Hello Fodor's
Wanted to get some input on this rough itinerary for Rome in 3 1/2 days. I have to pack a lot in the first 2 days as some travel partners are leaving after the first 2 days. What's missing? I have about 5 books and everything looks like something I "should see". Is it realistic to expect that I'll pass a lot of these sights as a wander around the city on foot and bus?

Day 1

Starts at 5 PM
Borghese
After Borghese then Night Tour through:
Spanish Steps
Pantheon
Piazza Navana
Trevi Fountain
Campidoglio

Day 2 (not in this order)
14:00-Vatican Metro A Ottaviano S. Pietro
Piazza del Popolo
Arch of Constantine
Castel Sant' Angelo
Colosseum/Forum
Palatine Hill
Campo Fiori

Day 3
S.Maria Maggiore
San Pietro in Vincoli
San Clemente/Porta Maggiore
Porta Maggiore
San Giovanni in Laterano
Palazzo del Quirinale

Day 4
San Francesco a Ripa
Villa Medici
Pincio Gardens
Palazzo Venezia
Piazza di Spagna

Day 4 seems like a real mess. It's the last day and I'm kind throwing all the cool things that I want to see. Villa Medici only open on the weekends.

The Pantheon shouldn't be seen at night. It's main feature is the open skylight in the ceiling. So even if you want to see the exterior at night (which lit up is not as interesting as some other monuments), you still need to return.

Are you thinking of doing that "night tour" on foot? That's a lot of walking! When are you going to sit down to dinner?

I don't know what time of year you are going, but at any time, there is always the possibility of rain, and at other times, of extreme heat, so you need to be prepared to rip up your itinerary and be indoors when you wanted to be outdoors.

It's the Rome by Twilight organized by Throught Eternity tours... It's really a highlight tour and as far as I know it's all by foot.

I forgot about dinner...

>> Is it realistic to expect that I'll pass a lot of these sights as a wander around the city on foot and bus?<<

Why don't you and your friends take an Evening Bus Tour of Roma?

http://www.enjoyrome.com/vastours/illuminated.html

I think the only thing you won't see is the Spanish Steps and -- don't tell anybody -- but I live in Italy and I've been to Roma many times and I've never seen the Spanish Steps.

Does your first day in Roma start at 5pm because that's when you're arriving from an international flight?

Our posts crossed.

Well, maybe if lots of people do it on foot it's not as much tromping about as it looks on paper!

Again, is this the night of the day you are traveling on an international flight?

Day 4 you have Piazza di Spagna but isn't that where the Spanish Steps are? If so, you'll be there on day 1. Why are you going back?

Day 4 - you're going to Trastevere for San Francisco a Ripa (excellent choice!!) but you are missing other churches in that area. It seems that you want to see churches so you might consider Santa Maria and Santa Cecelia, if you have time.

Don't go to this church too early as you need daylight to properly see the sculpture. My first time I went at 7AM (the only time I could get there) and had trouble seeing properly. The next time I went in the afternoon with good light and what a difference!

I'm assuming your're going to San Francisco a Ripa for Bernini's ecstacy. You don't have his ecstacy of St. Theresa on your list. It's in Santa Maria della Vittoria church. You should definitely see this as well if you like Bernini.

No, I won't be coming off a flight but two relaxing days in Cinque Terre. There is one person arriving that day @ 1:30 p.m. We're picking her up from the airport and taking a cab back to our hotel near the Colleseum! Is that days' schedule too ambitious?

I'll look into the bus tour. That might be more relaxing for the first day!

I agree that you should definitely plan to see the Pantheon during the day as well as at night and would also go back to the Piazza Navona during the day.

I assume on Day 1 you have/are planning to get a reservation for the Borghese
The Night Tour walk doesn't sound unrealistic to me in terms of walking distance unless it is a day you will be suffering from jet lag. Our family easily walked this basic route one afternoon after doing quite a lot of walking in the morning. But you could also do a self-guided tour to some of these sites without tying yourself down to a tour schedule and fit in dinner

On day #2 I really think you are trying to do way too much especially if by the Vatican you mean both St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums.
Piazza del Popolo makes more sense to combine with the Pincio gardens which overlook it and with the Villa Medici and Piazza di Spagna on Day #4. I would also cut out Castel Sant' Angelo

I'm not sure what you mean about passing the sites you are interested in if you wander around the city. If you really want to see these specific places you need to plan your routes with a good map and decide what parts you want to walk and what public transit routes make sense.

On day #4 you have quite a few things grouped together near the Spanish Steps. Then your list for the day includes Palazzo Venezia (I have never been and agree it sounds like one of the many interesting places I have yet to see in Rome) and one church in Trastevere, San Francesco a Ripa. I would recommend spending some time wandering around Trastevere if you do go there. It is a charming neighborhood and there are lots of good restaurants. You could walk to Trastevere from Palazzo Venezia through the old Jewish ghetto neighborhood and across the Isola Tiberina.

For many churches you have to plan around mid-day closings

Campo de' Fiori is most interesting to me in the mornings when the market is open.

You did not say where you are planning to stay. If your hotel is in a central location you will be close to many of the places on your list. Also, your sightseeing will be affected by how many daylight hours you have when you visit

nysmom--I started writing my post then got distracted/delayed while you were posting which is why I was still mentioning jet lag. Anyway, I think the walking tour is doable for you if you are coming from CT but maybe not for the friend arriving that day.

My wife and I found S. John of Lateran, Campo de Fiori, and Castel S. Angelo to be boring. I suggest instead four churches, S. Maria del Popolo, S. Luigi dei Francesi, and S. Augustino
(for the Caravaggio paintings and the rich interiors), and S. Ignazio for the amazing ceiling. Also, you might be interested in seeing the Ara Pacis altarpiece.

Your schedule may be far too ambitious and intense for the friend who is getting off the flight. Roma is a noisy, bustling place, and museums are sometimes a waste for people with jet lag. But presumably this person can retire to the hotel if need be while the rest of you enjoy the night.

You are going to need dinner at some point. If you go to a restaurant, it'll be two-hour experience. If you'd rather be sightseeing and eat on the go, a good place to know about is Lo Zozzone, which stays open almost 24 hours a day and serves take-away stuffed sandwiches at a very low cost. It is just off the Piazza Navona, at via Teatro Pace 32.

Is there some reason your friend can't be picked up at the airport by a reliable Roman car service (they even wait if the plane is late)? You can all meet up at the hotel, and you and the others in your party would have several more hours to enjoy Roma--which would help! You can find recommendations for good car services here on Fodor's.

In general, I think you are planning to see too much. Roma is overflowing with artwork and ancient monuments. (And tourists, which make them hard to see in many places.) If you have a very keen interest in art or a particular artist, you will of course want to track down this or that church, statue or painting. Likewise, if you have an interest in history.

But if you are on vacation and want to enjoy your friends company as well as Roma, it's sometimes better just to pick a few sights you know you really want to see, or restaurants you want to try, and carry with you a fat guidebook that can explain to you what you are looking at when something captures your attention. You'll find it happening a lot.

For me, the only "don't miss" sites are the Pantheon (in the day time), the Forum and Colosseo, and since I am a fan of mosaics, I like the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, when I'm nearby. But for most of us, sightseeing in Roma is total overload. Realize you wouldn't see everything worthwhile and of importance even if you spent two months there -- seriously -- so be happy with enjoying a few choices rather than racing by everything and not having fun.

I've spent a lot of time in Rome. Your itinerary is exhausting, makes me tired just reading it!

I agree, why do you have to pick up your friend at the airport? Let her get a shuttle to the hotel to give you more time that afternoon.

On Day 1, you won't get out of the Borghese until 7:00 (your reservation gives you 2 hours). What time does your tour start? That is a lot of walking, and I imagine your friend arriving from an overnight flight will be too tired to do both the Borghese and the walking tour, and it will be a lot for you as well.

Day 2 is just too much as well. Doing the Colosseum/Form in the morning and the Vatican in the afternoon will be more than enough. Forget about Piazza del Popolo and Castel Sant' Angelo. You just won't have the time or energy.

I suppose Day 3 could be done if you really go nonstop. You might have a problem fitting all those in due to afternoon closures of some of them. But you won't have much time in any of them. Maggiore and Laterno are huge, San Clemente takes some time if you want to go down through all the layers (and what's the point if you don't). Read a little more about each of these and prioritize them, then check the closing hours. Then cut out the ones with lower priority.

For Day 4, San Francesco a Ripa is a ways from the other things on your list. You could do Piazza del Popolo instead, because you won't have time for it on Day 2.

Overall, you need to set priorities, because there is no way you will keep up with this itinerary. Better to pick and choose and see the things most important to you.

Thank everyone. It is really hard to know how much time each of these things will take. On the videos they say 1/2 for this 15 mins for that. The walking tours seem to all be done in 2 hours so I thought maybe things won't take that long.

I wish I could leave my friend to her own devices but she's nervous and really wants to be met at the airport!

I'll try to prioritize but theres some really great art in those churches!

What you have planned is not vacation but hard work.

You will miss the beauty of Rome because you will be hurrying from one attraction to the next.

After the fourth day, you will be totally exhausted, your feet will hurt, and when you are coming home, you will tell the others "Rome was totally disappointing, noisy, crowded, chaotic."

Relax and change your approach to travelling. Rome will be worth it.

>>I wish I could leave my friend to her own devices but she's nervous and really wants to be met at the airport!<<

Your friend can be met at the airport. She will be met by someone who knows her name and is waiting for her.

Don't want to interfere with your friendship, but she is asking for a very pricey favor -- not in terms of money straight out, but the rest of you are spending a lot of money and effort to get to Roma, only have a very little time there, and going out to the airport, waiting for her to clear customs, and taking her back through traffic is going to cost you four hours or more of your Roman stay.

I'd do it for a child or someone old or in poor health, but otherwise, your friend has nothing to be nervous about.

I agree with zeppole. If you book a shuttle (I've used www.airportshuttle.it 6 times), your friend will come out from getting her luggage to find someone holding a sign with her name. They will help her with her luggage to the van and drop her at the door of the hotel. You would not be able to meet her any sooner or make it any easier.

As far as videos saying 1/2 hour or 15 mins for something, it depends on what church or place they're talking about, but generally I think they lowball the time needed. And are they considering the time it takes inbetween to get from one place to another? Are they considering working around closing times? Two hours isn't very much for that tour, either, it means you will be walking constantly, just briefly stopping at each point.

Well, I've booked through Rome Limousine Shuttle for pick up at the airport. I read good things about them here.

You all have caused me to rethink some things. I think at least we'll arrive in Rome earlier in the day and I'll have my sister who is leaving on Rome Day 3, go to the Borghese while I wander around the area by myself. It might give us a much needed time apart after 6 days in each others face all the time!! We'll meet up with her later in the day for the night tour. It'll give us more time to get things straight.
I'll do the Borghese with my friend later on Day 4??

I wish I could not meet her. But that was the first thing she requested when she booked the ticket! She's never traveled in Europe or independent of her husband and is a little older than my sister and I. I know she shouldn't be nervous but she is and I'm not going to change that between now and the time she arrives in Rome!

If it makes you all feel any better, I only have two things on my itinerary for my 3 days in Florence!! It's really going to be a leisurely wandering. It just seems smaller with less need for a structured schedule.

Thanks for your help.

You are a good friend. I think you and she will be happier moving the Borghese to a different day.

>>If it makes you all feel any better...<<

All that matters is you feel better! If it makes you feel better to pick up your friend, yes, pick up your friend.

The point is take the trip you personally enjoy to Roma. We've already been there!