Itinerary suggestions?
 

Hello everyone!
My boyfriend and I found a wonderful little apartment in Rome and we are spending a week there at the end of June, begging of July. We would also have a couple of beach day trips to Lido di Ostia and maybe Santa Marinella.

I have done some quick research and roughly planned our 7 days in Italy. I would be very grateful if you guys tell me what you think. I used to live in Rome when I was younger but my memories have faded. My partner has never been to Rome before so I want us to explore the city off the beaten path. Thankfully, we won't be jet lagged as we live in Europe. Our flight is an are early morning one, so we won't be losing any precious time.

We are bad with strictly planned itineraries but I don't want us to not have any idea in what order it's most convenient to explore Rome.

DAY I: mainly just exploring Rome without entering the monuments.
Walk to the Colosseum, walk by the Roman Forum and look down over the ruins. Walk to the Pantheon then Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, enter both. Get a scoop of gelato and stroll toward the Spanish Steps, check out the Trevi Fountain.

DAY II: Enter the Colosseum, the Forum, and Palatine Hill. Either head straight to Piazza Navona or get back to the apartment, freshen up and then do so.

DAY III: Visit the Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica. Relax and spend the evening exploring Trastevere neighborhood, visit Basilica di Santa Maria while there.

DAY IV: Spend the day by the beach in Lido di Ostia. Evening - Aventine Hill.

DAY V: Piazza del Popolo, Santa Maria del Popolo, Villa Borghese. Evening - OPEN FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS

DAY VI: A day by the beach in Lido di Ostia. Evening - OPEN FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS

What do you guys think? I am probably missing lots of thing..I would like to add more churches to the intenerary like Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, San Giovanni in Laterano, Church of Sant'Ignazio Di Loyola, Basilica di San Clemente but I am not sure which days I should fit them in... Thank you!

I think your itinerary is fine.You're not planning to do too much each day and I think that's great because it will leave you open to explore opportunities as they arise.

You sound as if you are young and free spirits, but there are one or two things I would suggest in your current itinerary that would be even better if they were "timed events."

Specifically, it would be cool if you did one tour, and the one I think I loved most was the Scavi Tour. This is a timed tour down under St. Peter's, and it was pretty incredible. You will need to sign up as soon as possible. Also, doesn't the Borghese require timed tickets?

Finally, I think one way to enjoy the sites you are going to see is to try to see them being used by the public in some way. Often many of the churches have concerts. In the summer, sometimes there are theatre and opera performances in public squares. Specifically, Ostia Antica, where I have toured twice, offers outdoor concerts and operas in its Roman ampitheatre. They start in June. Check TimeOut for a link:
http://www.timeout.com/rome/features...events-in-rome

I'd opt for a tour of the forum. It's really hard to understand without help, just a field of broken columns and pieces of marble. IIRC, there's a free English tour, for tips only.

San Clemente (3 layers of sanctuaries, the bottom being a temple to Mithras) is near the Colesseum.

The Church of S. Maria in Trastevere will likely be closed in the evening. Best to get their late afternoon before closing time. The rest of the tour is fine. I agree with Mimar that a tour of the Forum is a must. It has been used as a quarry by centuries of medieval popes and is hard to figure out. Likewise with the Palatine. Also, his/her suggestion to see S. Clemente is spot on. The lower level includes a Mithraic shrine and is inserted into the courtyard of a Roman apartment building whose inner staircase you will go down to get to that level. On the 2nd or 3rd step from the bottom on the far right, as you face the staircase, the step bears an circular Roman brick stamp There are also traces in the floor of walls from earlier Roman buildings destroyed in Nero's fire so-called. Also on the lowest level is the remains of a Roman warehouse separated from the apartment house by a narrow alley. In the 12th century basilica at street level take a look at the apse mosaic, which is particularly rich in Christian symbolism. The marble choir screen recovered from the church on the 2nd level is also worth a look. On the wall next to the chapel of Saint Catherine just inside the main door there is a graffito from the 1400's scratched into a fresco.

I would skip the beach---too much to see in Rome and the best beach is 2 hours away.

Thanks everyone!
I am thinking we can shift things up and do the following on day one: the Pantheon, so we can visit both Church of San Luigi dei Francesi and the Church of Sant'Ignazio Di Loyola as well as Santa Maria Sopra Minerve and Chiesa del Gesù. We can stroll to the Trevi, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona.
On day two we will do: Laterano, San Clemente and Palatine/Forum/Colosseum and hopefully Santa Stefano Rotundo.

I am thinking more and more if we should do the Vatican city as it will be crowded and not so easy to soak in the atmosphere..

Hi mc68Beats - I wonder how your trip to Rome went? I am following in some of your footsteps in 2 weeks time. Anything I should remember? Anything that you can particularly recommned?

@kovsie Hi there! We ended up switching things a bit and living on the 10th so we will probably be in Rome during the same time as you. :)