May

Hi all, My boyfriend and I are travelling to Rome for our first time. We're leaving next wk, very excited! <BR> <BR>I just dunno which point to start at when I arrive to Rome. We're staying at the hotel within walking distance to all attraction, except vatican city. I have only 4 days there, would like to visit all the famous places in Rome, and SHOP!! <BR> <BR>Please give me some advice on how to plan out my daily activities. Not interested in tours tho! Thanks!

Carol

Hi May, <BR> <BR>If you haven't bought a guide book, go out and buy one--Fodors or Frommers are excellent. They have maps, they have suggested itineraries based on how many days you have in the city, they have descriptions of all the sites and shopping areas. Once you get one, read through it and then make your own list of sightseeing priorities--"what would you kill yourself over if you didn't see" is a good criterion for setting top priorities. After you've done that, then look at a map and see which ones are near each other--this really helps in planning your days. <BR> <BR>I always make a chart, with one column for each day, and then I draw a horizontal line cutting the columns in half. This gives me space for writing down morning and afternoon activities for each day. I may not follow my chart to the letter, but it helps me organize my thinking. I even look up restaurants in the areas I'll be in, in case I want to go somewhere special for lunch. Four days in Rome is more than lots of people get, and if you try to plan ahead, you can really make the most of them.

howard

Carol's given you so good planning advice. You can see a lot of Rome in four days (but, not all of it!). I'll follow up her advice with a suggestion that you come up with a tentative general itinerary and then come back to forum to bounce it off others. <BR>

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

May, I suggest 2 sources that will keep you busy for weeks. First, do not miss www.twenj.com ---it is the best I have found for real practical info. Then, buy the Eyewitness Guide--Rome. There are tons of good books but none like the detail and pics in this one.

Doug Weller

A good, possibly better, alternative to the Eyewitness Guide is the Dorling Kindersley one. <BR> <BR>Get a settimanle ticket from a newsagent (well, get 2). 7 days free rides on trams, buses, Metro for 12 bucks each. Buy a Metro/Bus map. Don't take the 64, use the 40 Express. Goes from Termini to St. Peter's, you can change to the 8 tram at Largo Argentina. <BR>Get some focal points (a morning in the St. John Lateran area visiting it, St. Croce in Jerusalem and St. Maggiore, plus a pork sandwich at the kiosk near the tram stop at St. John Lateran. An afternoon in another area, etc. <BR> <BR>Doug

Doug Weller

A walking tour of an area might be a good idea. <BR>Please do not miss the many layers of San Clemente and its very early frescoes, and Nero's Golden Palace, the Domus Aurea. Absolute musts. We skipped the Sistine Chapel for them and don't regret it one bit. They gave us a much better picture of Ancient Rome and of the way buildings are stacked on top of each other all over.