Business Traveler

I will be traveling to Rome for work July 17-26. I will have 1 week to explore the city; however, the bulk of my day will be spent in meetings and conferences. I will not have free time until around 6:30 p.m. each day. I have never been to Rome and would like to see as much as possible. What suggestions do you have for an itinerary as I will only have about 3 hours each evening to explore. Are many attractions especially museums closed at night? Please help make this a memorable trip!

Karen

Museums will probably be closed (some are open one evening a week--ask your hotel to check for you, as I don't think you will find this info in guide books). Churches seem to close by 5:30 or 6, too. However, don't worry--Rome is beautiful in the evening and at night. Even if you can't enter the Forum, for example, it's all floodlit, and there is a spectacular view from the Capitol hill. All the piazzas are full of people and life, and many of Rome's finest sculptures and architectural treasures are there, lit up and just as beautiful at night as during the day. Romans don't eat dinner till 9, so plan on late nights in several different neighborhoods and enjoy the summer evenings. You won't even miss the museums, and it will be a reason to return another time.

Marco

Yes, museums will probably be closed in the evenings, but I would not worry too much about that. The real beauty of Rome lies in its squares, in its commistion of modern days life and stratified remnants from the past at every other corner and in its way of life, especially in summertime, rather than in its museums. <BR> <BR>In your place I will simply stroll. Three hours each evenings for a week makes for a lot of things and places to see. You can dedicated one evenings to say, stroll from the Campidoglio to the Colosseo and then -if you have the time and strength- maybe all the way to the Circo Massimo and Aventino. Another evening can be well spent in Trastevere and the Gianicolo. The others you can simply stroll in the rather compact 'rinascimental' centre of Rome. It's all there: the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori, the Fontana di Trevi (ugly, but for some reasons a preferite of tourists), the Quirinale and so on. San Pietro and Castel Sant'Angelo are just on the other side of the Tevere. I will play most by ear: returns in the areas that you liked most and avoid the other. <BR>Note also that you'll have daylight for most of your available time. It's now just past 21:00 here in Rome and the sun has set by no more then fiften minutes... <BR> <BR>Marco

e

Trevi Fountain ugly ????? That's a new one.

Leslie

The Fontana Di Trevi is beautiful, especially at night! The Piazza Navona and the Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon) are also lively in the evenings.