Rome - best views, favorite sites (besides the "biggies")?
 

We will have almost five days in Rome in July - although split with a trip to Croatia in the middle. We've been to Rome only once before, and only for a few days but did manage the Colosseum, Forum, St. Peters', etc on that trip. So I'm looking for opinions on areas to do walks in, favorite sites (piazzas, streets, churches, parks), etc. I'm especially interested in places with good views since photography is my main interest. Thanks

Protestant cemetery
http://www.protestantcemetery.it/about/about.html
Ostia
http://www.ostia-antica.org/

The station for Ostia is quite close to the cemetery

Two places with great panoramic views of Rome are the Pincio gardens overlooking the Piazza del Popolo and Piazzale Garibaldi on the Gianicolo hill. From the latter it is a nice walk downhill to Trastevere, stopping to admire Bramante's Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio.

If you go to the Protestant Cemetery, you will also see the Pyramid of Cestius is a fascinating tomb from about 18 B.C.

There are so many churches it is hard to choose, but some favorites are Santa Maria in Trastevere, Sta Maria sopra Minerva near the Pantheon, San Luigi dei Francesi with its magnificent early Caravaggios. If you do a search, you will find several threads on churches in Rome.

We enjoyed visiting the Appian Way and the aqueducts via the tourist office archeobus.

If you have not visited the Palatine on earlier trips I would recommend exploring that area. It is much greener and more park- like than the Forum. The view of the Forum from the Farnese gardens is another classic spot for good pictures.

Agree that the Protestant Cemetery is worth a visit--very parklike. Baths of Caracalla, Mouth of Truth (at Santa Maria Cosmedin Church which is ancient), Cappuchin Crypt, keyhole view of the Vatican in the gate on Aventine Hill are interesting. Walk down Via Guilia (runs parallel to the Tiber) and look for the fountain that is fed by an original aqueduct.

Baths of Caracalla was one of my favorite spots in Rome. It's a great place to take photographs. Basilica Santa Sabina is another gem that we just happened to pop into as we were walking by on our convoluted, but lovely route to Testaccio for lunch at Checchino.

Church of San Clement is fascinating - you can walk down through history of several different churches to the Temple of Mithras at the very bottom. If you're interested in Etruscan antiquities the Vill Guilia has a fantastic collection - from large statuary to household goods and personal items like mirrors, tweezers and pots for cosmetics.

A day trip by train to Assisi would be interesting.

Rome from the top of Saint Peters dome and sunset over the Roman Forum as seen from the wine terrace at the Forum hotel are just two great photographic locations not to be missed if at all possible. For history I agree with nytraveler the San Clemente church should be on your list and for lovers of the baroque, the lavish interior of the Santa Maria Della Victoria church is a jewel. There are so many, where do you stop... From one photo hound to another, have a great vacation and bring home lots of memory chips.

I love the Jewish Ghetto with the museum and the ruins and the restaurants.

Galleria Borghese, seen by reserved ticket only.

Another vote for Santa Maria in Trastevere and another vote for the ruins of the Portico d'Ottavia in the Jewish ghetto.

If you head off to the piazza del Popolo, or the Galleria Borghese you might find it interesting to walk to or from there on the via Margutta, a street of artists.

Ostia Antica is to me a biggie, but if you haven't seen it, it is incredibly rewarding and will give you a vivid sense of what Rome proper was like in antiquity.

I didn't see the Pantheon on your list of what you saw your first visit, so it is a true marvel if you haven't seen it before. There are roof top bars in that area -- one at the Grand Hotel della Minerve, which I know is open to the public, and one at the Albergo del Senato, which I'm not sure is but you can simply step inside and ask. If it's not, della Minerve is steps away. They might offer nice photo ops.

You can also buy "City Secrets: Rome", an "insider's guide" to interesting places in Rome.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Some I had already planned on but now I've researched them all. So many things to do, so little time.

The citrus gardens next to Santa Sabina on the Avetine hll will provide a great view of Rome and is never crowded.

Santi Cosma and Damiano, just off of Via Fori dei Imperiali holds some of Rome's oldest mosaics. Same with Santa Prassede and Santa Pudenziana, each a block away from Mary Maggiore.

Sant'Agostino contains a Caravaggio, a Rafael fresco, Bernini sculptures and what is believed to be the original icon from the Hagia Sophia. San Luigi dei Francesi has three Caravaggios. Both are a block or so away from Piazza Navona.

Santa Maria Madelena, a block north of the Pantheon, is another amazing, yet seldom visited church.

There is a park adjacent to the Villa Aldobrandini on the Quirinal hill in Rome. It is elevated over the Via Nazionale and pretty centrally located, but is very peacefull also. I believe it has some good views of the Emanuele Monument and perhaps more.

Isabel, I watched a great course on ancient Roman archeology offered for free on line by Yale at http://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/roman-architecture/

Not only does this give a lot of insight about the monuments you will be seeing; it features a lot of sites that I had not heard about elsewhere, and that would be interesting to visit.

I agree the little park next to Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill has beautiful views of the city, is very quiet and is a great place for picnic. The Campo de Fiori has a wonderful market with flowers, food, etc. I love walking in the areas around the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain (information on the Trevi Fountain area at http://www.best-of-rome-italy.com/tr...tain-rome.html). The church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme has relics of the cross of Christ. The Scala Santa (Holy Steps) are said to be the steps with drops of Chrit's blood, that lead up to the court of Pontius Pilate. They were brought from Jerusalem by St. Helena around AD326. Pilgrims reverently ascend them on their knees.

The correct link for the Trevi Fountain area mentioned in comment above is:
http://www.best-of-rome-italy.com/tr...tain-rome.html

Nikki - great site, time consuming, but great

Karen thanks for that link, it's a site I had not been to before and does seem to have lots of info.

hi isabel,

my favourites, not mentioned above, are the galleria doria pamphilli [ terrific house and art and hardly anyone there] and St. Cecilia in Trastevere - the church, though pleasant, isn't that much, but pay €3 to go down into the crypt, walk past the ruins, and at the end you'll find the most perfect mosaic encrusted chapel.