I'm enw to Fodors...but so far I like!
hello everyone!
My husband and I will be going to Italy in the beginning of May. We're staying in Rome for 7 nights but taking several day trips during the week..so that really gives us about 3-4 full days in Rome.
I have several books...have saved several sites online and have read countless messages on here...and I feel soo overwhelmed!
I know what we want to see...the chapels, art, Jewish ghetto, and the many fountains.
I need help with breaking it down and figuring out how long each activity takes and how close it is to eachother.
For ex: Should we do the Sistine chapel and Vatican City in 1 day? And then another day break it up with other things?
ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thank you!

Oh..and if anyone can recommend tours or which activities we should do tours for...please let me know!
Thanks!

We did the Vatican and all its' museums in one day. I don't see any reason to split it up! I'd say, pick one activity a day (ie. Vatican), do it early and then spend the late afternoon and evenings just raoming the streets leisurely, soaking up all the beautiful architecture, fountains and people! It'll be wonderful!

I'm no expert and have not been to Rome, but perhaps some kind of 1/2 day tour that gives you an overview of the city might be good at the start of your trip?

Also don't be afraid to leave a day with nothing planned, and just start wandering (especially good if you have picked a centrally located hotel).

If you are only interested in sightseeing, you should be able to do the Vatican City, including the Sixtine Chapel and the Vatican Museum, in half a day. Lines to enter either of these two places can be over 1 hour long, specially during the afternoon.

The Vatican is located on the other side of the river in relation to the other famous attractions like the Trevi Fountain, Colisseum, Pantheon, Forum, etc. These attractions are very close to each other, and you can plan to see several of them in a single day.

If you are interested in enjoying the sights and sounds of the places you visit, like having lunch in a piazza after you visit a historic site (the Pantheon followed by Piazza Navona, for instance), then I would not recommend to plan for more than 2 or 3 places per day.

We are also planning to visit Italy during May (Rome and Florence), and I hope you enjoy your time there. Being a big Michelangelo fan myself, there is no place on Earth that I find more impressive and beautiful than Rome.

I mean this in the best nature, Rome is overwehelming and always will be, that is what makes it Rome. Enjoy it. Have you short list and don't plan the rest- take it in.

I see from another of your posts that you arrive late in the day, so you really only have six full days in Rome. With that, I wouldn't take more than two daytrips (just my opinion--actually, if it's your first time in Rome, I wouldn't take any).

With four days, you could:
One day for the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. Lots of people here recommend the Context Rome tours, which are very indepth. Also on the expensive side. Another company that is cheaper is Icon tours, still very good.

One day for the Colosseum & Forum. This is another place where it's good to take a tour, especially to know what you're looking at at the Forum. After those, check out San Clemente, very near those two, where you can see several generations of Rome built on top of each other. You should have time to wander a bit after this.

Another day, make an early reservation to see the Galleria Borghese, fabulous Bernini sculpture (as well as many paintings). Then have a leisurely stroll through the Borghese Gardens over to Piazza del Popolo, and if you like to shop, walk down Via del Corso (as well as streets off of it).

Fourth day, go to the Jewish Ghetto. I assume since it's on your list, you have an idea what you want to see there. You could combine that with a walk across the river to Trastavere.

See the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona after dinner and enjoy a Limoncello in a cafe there while watching the people, performers & artists.

We found the DK travel guide quite helpful in making the city manageable. It splits the city into sections and gives you suggestions for half and full days in specific areas. It has actual walking tours mapped out for you so that all you have to do is follow their steps and watch for the things they have listed. We did find it helpful to have a personal guide take us thru the Vatican, Forum and Colosseum. In addition to giving us lots of information he saved us from having to wait in line for entrance tickets. We always find that a good map helps us to choose a days activities by making sure that we don't waste time crisscrossing the city. Be sure to take a peek in every church you pass because most are full of great artwork. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Susan...thank you! I needed a breakdown just like that!
Is it recommended to book tours in advance? For the Vatican, etc?
I'm not too familiar with the Jewish Ghetto...it was suggested, plus I'm Jewish...but I will read up on it.

Thanks again!

rick steve's rome guide has a nice bit on the ghetto which you might find helpful. also, you should look for a great thread on this site by 'ekscrunchy' regarding a recent trip to rome and also one by 'franco' regarding rome restaurants -- both very helpful.

If you want to take a tour with Context Rome or Icon Tours, I would definitely book it ahead of time, like right now! Especially for May, which will be a very busy time, they might be completely full if you wait until you get there.

I agree with another poster ;
you have 6 day - spend it all in Rome.
You will fill less overwhelmed and enjoy your time in the great city much more.

sorry, feel not fill

This was very helpful as I'm headed to Rome ( then north) in April. Haven't quite decided about taking a tour of Vatican and/or Scavi tour. I am Jewish, so maybe I'll learn a lot more being with a guide? But aren't the Vatican tours 4 hours? Seems like a long time. Help! We've already booked Borghese Gallery and were thinking of an Enjoy Rome city tour. And we are only there for 3 days total!

actuall, the rick steve's book mentions a guide for the ghetto whose name i also saw on a thread here.

as for the vatican, you may want to look into getting a guide -- context rome is highly recommended, but may be more thorough than you want. it helps avoid waiting in line just to get in (which can take 1-2 hours easily). you can also book a tour through the vatican website with one of their guides though their booking process is not online and involves faxing them which proved more difficult for some reason than my patience allowed.

hi, sammygrll,

susanP has said most of what I wanted to say, so I won't repeat it.

here's what we did in 6 days in Rome last easter

day 1 - forum, [buy palatine hill and colosseum tickets there] the palatine hill and colosseum. if we'd realised that an clemente was nearby we'd have done that too.

day 2 - vatican, sistine chapel & st. peter's.

day 3 - tivoli by bus to see the villa d'este. [shoudl have seen hadrian's villa too but DD was wearing flip flops and had foot issues.

day 4 - trastevere and wandering around the centre, pantheon, trevi, etc.

day 5 - ostia antica on the train.

day 6 - campo fiori for shopping then lunch and home.

[we also fitted in a walk around the mosaics of rome, san clemente, too many other churches and sights to mention by name, shops, resturants, bars etc.etc.]

we did more walking than intended 'cos we were staying in the monti area -very nice but not very central. you will walk a lot too, so it makes sense to group together the adjacent sites.

we did not see everything we wanted to, but we did see many wonderful things that we hadn't counted on.

as you will never see all that Rome has got to offer in 20 visits, my advice is to take things easily, have realistic targets, and be open to exploring the interesting sights that you will come across by accident, rather than trying to fill every moment with planned activities.

good luck!

regards, ann

Ann...thanks a lot!
I plan on listing the most intriging sites/activites and playing everything else by ear.
I will look into tours for the Vatican, etc. And I also heard that u can buy the Coliseum tickets at the Forum I think?..so that you can avoid the lines there?
Thanks again...

hi again, sammygrll,

I think i said that - see Day 1.

rick steves' book on rome is full of useful tips like this - it comes highly recommended on this forum especailly for first time visitors, like you [and me].

there are lots of threads about the new Vatican ticketing system, guides at the forum and colosseum, etc., the scavi tour [didn't do it but wish we had, only I didn't discover this board in time].

let your fingers do the walking!

regards, ann

sammygrll,

I am planning my first trip to Rome too. we leave on the 9th! We will be there 7 days like you. When I first started planning I wanted to take several day trips...unitl I started discovering how much there is to see. Some good friends go every year for a couple of weeks and never leave the city at all! As of now, I don't have any day trips planned. Something to think about. We might end up going to Ostia or to Orivieto, but I can plan those while I am there if we decide to do that. Have fun.

-Bill