Rome Itinerary - Comments Please
 

I have spent countless hours on this board researching my Italian honeymoon for this summer - thanks to all who have provided such in-depth information and opinions. I have, what i think, is a good framework for our 3 days in Rome (once i have this down, i'll move onto Florence and Venice schedules.) Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.<BR><BR>Tues, July 29 (8:30am arrival, estimate check-in at Marriot Grand Flora by noon and assumes our room will not be ready) - spend afternoon getting acquainted with our neighborhood, leisurely stroll to Spanish Steps and surrounding area and a stroll through the Borghese Gardens (maybe picnic in the Gardens.) Back to hotel to freshen-up/nap from 3:30-7:30; Scala Reale Night Walk to the Piazzas and Fountains (8-11pm). SLEEP<BR><BR>Wed. - Scala Reale Roma Antica Tour (9-1pm) Haed to Trestavere for lunch and explore the neighborhood (Ghetto Section, find the &quot;keyhole&quot;, Piazza di Santa Maria for lste afternoon cocktails) Wed PM - outdoor movie or performance/dinner/dancing (depends on availability)<BR><BR>Thurs - GET TO VATICAN FOR 8:45 OPENING - tour St. Peter's and Sistine Chapel on our own. Go to Castel San Angelo. Old Rome afterwards. Thurs PM - same as Wed.<BR><BR>Fri - leave open for some shopping and relaxation - leave for Florence via train in afernoon.<BR><BR>Would also love some suggestions for some resturants/cafes, etc... in these vicinities. Thanks and i look forward to your replies!<BR><BR>Jodi

No specific cafe recommendations - but when you are in the vatican if you don't mind steps - don't miss the climb to the top of the dome. The view is incredible looking over Rome. We missed that the first time in Rome and were sure glad we did it the second time!

To each his own... or perhaps I'm missing something, but I notice you're not planning to spend any real time at the Colisseum, the Forum, Domus Aurea, Villa Borghese, Capitoline Hill/Museum, Palatine Hill.

Jean - our Scala Reale Tour on Wed. morning is taking us to most of these areas. I left room on Thurs afternoon and Fri morning to go back to places we want to see more of, or to catch up on places that we miss. <BR><BR>JH

I believe your tour will take you TO these places, pointing them out as you pass by. If you're really interested in Ancient Rome, you could spend hours at the Colisseum, ditto the Forum/Capitoline/Palatine. The Villa Borghese and Domus Aurea require timed reservations in advance.

jodalahh, what is the keyhole?

We did the Scala Reale Roma Antica Tour when we were in Rome in February. It was exceptional and very worthwhile. We had a short stay in Rome and felt the small group tour (4 of us) allowed us make the most of our visit.

Your itinerary sounds pretty good to me for 3 days. We took the night time Scala Reale tour our first night in Italy, and it was great for jumping right into the kettle of Roma! I always have the attitude that if it's meant to be I will return someday to see what I didn't see this time so as not to rush things. We went to &quot;Da Paris&quot; in Trastevere for dinner. It was pretty good. What I liked the best was our dessert: fried ricotta with a chocolate center. Our waiter explained to us that it was a local specialty. It may sound bizarre, but it was scrumptious! If you haven't already checked out the tips on the Scala Reale web site they list plenty of food recommendations; we tried several and they were all good. Enough to keep you busy eating for 3 days for sure.

The keyhole - in the door of the Order of Malta premises on the top of the Aventine Hill. You can see three countries at once by looking through it, the avenue of trees (Sovereign territory of O/M) Dome of St Peter's (Vatican City State) framed by the trees, and also the rooftops of Rome. This is near S Anselmo, in a piazza ornamented by Piranese.

If you have the time and what with the Marriott located so very close I think you should consider a visit INSIDE the Borghese Gallery which is absolutely exceptional. By the way, have you figured out yet that the one drawback on these &quot;boards&quot; is the fact that a lot of people have opinions about what is &quot;the best&quot; or a &quot;must see&quot;?? It would be easier if everyone's taste and interests were exactly the same...nevertheless, I hope you have a wonderful trip and the nice thing about Rome is you'll never be able to see it &quot;all&quot; in a few days...that's &quot;nice&quot; because it will make you want to go back.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR>Jon

Just a word of caution. Your Wed. is pretty packed with four hours in Ancient Rome with Scala Reale (I believe they take you into the Forum and the Palatine as well as the Colosseum, not just drive by) and then you want to explore Trastevere, the keyhole which is in the Aventine neighborhood across the river and the Jewish Ghetto which is in yet another neighborhood. It is possible to do all this but it will be a long day of walking and you may not have time to see much in depth.

I agree with the last post, I am not sure you realize how much walking will be involved in your wednesday trip. I would suggest if anything eliminating the keyhole from your day. It was a very anticlimactic trip for me , and way out of the way of anything else. I also agree with some of the other posts, to visit the galleria borghese, you will not regret it.

The comments are so far are greatly appreciated. Based on reviews of Scala Reale (from this board) i have no fears that our Scala Reale Tour will be quite in-depth and allow us to somewhat explore the ancient sites. Based on the consensus that Wed. may be a bit too ambitious, we can move the Jewish Ghetto and maybe the keyhole to Thurs. afternoon. FYI - i plan on getting passes to the Villa Borghese for either Tues or Fri. We are flexible so except for the booked Scala Reale Tours, we have no problem moving things around once we're there. Thanks again!<BR><BR>JH

checked with Scala Reale about our time in Rome in mid-May and they were already booked up. :-(

gomarciago, I had really good experiences with walking tours by Enjoy Rome. We took the ancient Rome tour and enjoyed it so much that we went on the Vatican tour later in the week. They had plenty of spaces available, you could sign up the day of the tour. <BR><BR>I had looked into booking with Scala Reale and decided I didn't want to spend so much money or to commit to a schedule before I got to Rome. I don't know how much better their tours can be than the ones I took, I was really pleased with Enjoy Rome.