I was in Rome once before just for the day and only had a chance to tour the Vatican/St. Peters and the Coluseum. We are going back this summer and will stop in Rome again. How many days would I need to spend this time in order to really appreciate the city and the other sites?

Also does anyone know if its easy to get from Rome to Cinque Terre by train?

There is a saying that a lifetime is too short to see everything in Rome. I would say absolutely no less than three full days--better seven if you want to see some of the things that are interesting day trips from Rome.

Without knowing what your interests are, consider the following must-see sites and museums, which is only a very impressionistic and personal list from among hundreds:

The Roman Forum, including the Paletine and other Fora in the area.
Also in the area is the Capitoline Museum.

Vatican Museums. Also, write ahead for tickets to a tour of the "Scavi" which are Roman era ruins directly under the Vatican. And it is always worthwhile to look again at St. Peter's.

If you're into religion, some of the other "Pilgrimage Churches": Saint Mary Major, St. John Lateran, St. Paul's Outside the Walls. Each very different and fascinating

The National Museum in the Baths of Diocletian.

Piazza Navonna and the Pantheon.

Villa Giulia--Etruscan museum.

and just wandering around will consume some time.

Day trips from Rome:
Ostia Antica, ancient Rome's port and a good idea of what Rome itself might have looked like.

Hadrian's Villa and Tivoli.

Pompeii and Herculaneum (a long day but worthwhile.

Assisi/Perugia.

Ah, so much to see and so little time.

I would skip Cinque Terre and spend the time on the Amalfi Coast or, if you must take a train, take it to Perugia and Assisi or all the way to Florence. If you do the Amalfi Coast, you can see Pompeii and Herculaneum on the way. Cinque Terre is (are?) very highly overrated, IMHO.

I appreicate your comments and suggestions. The reason we picked Cinque Terre to visit is that we are making our way to the South of France and then finally to Paris which will be our last stop.

To get to the CT from Rome requires taking the train to La Spezia, and then changing to local train. Travel time will be about 4.5 hours, OR 3.5 hours if you opt for the Eurostar ("ES&quot train between Rome-LaSpezia . . . however, I think there's only 1 or 2 of these ES runs per day to La Spezia Centrale.

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/
To see your options, log into above site, and key in a CT town for your final destination (whether it be Riomaggiore, or Manarola, etc.)

Yes, there is a boat that goes from La Spezia to Portovenere and then 4 of the 5 CT towns (Corniglia doesn't have a port), but the departure point for the boat is about 1.5 miles from the train station (La Spezia Centrale) .... and it's just easier to take the train all the way.

ronnieh,

It's hard to answer your question about Roma without knowing more about how you enjoy spending your time. Rome has one of Italy's great fine art museums, but if you never enjoy going to fine art museums where you live, why do it in Rome?

If you think you would enjoy the Italian markets, or shopping, you can enjoy wandering -- especially if go to an area like Testaccio. Or maybe you'd rather take a "movie" tour, and walk the streets or visit fountains recognizable from movies you've seen. Or really explore Rome's ancient sites, or churches with mosaics.

So, what do you like to do?

As for Cinque Terre, it makes sense to stop somewhere on the Italian Riviera train line on the way to Southern France. Le Cinque Terre can very crowded and some of the towns are really steep, and it's not a lot of fun to haul luggage up to a hotel for just one night. If you are not absolutely set on seeing le Cinque Terre, some other nice villages to consider are Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli. Rapallo, a larger, busier town, is absolutely flat.

Also, you don't have to buy your train tickets until you get to Italy, but buy them shortly after you arrive. The few ES trains that run from Rome toward La Spezia/Genova/Nice get mighty crowded.

Well my wife and I are pretty flexible on sites we like to see. However, when it comes to museums we like to museums that have more than just art.

Does Rome have an outdoor shopping area that is similar to Florence?

You can take a look at this regarding markets:

http://www.rome.world-guides.com/markets.html

Rome's museums tend to be quite specific -- meaning, there's nothing in Rome I can think of quite like Smithsonian. (There are in other Italian towns). But somebody might be thinking more clearly than I am.

I think maybe you should go about this the other way, which is to peruse the "Destinations" section here on Fodor's or other guidebooks to Rome, and make a list of things that appeal to you. Then come back and ask how much time is needed for a not-hectic tour of those places.

Zeppole, that is a good suggestion. We will take a look at destination section and a few guidebooks and then come back to the forum. Thanks again you've been a great help.