Hi twiggers,

here's the link for the official website where you can book tickets for the accademia:

http://www.firenzemusei.it/

although it adds €4 to the price, it's well worth it if it's the focus of your trip!.

as for Santa Cecilia, i seem to recall a desk wo/manned by a person at the entrance to the crypt. No idea if it closes in the afternoon. the mosaic chapel, dedicated to St. Agnes, is at the end of an unsignposted corridor past the excavations in the crypt. it's well worth getting to see it anyway.

Orvieto is lovely - i could spend hours looking at the beautifully carved front of the cathedral. in fact, i did, the scavi tour wasn't terribly exciting, and i didn't learn much about the etruscans, but the tower was fun to climb and the views are good. We also liked Tivoli, and Ostia antica. really it's difficult to go wrong in any of these places.

Updates to Sunday (Galleria Borghese and surrounds). Everything works well with my timing except for Santa Maria del Popolo. I'd need to be out of the Galleria by 1 PM (my allotted time is 11 - 1) and over to the church within 15 minutes. Not sure if that is even possible? If not, then I'll just do the Del Corso walk and then backtrack to the church.

At least I was smart enough to book the later tickets. I knew I'd be needing to recover from the jam-packed day before.

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Friday: Easy stroll around Navona/Campo (will update later with more detail)

SATURDAY:
Transport from hotel to Colosseum - not sure yet how to get there.
9:00 - 9:15 AM: Arch of Constantine (snap pics/observe)
9:30 AM: Colosseum - 9:40 AM underground tour (90 minutes).
Will do my own Rick Steves tour on my phone (60 minutes).
Noon: Palantine Hill tour via Rick Steves (90 minutes).
1:30 PM: Roman Forum tour via Rick Steves (90 minutes).
3:00 PM: Mamertine Prison (30 minutes)
3:30 PM: Santa Maria Aracoeli (30 minutes)
4:00 PM: Victor Emmanuel (15 minutes)
4:15 PM: Trajan's Column (15 minutes)
4:30 PM: Piazza Venezia (15 minutes)
4:45 PM: Up grand staircase to Capitol Hill and wander around
5:00 PM: Capitoline Museum (2 hours) - move to a different day
Bocca della Verita

SUNDAY:

10:30 AM: arrive Villa Borghese (tickets reserved for 11 AM)
bus to Piazza del Popolo…or is it a short walk???

Piazza del Popolo
by 1:30 PM: Santa Maria del Popolo

Stroll down Via del Corso
Ara Pacis
Via Condotti window shopping
Spanish Steps

Capuchin Crypt

Back down Via Del Corso towards Capital Hill

If I made it through the Capitolini Museum the day before, then continue on.
Otherwise, proceed to Capitolini Museum to see that.

Possible stops along Via Del Corso:
Trevi Fountain
San Ignazio
Galleria Doria Pamphilj

MONDAY:

Arrive Vatican by 8:30 AM
9:30 AM: Scavi tour (90 minutes)
11:00 AM: St. Peters Basilica (Rick Steves audio tour; 1 hour)
12: 00 PM: St. Peters dome (1 hour)

lunch: Better near Vatican or in Trastevere?

Bus over to Trastevere (#23 or #171)
Rick Steves walk through Trastevere
St. Cecilia - 9:30 - 1 PM; 4 PM - 6:30 PM
Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere - 7:30 - 9 PM
Villa Farnesina - 9 Am - 4 PM

Possibly start at Villa Farnesina and work over to St. Cecilia so that it will be open.

Jewish Ghetto from here? Or is that too much?

Bus back to hotel and dinner somewhere.

TUESDAY:

Arrive at Vatican by 9:30 AM
10:15 AM Vatican museum + Sistine tour through Vatican (allow 3 hours???)
Walk over to Castel Sant Angelo (lunch nearby? or at Vatican?)

Leisurely afternoon to relax or possibly catch up on sites I couldn't get to on previous days.


Wednesday: Florence day-trip. Need to book tickets.

Thursday: Termini area + pilgrim's rome tour (3-4 churches)

Friday: Orvieto half day-trip.

Saturday: Osta Antica half day-trip.

you do realise that you're on holiday, don't you?

what about time to sit and have coffee/spremuta/gelati/beer? or just to stare at the wonders around you? or to take off exploring an interesting bit? [of which there are loads].

IMHO you will be missing out a lot if you stick rigidly to the above. itineraries should be a template, not a strict timetable.

ann: Yes I do and I did clearly state that this is just a rough outline. If I make it to everything, great. If not, then no biggie.

As I stated earlier in the thread. I like to have everything written out....so that when I have spare time I can run to something else. Or if I happen to stumble upon something I know to remember that I wanted to see a particular sight.

I'm looking for advice re timing/locations, etc. and not opinions regarding how I like to spend my vacation. Everyone is different....and if I don't want to drink coffee or beer (which I don't), then that is my choice. Everyone does vacations differently.

I did this exact same type of planning for my Benelux vacation in the fall and had a phenomenal time! Lots of time spent relaxing and just soaking up the atmosphere.

I don't think you will make it to Santa Maria del Popolo before it closes at midday.

>>>3:00 PM: Mamertine Prison (30 minutes)<<<

This is underground and only enough room to hold a few people. You will not be down there more than a couple of minutes.

Thanks KY. I'll update that on my itinerary :-)

Ellen: That's what I'm thinking too. I may go on to the rest of my stuff and then double back later in the day since it's open late. In fact, we might redo that walk in the early evening (as recommended by Rick Steves) and I can pop in at that time.

I'm looking for advice re timing/locations, etc. and not opinions regarding how I like to spend my vacation.>>

probably you've come to the wrong place if you want to avoid any comments at all on what you have planned.

but certainly I will shut up and simply wish you buon viaggio!

I wasn't saying I wanted to avoid comments....but rather opinions on how I *should* spend my time. Everyone is different and travels in different ways. Passing judgment on how one person travels isn't what people come here and post for.

I also didn't tell you to shut up. But if you can't provide the advice/help I am seeking, then probably for the best.