arriving on day predicted to be very heavy rain...best things to do? I'm a walker, but it looks like that won't happen that day.

Church hopping in the historic center. . . Sant' Ignazio, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the Pantheon, Sant' Ivo, San Luigi dei Francesi, San Agnese in Agone, Santa Maria della Pace, Sant' Agostino, and many more . . . all within 5-10 minutes walk of one another with plenty of cafes along the way.

I just looked at weather.com since I am heading over tomorrow night - so are you seeing the heavy rain on Monday? Well its good to have a rainy day plan but I'd also say its too far out to be sure about the weather - I have found those 10 day forecasts to be very inaccurate. You might head to St. Peter's for the day - you can spend alot of time there for sure esp. if you walk up the dome - an incredible experience.

ellenem has great suggestions, I've seen most of the churches she has listed and they have beautiful interiors.

If you are up for a museum day the Capitoline Museum is enormous and can easily take up several hours, if you like museums. However, check to make sure the day you arrive they are open. I think they may be closed on Mondays. Also, if it's pouring rain, lots of others may have the same idea of spending time in a museum to be out of the rain, so you may face crowds.

The only reason I didn't suggest a museum was because I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the OP was "arriving" in Rome on an overnight flight. If this is not the case, then the Vatican of=r Capitoline Museums are excellent ideas. (I avoid museums on arrival day after a flight because of possible jetlag.)

thank you all...yes, am arriving 7am monday morning, and suec1, i hope you're right!

We've been enjoying ourselves in Rome this week. So far we have perfect weather every single day, but we are bracing for Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday rain! Tuesday is supposed to be heaviest. We figure we'll just walk and play in the rain just like when we were kids, the rain is not going to kill us. Our biggest problem is not having enough time to sleep, there's so much to enjoy in Rome from early morning till midnight! We're like very happy zombies on espresso, we can almost forget sleep.

Can I also suggest that you go to the Pantheon. We were there in rainy weather and I'm annoyed with myself for not going to see it in the rain. You may have already read that the Pantheon has a hole in the roof and apparently when it rains, the rain comes through the hole in the ceiling and drains away.

Be careful on those cobblestones in the rain - they are treacherous!!

suite7,

I was also going to say watch out for the cobblestones - especially the larger, paving stone type on the sidewalks. Some are wobbly and when you step on them, whoosh! A mini-geyser of dirty water. Wear good shoes for water.....

And you will have a wonderful time in spite of the rain.

Buon viaggio!