Need recommendation for orientation tour in Rome.
 

In many large cities it's helpful to take a city tour the first day to get the lay of the land. Does this apply to Rome? In the reading I've been doing to prepare for my October, 2007 trip, I haven't found much information on this subject. I have seen conflicting information about the value of the hop-on; hop-off bus tour but not much else. Any help will be appreciated. Grazie.

In my opinion, no.

Rome is a big city, but the places one typically visits are separate and really manageable.

- Vatican area
- Historic central area (Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi)
- Ancient Rome - Forum & Colosseum

+ other areas like Trastevere for dining, Villa Borghese, etc.

I do recommend a tour guide for the Forum.

Once you figure out how to get around on the main bus routes (i.e. #40 or 64), depending upon where you are staying, much of Rome is easy to get around on your own.

Thanks very much for your input!

Get a good map and lay it out on the table. Circle your hotel, the airport and the main sites you expect to see. It's easy to orient yourself to the river and the dome of St.Peter's that you can see from almost anywhere. I like watching travel shows or renting travel videos where people walk and show you the sites. It gives you a street-level feel of the city before you get there.

I agree that Rome is walkable city. Unless you will be in Rome for 5+ days (you can sightsee at a very leisurely pace) I'd skip the hop on/off bus and let your 2 feet take you around town.

Rome is a very walkable city. Even though it was our second time there, we scheduled the Passeggiata Tour ( early evening walk to fountains and piazzas) thru Icon on our last trip. We arrived in Rome in the afternoon so the timing was perfect. This was a terrific way to "get your bearings".

vboltin; To gave you an idea of walking time/distance break-out your Rome map.

With a piece of paper mark the distance from the front door of Termini Train Station to the entrance of the Roman Forum at the bottom of Via Cavour.

Now in exactly 20 minutes a 52yo overweight man with an over-the-counter knee brace and puffing on a Marlboro can cover that distance :).

So using that paper as a guide you can see how close the other sights are to each other when walking at a slow pace and taking into account traffic lights and other pedestrian traffic. Regards, Walter