The Villa Farnesina (across the river from the Farnese Palace) is worth a visit. Five frescoed rooms, including a Cupid and Psyche gallery that Raphael worked on.

We toured the Villa Medici (Academie de France a Rome) last October. The gardens were not as well-kept as I would have expected, but the tour was interesting and the views of Rome spectacular. This is technically French soil, so you can say you went to France.

http://www.villamedici.it/en/visits/

Speaking of views, if you haven't been to the top of the Vittorio Emanuele monument, this is worth the time/detour. Besides the Tomb of Italy's Unknown Soldier, there is a museum on the Italian reunification. And it's one of the few places in Rome that does not include the Typewriter/Wedding Cake/False Teeth in the views of the city!

http://chiostrodelbramante.it/elenco...t/il_chiostro/

They have art exhibitions and a nice cafe.

If you like perfume this is great little place near the Pantheon:
http://www.lauratonatto.com/showroom_roma.php?l=eng

Can totally vouch for Beppe in the Ghetto...they do serve light meals and I think Elizabeth said there is no mark up on the wine. We finished our food tour there last week. The have quite an assortment of cheeses mostly Italian but some French, as well.

Thanks again everyone. The pictures were great to look at.

And the links to the Chiostro del Bramante and the Laura Tonatto perfumes were spot on. I know right where the Chiostro del Bramante is located and the perfume place is basically around the corner from where we will be staying, so an easy stop to make.

We have seen the Villa Farnesina and it is quite a place with an interesting history.

We haven't explored the Villa Medici, but we were tossing around the idea of making a return visit to the Villa Borghese, so that could be an addition to that. And I'll agree the views from the top of the Vittorio Emanuele monument on a clear day are terrific!

ticadonnita...I live very close to Hilton Head Island, so just down the coast from Sullivan's Island.

denisea...Hande clued us in on Beppe's when we saw her in March and we just didn't have the time to get over there before our time was up in Rome. For November I booked a walking tour with Elizabeth (looking forward to hearing the review of your tour with her!)and will ask her to make sure we stop there! :-)

I have the following on the "possible" list for our next visit to Rome, in early October; a little out of the way, but if you like mosaics, as I do, it may interest you:

Sant'Agnese Fuori le Mura, Via Nomentana, 349 00162 Rome, http://www.santagnese.com/, very old church, and nearby even older (4th century) Mausoleo di Santa Constaza, which has amazing mosaics. They close at 12 so you need to go there first and then head down to the park at Villa Torlonia; there you have various buildings including the main villa (19th century, lived in by Mussolini also) and the fabulous Casa della Civetta, an "arts and crafts" style house with fantastic stained glass windows. There are apparently also catacombs at Sant'Agnese.

Lexma...thanks for the link to Sant'Agnese Fuori le Mura. I will check it out, we love mossaics! :-)

Don't know if there's much that hasn't been mentioned already, but perhaps have a look through these?

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/places_rome

Shakespeare's Globe in the Borghese gardens?

EUR is worth the trip for this monster model of the ancient city alone: about the size of a tennis court!

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/121581182

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/121581180

We're big fans of November visits - for what we use to find events and other stuff that won't be in any guidebook, try:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop....html#43668848

... and of course there's the month's special treat, to which you may not yet have been introduced...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/vinnov

Sadly, seems to take some tracking down these days - perhaps even more so this season, what with harvests apparently being smaller than usual, thanks to the bizarre weather we've had!

Peter

Brit...thanks for the links. I especially like the Un Ospite A Roma website. I've already found an exhibit that will be on in November at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni that I'm interested in! :-)

We've been to Rome in November before, the same week in 2010 and truly enjoyed the city during that time...much less crowded, although a bit drizzly with rain. But a little rain doesn't dampen our spirits!

Bookmarking for next trip to Rome upcoming this fall.....need ideas too.

I'm headed back to Rome in Sept. A couple things I am considering

Wine and food tasting at Roscoli.
http://www.winetastingrome.com

Acanto Day Spa for the Hammam Ritual. http://www.acantospa.it/menu1-sezione-36-hammam.htm

I heard about both from my Italian teacher who is from Rome.

Beppe is amazing, We had ricotta drizzled with maple syrup, fitting since we're Canadian.

Which tour did you book with Elizabeth? We did Campio dei Fiori/Jewish Ghetto last year and are doining Monti this year.

Johnny O, I'd love to hear about your visit to the day spa. I was considering the Acqua Madre Hammam for my November visit

http://www.acquamadre.it/en/01.php

Glad this thread was revived for additional ideas

Wow! Seems like many of us are returning to Rome this autumn. Me included! I'll be there in October, after a week culinary/cooking trip in Abruzzo. Thanks for the Roscoli link johnnyomalley, I'll check it out.

On our visit last November we did Elizabeth's Campo dei Fiori Tour. For this year we are considering doing a day trip with Antiqua Tours to one of the Castelli Romani villages. Here is the website: http://antiquatours.com/our-wine-tou...ati-wine-tour/

Also just today I found what looks like an interesting food/market tour in the Prati neighborhood with Italy Hotline. Here is the website for that tour: http://italyhotline.com/tour/rome_by...lty_food_shops

I will second a visit to Il Quartiere Coppede, and say it was one of the most unique experiences I've had in Rome. It's kind of enchanting...

How about Palazzo Valentini? Another unique experience and so well done as to be amazing. IMO, outside of the religious connotations, the Vatican Scavi tour doesn't compare to the fascination and information of the visit to Palazzo Valentini.

D'oh! I never checked the date of the original thread. LowCountryIslander planning a trip to Italy, but of course.

Hope you enjoy your Abruzzo trip. Kwren and I are headed back in Sept for Abruzzo 2.0

Saving for 2014 trip. Thanks!

I can highly recommend the Palazzo Valentini. We did that last year in November and it was excellent, as tuscanlifeedit said, it is unique and very well done. We loved it.

johnnyomalley...we are very excited about the Abruzzo trip this year. If it wasn't for Kwren's great trip report about her experience last year I never would have known about it. If you have any helpful tips about Abruzzo I'd love to hear them! :-)

LowCountry

I was in Abruzzo this past April and May and loved it. We based ourselves in Lanciano (several pilgrimage sites; fair amount of things to do, charming medieval streets and 11th century wall) , Sulmona (Ovid's home, has a medieval aqueduct running through it) and Penne (another charming hill town,a little closer to Gran Sasso).

The scenery was spectacular, often providing views of the snowcapped mountains and the sea. I really recommend visiting the abbeys of San Giovanni in Venere (by the sea and reachable by bus from Lanciano) and San Clemente a Casauria. There are some spectacular drives through the mountains.

We did a drive from Caramanico Terme to Pacentro through the Leonardo Pass--lovely scenery. Also did jaw-dropping (as in I was afraid to look down) drives between Scanno and Anversa degli Abruzzo. There are many charming hill towns with beautiful little Romanesque churches. We also did a walk up to Pope Celestine V's hermitage outside of Sulmona.

It helps to have a little Italian (such as you might pick up with language tapes). The people are very friendly if you try your Italian and are more patient to hear it and help than in other areas of Italy, in my experience. Also, the 3 hour lunch really shuts down many of these towns, fyi.

I am hoping to write a trip report because I have some great stories to tell about the kindness of the people.

mama_mia...thanks for this Abruzzo information. I know a "smattering" of Italian (have taken beginner & intermediate level classes here at home) and also have the Rosetta Stone Italian language program on my computer, so I'm happy to hear my stumbles through the Italian language may be appreciated in Abruzzo! ;-)