Evening & 1 Full Day in Rome - Help Maximize Our Time
 

Hi, we have a short stopover in Rome, the week after next. We arrive at FCO on a Sunday at 4:15pm, and depart on a Tuesday at 10am. So, that gives us Sunday evening and a full day Monday. We're staying near Termini.

We'd like advice to maximize our short visit. We're a young couple; wife has never been to Rome, and I visited as a teenage. We can walk a lot, and we want to get in as much as we can. I realize we really only have time for a whirlwind check-the-boxes visit.

• What can we do Sunday evening? It'll probably be 7pm by the time we check in. Piazza Navona & Trevi Fountain. What else Colosseum at night, perhaps?
• (When) should we visit St Peter's Basilica on Monday? We definitely don't have time for the Vatican Museums. I've read mixed things about the lines at the Basilica early AM vs late afternoon. Not sure if it's better to wake up early and get to the Basilica at 7am on Monday and hope there's no lone, or to try to time it to get there at 6pm
• What else should we do on Monday? We're okay with not going inside the Colosseum and just seeing it from the outside, so we don't have to deal with the lines. Should we even buy the Collosseum - Forum - Palatine Hill ticket? Capitoline Hill worth it for the views?

Thank you very much for the advice!

What about a 4 hour tour by Vespa...

Thanks but we're not "tour" people.

Sunday night head over to Piazzas Navona and Fiori. Eat at Da Buffetto. Head to Trevi and finish the night at the fountain.Monday start early and get at the forum at 9. I recommend a tour guide. There will be some there. Then, head to the Colosseum (tour guide again). You should be done by noon. Head to the Vatican. If desired and possible, book a Scavi tour (includes entrance to St. Peter's with no lines).At lunch time the lines are shorter. Do a late lunch at Gusto's Restaurant. This leaves time to either go to the Pantheon and wander this great city. It's a lot, but doable.

Your plan for the full day depends entirely on your priorities. For me, the interior of St. Peter's would be a priority so I'd probably arrive in Piazza San Pietro around 6:30/6:45 am and get into the line if there is one. Once the doors open at 7:00a, it will move quickly.

I second the idea of getting reservations to tour the Scavi under St. Peter's, but I doubt at this late date that you'd even get a reply in time. Be aware that the tour from check-in to end could take upwards of 2 hours. Worth a try if it sounds interesting to you.

Visit of the Excavations below St. Peter's Basilica

After that, I would head to the Colosseum/Forum area. Whether you enter either is up to you, but FYI there is an excellent overlook of the Forum from the top of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument.

https://www.123rf.com/photo_27029243...i-of-view.html

A couple of blocks from the Colosseo is the Basilica di San Clemente. If you aren't able to obtain reservations for the St. Peter's Scavi tour, you might want to visit this church which was built over a pagan temple and Roman structures. Your visit would include the excavations areas beneath the basilica.

Basilica San Clemente - Basilica San Clemente - Official Website

I think Jean's idea of starting earlier makes sense. Also like Basilica di San Clemente as a stop. I understand Nero’s Domus Transitoria has been restored on Palatine Hill (highly recommended as part of your Forum visit.

Thanks to all who replied. In case anyone stumbles on this thread, our flight was badly delayed and we ended up with just one full day in rome -- a more detailed trip report about it can be found here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...-rome-1667159/