I've mapped out a possible Itinerary to follow.. Tell me if this makes sense:

Arrive at Rome Termini at either 8:50am or 9:20am

Metro or Cab to Ancient Rome.

? Colosseum
? Arc of Constantine
? Forum
? Vittorio Emmanuel Monument

Walk to:
? Pantheon
? Piazza Navona

Cab to Vatican City by 12pm
?Vatican Museum ? Sistine Chapel
?St. Peters Basilica - 2:15 Scavi Tour

Cab or Metro (?) to Piazza del Popolo
Walk to Piazza di Spagna then Trevi Fountain.

Cab back to Termini Station for 5:05pm train..

Is that all possible?
(Did i miss anything important that's a must see?)

The question marks should be bullet symbols... The only question mark should be after Cab or Metro to Piazza del popolo.

Is this in one day?

We spent 1 full day at Vatican, 1 full day at the Pantheon/Trevi fountain are, and 1 full day at the Colseum/Forum.

I would pick one area and do that area well.

I see you flipped the itinerary I previously laid out and that's fine. You can do this but just be aware of your time. To fit it all in you are going to have to keep up a good pace throughout the day. I would cab from the Vatican after the Scavi tour to Piazza del Popolo. You could take the Metro but it would be an almost 30 minute walk from the Scavi office to the metro stop north of the Vatican Museums.

Yes it would be in one day...

I may drop Piazza del Popolo and Spanish Steps....

Yea i reversed your order.. Thanks so much for laying it out first of all because after i looked at a map they layout made sense..

does it cost anything to go to the Palatine Hill and overlook the Forum?

You need to be at the Vatican by 12:00, right? Assuming yoiu arrive at Termini at the earlier time, 8:50, you can probably find a cab and arrive at the Colosseum by 9:15 or so. That gives you about two and a half hours to see the Colosseum, the Arc, the Forum, the Vittoriano, the Pantheo, and Piazza Navona. I'd say possible, but very rushed.

A Colosseum ticket will get you into the Palatine Hill and visa-versa on the same day.
Any views like this one of the Forum from the Palatine http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maece.../ac660412.html unfortunately have been fenced-off. You'll have better luck from the Capitoline Hill.
Regards, Walter

I don't see how you can do this all in one day if you really want to see any of it.

The first half (up through Piazza Navona) is doable in one day. And the second half may be doable in another day, but not necessarily. It is kind of a long walk from the Ancient Rome part of the city to the Pantheon/Piazza Navona. It is a nice walk, but if you are in a hurry, I would take a cab or bus.

There are often long lines to wait to get into the Vatican Museum and into St. Peters, which you will have to wait in separately. Also, the Museum is large and can take an entire day in itself. If you only want to see the Sistine Chappel and nothing else, you can do that, the Basilica, Piazza del Popolo, etc. in one day. The sites you list after Vatican City are walkable, but not if you are in a rush.

If you only have 1 day in Rome, out of the things you listed, I would take a cab to Colosseum and Forum, then take cab to Pantheon (and instruct cab driver to drive by the Trevi Fountain on the way), and then take a cab to Sistine Chappel & Basilica. This plan may work, depending on the lines in Vatican City.

Good luck! Rome is wonderful!

You can't drive by the Trevi Fountain; it's a pedestrian zone and wall to wall people.

...(Did i miss anything important that's a must see?)

Well, how about a cappucino or a Procecco at a bar with a good table to watch the world go by!

Hey!

Just got back from 8 days in Tuscany with a one-day trip to Rome. This is what we did:

11:05 arrived in Roma Termini from Firenze SM Novella.

Walked to the Colloseo (about 29 minutes)

Walked past Palantine Hill, the Forum, and Piazza Venezia (Typewriter building) on the way to Campo di Fiori

Hung out in the Campo di Fiori marketplace and ate a couple of peaches

Walked to Vatican (about 30 minutes) and hung out in the Sistine Chapel for about 1.5 hours

Got some grub at a roadside cafe

Walked to Piazza Navona (it was about 4 pm by this time)

Walked to the Panteon

Walked to Trevi Fountain

Got to Roma Termini by about 6:30, got the Eurostar at 6:55 pm. In Firenze SMN by 8:30.

Also, over this trip I lost > 5 pounds despite eating all that pasta and drinking all that vino and limoncello!

I say walk where evr you can, sit near the fountains, watch the gorgeous Italians and take your time - Rome isn't going anywhere and you can always go back!

PCircles, any trip that mentions losing five pounds AND eating pasta and drinking that elixor of the gods (limoncello!) is one I want to hear about!!!

Please tell all.

Ray - Is your time at the Vatican set in stone?

You're coming from Civitavecchia, right?
If so, it would make more sense and save you time and if you ended your day at the Vatican and caught your return train to Civitavecchia from ROMA S. PIETRO station, which is near the Vatican.

The 5.05 p.m. Roma Termini train to Civitavecchia picks up at ROMA S. PIETRO at 5.27 p.m (arriving at Civitavecchia at 6.15 p.m).

With your present itinerary you are effectively taking cab rides to go to Termini from S. Pietro (via Piazza del Popolo/ Piazza di Spagna/Trevi), only to return to San Pietro by train - wasting a lot of time.

Personally I would probably drop Piazza del Popolo & Piazza di Spagna from your itinerary.

You could then walk from Vittorio Emmanuel Monument to Trevi/Pantheon/Piazza Navona, then go to the Vatican by bus or taxi early afternoon and return to Civitavecchia from there.

Steve

Thanks so much for making the itinerary much clearer and a time saver!

One more question... If I end the day in Vatican City, how do i get to S. Pietro? Cab/Metro or Walk? and how long would it take to get to the train station?

With a 2:15 Scavi Tour, we would have plenty of time do St. Peters Basilica and see the Sistine Chapel before the 5:27 train, right? (i'm sure we'll be rushed though, but it is manageable, right?

Are you now thinking of doing the Vatican museum and Basilica after the Scavi Tour? The museum closes at 4:45 but the last admission into the museum is 3:30 I believe. If your Scavi Tour lasts exactly 1 hour (and it might not) you will have to run to the museum to be admitted, rush through it before it closes an hour later, then run back to the Basilica to see it if you didn't do so before the Scavi Tour. Ending at the Vatican and taking the train out of the San Pietro station is a good idea except that the 2:15 Scavi Tour breaks up that afternoon.

My other plan was to do ancient rome from around 9am-12pm. be walking towards the vatican city and stop by the pantheon, piazza navona and trevi fountain.. so by 12:30-1pm i'm for sure in vatican city.

Go to the Baslica, go on the Scavi Tour at 2:15. Then after the tour go to the sistine chapel?

would that make sense?

(I think the Scavi tour time is set in stone because its already been booked.. its still possible i might change the time, but i dont know about availability..)

That plan is fine except if your Scavi Tour lasts any longer than an hour, you run a very good risk of not being admitted into the museums and will miss the Sistine Chapel. At no later than 12:30 arrive at the Musuem, see it and the Sistine Chapel first, then leave by 2:00 and walk over to the Scavi Tour, do that, and see the Basilica afterwards.

Just got back from Rome and missed out on Sistine Chapel because I did not get there at 9:00 AM. Fortunatly, I have been there before, but my kids missed out. One note to remember, men are not admitted into the Vatican unless they are wearing long pants. My husband (an Italian) had a fit and had to buy long paper pants for $6.00. It was not pretty. I have reviewed your itinerary and personally I think it is too much to enjoy in one day. Why the rush? Rome is worth staying over night for. We took a cab straight to the Spanish steps and walked to the Trevi Fountain. We found a hotel (hotel Abruzzi) right across from the Parthenon. Once situated we walked to Campo di Fiori (not much there, I would skip it unless it is dinner time in which case the best pasta Carbonara is to be had there at La Carbonara) and then to Pzza. Novona. This was really beautiful and a nice relief from the HEAT! (Italy is experiencing its worst heatwave in 200 years). We cabbed it to the Colosseum and spent the rest of the day there. FYI - Admission for European kids is free, but American kids pay full price. Ouch! Be sure to take your own water to the Colosseum as water just outside costs $4.00 per small bottle. We went back to hotel at around 6:00 PM showered (for the third time that day) and went back to the Trevi Fountain. You must see it at night! We walked around, enjoyed a nice dinner and a huge gelato and people watched in the piazza in front of our hotel. We spent the entire next day at the Vatican and then went home to Florence at around 6:00 PM. Have a great trip.