Rome for 2 days
 

Hello All! hoping you might be able to help me with an itinerary for Rome please. We will be there for 2 days on a pre-cruise trip and I have mapped out the important things we would like to do and wanted to ask for input, advice for additional stops, or anything else. There are going to be 3 of us from 30 to 56 and we love old architecture, museums, novelty things, and shopping. We will be staying an additional day after the cruise in which we are going to be spending the time visting the Vatican so no need to include this in the ideas. We wanted to take our time there and see what we wanted to see and not be rushed.

Day 1: arrive in Rome 7:45 am. Check-in to hotel or leave luggage at hotel by 10am.

Leisurely breakfast first…recoup!
get 48 hour Rome Hop-on-Hop-off Bus pass (Integrated 110 open + archeobus 48 hours)
Hop on 110 bus at San Pietro (St. Peters Basilica)
Piazza Navona (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain)
Colosseum (Archeobus)
Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) and Palatine Hill
Anything else that catches our eye (need to add delete anything?)

Day 2:

Pantheon
Forum
San Callisto catacombs(take Archeobus)
Anything else that catches our eye(need to add delete anything?)

Any help is greatly appreciated! It'll be our first time here and we want to see the "must see" sites, plus have fun along the way.

You need to look at a map of Rome, and perhaps do google searches for things like "two days Rome" "self-guided walks Rome".

The Colosseum and the Forum are right next to each other.

The Piazza Navona and the Pantheon are close to each other, but not the Spanish Steps.

I think the Trevi fountain is more fun to see at night.

But take a look at some websites that advise how to maximize a short time in Rome without wearing out your feet.

Google Romewalks. We used them for several walking tours, and they actually do an all day tour. I think dividing 3 or even 4 of their tours over two days would be better. The guides are wonderfully knowledgeable (Ph.D's and the like, and the owner of the company responds to emails right away. Be forwarned--Rome was the hardest city we've ever navigated. We spent our first two days walking around in circles, so a guide is absolutely necessary if you have a limited amount of time.

Forum, Colosseum, and Circus Maximus are all next to one another and so should be done on the same day to maximize your time if in mentioning them you mean to visit them rather than glance at them from a passing HOHO bus.

Similarly the Pantheon is between Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain, which is not far from the Spanish Steps.

Me? I'd get off the bus and use footpower to wander the narrow streets a bus can't reach.

BTW--do you have your reservation for the Vatican? My absolute fav. Romewalks tour was of the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. We seemed to spend more time at the Vatican than anywhere else in Rome.

Also, consider how you typically feel after overnight flight. I have found that walking is essential for me to get over the jet lag and riding on a bus is not a good way. Consider switching your days, first day go first to ancient Roman sights of colloseum and forum (which are next to each other there) start the bus ride later depending how you feel and the next day picking up the balance of the bus early and stopping then at what else you want to see.

All good advice, and though Rome is a piece of cake to get around, one needs to be here awhile before they can navigate. I would actually suggest the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla over that of San Callisto because with the cute little group of multilingual nuns who run the place, the tour actually feels much less rushed and rehearsed. Very easy to reach from Termini, and also far less touristy, so it's a definite fave of mine. And don't miss a walk around the piazzas at night!

Thanks so much everyone for your replies! I had been basing the order of the sites on the order of the stops on the bus, but I can definitely see that that was not a valid way to go. I have set up the following hopefully to see even more and to maximize the trip even more. Any help on if the new itinerary is ok order wise, time wise, wise at all :)
Also,

Leonora- Do we need to have a reservation to get into the Vatican, or were you referring to a tour group reservation?

Dobermina- for the Catacombs of St. Priscilla, would you be able to say where we would need to get off on the train in order to reach this and maybe how long it would typically take to get there, and maybe about how long the site tour would be? thanks so much for the suggestion. We like not being with gobs of tourists :)

New itinerary after looking more closely at distances and my tour books:

Day 1 (we are going in October if this helps)
Leisurely breakfast
Forum
Colosseum
Pantheon
Dinner in Piazza Navona
Trevi Fountain

Day 2:
Saint Priscilla Catacombs
Crypt of the Capuchin Monks (worth seeing?)
Capitoline Museum
Spanish Steps (View, Shopping, gelato)

Hello jodirb, when you mention a leisurely breakfast after arriving in vibrant and beautiful Rome, don't expect an American type of breakfast. Italians usually have some type of coffee earlier in the morning with a roll or pastry and they have lunch around 1:00p.m. I don't think you will find a restaurant serving a leisurely breakfast if I understand your comment correctly. But if I am wrong I am sure Fodorite's will give you some recommendations.

But you could have coffee of your choice and some snack such as a sandwich, pastries etc. when you first arrive. You could ask your hotel for their recommendation of a cafe that could fill your needs. Sitting at a table outside overlooking an interesting piazza would be a nice way to recoup and get a bit settled in with the Roman street scene. Do keep in mind that you will pay more for sitting at an outdoor table however, but always worth it in my opinion. And you won't be rushed. Waiters generally never bring you the check until you ask for it unlike in the US where I assume you live. You could find a restaurant/cafe in the vicinity of the Colosseum/Forum later when you are there and order some pasta or pizza, salad or whatever you desire. There is no need to order several courses unless you want to. Walking a few blocks away from the Colosseum/Forum would be a good idea to get away from the crowds and to find a more Mamma and Pappa type of eating establishment. A nice glass of wine would probably be enjoyed at this point too! Do you know you do not need to tip like we do in the US? Lets say your lunch is 40 Euro. 2 Euro is a good tip to give the waiter, another Euro if he has been extremely good about helping you figure out the menu etc.

My opinion about the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks is this. It is at the top of the Via Veneto. Unless this is something one of you have always wanted to see I wouldn't bother spending the time. The Spanish Stairs are always crowded but fun to visit anyway and you will be in the good shopping area! If you felt up to it the first night you could visit the Spanish Stairs the first evening when you visit the Travi Fountain as they are very close to each other.

No doubt others will have complete different thoughts.

Have a beautiful time in Rome, on your cruise and your last day at the Vatican.

LoveItaly- Thanks for the explanation! Leisurely to me just means to take our time and enjoy! I don't think we'll care at that point what we're eating as long as we can see something outdoors that looks non-US like and makes us know we're in Italy :D The idea about wine around the forum is a great one. I'm sure after we see all the different things on that first day, we'll really be loving some wine for lunch/snack/dinner;) Luckily I did know about the asking for checks and not tipping extra. I read these boards a lot, but just finally got past the planning of everything else for the trip and only now getting to really getting to the nitty gritty for Rome, so I really appreciate the help!

I like your second itinerary, and agree that you can easily hit the Spanish Steps in the evening when near the Trevi Fountain. Beware that the Trevi Fountain is very crowded (and we've only been during the winter months) and you will probably quickly get annoyed by the hawkers trying to sell you junk or get you to pay for them to take a picture of you in front of the fountain because they can be relentless. The fountain is indeed beautiful but on each of our trips to Rome we made a quick stop and then quickly escaped.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned!
Tracy