Rome for the day
 

Will be taking train to rome from Civitavecchia for the day. While in Rome we would like to see a few things before going back to the ship. What is the best way to get from St. Peters Sq, to Spainish steps and Coliseum? We like to walk but with only hours in Rome speed enters into the equation.

Definitely taxi, affordable and friendly in Rome. Just make sure it has a meter.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

The cruise ships normally dock around 7a.m. in Civitavecchia dock. The train takes around 50 mins, so you should be staring at the Mcdonalds sign inside Termini station Rome at around 8.30 a.m. From there you go straight to the newstand and buy a day ticket for the buses and metro (3 euro) then take metro line B to the next stop CAVOUR. When you exit the metro stop walk down the hill and half way down you'll see a set of steps on your lefthandside the lampost at the base of the steps has a sign with st. Pietro in vincoli though faces the wrong way in any case walk up these steps and at the top you'll find a Church and inside you'll see your first Michelangelo sculpture of the day Moses on the tomb of Pope Julius 11 MASTERPIECE. Exit the Church walk down the steps and turn left, you'll be walking in the area of Nero's Domus Aurea the most amazing residence ever built by man. From here you can see the Colisseum (Flavium Amphitheatre) next to the Colisseum you'll see the Arch of Constantine (edict of Milan 313) walk to the back of this arch and down a street named st. Gregorio, here you can buy your tickets for the Colisseum and Palatine 8 euro for the now compulsory ticket. If you want to know any more E-mail me.

The Michelangelo Moses statue was closed for restoration when I tried to see it last May. If you want to see this sculpture, I recommend checking with the Rome Tourist Board before leaving the USA. With your time in Rome so limited, you will not want to spend time traveling to see sights that are closed.<BR><BR>It is possible to see a lot in only one day. Other "must-sees" are the Colosseum and the Forum (especially the Forum). Santa Maggiore Church is beautiful.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

The project MOSE was completed 7 months ago and the sculpture has been revealed in all it's glory for the world to see (9-12.30 / 15.30-18.00. Sorry for your dissapiontment but you missed one of the finest sculptures Rome has to offer and it's on the way to the Colisseum and the Forum. Although if you wish to see Santa MARIA maggiore then when you exit the metro walk up the hill and AWAY from the Colisseum and Forum. I would suggest your second Church after st. Pietro in Vincoli be Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Bernini) and then St. Luigi dei Francesi (Caravaggio's st. Matthew) It's 00.13 in Rome now so I'm off to sleep!

The colosseum, forum, and palatine are all right next to each other so you can see those in one shot, should take a couple hours, more if you have the time. You could of course just go and get your picture outside the colosseum - you pretty much get the idea what it will look like on the inside from the outside. Get to the colosseum early if possible as the line will be HUGE in the afternoon, from there see the forum (free) and the palatine. The spanish steps are definately walkable, but you might want to take a cab there to save time. You can walk to the Trevi fountain from the spanish steps in about ten minutes. St.Peters is a bit farther, so I would take a cab since time is of the essence. <BR>However, if you plan on visiting the vatican museums, be warned that it will take you at least a couple of hours to walk throught it before you even get close to the sistine chapel...

St. Peters in chains<BR>Colosseum<BR>Forum<BR>Mammertine prison<BR>Campidoglio<BR>Piazza Venezia<BR>Piazza Santi Apostili<BR>Trevi Fountain<BR>Pantheon<BR>Santa Maria sopra Minerva<BR>st. Luigi dei Francesi<BR>Piazza Navona<BR>Castel st. Angelo<BR>st. Peters Basilica<BR> This is possible in 3 hours that would take you up to around mid day. Perfect time to walk into the museumas the line has normally died down by this time. The museums close at 14.20 at the entrance 15.30 at the exit. there are 2 options to get to the Sistine Chapel through different rooms as the museums are intented for a 2 day visit. one rout takes 1 hour 20 mins the other takes 30 mins when you rent the audio guide they'll give you a map.

Excellent itinerary! Thanks

Hi, John. You've gotten good advice so far. I'll just add that, if you get pressed for time, skip the Spanish Steps. It's not really close to anything of the other sites and there's not that much to see.

to the top<BR>

I will add that if you are interested in seeing the Vatican Museum and/or Sistine Chapel, put it at the start of your day, as it tends to close early (12:30 when we were there in March).

I would suggest quality over quantity. Sign up for a Scala Reale tour (4 hours) and really learn something about Rome instead of running from sight to sight.<BR><BR>Just my opinion.

The hours of the vatican change with daylight saving time which has passed