I'm flying into Rome early Sat morning Aug 15th, and we leave for our cruise at the port at 3:30 PM on Tues Aug 18th. I have arranged for a Context Tour of the Vatican on that Monday, but how should I plan the rest of our stay (Sat., Sunday, & Tues. FYI- We're staying in Trestevere)? Is everything closed on Sundays?

Keith-- grab a guidebook and draft out a Wish List of sights and places that appeal to you in Rome. You are the sole person who can make a meaningful list to your liking. Then separate in two columns MUST SEE and NICE to SEE (because you will not be able to see it all in the list...). Grab a map of Rome Centre and mark the MUST see. Group the closest ones by days; front load the demanding ones (amount of walking, etc...). IF and only if you have time left over, allocate some of the NICE TO SEE in the agenda, otherwise, they will become your preliminary draft for your NEXT visit to Rome

Buy a Roma Pass upon arrival to Rome. The pass covers the first two museums for free and unlimited metro and bus transportation for three days. Go to most expensive museums first so you get the most "bang for your buck". Typically, people head out first to the Colisseum for two reasons; it one of the priciest museums covered by the Pass and the lines are typically long (Pass holders go right in via a separarate line). You can buy the Pass in many shops around Rome, I got mine at Termini Station Office of Tourism, second floor, close to Plataforms 25-29.

Best of luck, DEFINITELY GET A ROOM/APT WITH A/C. Have fun!!!

Keith,

I just got back from a visit to Rome over 3.5 days. I basically did 1 day for the Vatican (St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum), 1 day for Imperial Rome (Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum), 1 day for other stuff (Campo d'Fiori, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, etc.), and 1/2 day for the Borghese. This left me plenty of time for wandering about, eating gelato, and afternoon naps.

The Colosseum, roman forum, etc. are open on Sundays, so that might be a good day to hit all of that.

Suggest you take a look at some suggested itineraries from various guidebooks. I know frommers lists lots of information online, and has a 3 day itinerary.

Very little is totally closed up on Sundays beyond high end stores and some restaurants that are not open Sunday evenings (especially Sundays in August: this is high time for Romans to leave Rome...it is going to be HOT!). For the rest, you will be fine. Wandering through Trastevere is an event in itself-good choice of locale. The semi-freddo watermelon outside major tourist attraction is a very refreshing snack when you just can't go any further.

Viajero2 has it right--only you know what you enjoy seeing.

Howevah--Lifelist's recommendations hit the biggest draws in Rome. Most places are open Sundays--it's Mondays you have to be careful of, and you've got that day covered. So you've got Saturday P.M. and Tuesday A.M. left to wander around and see some other stuff.

One thing to do on Saturday nite would be to visit the Capitoline Museum, open til 10:00 p.m. It overlooks the Roman Forum and has a good collection of antique Roman busts and other things. Then you could wander down from there and find a good restaurant.

LJ is correct. August is known as "Feragusto" or Augus Vacation because the country just about closes down. And it will be hot. Make sure you take plenty of water, especially when you do the Imperial Rome part of your trip. I have found it to be uncomfortably warm walking around the Colesseum and Forum even in March.
A couple of caveats, the Pantheon is not open in the evening (unless they have recently changed the hours) and the Trevi Fountain is more beautiful in the evening than during the day. Finally, pickpockets are VERY talented and all over the place. be especaially vigilant on the Metro and busses.

I wouldn't get the Roma Pass as I don't think you will get much use of it since it's for three consecutive days and one of those days you will be at the Vatican (the pass doesn't include the Vatican). It would let you bypass lines though.

You will be tired your first day so I wouldn't plan any heavy sightseeing. Perhaps Trastevere or cross the river and visit Piazza Navona and Pantheon areas.

On Sunday you can visit the Colosseum and Capitoline Museum is just next door.

Many things will be closed on Monday so you will need to check opening times for anything that you might want to visit.

Even with the museums closed on Monday, there is still tons of stuff to do. The churches are open, the piazzas, the bridges, the streets. Trust me, you can stay really busy.

I got my money's worth the ROMA PASS THE FIRST DAY! Not only THE UNLIMITED USE of metro/buses was worth it, but the fact that you cut ahead in line for many museums is PRICELESS. The day you go to the Vatican (third day) you can use it to go back/forth for the metro and/or bus. That right there is definitely worth the trouble.

I got a lot out of my Roma Pass too! Even when I had to slip a visit to the Vatican in the middle of the 3 days due to a rare Thursday closing. With the Pass you also get to use the bus and the metro for 3 days on a separate card.

Cutting into the head of the line in the Colosseo was priceless!

We ran into a heat wave in May and we wrestled to get things done. I live in a tropical island, I'm used to heat and humidity, but it was still a significant factor.

We used public transportation a lot, even for short distances to escape from walking under the sun. This was my itinerary, it has a strong focus on churches and architecture because those are our interest:

Day 1: Arrive PM / Campo di Fiori / Piazza Navonna / Panteon / Trevi Fountain

Day 2: San Pietro in Vincoli / Santa Maria Maggiore / Colosseo & Foro (Roma Pass) / San Clemente (we didn't make it to this one)/ San Giov Laterano

Day 3: Villa Farnesina /Trastevere / Vatican / Saint Peter's

Day 4: Spanish Steps/ Borghese Gallery (Roma Pass) /S Maria della Vittoria /Cappuccin Crypt /Diocletian Baths & Museum (Roma Pass 1/2 Price) /Castel St Angelo (Roma Pass 1/2 Price)

I arranged to have my 'nice to do if we have time and energy' things at the end of the day, the exception was the Vatican where we had a reserved entrance in the afternoon. The line was short but it was in the sun and the heat was unbearable so IMO it was also worth the reservation fee.

Here's what we have planned after doing some research. We probably won't fit everything in, but this gives us a few activities to choose from:

11/7 Train to Rome. Explore Rome (Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona - Tre Scalini Death by Chocolate ice cream, Campo di Fiori, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain).

11/8 Ancient Rome: Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Forum, Capitoline Museums, Pantheon, Rome from the Sky (The entrance to the elevator is located near the cafe around the back of the Vittorio Emanuele II monument, in the passageway between the monument itself and the adjacent Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Use the stairs at the Piazza del Campidoglio or at the Piazza Ara Coeli for the easiest access.)

11/9 Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, post office (mail postcards from world's smallest country), Santa Maria della Vittoria Church

11/10 National Museum of Rome, Catacombs of Priscilla

11/11 Borghese Park and Gallery (2 hr docent tour), Castel Sant'Angelo