Tanner

Howdy all. I'm going to have a long layover in Rome on my return from Athens, purposely scheduled this way to get a taste of Italy.

I would like to hit a small town in Tuscany for a few hours. Does anyone have a recommendation? It would need to be easily accessible from Romes public transit.

GAC

The layover is a bit tight, but consider the following:

1) Tarquinia (Viterbo Province, Etruscan Museum and sarcophagi)
2) Orvieto (Umbria Region). Tarquinia is one hour by train from the Ostiense Station in Rome. Orvieto is one hour by train from the Termini Station. Schedules and Fares at www.trenitalia.com

Neither is in Tuscany proper. Siena would be a good choice in Tuscany, but you need a full day to go there and back. Ditto Assisi and Perugia (Umbria Region).

To be quite honest, you'd be much better off taking the train into the City of Rome and visiting one or two museums, and several major monuments and churches. Or, you could spend the time visiting the Roman ruins at Ostia Antica, right by the airport itself. Bear in mind that the train takes 30 minutes each way to reach the center of Rome. You must also factor in connection time, and lead time to reach the train stations at the airport and at final destination.

xxx

Agree that time would be best spent in Rome. You would have to take the train into Rome, transfer to the train to Orvieto and then get to the funicular to get up to Orvieto. At best you could run through the town while looking at your watch. The joy of the towns in Tuscany/Umbria is wandering. Save that for your next trip.

Assuming you've been to Rome before, there must some new exhibit or museum you didn't get to on your last visit.

Dale

Romeis, of course, your best option. With your tight schedule another possiblity would be to hire a cab from FCO to Ostia Antico (only a few miles) to view the ruins. Ostia Lido, also nearby, has a few pretty good restaurants.

Tanner

Never been to Rome but its not really an option since a buddy of mine told me to not waste my time. He said it bites. I know others may disagree but I trust him.
How about going to Pompeii for the day?

Amy

A seven hour layover is way too short a period to make it to Tuscany. If you have never been to Rome, you have to see the Sistine Chapel...just incredible!

M

I agree with most of the others: a few hours in Rome itself sounds good. A few possibilities (assuming your layover is from mid-morning to late afternoon, you may be able to try ONE OR TWO of the following)...

1. St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican; you could also have lunch in this area

2. Spanish Steps area; you could have a morning coffee, walk to the Trevi Fountain, see the monuments and the Roman Forum

3. Piazza Navona/Pantheon area

Anything outside of Rome proper would probably be tough in only seven hours.

M

Please

What do you mean when you say that Rome "bites"? If it means that it's not worth seeing or anything like that, I'd change friends!

Tanner

He just said that once you seen a pile of rubble its all the same

Ryan Candee

The city of Rome does bite, but there are amazing things to see there. I wouldn't chance a run into Tuscany--the regional railroads in Italy are, well, adventurous. You can expect a major delay once every 2-3 rides (major being an hour or so).

jt

I'm not a fan of Rome either, but your proposals of Tuscany or Pompeii in that timeframe are so wildly infeasible that it doesn't show the slightest effort to look at an online reference or map.
Ostia Antico seems really the only option besides Rome that leaves enough time to get back thru security, etc. And it may be too close (where a taxi driver won't want to give up his place in airport line for such a short trip).