I am finding that I have several hours on Sunday on my trip. Many of the museums have limited hours. I'm trying to get reservations at the Borghese for 11:00 to 1:00. Any suggestions for after 1:00?

Mdtravel: I thought you were going bicycling!!!! All you have to do is walk downstairs to the underground parking lot of the Villa Borghese, and I Bike Rome is right there. I can't be the first one on this board to don a helmet and cycle away....

Forum and Palatine Hill are open on Sunday--it's nice to be outdoors. Another time we spent a lovely Sunday strolling in Trastevere, the wandering up the hill to visit the Bramante's Tempietto at San Pietro in Monitorio(?). Then strolled in the park beyond (Gianicolo?) with Roman families.

dln, what a memory! I was/am going biking. I had planned on going to another museum in the early afternoon but it closes at 1:00. I thought we go to church in the a.m., Borghese at 11:00, bikes, then...something.

I still need to figure out what Trastevere is...sounds silly, but I keep forgetting to figure it out.

There is also a FLEA MARKET in the Trastavers section of Rome- Just hold on to your wallet....

Also, there is Mass at St Peters Cathedral and a chance to see the Pope if he is in town.....

Trastevere is simply a neighborhood--south of Vatican and across the Tiber from the old section (centro storico). I guess the nearest equivalent would be Greenwich Village in NYC, Lincoln Park in Chicago, etc. It's full of narrow little streets, mom and pop restaurants, boutiques. My parents are quite familiar with it and they've commented that it's funky and fun (pretty good coming from the 70 year old set!). Anyway, there's a hill in Trastevere called the Janiculum--bus 870 takes you there--and if you go up it you will see all these wonderful views of Rome. Many of those panoramic tourist brochure shots of Rome are taken from there. If you'd like to take a nature stroll, the Botanical Gardens are at the bottom of the hill.

I agree with your parents Trastevere is really nice. You feel like you're in the midst of rome and what I mean by that is you see romans everyday and not tourists. I loved staying at Hotel Trastevere and walking through the neighborhood. I loved the smells and sights. The botanical garden was nice, but it wasn't in bloom when I was there. It's a nice place to wander through for a few hours, but you can't beat spending the afternoon at Piazza Navona. Enjoy your trip.

First time in Rome for us and Sunday was one of our days there...so we did Roman Forum, Colloseum, lunch, Palatine Hill, and then that was enough except for a walk through Old Rome to Piazza Navarra for dinner

Is the Colosseum open on Sundays?

mdtravel--

There is a flea market in Trastavere section:

Portaportese
Rome's biggest and most famous market. Everything including the kitchen sink, old socks, football shoes. Look very hard, and you will find what you are looking for !!!
Piazza di Portaportese (Trastevere) or from Piazza Ippolito Nievo (Viale Trastevere). Buses: 23, 280, 170, 780, 27, 13, 717, 718. 5am-2pm. Sundays only.

It is ONLY on Sundays

For other markets in ROME , here is the link:
http://goeurope.about.com/gi/dynamic...%2FMarkets.htm

ENJOY!!

We did mass at Santa Susanna for the experience and then had luch on via Veneto and then the Galleria Borghese at 2:00--it was a fantastic Sunday.

mdtravel--yes, Colosseum is open Sunday.

Colosseum is definitely open on Sunday...we were there this past Sunday morning. Line appeared to be about an hour long for entry tickets, so we went the 15 euro route (including admission which I think is 7 or 8 euro anyway) to join a tour with an English speaking guide and avoid the entire line situation, as the guides do group ticket purchases and you just walk right-in.

You can also avoid the long line by buying your ticket at the Palatine Hill entrance across the road, which usually has a mush shorter line. It has a shared entry fee with the Colosseum.

So you have a few hours with nothing scheduled. Great! Why do you feel you must program something in? Just take advantage of the "free time" in one of the world' great cities and just stroll!

On Sunday, what are the hours for the Forum, Colloseum and Pantheon? Anyone been there in the afternoon and into the evening.

Howard, because that's what I want to do. Why do you feel the need to waste your time judging someone? You vacation your way, and I'll vacation mine.

bump

We did the Colosseum in the morning, had lunch, and then headed to the Palatine Hill and Forum in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was late November and sunset was early. The Forum closed at 5PM and the guards hurried us out even earlier. Not sure what time of year you're traveling...

Forgot to say--this was on a Sunday.

The last time we were in Rome we went to St Peters at about 2pm and it was almost empty. It seems everybody goes early for the Pope's appearance and then clear out shortly after.
We are leaving in 3 days for Milan but won't have a chance to visit Rome and I want to get back there some day!