Rome in a Day - help!
 

Colliseum
The Forum
Trevi Fountain
Pantheon
Systine Chapel
Vatican Museum
Catacombs

We've decided we want to see the above sites while in Rome for a day on our cruise. Last year did the same cruise and saw a ton, moving very quickly. We're taking the train in from Civitavecchia. Last year we go off on the last stop in Rome and did everything by foot. We'll be able to use city transportation (we're buying the full-access ticket).

Help us to navigate, please, you Roman experts! We three forty-something ladies would appreciate the best route using foot/transportation. :-)

Best,
Anne

First of all, good luck.

Colliseum, Forum, Trevi & Pantheon are all walkable from Termini. Not close, but not too far.

The Vaticam Museums (further & over the Tiber) contain the Sistine Chapel. There are large lineups to enter & once you are in, it will be very busy. Probably a 20 minute walk once you are inside to the Sistine. To save waiting in line, you could book an entrance time here:

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/...?weblang=en&do

I haven't been to the Catacombs.

Ian

You should train from Civitavecchia to Roma S Pietro (a short walk from the Vatican), not the main station (Termini) which is further.

Holy cow - I wish you luck!

We did the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel (3-4 hours) followed by the Forum (1.5 hours-ish) and Palatine Hill (literally running to the main things we wanted to see) and then missed closing time at the Coliseum by minutes. So time your opening and closings well. I would agree with the above poster that booking a time at the Vatican Museums would be well worth it - on the abovementioned trip, I believe we waited in line for around 90 minutes - so this would definitely help your itinerary.

I haven't been to the catacombs but my husband has and the way he described it made it sound fairly far away even by buy. He and our friend's husband went there in the afternoon of the next day while she and I went to St.Peter's after we all had to go to the Coliseum (in which we spent 2 hours-ish) in the morning after missing the closing time the day before.

I must say that our museum/forum day was very fun but exhausting and left time for only a mediocre street vendor lunch so I can hardly imagine packing in even more sights. While I'm sure it it physically possible to do the Vatican Museums in 1-2 hours and whip through the Sistine Chapel I must confess in the most respectful manner possible that a little voice in my head is asking "but why would you want to?". :) And my husband would be asking the same question with respect to the Forum/Coliseum, I'm sure. (all depends on your perspective and interests of course!).

Oh and yes - we were staying near Campo Dei'Fiore and walked to the Vatican (30 minutes?) then walked back to the forum/coliseum (45 minutes?). I really can't comment on the bus.

How much time do you have? Typically these days from cruises give you only 8 or 9 hours - and there's no way you can do all of the above in that amount of time.

first of all, check out opening hours at the time you'll be there.

second, look at how long each place takes to see anything. (The Vatican Museum is several hours, plus at least an hour for St Peter's), you need at lest 2 hours to even begin to explore the Forum.

Even if you rush through everything and grab cabs everywhere you'll be able to cover half those places at best.

You all have been very helpful. I think we'll bag the catacombs (too macabre to a seven-year old it turns out). Inside coliseum, outside forum (maybe...), possibly straight to Vatican City. And thanks for the tip on the train stop.

Best to all,
Anne

With 2 to 3 hrs of just being on a train it doesn't leave much time for Rome. I would get off at the Vatican and see the museums and such. What time was left, I suppose I would run around Rome to get some pictures. Vatican museums are closed on Sunday, except last Sunday in the month, then they are free and BUSY. They are also closed on 13 other days (holidays)

If it were me I would go to the Forum and the Pantheon and have a lovely Roman lunch somewhere. The Forum and Pantheon are my 2 favorite places but a lovely lunch in a restaurant full of Romans in a family run restaurant along the ancient cobbled streets - that's magic.

I'd not go to the Vatican museums given how little time you have and how very, very crowded they are. I'd choose being outside and experiencing Rome. That said, seeing St. Peter's square takes my breath away and it's just over the river from the area with the Pantheon. So: Forum, then lunch, then Pantheon, then St. Peters (see the inside if you have time.)

I'd love to hear how your day in Rome turns out! We are taking our cruise out of Civitavecchia this fall. We will be in Rome for two days before the cruise and want to prioritize and take our time on a few sights. Rosetravels post appeals as the Colliseum/Forum/Pantheon are top on our wish list, and we always try to take time to hang out and enjoy the people, sights and sounds of a new city. The Vatican would be a bonus, but I don't know if there will be time. Please share your experience... I hope you have a wonderful time!!

I agree; trying to fit in the Vatican museum in one day with all of the other places is a bit much. You can visit Saint Peter's and go up to the cupola for a magnificent view of Rome plus Pantheon etc. The Vatican museum will be a mad dash where you will find yourself nearly running past great art treasures in order to make the Sistine chapel in time. There you will be part of a large crowd craning your neck to see the ceiling. Is this a matter of a checklist? Enjoy Rome.

One more thing; the Catacombs are not very impressive compared to the other treasures in Rome. Pantheon, Colosseum, Trevi fountain are all walking distance. Take a city bus to St. Peter's or take the Metropolitana from the Colosseum.

If I only had one day in Rome I would take a walking tour that touched on the places you want to see. There are usually 3 hours tours of Vatican taht start at about 9AM and there are walking tours of Anicient Rome at start at about 2PM that in clude Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. It all depends what time you needto return to ship>

I would skip going inside the Colosseum and spend more time in the Forum. I found the outside of the Colosseum as interesting as the inside and then you don't have to wait in line, pay etc. Also there is a lot of climbing and you are likely to be exhausted by then!

rosetravels makes a lot of sense to me. I'd say follow her advice. But if you want to experience something like the catacombs, you could always check out the Capuchin crypt, which is pretty close to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon.

If it were me, I'd dump the cruise altogether and spent my time IN Italy! Why lounge around on a boat when you could be in Roma! :-)

Wow, and I thought I could do alot in a day.

Train time alone will be 2.5-3 hours, if not more due to waiting time. You could have a shuttle waiting for you at the port, cost is about 140 euros each way, which would cut down the time.

I agree with the idea of taking the train to the San Pietro station. The walk up is a bit of a hike, but not too bad. And if it is Sunday, then the museums are out of the question, closed or packed (due to free Sunday).

From the Vatican, take either the 40 or 62 bus, get off before you get to Piazza Venezia. Walk north about 3 blocks to the Pantheon. From there, take Via Seminario (a small alley street) to the left of the front of the Pantheon. At Via del Corso, turn left, walk up about 2 blocks, turn right. Trevi is about 3 blocks away.

Easiest way from Trevi is to walk back to Corso, turn left and walk down to Venezia. Enter the Foro Romano through Campidoglio. From there go to the Colosseum.

From the Colosseum, take the metro south to Ostiense station, walk over to the Piramide train station platform and take the FR5 back.

Catacombs are not possible. Plus remember that churches close between about noon-1 and 3pm. If you do have time to do the catacombs, take the metro from Colosseo to Circo Massimo, catch the 118 bus heading away from Circus M. I don't think it is possible.

Have fun

dave

Oops, I just realized I did my metro-train station names backwards. It is the Piramide stop on the metro, Ostiense station on the train. Duh

dave

Wow, what a wonderful group of travelers you all are! Thank you so much. Now on to the other stops/destinations to find help.

Ciao! (I'm tryin'!)

Okay, so here's the itinerary after all. I need help with train/metro. Dave helped, but I'd put my itinerary backward.

Civitavecchia to Ostiense (check this). Get off there, go to Metro (which line - Pyramide?) to the Colosseum, Foro Romano.

We will likely skip Trevi. I need two possibilities: Colosseum to Pantheon, and Colosseum to St. Peters Square (in case we're held up at Colloseum).

Have reservations to the Vatican/Sistine. Afterward, what bus/train to San Pietro station?

San Pietro to Civi.

Thanks in advance for filling in gaps. :-)

There will only be one metro line at Ostiense/Pyramide.

If you are trying to get from the Colosseum to the Vatican Museum, you would get back on the metro (Colosseum stop) and change lines at Termini (only 2 stops from Colosseum). Metro to either Ottaviano or Cipro stops (either works) where you will then walk to the museum entrance.

If you are going back to Civitavecchia from the Vatican, you can walk to Roma S Pietro train station (on the opposite side of Vatican City than the metro was) and catch a train back from there.