WE have 2 days after a cruise to stay in Rome
I've written down from a book I've gotten info on what we want to see for sure- theres other things but we just don't even know if we can fit all this in-
the main problem is we want to go to Ostia Antica which we think will take up one of our whole days in travel and walking the place. if there is anything else you can tell us about that we just must see let me know !
can anyone help us and tell us the reality of how we might plan this out.

Vatican Museums: 12 euro m-f 8:45-3:20/ sat 8:45-12:20 2 hr

St Peters Basilica: free/ dome : 6 euro daily 7-7 45 min

Colosseum : 10 euros 9- 1 hr before sunset 45 min

Roman Forum : Free 9 – 1 hr before sunset 45 min

Palatine and Museum: Free ( if you buy the Colosseum Ticket) 1 hr

Pantheon: Free daily 9 – 6 30 min

Trevi Fountain: Free 20 mins

Spanish Steps: Free 20 mins

Ostia Antica: 4 euro tues-sun 8:30-7 2-3 hr

P.S. the time limits are what the book says how long it takes to go through the place- but we like to roam and take alot of pics so who know show long it will really take...

Dear A,

Rome wasn't built in 2 days! Sorry, couldn't resist.

First, tear up that "book" because you are right, you will spend a lot more time in all of these places.

I think you could possibly do ancient Rome one day, plus some of the other sights.

You could spend another day seeing the Vatican Museums and St. Peters. Plus some more churches, etc.

You will have to choose between these and Ostia Antica. With so much to see and do in Rome, I would skip Ostia Antica. See Pompeii and Paestum on another, future trip!

Seriously consider adding the Borghese Gallery to your Rome plans. It's a highlight and must be reserved in advance.

Buon viaggio!

First of all, I don't think you can do all of this in 2 days. Some of your times are not accurate.

I would skip the Spanish Steps altogether. They just aren't that great, with so many other wonderful things in Rome.

If you want to do the Vatican Museums & St. Peter's, you might want to do a tour. Most will be 4 hours for those two.

For the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill, 2-1/2 hours would be zipping right through them. Again, most tours for these sights are 4 hours.

I'm sure you could spend only 20 minutes at the Trevi Fountain, but you have to factor in time to get there. Same with the Pantheon. Of course, you could spend more than 30 minutes there, but 30 minutes could be fine, but how long will it take you to get there?

I can't imagine getting to Ostia Antica, seeing it, and getting back in less than 1/2 day, and it seems as though that would be quick.

So with only 2 days (are these whole days?), I would probably skip Ostia Antica this time unless it is your absolute must-see item and do 1 day at the Vatican/St. Peter's and the second at the Colosseum/Forum/ Palatine. Then you could fit in around these things the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Piazza Navona (I know that's not on your list, but it's a great place to go for a drink after dinner and enjoy the fountains, people, performers & artists).

OK, Dayle and I were posting at the same time, and as usual, we agree! The Galleria Borghese is great!

Hmm, 2 real busy days, but most is possible. Buy the Roma Pass when you get to Rome. 3 days of unlimited Bus/Metro/Train service plus entrance to 2 attractions.

Day 1 - Do the Vatican pre-order for the museum entrance for 8:15. If you spend less than 3 hours there, then don't waste your time going. This is one of the world's great museums.

See St. Peters, but getting up and down to the dome can take an hour, it is usually packed. I'd nix the dome idea. Spend an hour in St. Peters. Figure it is now 12:30pm.

Take a cab to Piazza Navonna. 60 minutes there including cab, walk over to the Pantheon, figure an hour or so (including the walk). Time for lunch. Make it quick, say 30 minutes.

It is now 3 pm.

From Pantheon, walk over to Trevi. You'll pass Hadrian's Temple, Piazza Montevitorio and Column of Marcus Aurelius. Figure another hour total.

From Trevi, walk up to Spagna. You'll pass Church of Sant Andrea della Fratte. If it is still open, go in. It is wonderful. Once you are at Spagna, walk down Via Condotti, stop in at Caffe Greco for some coffee. Continue to Via del Corso and turn right. You can go over to the Mausoleum of Augustus, but you won't be able to see the Ara Pacis.

It's now about 6pm. Stroll on up to Piazza del Popolo and relax. Stick around this area if you want and walk back down to the Bridge of Angels and Castel San Angelo for the evening.

Day 1 is done.

Day 2 -
Start the day about 8:30 am.
Start at Campidoglio. Not enough time for the Capitoline museums, so go on down into the Forum. Spend an hour strolling through the Forum. Forget Palatine hill. Go on to the Colosseo.

Figure this takes 3 hours total, it is now 11:30.

From the Colosseum, take the subway towards Laurentina and switch to the Ostia-Lido train. 45 minutes to Ostia. Cross over to the park. Spend like 3-4 hours there. Be sure to take drinks and a picnic lunch.

Take the train back, switch over to the Metro and get off at the Circus Maximus stop. It is now about 5-6pm

Walk through Circus Maximus, continue to Foro Boarium and up to Teatro Marcello and Portico d'Octavia. You might want to have a great pastry at the bakery next to the ruins.

From here, you continue up Via Teatro Marcello to Venezia.

Only things you missed are the dome and the Palatine. I think Ostia is well worth missing Palatine. You got in a few more things.

Dave

Oh, and use the Roma Pass for entrance to the colosseo and Ostia, plus all public transportation.

dave

I would advise one day Vatican museums and St. Peters and one day for the Forum/Palatine/colosseum. I don't think trying to get out to Ostia Antica makes sense during a 2-day stay altho it is a great side trip during a longer time in Rome.

Usually it is better to be able to do the Vatican museums and ST P on two separate days but you have so little time traveling back and forth to the VAtican area twice would waste a lot of time
The times your guide book gave are definitely very short for most locations

On the day you do the ancient roman sights (for which I think you should plan on about 4 hours total) you could spend time at Piazza Navona and Piazza della rotunda (Pantheon). Trevi fountain and Spanish steps are possible to add then or the evening of the Vatican day
Dave's suggestion of walking through the Jewish ghetto section (area near Portico d'Ottavia and Teatro di Marcello, along via Portico d'Ottavia) would also be a nice extension of a walk to PNavonna, Campo di Fiori

You don't say where you are staying in Rome but it would really help to pick somewhere in the centro storico so you are close to everything except the Vatican.

I am not entirely sure it is possible to follow your schedule but I may not be the greatest of person to ask...but if it is possible I would recommend a good pair of walking shoes.

I was there last summer with my just married husband and were there for 2 days and we did a lot of walking and sight seeing and I still didn't get to see everything on my list. I do remember of our entire honeymoon that Rome was the most tiring. I also think we couldn't really enjoy what we were seeing becuase we had a packed schedule. That is my opinion though.

It is just a great excuse to come back and see some of it again and find other places to see too. Best wishes on your trip.

Well, maybe you could do what daveesl suggests, but I sure wouldn't want to! Just my opinion. There's not even a minute in that schedule to relax and enjoy what you're seeing.

No, this is all we saw, and we were there for 6 days.

Get Rick Steve's book "Mona Winks"-is walking tour of ancient Rome is great, and his descriptions/history of the Sistine Chapel really make it come alive. When I was in Rome many moons ago I was reading from his book outloud to my friend while we were at the Colosseum and a group gathered around to listen to me as I had valuable info that they didn't have!

Another vote for skipping Ostia Antica and Spanish Steps; one day for Vatican/St. Peters, and one for Colisseum/Forum/Palatine. You can add-on the Pantheon and Fountain of Trevi to the afternoons.

Another vote for Vatican/St. P one day and Colosseum/Forum another. I was there 5 days (granted it was Easter week and very crowded) but I wasn't able to see Palatine, Borghese Gallery and Gardens or Ostia Antica.

If you try to cram in all of those sites you probably won't really enjoy any of them. It is easy to walk by Trevi and Spanish Steps during some free periods that aren't so structured. Angel tours does a free tour of the Pantheon around 7 PM, but I'm not sure if it is every day.

With this ambitious a schedule of sights, you might want to consider a (private/semi-private) tour.

Francesca Caruso (email: [email protected]) is a great Rome guide and was very knowledgable about ancient Rome --she could take you around the Forum/Colosseo/Palatine (probably another 4-5 hours). You'll find some helpful information about her here: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/tourn.../francesca.htm, but she also does private tours

Context Rome (http://rome.contexttravel.com/main/home/) does a great tour of the Vatican/St. Peters (about 4 1/2 hours). Do this in the afternoon and you will have better luck with the queue (which can be horrendous and could result in your losing 3+ hours just waiting). We had NO wait in the early afternoon and got a private tour to boot since the other party didn't show.

Leave at least one afternoon and evening unscheduled and use that to walk by the other sights you mention: Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps*, eat dinner in Piazza Navona and see the fountains there. gelato and soak in a little atmosphere. * Yes, they are ONLY steps but it's a nice area for shopping/strolling/eating dinner and won't cost you much in terms of time.

If you have only two days, you just don't have time for a day trip anywhere (though Ostia Antica is as close and easy as any). It's a shame you can't squeeze out a few more days in Rome; I think you'll leave the city with a long list of sights and experiences you didn't have time for, and some things you do will seem rushed and less enjoyable because of the schedule. The tours that I mentioned would help you pack a lot in and get the most out of your limited time. Buon viaggio.

Okay, we only had 1 day in Rome (first visit as well). We did this as a side trip from Florence. I planned in advance what the 'must sees' for us were. We arrived at 8.30am by train. Jumped in a taxi and went direct to the Vatican Museums - walked straight in, no queue at all (well this was mid January), not sure how long we spent here, must have been about 2 to 2.5 hours or a little more. It is without a doubt the best museum I've ever been in. After that, we walked from the Museum entrance right around the wall to St Peters Square, spent some time here looking around etc, then into the Cathedral, including the tombs. Then we decided from there to walk to the Colosseum - stopping on the way to sit in a cafe, stumble across the cat sanctury (loved this), taking photos of buildings etc. Didn't go into the forum, but stopped to look and take photos. Did a tour of the Colosseum (about an hour), hopped into another taxi and arrived at the trevi fountain, loved that - lots of people there. It was still daylight at this time (winter) then we had an absolutely wonderful time at a restaurant recommended to us by friends, which was close to the trevi. After that, we spent more time at the trevi (dark at this stage and looking very lovely), window shopped and had a very pleasant walk back to the train staion and left Rome around 7.30pm. It was a fantastic day - and I have no regrets about it - I would much rather just go for a day than not at all. However, having said that - WE WILL BE BACK.

very useful thread, since i too will very likely be there only 2 days (3 nights?) by choice.

bookmarking

You might want to check the opening hours for the Vatican Museum. Its website lists a 10:00 am opening - not 8:45. If I recall, only certain reserved tours can get in that early.

the New York Times has an article called 36 hours in Rome (does the same thing for other cities)
http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/17...l/17hours.html

This is not a really list of "must sees" but includes some things that are interesting, somewhat unusual. One suggestion it makes is to go up the Janiculum Hill to the Piazzale Garibaldi for the "best view" of Rome. I am not sure it is the best view, but it is certainly spectacular. The article suggests walking down the hill to Trastevere, stopping at the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola. I agree this is a great walk, but if you take it don't miss San Pietro in Montorio with Bramante's Tempietto right on the way.

The article also talks about the cat sanctuary at Largo Argentina, mentioned by amandab in her post. this is quite near the Piazza navona/Pantheon/Campo de Fiori if it is of interest. We stayed in an apartment in the ghetto section, just off of Piazza Mattei, and walked past the Largo Agentina several times a day, always stopping to count the cats we could see in the ruins.

We spent 7 nights right in Rome and and an 8th night near the airport and still have a long list of things we missed but want to see another trip. I think you just have to accept that you can't see everything no matter how long you have and enjoy the sights you can see without trying to cram in too much.