We will arrive in Rome pretty early on a Sunday. Estimate to be at hotel around 9:30 AM. They will hold luggage until check-in later. Any suggestions what to do first day. Hotel is north of the Coloseum.

Contact www.scalereale and arrange for an orientation walking tour - 3 hours. And ask their advice on moderately priced restaurants - they make great recommendations. This is a great way to start Rome.

The orientation tour is a good idea depending on whether you are arriving from the US or already have been in Europe. If you are arriving from US you will be tired from the flight and on anther time zone. In that case you should do some type of exploration of the Vatican on your own and hit the rack early that evening. You do not want to pay for a tour and fall asleep. If you are already of Europe time, do the tour, either walk or one of the very good AmExpress or Gray Line tours. This gives you a good overview of the city and you can then return to any favorite spots.

You can also find free walking tours of the Forum right outside the Capitaline (sp?). I think wandering the Forum and the Coloseum are a great way to start your visit. <BR><BR>

I agree with X, I mean x<BR>Scala Reale offers theme walking tours of various areas in Rome. Their 4-hour tour of the Forum and Colosseum was awesome--the time just flew by.<BR>When you pay for one of their tours, you are paying a sort of membership fee as well, and included with that is an Orientation Hike or Walk, a good start for the first day. You need to book this well in advance. The Orientation Hike I was on included a couple of churches, fountains, and works of art that were on my "list" anyway.<BR>The other organization that is often recommended on this board for Rome tours is EnjoyRome.<BR>Both have websites.

Free tours are available almost everywhere in the city of Rome. Colosseum then walk up the via sacra and wait at the arch of Titus until you hear someone announce "this a free tour" they run every 20 minutes. At the Pantheon tour starts every 30 minutes from the porch. At st. Peters we were asked 3 times if we would like a free tour. The rest of Rome you can enjoy by yourself. All our tour guides were excellent, asked questions and got answers!!

Can someone give the full web address for the tour group mentioned earlier? It was given as www.scalereale<BR><BR>I tried .com, .net, .it -all with no luck! Please and thanks!

www.scalareale.org