We'll be arriving in Rome at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning in April, and will have the whole day, night, plus until 2 p.m. the next day before boarding our cruise ship. We're staying at Parco Dei Principi, near Villa Borghese.

We have no plans yet for our day and a half in Rome. We're in our early 50s, physically rather fit, adventurous and curious. This is our first time in Rome.

What should we absolutely see without having to spend hours waiting in line? Is there a hop-on hop-off bus we could ride, just to get an overview of the city? Ride a city bus, and if so, which one? Take a guided tour - book through the hotel?

Any advice you have for us is much appreciated. Thanks!

The expensive way is to hire a guide and driver, or take an organized tour. My suggestion: There is a day pass for the public transit... buy it and hop on and off, even if only for a couple blocks. I'm guessing that you arrive after an all night flight and leave from the port (Civitavecchia) about an hour train ride from downtown Rome. Still, it is possible to see a lot of Rome in one day. Start at St Peter's cathedral using the subway from your hotel. Tour the cathedral, walk to the Vatican museums and go to the Sistine chapel (its part of the museum). Finished there, take the subway to the Spanish Steps, walk down Via del Corso to the trevi fountain, parthenon, piazza navona (stop for gelato) and hop a bus to the colosseum and the forum. If you are not exhausted, walk (or bus)over to Campo dei Fiori (more gelato), some good shopping nearby and then to via Giulia which is a part of the old jewish quarter. Across the river is another interesting area... Trastevere. You could leave the Vatican for last on this itinerary, but it is probably the most important, so I suggest first.

There is a hop-on, hop-off bus, but if you are wanting to visit some sites, I would book them and plan the fastest transport to the sites.

It's also easy to walk down through Villa Borghese or on Via Veneto to reach sites. Walking back is all uphill so buy a bus ticket and hop on the 116. You could also buy a day ticket and make use of the other electric buses that go through the historic center and the metro.

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=9

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4

As you have a short stay in Rome so I would suggest you to book a tour rather than visiting attractions by your own. This way you can make best use of your time. You wouldn't need to spend a fortune booking a day tour or so but it will make your trip a memorable one. For the first day you can join the tour and in the next half day you can go by your own to some of the places that interest you the most.

Your hotel - which is great - is on a one-way steet headed into town... (been there often)... so getting back to the hotel, you may have to walk a tad. You can ride the 52 or 53 from Piazza San Silvestro (centro area) and get off at the Museo Borghese stop (see pictues and maps on these two posts --> http://tinyurl.com/borghese; http://tinyurl.com/Borghese-transportation). As you read the posts, you can see that you can also ride the 910 to the same stop from Termini and then cross the street and walk with the park on your left to your hotel.

A great way back is if you're in the Prati area... jump on the #19 tram at Piazza Risorgimento and ride to the back of Villa Borghese. The tram follows the walls, past the zoo, and when it BEARS left - away from the walls - GET OFF at that stop! Your hotel is about 175 meters ahead on the right! Opposite the tram stop is Villa Taverna, the US Ambassdor's residence! (6 acres in downtown Rome... I've been lucky enough to visit a few times).

Zerlina wrote a great article on what to see if you only have a day. It may help you, see http://tinyurl.com/rome-cruise. The good news is you have MORE time!

You can catch the HOHO buses, although the stops are more limited now. Here's an article with some options for you: http://tinyurl.com/Rome-HOHO

Thanks to all of you for your great tips. Now we'll just have to decide how much to spend in the day-and-a-half we have and how much we're willing to walk etc. Whatever we decide will be great, I'm sure, and a time for making more happy memories