Kim

Am sketching out a rough itinerary for Rome, but since I don't have a good sense of how far apart things are, I don't know if it makes sense. I also don't know if certain things are closed on the days I picked to go, or if I have left out any "must sees". <BR> <BR>We will be arriving on a Wednesday AM, and will have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Saturday night. Sunday morning we leave for Capri. <BR> <BR>Wed - Day One <BR>Piazza Navonna <BR>Camp dei Fiori <BR>Trastevere <BR>Trevi Fountain <BR> <BR>Thurs - Day Two <BR>Vatican City - St. Peters and Sistine Chapel <BR>Castel St. Angelo <BR>Piazza Navonna <BR> <BR>Fri - Day Three <BR>Piazza Venezia <BR>Roman Forum <BR>Colosseum <BR>Piazza Barberini <BR>Via Veneto <BR>Spanish Steps <BR>Villa Borghese (just the park) <BR> <BR>Sat - Day Four (Final Day) <BR>Campo dei Fiori <BR>Piazza Farnese <BR>Piazza Navonna <BR>Pantheon <BR>Piazza del Popolo <BR> <BR>We'd prefer to stay out of museums (other than the Vatican) and want to walk rather than take public transport. We'd like to know of casual restaurants for lunch and dinner in these areas - nothing pricey or dressy. Please also mention if anyplace is unsafe to be at night. <BR>

Laura

Hi. A couple thoughts on your itinerary. Piazza Navonna is my fav, a great place to wander through, especially for lunch or a gelato in the afternoon. Take some time to look at the street vendors' artwork, there are a few interesting shops around the perimeter.Add the Pantheon to this day, it's right nearby. The Campo dei Fiori, just south of Navonna, was a disappointment, very small, one stop should do it. Yes there were flowers, now what? The Trevi, though beautiful, doesn't take long to see: have a seat, get a cup of coffee, throw the coins, hum the song, then get away from the crowds. The same with the Spanish Steps, though no song.Unless you tour the poets homes near it.(Keats? Shelley?)Drop Navonna from DayTwo, the Vatican et al will be a lot to see as is.I can't help you with the Venezia, Popolo, Farnese or Barberini. My last visit was this past March. You'll love it. FYI, Florence is only a train ride away (1.5-2 hours) It's worth the side trip even if you don't hit the musuem, just the big market and the Piazza della Republica. Enjoy

Bennett Schneir

Kim <BR> <BR>Forgive me, but this seems far too hyper-organized. I would make a master list of everything you want to do, then once you get there, figure it out on teh fly and enjoy yourself! <BR> <BR>

Laura

Hi, <BR> <BR>I was in Rome in February and loved it. But although everyone loves Piazza Navonna, I thought the restaurants there were over-priced and very touristy. We fared better by choosing smaller restaurants that were on the side streets rather than eating on the main square. When I was there previously, my last evening meal was on the square and it was the worse than any other meals I had there. <BR> <BR>My favourite place is the Pantheon. If it rains, make sure you head there to see the water coming in the large hole in the roof - it's amazing. <BR> <BR>This may sound very silly, but we found it really hard to get good cappucino - yes, I know we were in Italy, so it should have been great, but often it was luke-warm and very small. On our last day we discovered Dunkin Donut's just on one of the side streets from the Trevi fountain and they had great coffee there! <BR> <BR>When I was there we took one of the bus tours that leave from Termini station. These are a great way of getting a great overvue and then you can go back and see everything at your leisure. <BR> <BR>When you go to the Spanish Steps, have a walk down the Via Condotti - it's a great place to watch all the Italian's. When a friend was there he saw Sopia Loren going into one of the big name stores there. Intersecting the Via Condotti is the Via del Corso which is a reasonably good shopping street. The Piazza del Popolo is at the top of the Via del Corso. <BR> <BR>It's a very easy walk between the Piazza Navonna, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon - would suggest seeing them all together. I was there with my sister, so as two young women walking everywhere we were not sure whether we would feel safe, but there are no problems. Lots of police around so you feel perfectly safe. Just be very careful of the gypsies. They are very quickhanded!! <BR> <BR>Have a great trip - it's such a wonderful city! <BR> <BR>Any more questions, just e-mail me! <BR> <BR>Laura

Bob

Hi, Kim! <BR> <BR>You sound like me. Extremely organized in the planning of a trip. <BR> <BR>I'll be sending you a trip report from our recent trip to Rome. Hope you get some good things out of it. <BR> <BR>Bob

Monica

You can read my Italy 1998 journal at http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html We had a few days in Rome, so you can read what we did each day and determine what you'd like to do. I also have restaurant and hotel information. Have a GREAT time! I'll be back in Italy this November. I can't wait!

Lexma90

Places like the Pantheon, Piazza Navonne, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain can be fit in anytime (though the Pantheon is open only during the day). We visited those areas (re the Pantheon, the piazza around it) during the evenings, before or after dinner. The Trevi is even prettier (garish?) at night, all lit up. Piazza Navonne is especially good with gelato in hand. We really enjoyed the piazza around the Pantheon. There are cafes & gelato places nearby and it's great for people-watching (as is Piazza Navonne, of course). We ate at a tiny restaurant local-type near there that served more Northern-Italian food; e-mail me if you'd like me to look up the name & address. <BR> <BR>The Villa Borghese park might be a bit much tacked on to the Roman ruins day. The Roman ruins themselves will require quite a bit of walking, and Villa Borghese is (to my recollection) very far from the Roman stuff. <BR> <BR>It sounds like you're not really museum types, but consider the Villa Borghese museum. They have some fabulous stuff there, and it's a relatively small museum; I especially loved the statues. You might spend 45 min. or so there while visiting the park. <BR> <BR>We took a book called RomeWalks and had a great time following several of the walking tours described in the book (including one of Trastevere).

marge

Laura, Your comments on your 2nd post were very helpful. "a very easy walk between the Piazza Navonna, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the <BR>Pantheon". <BR> <BR>I have been following the board, looking at all the hotels in $110 range and driving myself crazy. I got it down to Domus Julia (close to bus, quiet street, 15 minute walk to Pantheon, P. Navonna) and the highly suggested, by Bob & Carol's post, Residenza San Pantaleo. <BR> <BR>I realize this is two different areas. Can someone suggest one or the other and why? We've got 5 nights in Rome next April. <BR> <BR>

Carol

We were in Rome in March and visited most of the spots you mentioned. One way to visit a particular neighborhood is to plan a meal there, walk around a bit and you get to see the area at the same time. That's what we did for the Piazza Navonna, Pantheon and Trastevere. <BR> <BR>Also, since our hotel was in Old Rome, when walking to and from the hotel we went by Campo de Fiori, Trevi, Spanish Steps and Piazza de Popolo. <BR> <BR>You do need at least 1/2 day to see St. Peters/Sistine Chapel. We were there for 5 hours and really needed more time. <BR> <BR>Also, there is so much walking at most of the sites, you might want to consider taking taxis some of the time since they are inexpensive and you save so much time. <BR> <BR>Have a great time! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

YS

Marge, <BR> <BR>I found hotel Caprice for our 4 day stay in Rome in August. After long search for a hotel under $120/night I found this hotel for about $80/night next to via Veneto and Berberini metro stop. You can search this forum for "Caprice Hotel" to find somebody posting a good review of it.

marge

YS, Caprice is $166 in April. Thanks any way.

carol

Kim, <BR> <BR>Your itinerary sounds pretty good for a first draft. Now you should check it against a Fodors or Frommers guide to Rome. They both have suggested walks within specific areas of Rome which group together the major sites in terms of proximity to each other. You don't have to follow specifically their suggestions (walk down this street, turn right at the fountain), but they give you a good idea of how to budget your time.