesting shops and workshops, and is a great place for a passagiatta.
Sep 15th, 2011, 02:34 PM
#19
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 7,142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, yes - pedestrian only means closed to general traffic.
Obviously, you can can still get surprised by residents or others that may have a special permit to drive on it. That's true of many other "pedestrian only" streets.
Obviously, you can can still get surprised by residents or others that may have a special permit to drive on it. That's true of many other "pedestrian only" streets.
Sep 16th, 2011, 01:14 AM
#20
Yes, yes - pedestrian only means closed to general traffic.>>
well of course, Bardo, WE knew what it meant, but it appeared that the locals didn't, or didn't care. THey can't ALL have been residents with permits.
well of course, Bardo, WE knew what it meant, but it appeared that the locals didn't, or didn't care. THey can't ALL have been residents with permits.
