Hi. We will be in Rome next week for the 1st time (for 3.5 days). I heard it's REALLY HOT there.
What is the best way to explore Rome ? Can it be done by foot ? I heard a/ the warnings about gypsies/pickpockets when going on buses/subways.
Also, we would like to visit many churches there. Should we do it all in 1 day so that we could get comfortable wearing
shorts/sleveless on the other days ? We realize that the great churches are spread out throughout the city... Please advise. Thanks.

There are close to 1000 churches in Rome so even if you narrowed down your list of churches to visit, it would be difficult to see them all in one day, especially if you include the Vatican. See the Vatican in the morning one day and then select a few others for the afternoon. A good choice might be: Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Croce in Gerusaleme, San Giovanni Laterano, Santi Quattro Coronati and San Clemente as they are all relatively close together. The best way to see Rome is by walking but it will be hot. The metro is unbelievably hot and stuffy. Some of the newer trams and buses are airconditioned but they can get crowded. One option might be the Archeobus. For 7 Euro a person, you get an all day ticket and you can hop on and off the bus at various points or you can stay on this airconditioned bus for the full two hour tour, with guide. You can see alot of Rome this way and it even goes out to the catacombs.

I did a post a while back for peoples security ideas while traveling...DO NOT use "fanny packs" or ladies purses while out and about.For the man or woman, use a "hidden under the clothes money pouch" or one of the belts with a hidden inside zippered pouch to keep credit cards/cash. Thieves are everywhere-anxious to see us arrive in their delightful cities. It's a sad fact of life these days. Don't give them the opportunity-secure all your valuables you MUST carry with you-under your clothing. You can purchase all these clever items on-line or thru travel catalogs at reasonable prices.

Hi
With the time you have you will have to prioritize a few of the churches.
Don't plan them all for one day, imo your eyes will start to glaze over, your pictures will all look the same, and you won't remember much. Also, most churches are closed for visits from around noon to as late as 3 or 3:30 pm.
It varies.


Have you looked at the www.twenj.net website? Not all of the information is current, but it has lots of valuable tips for visiting Rome and its churches.

If you wear just tops with short sleeves, and long cotton pants or skirts, you can probably manage with the heat.

With the amount of time you have, I'd think about a walking tour or two to maximize your time. My favorite agency Scala Reale is probably all booked up, but enjoyrome might have some tours available.

Also, the subway (metro) stops are few and far between, so you'll have to do a lot of walking anyway. You MUST bring comfortable shoes, preferably two pairs so you don't have to wear the same ones every day.

Anyone know what the Basilica of St. John Lateran is near? I am trying to find it on a map, but my eyes are going on me. If I had a major landmark where it is, that would help a great deal!

At night time - do not miss the trastevere neighboorhood. Totally fun place to spend an evening - good cheap resturants and unbelivable nightlife. Throngs of people partying till 4am any day off the week. I stayed in this area and I could not belive even on a monday night at 1 am the streets were PACKED !!! really a sight to see

donnabee, the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John's to us) is in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano 4. It near the Colosseum. Metro stop San Giovanni, bus # 4, 16, 30, 85, 87, 174. This church is on our list to see in September because it has 13th century cloisters. Should be beautiful.

Thanks dln - this the church that the Holy Stairs are located next to - correct?

I just spent 3.5 days in Rome this past May. Best way to explore Rome is on foot. Taxis were also much more reasonable than I had anticipated but costly around midnight and afterwards, which isn't uncommon in many major cities. Didn't observe or encounter one instance of theft. Just perform a search on theft, money belt, etc. and you'll see a plethora of recent posts on the subject.

I totally agree with Grinisa and Elaine, DON'T limit your visit to churches on one day!!! My advice for visiting the churches and sites of Rome is to fully explore 2 (3 max) adjacent areas a day (e.g. Vatican & Trastevere one day; Capitol, Forum, & Palatine another). You can manage the wonderful sites and churches on foot in this manner without having to worry about public transport from one end of the city to the other. You'll be much too tired if you even try to taxi all around the city to visit churches one day, and then have to do the same to visit museums and sites the next. Besides, you don't have to limit yourself to sleeveless tops and shorts to stay cool. Wear thin fabrics (e.g. linen, Coolmax, lycra) and look into convertible pants. Yeah they could appear ugly but you seem more worried about the oppressive heat anyways.

Hope this helps!!!

I like the Archeobus that Grinisa mentioned. Grinisa - can you get tickets for the this bus at hotels?

donnabee, this is the church that's near the holy stairs. This website has additional info: www.medjugorjeusa.org/holystairs.htm

We're also planning to do the archeobus. The tickets are 7.75 euros and can be bought on the bus. Try these two websites for additional info, including the stops and times: www.romaturismo.it and www.romecity.it/archeobus.html

Thank you for the websites! We are leaving Saturday, and now I am looking through the 1000's of papers that I have printed out and trying to make sense of everything.

Know the feeling! I have many folders for all the Italian places we'll be visiting and it's a real jumble. What I do now to save confusion is simply go to Yahoo and type in whatever I want. As for the archeobus, I had scribbled all these notes about it but NO website! Back to Yahoo, type in "archeobus" and the first few sites had what I wanted. Not the most elegant way of doing things, but it works!

Promise to write us a trip report.

I use google as my search engine. I just found this really good site about the Archeobus. Go to:

http://www.mmdtkw.org/VArcheobus.html

Do they have one of these buses that tours all of Rome - hop on hop off? Like the Big Apple bus in NYC?

Yes, they do. Website was too long to copy for you, but go to google and type in "ATAC Bus 110 Rome" and you'll find it. The fare is 12.91 euros if you want to get on and off, it makes 11 stops, and the commentary is in English.

I am so glad someone is interested in some of my Rome tourist info that I have painstakingly gathered! Makes my day, because it surely can be tedious.

Oops, not my day that's tedious, but internet research (at times)!!!

This is great- thanks so much! I found this website - http://www.romeguide.it/FILES/visite/110ATAC.html

Do you know what they mean by - "Two and a half hours discovering Rome through three thousand years of art and history."

Cause I know you can't see Rome in 2 1/2 hours! Did you see the map of their route? It covers the major attractions and even stops where you would catch the Archeobus.

This now solves my problem of how to get around the city. Thanks again.

p3tOt and others :

If the weather breaks : the via appia antica filined w/ tombs, catacombs and other ruins is closed to most vehicular traffic. You can rnta bike and ride for miles out into the country side. The whole area is a regional/archeological. Bike rentals are adjacent to the park office. I was out there on Palm sunday and it was quite a festa a roma w/ lots of romans bicycling jogging and walking. buon viaggio, AndrewDavid