SO MANY THINGS TO DECIDE FROM! What is the first thing YOU would do after checking in at your hotel on your first or 100th trip to Rome. We get in at noon on Tuesday December 22nd. This will be my first trip there with my (new) wife on our honeymoon. Do you go to a museum or the Coliseum? Just walk around and get lost? Sit and get a cappucino at a random cafe? Maybe just a walk to the Trevi Fountain & Spanish steps for lunch? I want to know from the experienced what they love to do the second they get settled and get on the go!

We would take a shower to freshen up after the long flight and then head to a wonderful spot for a long Roman lunch, followed by lots of walking to get us energized.

A nap of about 2 hours works well for us on that first afternoon and gets us right into the groove of late dinner times and after dinner strolls.

I love Rome around Christmas - not too crowded and decked out for the season. Have a wonderful trip!

I agree! Freshen up and then we would head out to the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area, have a lovely long lunch, then wander to Trevi Fountain...

Have a great trip!

I would get lost... just wonder around! Maybe visit the forum. Be sure to take your time and just soak up Rome! Eat Gelato everyday, Italy was fabulous.

Walk (with gelato-who cares what time of day it is...you're in Rome, the Eternal City!)

Nap, with TV set on local station in the background...no matter what is on, it is so different from what you are accustomed to that you feel like an adventurer/voyeur.

Walk, dine in an unplanned way...it's too soon for that detailed-itinerary-need-a-rreservation-place.

Sleep and wake to Roma!

Another vote for walking/wandering with stops for coffee/lunch/gelato. The Piazza Navona/Piazza della Rotunda (Pantheon) area would be my choice. There are some interesting churches to check out (in addition to the Pantheon) which would give you a sense of the amazing architecture and art work around Rome: San Luigi dei Francesci with three Caravaggios, Santa Maria sopra Minerva with an obelisk atop a Bernini sculpture outside and the sculpture of the risen Christ within.

I would walk across the Forum Romanum - this is Rome's main attraction and unique.

Everything else - medieval architecture, squares, churches, amphitheaters, cafés.. - you find in many other cities - but not the Forum - the center of the Imperium Romanum for six or seven centuries.

Just walk...find some amazing little place to have a coffee or glass of wine...and watch the world go by. But if you need a destination, I think I would go to the Pantheon. Save the Colosseum / Roman Forum / Palatine Hill for a full day of exploring, not your very first day.

I would not go to the Trevi Fountain or Spanish Steps first. In my experience (all 3 trips), those are the most crowded tourist attractions in Rome. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go there, I just wouldn't want that as my first impression of Rome.

Congratulations and have a wonderful time in my favorite city!

I am not sure about December but we just ended six evenings in Rome strolling around the Piazza Navona. It was one of the most fun things we have ever done. Of course it helped that our apartment was about 150 meters away.

Another one who would shower and change clothes and hit the street Stuart and find a cafe and have some wine and a good lunch and after lunch walk until I felt like taking a short nap before going out to dinner later in the evening. I wouldn't worry about going to anywhere definite, I would just enjoy strolling about Rome which has a treasure everywhere you look. Have a lovely time in Rome!

Consider the fact that you most likely will have been in transit for 8+ hours plus the settling in to your hotel. I would never schedule a museum or anything which required any concentration. We (especially me) like to get settled and decide how much energy we have left which then determines whether it is a shot of espresso or a glass of wine. I like to scout around and locate where we are, what's available and how to get to the sights we have planned to visit during our stay. Casual dining is at the top of the list on that first day. Enjoy-Paul

These are amazing ideas!! We are basically flying all night and I'm sure we'll have a little medication to help us catch some Z's on the plane, and we'll have a layover in Paris before we get to Rome to do a little stretching and waking up, so for the most part I'm assuming we'll be mostly rested.

I have definetly decided that a shot of espresso (TRUE ESPRESSO) is a must and we will definitely grab a casual bite to eat. Any personal recommendations on where to get some lunch near the Empire Palace Hotel?

i agree with most. hit the bricks..
head toward piazza navona or trevi. have a gelato... absorb...

So I've never had REAL gelato, it won't be to cold out in December to enjoy it? Isn;t it served cold like ice cream?

...I'm such a rookie, I know :\

Yes, it is Italian ice cream. I cannot eat it in cold weather but my husband consumes several a day, no matter what the temps.

I have stayed at the Empire Palace hotel but we always ventured out of the area for meals.

Romans eat gelato all year round and it very rarely gets too cold to enjoy it, even while strolling outdoors with a cone. Your hotel is located slightly out of the way between the Borghese Gardens and Termini station and I can't think of a great gelateria in that neighborhood but it's difficult to find very bad gelato. You could walk about 15-20 minutes toward the Trevi Fountain (be sure to stop in Santa Maria della Vittoria to see Bernini's St. Theresa in Ecstasy) and get gelato at San Cripino. Take advantage of what daylight you will have on arrival and walk around to reset your body clock. I never take a nap on arrival day. If you want espresso, stop into Dagino in the Galleria Esedra on Piazza Repubblica on Via Orlando. Dagino is owned by a Sicilian family and they have wonderful desserts like cassata and cannoli. The food served in the tavola calda (literally "hot table" or cafeteria) is delicious and reasonably priced.

The area around the Empire Palace is not great for cafes or restaurants.

Hop on a bus to Largo di Torre Argentina, and you'll have the cafes on Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon), Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Navona to choose among for your espresso. Do not *eat* in any of these places; there are tons of restaurants in the small streets around them.

Sorry, that's San Crispino gelateria and it's on Via Paneterria.

I began and ended my week in Rome at the Pantheon. First place I went to, last place I saw before I headed home. With time I'm remembering it as my favorite building in Rome and the walking there and strolling around it adds to the experience.

We've been to Rome in December and it was wonderful. Definitely get some gelato! It shouldn't be too cool. And from my recollection many restaurants and cafes have heat lamps so you can still enjoy eating outside.

I too would head to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona area. It seems like all of our strolls around Rome take us to this area anyways.

Enjoy!
Tracy