Pt 3 (Rome) of 31 day Italy itinerary-can you help?
 

Hello all,

I am posting this itinerary in several parts, hoping to get experts on the areas we'll be visiting.
To briefly summarize, I'll be traveling to Italy in 1 week (!) with DH and two teenage sons (14, 16), and I'm hoping that the experts out there can help me to refine our itinerary.

Here’s the overview of the whole trip:

Fly into Venice. Stay 4 nights
Train to Florence. Stay 5 nights
Drive to San Gimignano. Stay 2 nights
Drive to Siena. Stay 4 nights
Drive to Orvieto. Stay 1 night
Train to Rome. Stay 4 nights
Train to Naples, private driver to Positano. Stay 7 nights
Return to Rome. Stay 2 nights
Fly home from Rome

This post relates only to the Rome part of the trip.

Part 3: Rome

Day 17: Arrive by train, and buy Roma Pass at the newsstand. If anyone could help us with transportation tips to get to our hotel at Piazza della Rotunda (Pantheon), I’d appreciate it. I know that taxis often try to overcharge tourists, so if anyone knows how much it should cost, that would be a help.

We’ll be staying at Albergo del Senato, facing the Pantheon-this is something we’re all looking forward to! After check-in, we can explore the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and hopefully have time for that fantastic dessert treat that I believe is called tartufulo (warm brownie with ice cream in the center-yumm!)

Dinner: Pietro al Pantheon
Most of the restaurants I’ve booked are right near the Pantheon so that we can walk, and are highly recommended on TripAdvisor.

Day 18: We’d like to tour the Colosseum, Forum and Capitoline. Looking for suggestions on whether we should use Rick Steves audio guides on our iPhones or book a private guide (which seems more expensive here than elsewhere).

We also want to leave time for a leisurely lunch on the edge of a piazza, and savoring Rome. Any suggestions?

Dinner: La Fontana di Venere, which is near the Trevi Fountain.

After dinner we can walk around the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps area. Does anyone know how long it takes to walk from Spanish Steps to Pantheon, and whether it is a safe walk at night? Otherwise, we can take a (overpriced) taxi.

Day 19: St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museum. We do have a private tour booked for that already at 9:00 am. I know the rules about proper dress, but do you think my boys will be allowed in with long shorts? If not, they can wear the zip-off pants we’re bringing.

After that we’re open, so if anyone can think of a nice way to spend the afternoon I’d love to hear.

Dinner: Casa Coppelle

Day 20: Borghese Galleries and Park
I have not pre-booked our entrance yet, because I’m a little confused about how it works with the Roma Pass, and the youth discounts. If anyone could help with this I’d be most grateful.

Our afternoon will be free, and it might be nice to go to San Pietro in Vicoli to see Michelangelo’s Moses, but if anyone else can suggest an alternative that would be helpful, too.

Dinner: Al Duello

Day 21: Train to Naples, and on to Positano

I’ll put that part of the trip in another post. We will be returning to Rome for the last two nights of our vacation, so if anyone can think of suggestions for those last two days we’d appreciate that.

Thanks again to all who have read this itinerary. I’m so grateful for any help you can give me as I refine things!

If your sons are wearing capris they should be allowed in the Vatican. If by long shorts you mean above the knee - no - that won;t cut it. Only children (as in 8/9 and below can get away with shorts) not full size people - no matter their age.

And please note that while this is officially enforced at the Vatican (by the Swiss Guards) it may or may not be enforced at other cathedrals and churches - and/or anyone considered to be disrespectful in dress is likely to hear it in a very loud way from elderly local worshipers. (When we were in St John Lateran a couple of female clods from a tour group - wearing shorty shorts and very low cut tank tops - were driven from the church by a couple of elderly ladies who were highly offended by their lack of dress.)

>>>Our afternoon will be free, and it might be nice to go to San Pietro in Vicoli to see Michelangelo’s Moses, but if anyone else can suggest an alternative that would be helpful, too.<<<

This is by the Forum (a block or two up via Cavour)or Colosseum (not far from here either). You should visit while in those areas.

When using the Roma Pass for the Borghese, you must call to book your entrance and tell them you are using the pass. Keep in mind that your pass is valid for three consecutive days. Your first two entrances will be the free ones. The Colosseum/Forum/Palantine count as one entrance. You can book a tour of the Colosseum through their official booking for only 5-12€ (higher priced tour includes the underground).
http://www.pierreci.it/home-page/it/...zo-ordine.aspx

Thanks to both of you for the advice! I think the zip-off pants will be the way to go for the boys, and I'll put San Pietro with the Colosseum.

kybourbon: Thanks for the tips on the Roma Pass. Since it is only good for 3 days, perhaps I should wait to buy it until the day we visit the Colosseum. That link is very helpful.

Maybe you could help me decide which of the three ticket options would be best. Here is a copy of the text on the webpage:
>>card combines admission to museums and monuments and transports; it also proposes discounts on guided tours and purchases

tick@print lets you purchase you admissions ticket on line and print it at home, thus avoiding the queue at the ticket desk

ticket on-line lets you purchase your admissions ticket on line and gives you a code to present at the ticket desk<<

My thought is that the "card" option sounds a lot like the RomaPass. I'd like to bypass the queue, but still take advantage of RomaPass pricing. This gets pretty confusing!

Thanks again!

Does anyone know which option above I should use for Colosseum tickets if I'm using the Roma Pass?

-"card"
-tick@print
-ticket online

Thanks!

You can walk from the Spanish Steps to the Trevi fountain to the Pantheon to Piazza Navona in a very easy and scenic walk.Part of the wonder of Rome is to walk and savor the experience in the alleyways of the people,shops and restaurants.
Just remember to not over plan your days (especially at this time of the year with the heat) as you will be wiped out early.

I believe you have to call Pierreci to book a tour if using the Roma Pass for entrance. I don't think you can book it online. You can buy the Pass through ticketclic, but I wouldn't as you may want to use the transport portion to reach the Colosseum.

>>>Since it is only good for 3 days, perhaps I should wait to buy it until the day we visit the Colosseum. That link is very helpful.<<<

The three days activates when you start using the pass (either the transport or site entrance). I would not want to be in line at the Colosseum to buy it. If you are arriving at Termini in Rome, I would buy it there. Here's a list of places to purchase.
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=8

I never had a problem with taxis overcharging in Rome. They have a meter; just make sure to watch it and see what it is when you get in and when you get out. Since I took Italian in college, I always ask the driver if he can take me where I want to go in Italian. I don't know if that helps or not (i.e. he figures I can read the Italian signage in the cab).

It cost us ten euro to get from the taxi stand at Chiesa Nuova (not right next to the Pantheon, but on the other side of Piazza Navona) to Termini last year. I posted a thread asking about prices that might be helpful - kybourbon posted a link to typical prices there.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ay-morning.cfm

The Forum is the one place I really wish I'd sprung for a tour, or at least familiarized myself with Rick Steves's plan so I could use his podcast (we started at a different place than he did and it was more confusing than helpful to me). If you can fit it in your budget, I'd really recommend it.

After the Borghese morning, you might walk down to Piazza del Popolo and/or Santa Maria della Vittoria (where St Theresa in Ecstasy is, if you haven't gotten your fill of Bernini!). I actually like that you have some spare time built in; it'll give you time to go places you see along the way that look interesting, or just wander around.

Taxi from Termini to Pantheon is in the 15E range. With 4 people that's about 7E more than four bus tickets will cost - very worth the extra 7E or so - especially with luggage. You can save elsewhere.

For instance, use the I-phone audio tour (or buy a brochure) and save the cost of a private tour guide at Colloseum. We usually have someone in our group read from an in depth brochure and act as our "tour guide". Then you have the book as a souvenir...I've got nothing for you regarding a lunch spot on a piazza near the Colosseum/Forum area (are there even any nice, quiet, people-watching piazzas nearby?). Hope someone else here can help.

St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum can take a long time. Hopefully you'll have a long relaxing lunch break between them. I could easily spend 4 hours just inside the Basilica (without climbing the dome). You should walk there - maybe Via dei Coronari on the way there and Via Giulia on the way back. Both very charming streets. You might then cross the Ponte Sisto (at the end of Via Giulia) and walk to Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere for dinner before taxing a taxi (about 15E) back to the hotel.

>>>For instance, use the I-phone audio tour (or buy a brochure) and save the cost of a private tour guide at Colloseum<<<

Except you can't get in the underground without a tour.

From your hotel, you can easily walk to many places, and can easily do so even at night; all these areas are safe. This includes Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, Spanish Steps (IMHO, less interesting than the other areas), Trevi Fountain.

Other areas to explore, the afternoon after the Vatican & Vatican museums and/or after your time at the Colosseum, Forum, Capitoline. Palatine Hill - more ruinous than the Forum area; we visited here with a guide (ContextTours), and we very glad we'd done so. Visiting all of these sites in one day might end up in ancient-Rome-overload.

Trastevere is a fun neighborhood, and has some beautiful churches as well.

Other churches that we (and our daughter) enjoyed: San Celemente (near the Forum, BTW, a beautiful church built on top of an older church, built on top of a Mithraic temple and a Roman home, all of which you can visit); Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Michelangelo’s “Christ Carrying the Cross”); St. Ignatius (really neat trompe d’oiel dome); San Agostino (Caravaggio’s “Santa Maria of Loreto”); San Luigi (three paintings by Caravaggio, about St. Matthew). And the theater of Marcellus.

Another items we've found very helpful are little books, I think you'll see them at souvenir stands near the Forum, that have overlays showing you how the sites look now vs. how they looked "back then."

I'm amazed at the amount of great advice! Thank you!

dutyfree-It's good to hear that you can walk between all of the areas. It's hard to tell that from a map. We'll take it easy in the heat---we're in no rush! :-)

kybourbon-thanks for clarifying when the RomaPass activates-I will definitely pick them up at the station. That link will be very helpful.

Delaine-love the idea of telliing the driver the destination in Italian--I'll practice before we get there!

jent-much as I'd like to save the money, I'm thinking we might need to think again about booking a tour at the Forum. We do have that little book with the overlay, but I think the boys (and we) will get more out of it with a guide. Is there much to do in Piazza del Popolo? I know that unlike many of the other piazzas, there is vehicular traffic.

bardo-I did download the Rck Steves audio tours and they are quite good. My original thought was that we'd each have our headsets in and just use the iPhones. When I look over the budget again, maybe we might rethink the Forum tour. It will cost about 250E, according to at least one company. Ouch! Maybe the underground isn't that exciting...

Lexma-it's good to hear that those areas are safe at night. Walking is by far our favorite way of getting around, and at night it's much more comfortable. Thanks fort the suggestions on other things to see.

I hadn't considered walking to the Vatican. Since it's such an early tour, we might wimp out with a taxi there, but walk back. I'm sure walking along the bridge would be lovely!

I am humbled by your generosity in taking the time to help with planning this trip! Thanks again!

No, there's not much to do at Piazza del Popolo. As you've gathered, it's not really a "sit around and people-watch" kind of piazza. There is a church at the southern end but we didn't go in (I think it was closed for lunch when we were walking by). We went through because that's where we came out of the gardens, and I thought the arches and the obelisk were interesting, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to see it unless you have a particular interest. The piazza does, however, lead you to Via del Corso, which is a major shopping area. Checking out the European chains was fun for us, but if you're not into shopping at all you might avoid it. It was really crowded the afternoon we were there (Thursday in mid-May).

If you don't have <i>some</i>thing to guide you, the Forum just looks like a bunch of ruins that you think must be important but you have no idea why! I'm not sure which tour is &euro;250, but the official Colosseum-only tour we did, including the underground levels, was around &euro;30 a person. I haven't been paying attention to whether those are going on again this year, but if it is and you had to, you could always do that and then use Rick's podcast at the Forum, maybe listening to it a bit beforehand to know where to go first. I also had a Blue Guide that had some helpful information in it, though you might check out the Green Guides or other guidebooks too, if you go that route.

As others have mentioned, Rome is VERY walkable. We walked everywhere from the Piazza Navona area, save coming from the airport and getting to the train station to leave.

Whatever you do, you'll have a great time. I would love to go back!

I don't know if it's just me, or anyone else, but this itinerary seems a little heavy on museums and history for a 14 and 16 year old boy, unless they've studied up on art history, and LOOOOOVE to go to museums all the time at home. What are you boys like? What do they do at home?
Believe me, if they're like 14 year olds I know, the "natives will be getting a little restless" Perhaps you may need advice on what teens like to do in Rome. Please don't take offense.

Cybertraveler,

Congratulations on your trip plans. I don't think you'll be disappointed by Albergo del Senato--love that place! The staff there are so nice and helpful.

I was thinking the same thing as NoCaliGal--though unfortunately I don't have any specific advice as I have not travelled to Italy with teenagers. I would echo what someone else said, however, that you should leave some free time to just wander around. The narrow cobbled streets, especially in the area around the Pantheon (shops, gelato places, Romans hanging out in doorways conversing) are great. I would think both the teens and the adults would find that intriguing. The hotel staff also might have some recommendations for things the teens would enjoy.

It is definitely safe to walk from the Trevi fountain or Spanish Steps back to your hotel at night.

I have to disagree somewhat with the statement that there's not much to do at Piazza Popolo. There's not that much in the piazza itself, but Santa Maria del Popolo is located there. It is a beautiful church with 2 magnificent Caravaggio paintings, a Bernini sculpture and a very interesting kneeling skeleton floor mosaic. There is also a beautiful view of the Piazza from the end, which can be reached by stairs from the Piazza or from the top via the Borghese Gardens. The 3,000 year-old obelisk in the square was brought to Rome by Augustus from Egypt.

Delaine, Santa Maria del Popolo was the church we didn't to go into because it was closed - you're making me wish we had! :) "Not that much in the piazza itself" was exactly what I meant.

Yes! Do go to SanPietro in Vincoli. Walking distance from the colosseum. Breathtaking to see Moses and the chain of St Peter. You have planned a wonderful trip. Well done!

Your lucky sons should be able to skip a grade after this trip!! What an education.

Hi again,

jent-the more I hear about the Forum and Colosseum, the more I think we should get the guided tour. (We saved enough on the Positano-Pompeii connection that we can probably justify it!) We can read the books and listen to the audiotapes beforehand (at least I will!) to get a bit more background.

NoCalGal-I agree that we are a bit heavy on the museums and history. I’m hoping that they’ll get more and more interested as they learn more about it. My boys will undoubtedly let me know when they’ve had enough—and that’s when they can go sit at a café with their iPods! Probably DH will volunteer to sit with them!

So, no offense taken at all; in fact, I’m sure that we’ll have to rethink as we go to accommodate what they would enjoy more. The hotels will probably have some good suggestions, too. The nice thing is that since DH and I have been to many of these places before, we won’t feel cheated if we don’t do everything on our “plan”.

RMMR2: Thanks for the feedback on Albergo del Senato, and the suggestions on the area around there. Just wandering around can be wonderful!

Delaine-isn’t Santa Maria del Popolo the church in DaVinci Code? The boys haven’t read that but DH and I have. It sounds fascinating.

Betty-thanks for your kind comments. I’m definitely looking for an upswing in their World History grades next year! ☺

Thanks again for all of your suggestions!

Cybertraveler, yes, Santa Maria del Popolo does feature in Angels and Demons (as does Santa Maria della Vittoria). That's not the reason I went there, but it is definitely another point of interest.

Jent103, if you go back to Rome, try again; it's a great church. I went to Venice 2 times before the campanile at San Giorgio Maggiore was open, and the first time I went to Rome, the Capitoline Museums were closed.

So far, I still can't find a tour of the Forum/Colosseum/Palatine for less than 250 Euros! :-o

It's really hard to justify that much money. I can't see a link to book a tour online at the Colosseum website. Does anyone know if you can get a guide right there for less than 250E?

I realize that carting around a Rome guidebook for your entire trip would take-up valuable space but it would be a shame to miss-out on the detailed info of the many major and minor historical sites that you will come across.

The 'Oxford Archaeological Guide Rome' is the best guidebook for the sites but it is larger than an novel-type paperback and has 455 pages.

In the past I have seen it for sale in the Termini bookstore and I believe the Colosseum bookstore in would be a valuable book to pick-up.

The other option is to razor cut the binding so that you have the sections that apply to your visit which is from Page 60-288 which comes out to 114 actual still bound pages (a little duct tape helps hold it together) and take it with you.
A used copy from Amazon or other sites would make the book destruction less painful:).
Just a thought.

These sites are color models and artist drawings that will help you visualize the way these ancient sites looked like.
Try them on your Iphones.
(Roman Forum)
http://home.surewest.net/fifi/index50.html
(Assorted Rome)
www.maquettes-historiques.net/P5.html

This is long-winded :) but scroll down to my 'March 1, 12 11:35PM' which shows Julius Caesar's assassination site which is ~300m from your hotel.
It's a city block of excavated ruins (mainly 4 temples) fenced-off and below street level.
Had to miss and you'll be passing it a few times during your stay, it's called the 'Largo di Torre Argentina' which is also where the famous 'cat santuary' is located.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lking-tour.cfm
Regards, Walter

You have gotten great advice for your family trip. As someone suggested you might try and get in some things for the teens.

If you are not going to Pompei you might want to consider going to Ostia Antica easily reached (Rick Steves can guide you). I second crossing the Tiber and going into Trastevere, stopping first to check out the Campo d. Fiori market (closes around 2:00). Head into the old Jewish ghetto before going over the Tiber.

Absolutely the best 1 piece of advice is get a very good map of Rome and mark down ahead of time areas you want to see and the places to eat along the way and what there is not to miss in each area....or maybe there are apps or other tech ways to do the same thing. That way you will not miss anything and you can see how your plan works out for the areas you want to cover each day.

I have the Oxford Archaeological Guide Rome, and like it and have taken it on vacation. But it is heavy and IMHO, of more interest to a history / archaeology geek.

Re taking a tour, we did not take guided tour when we took DD to the Forum and Colosseum (she had enough with these two, and we didn't visit the Palatine hill on that trip). We used the Rick Steves guide, the little book with the overlays (I looked it up on Amazon, it's called "Ancient Rome: Monuments Past and Present" and much more expensive there than it was in Rome) and, I believe, another big and heavy book, the Blue Guide to Rome (which has less detail on Archeology than the other book, but more on everything else). That was more than enough to provide all of us with enough information. The other advantage to doing it on your own is you can spend whatever amount of time you want at each place. We did the same during when we visit the Vatican Museums on that trip (we took a guided tour once when we visited the Vatican Museums, and felt like we just sped through, so we wanted more time there).

Another idea for Rome - the cat sanctuary at Torre Argentina (also renknowned as the site where Julius Caesar was killed).

Many thanks for your helpful information!

Walter, those resources will be great to share with the boys, and your other post is amazing!

Carol, I appreciated the reminder to mark things up on a map as well. I do have a map from a previous trip, so that will be tonight's project!

Lexma, thanks for sharing your experience with your DD. I think that we will be able to glean just enough info from guidebooks and we do already have that overlay book. Also, being able to leave when we've had enough is a good thing.

After all this planning, I NEED a vacation!
:-)

If you do go to Piazza del Popolo, you should take time to walk up to the Pincio Gardens for a fantastic view of Rome.

Another place for a great view is the Janiculum hill. We visited it (we took a bus up) after spending a morning and early afternoon at the Vatican Museums. You can walk downhill from there to Trastevere seeing San Pietro in Montorio with the Tempietto in the courtyard on the way.

For timing your visits to churches, remember that many are closed in the middle of the day.

When we visited Rome a few years ago with our then-16 year old son, he was very interested in the Roman sights. He also enjoyed going to the Piazza Navona to watch the artists and street performers (and one evening a student demonstration).

we all enjoyed checking out the cat sanctuary in the Torre Argentina mentioned by other posters and counting the cats we could see lounging among the ruins.

Ttt

Vtt-thanks for sharing your experience with your 16 yr old; I'm hoping our boys will really enjoy all the ancient Roman sights. That cat sanctuary sounds like something they'd like to see. I'm adding all these suggestions to my map of Rome!

The Cat Sanctuary welcomes vistors and a small donation to their operation is certainly appreciated.
Below is a past post of mine. Regards, Walter

That is the 'Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary'.
www.romancats.com/index_eng.php (click-on the 'History' link)

They are actually squatters there, every so often they receive an official Roman Gov't eviction notice which they ignore which in turn the Roman Gov't ignores which makes everyone happy on both sides:).

In seems years ago they could only feed the cats from the sidewalk as the site is fenced-in and locked.
But an archaeologist who was working at the site at the time give them a key to have better access to the cats.

And they slowly moved-in over time and now have a very nice operation going on given the small space they have available.

I'm a history buff and normally would agree with an eviction to someone illegally squatting at an historical site.

But the area they occupy is just a partial section of the concrete podium/foundation of 'Temple D', most of which is still under the modern street.

Bottomline; Millions of tourists every year walk on 2000yr old streets in Rome, I don't think the volunteers and the kitties can damage anything of archaeological value on a solid concrete podium but I'm a cat person and maybe bias :).

Bring a water bottle. The water is fresh and cold. It's good to drink as long as you don't dip it into the fountain- who knows what's been there. If you see one with a spout stick your thumb in and it becomes a water fountain/spray your buddies:)

I just discovered something VERY cool!

I was trying to locate some of the churches recommended above, using a magnifying glass and my map of Rome (LOL-difficult!) Then, I thought of doing a Google search for the church under maps...

Eureka! Suddenly, I've got a link to the church on the map that I can upload to Tripit, and print to bring with me. Not to mention, it's saved to My Maps on Google. I'll never be lost again!
:-)

Just had to share that!

Another convert to the cyber world of maps!

And I was just about to chime in on this thread to say you should definitely consider using digital maps instead of - or at least in addition to - paper ones! Glad to see you have it all figured out, especially the terrific My Maps option on google maps. :)

During my trip to Italy two years ago, I vowed I would never again travel without an adequate mobile device to hold my guidebooks and for the maps. On that trip, I traveled with two Fodors guidebooks that were really very good in all the ways I needed <i>except</i> the maps! Rome was especially frustrating. Now, I "star" places such as restaurants on google, so when I'm in an area, I can quickly figure out where to eat. It's so great!

Speaking of guide books: Since my partner and I are interested in the history and architecture but at an amateur level, the Ancient Rome section of the guide book was fine for us, without the time and money constraints of a guided tour. For me, it's always incredible just being able to wander around the jumble of ruins, knowing that it's all been there for so long - getting to take it all in at our own pace. (In Herculaneum, however, I wished we weren't quite so DIY - but that's for your other thread!)

// In our usual rather aimless wandering, we happened upon the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary just after sunset one day. In the dusk, first one then more cats slowly distinguished themselves from the bleached white stones around them. We were mesmerized! Then suddenly we heard a low, increasing roar from somewhere behind the ruins: it was a fleet of racing cars circling the area, rumbling in low gear as they stopped for a traffic light. Only in Rome!

One place that's off the beaten path for tourists is the beautiful Protestant Cemetery (Cimitero Acattolico) where the poets Keats and Shelley are buried. It's not far from the Piramide metro stop. Might be something to do once you return to Rome from the south...

If you visit Torre Argentina close to lunchtime, or even any snack time, there's a very good pizza-by-the-slice (pizza al taglio) place right that, called Pizza La Florida, Via Florida 25, in Largo Argentina. It's a storefront, really, with maybe two little tables, and most people take their pizza to go (there are a couple of benches nearby outside). But a great selection of tasty pizzas; the turnover's so fast that they're all hot from the oven, and a delicious selection. For example, the last time we went, we had slices of: eggplant with bufala mozzarella and pacchini tomatoes; zucchini and some sort of cheese; and cheese, olives and tomatoes.

cybertraveler - I'm a big fan of the editable Google Maps too. But if you have an iPhone, iPod or iPad (there may be Android options too, I'm not sure), check out the <b>Rome2Go</b> app. It has basic info on just about every tourist site you want to see, and a metro map (which we never used in Rome, but it doesn't hurt to have). But my favorite feature is that it downloads a searchable map of Rome to your device, so you don't have to use your data plan or wifi to see a digital map, and you can zoom in and out or search for points of interest. Also, if you have a GPS in your device (iPhone or iPad), it will locate you on the map, even if you're not connected to the internet. It's REALLY helpful. It won't have every single street in the searchable database, but it's great for finding the main roads and sites. For the first few days I was in Rome last year I used the map from my Blue Guide, which wasn't really that helpful. Once I remembered that I could use the map on my iPod and zoom in and out, we quit getting lost so much! I used the Paris version on my iPhone in March and it was even better with the GPS.

You can create pins on the maps for your hotel, restaurants, whatever, very similar to what you can do on Google Maps. It is a little more labor intensive being on a mobile device, so I'd only pin things you can't search for.

Yes, the "2Go" map apps are available for Android:
www.ulmon.com

<i>it downloads a searchable map of Rome to your device, so you don't have to use your data plan or wifi to see a digital map</i>

FWIW, you can download google maps to be offline, too.

:)

How do you do that, ggreen? I've never noticed a way. I've been able to see the part of the map that was on my screen before I left wifi/data range, but that doesn't help if I'm not online and need to see a different part of town. I'd love to know!

Oh, I have found fellow techies! Thank you so much for the tip on Rome2Go-I'm installing it as I write.

The big problem has always been no wifi-this looks like a great solution. I'm going to check back to see if ggreen can tell us how to download google maps to be offline...otherwise, I'll get my techie son on it!