Johnkel

I'm taking my first trip overseas, and I decided to go to Rome. I leave Thursday for 7 nights of fun and enrichment hopefully.
I'll be travelling alone.
Here's my plan, give me your thoughts or advice if any. I'm all ears.

Thursday-Friday: Fly to Rome
Friday: Take train from airport to Rome
Then take metro from Rome train station to hotel, check in get my bearings
Saturday: Sleep in, Spanish Steps, Go to a classical musical concert of some sort that night
Sunday: Sunday mass at St. Peter's, then I need something to do to celebrate my birthday that day - maybe a nice restaurant
Monday: Try the Vatican Museum
Tuesday: Vatican Gardens, Roman Forum, Colleseum, and see the house that Shelley died in
Wednesday: Pope's public audience, Castle of Saint Angelo, maybe the Borghese
Thursday: Day trip to Florence, get a 1st class ticket to and from, tour the domed cathedral and see Michelangelo's David
Friday: Fly home

What do you think?

peeky

What do I think? I think I am coming with you!

Seriously though, Shelleys death house is right next to the Spanish steps so see that on Saturday. My friends say there is not much to do at the steps except people watch and sit on the steps.

Check to see if the Vatican museum is closed on certan days. You keep going back to the Vatican on different days, can you lump them all together?

I haven't been myself but much to the Fodorite's distress I have been researching here too.

ira

Hi john,

You forgot to stop by the Trevi Fountain to throw in a coin so that you will return to Rome.

WillTravel

I'll be posting my trip report soon, but here's one possibility to consider. What if you went straight to Florence after arriving at Termini and stayed there for two nights? Then all the rest of your time would be in Rome, and you could avoid the daytrip hassle, and you'd have more time in Florence. I think that's a reasonable division of time considering your schedule.

I think you have to book the Vatican Gardens ahead of time, but check on that.

The Spanish Steps are rather disappointing right now. There are no flowers on them. The church has scaffolding on it, and the scaffolding has a billboard. So it looks nothing like the postcard version. Admittedly I only saw it at night, but really there doesn't seem to be much there. I saw a small, good-natured American drinking party with a guitarist when I looked at it last Saturday night around 10 PM (and I had also looked at it another night). Otherwise there were a few other couples and small groups and several flower-sellers. So definitely see the Spanish Steps, but don't expect much.

I think the Borghese Gallery must be booked in advance also. At least that's what I read, and it worked out well when I did this. I got the audiophone which was pretty good.

Similarly you have to plan for the pope's public audience if you haven't. Look up Santa Susanna and how to get a ticket from them (which you'll need to pick up Tuesday night).

Johnkel

Thanks for the info so far. I really appreciate everyone's help.
I'm staying at a hotel real close to the Vatican (2 blocks away), so that's why my trip keeps returning there. It's within walking distance of my room. But I will look into visiting the Vatican Gardens and Museum the same day to consolidate things.
I'm already prepaid for my hotel, so anything more than daytrip to Florence would probably not be a good idea money-wise for me.
I have tickets to the Vatican Gardens (Tuesday) and the Papal Audience (Wednesday) already reserved for me, but that's a good point about the Borghese Gallery.
And yes, I will definitely head to the Trevi Fountain. Because I have the feeling this will be a birthday in a place I will long to return to.
As for anyone wanting to travel with me, well, I am open to applications from young single ladies willing to share a bed for 7 days. Your airfare and all expenses will be covered. But you better act fast!
John

WillTravel

For curiosity's sake, what hotel are you staying at, and for what price? I think a Vatican location could work out very nicely.

The Vatican Museum is often (always?) not open that late, so you probably want to start in the morning for that. My Enjoy Rome tour lasted over four hours, and we had a good overview, but definitely nothing in depth.

elaine

Hi
you might want to plow through this thread on Helpful Information about Italy--it has links to a lot of good info

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

chanad

There is not much to see on the Spanish Steps - bascially, you just sit there, for as long or as short as you like, and watch the world go by. (Or get hit on by Italian teenagers at night!) I would advise going to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain the same day you do the Steps - it's all walkable. And do the route again one night, if you're not too tired! All three sights are really beautiful at night when they are all lit up.

ecat

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time and I highly recomend fitting in the Boghese Gallery - here's a link to reserve ticket because reservations are a must. http://www.ticketeria.it/ticketeria/borghese-eng.asp

I also recomend going at or before the 11 am entrance time this way you can get a tour once inside, 11 am is the last tour of the day. Otherwise get the audio guide, both tour and auido guide were 5 euro I believe which is quite a bargin.

Enjoy...

Huitres

I agree with the others re: the Spanish Steps, there is not much to see and certainly not enough to waste an entire day doing only that when there are so many other wonderful places to see/do in Roma. After you've seen the Spanish Steps, walk to the nearby Trevi Fountain, then over to see the Pantheon (Raphael is buried there, along with King Vittorio Emanuele I), cross over Corso Vittorio Emanuele Blvd to the Campo dei Fiori area, etc.

In the Piazza Farnese (adjacent to the Campo dei Fiori), you might even be interested in checking out the terrific art gallery in the Palazzo Farnese (French Embassy Bldg). All these activities can be done in one day as they are all within walking distance of each other....and will still allow you time to go to your classical concert at night.

Also, minor clarification, Shelley did not die in Rome, he was in a boating accident during a storm off the Livorno coast, his body washed up on the shore of Viareggio (both areas in Tuscany, further north). However, there is house in Rome that both he and Keats frequented/stayed in and that is the pink house located at the base of the Spanish Steps. You can't miss it. You can check it out when you're at the Spanish Steps on Saturday.

Since you like Shelley (me too!), you might want to see the Protestant Cemetery in Rome where he was buried, along with John Keats, and Shelley's young son (William, who died at age 3), etc. It's very interesting to see and not touristed by crowds at all. The cemetery is near the Pyramid metro stop; it lies behind the Pyramid itself, and is open daily from 9-5:30.

For Monday, since you will be at the Vatican, you should try to see the Vatican Gardens while up that way in the same area. The Roman Forum, Colisseum, and Appian Way all take very long to see, walk through. You will want to devote your entire day on Tuesday seeing those areas.

Melissa5

Johnkel, on the day where you have written, "Vatican Gardens, Roman forum, colosseum", I suggest that you instead see the following sights, which are all within walking distance of each other:
Morning:
See Ancient Rome, from the Pantheon to the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and other nearby sights.
Noon: Break for lunch
Afternoon: See Trevi fountain, which is near the Pantheon, plus Piazza Navonna, and Spanish steps.
Evening: Return to your hotel in the VAtican area.
If you consult your guidebooks you'll see that there are enough sights in the areas mentioned above to fill your day. If you want to have dinner in a great area, there are so many great restaurants surrounding the Pantheon area...Ristorante der Pallaro is a fun and atmospheric family ristorante with great food.

Nikki

Since you have tickets to the Vatican gardens on Tuesday, I would try to switch the Forum and Colosseum to another day, possibly Monday. You have left plenty of time free on Saturday and Sunday for wandering and taking in more sights.

Johnkel

I'm staying at the Hotel Olympic, 2/a Via Properzio.

Thank you all very much for the information. I'll definitely rearrange the itinerary. That first one was just an idea of the top of my head. After all this help, I'll sit down and place things in a reasonable order to figure out where to go.
As you can probably guess, I'm taking a pretty laid back approach on planning. I figure if I make one thing a big goal for each day, that will be enough to make my trip fulfilling. I'm working hard at remembering to keep this a relaxing vacation.
Once again, thank you.
John

cyberUK

The Borghese Villa is a fantastic way to spend 90 minutes, but book a reservation for an early start, and once inside, arrange a guide. I have done both the audio tour, and the live tour, and the live tour is MUCH better.

Also, you might go to the Scala Reale web site to see the different walking tours they offer of the ancient sites, if you can fit it in, it will be well worth the 25 Euro.

Happy B'day John, enjoy your holiday

ChevyChasen

after seeing the forum you might want to see the vittoriano 'monument'.i was impressed by its scale.

2 things i missed on my trip to rome were a church decorated entirely with monks skeletons and the Caracalla baths.

CheBird

John, don't skip Piazza Navona. It's a fun place at night and has a lot of great restaurants and bars.

We went to Borghese and had to book our tickets ahead of time. If I recall correctly, you can only be in the museum for 2 hours or so - they impose a time limit.

Be sure to get a guided tour of the Vatican Museum before you go into St. Peter's.

If you're like us, you'll want to make return visits to the Colosseum and Forum, rather than just hit them once during your stay.

A guided night walking tour was one of the best things we did. Discovering all the nooks and crannies of the maze of streets and piazzas was too much fun. And it's a great way to check off what areas and sites of the city you'll want to return to. You can hook up with really good tour guides outside the Forum & Colosseum.

I'm jealous - enjoy!!