Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - What to do in Rome for one afternoon/evening

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What to do in Rome for one afternoon/evening

Help! I will be in Rome 300 meters from the Colosseum and main railway station for one afternoon and evening. Any suggestions on restaurants and sights-I can take a taxi if needed. Thanks!

Iamay I would visit the Colosseum and then take a taxi(for speed)to St Peters. I would see Michelangelo's Pieta,(to the right as you walk in) St Peter's bones, and Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel! Awesome! I would then visit the Pantheon (even if it is closed by the time you get there, just walk around it, maybe even sit for a while with a glass of wine viewing it)Then walk to Trevi Fountain and throw in a coin, making it a reality that you will return.

Depends on when your afternoon starts. And when does daylight end (i.e., what month?) And do you have any portion of the following morning? You can see two things in the daylight, if you hustle. I would probably NOT recommend the Vatican Museum, not a "hustle" kind of place, IMO. Colosseum, St. Peter's, Pantheon. You can still fit in the Pantheon (perhaps outside only - - which is still awesome), Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona in the hours between 6 pm and midnight, including dinner somewhere. Something to be said for seeing the Pantheon in the moonlight, even if you do make it there during the day. Best wishes, Rex [email protected]

Thanks for your suggestions. I will be arriving in Rome around noonish. Any restaurant suggestions?

I agree that you should not try to visit the Vatican Museums in this short afternoon/evening, they just take too much time and running to the Sistine Chapel just to say you've seen it (along with hundreds of other people crammed in there with you) is hardly worth the effort. You cannot see "St. Peter's bones" in the Vatican. You can see his burial spot if you take the Scavi Tour, but that too is very time consuming. Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain are all great evening destinations. For lunch, try Nerone or the rooftop of the Forum hotel, both very close to the Colosseum.

It's tempting to say that you can take in a third place, arriving at noon - - but let it be a landmark that few tourists have seen up close, because it is recently re-opened - - and have yor lunch there, with a view: the "wedding cake" Vittorio Emannuele monument - - more central than a similar alternative, the top of Castel Sant'Angelo. I credit these ideas to the following post (though I feel like there is a mention of this on nytimes.com somewhere as well - - just can't find it. ========= Author: Book Chick ([email protected]) Date: 11/11/2002, 09:10 am Message: Hi Vita, "The Vittoriano", the monument to Victor Emmanuelle (aka "the wedding cake") is now open to the public. There's a cafe up at the top, with a wonderful view of the Roman skyline. Ditto the view at the top of Castel Sant'Angelo, where there's a coffee bar & I actually very comfortably sipped espresso at an outdoor table in Rome in January of this year up there. Buon Viaggio, BC

Piazza Navona in the evening. My personal favorite is the Pantheon. If you reserve ahead of time you might also check out the Borghese Gardens.

I would hook up with one of those city tours (by bus) usually you can book a long one (like 3 hours) and you could probably see a good overwiew of the main things.

I can advise this VERY particular eating experience while near the Colusseum: try the MAGNAROMA restaurant. Its peculiarity? you can eat as the Romans 2000 years ago! They have made a thorough search onhow the romans ate at that times and they have recreated a complete and traditional menu of the Roman Times!!! More typical than that, it is more than a restaurant!!! They serve especially dinner menus! The address is: VIA CAPO D'AFRICA 26 A/B/C. For more info take a look at their web site: www.magnaroma.com/eng/index.htm

I would do a quick tour thru the Forum and exit by the Arch of Titus. To the left of this Arch is a ticket booth to the Palatine Hill, with usually a short line/queue. Buy a ticket there but because of time pass on visiting the Palatine. This ticket is also valid for the Colosseum and you could by-pass the probably longer Colosseum line and just go thru the turnstiles on the right. Grinisa: I believe St. Peter's bones are in that gold chest below the High Altar above the underground tomb and directly below the dome. The chest can be see below floor level from inside the church and from the Vatican Grottoes beneath the church's floor. www.pensacola-fbc-music.com/images/ft-10-8.JPG Regards, Walter

I will clarify my previous post about St. Peter's bones. You cannot see them in St. Peter's Basilica. You can, if your guide shines a rather high intensity light directly on the spot, see a small portion of bone enclosed in a plexiglass case in a niche in a graffiti wall far under the main altar. This can only be done during a tour of the Scavi. The "gold chest" (actually silver) located in the confessio contains the woolen pallia which, on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Pope gives to newly installed bishops.

Grinisa: I guess it doesn't pay to assume:). I have been to St. Peter's 4 times and just assumed that that chest contained the bones. Checking my guidebooks I noticed that none of them mentioned it, so I probably assumed it on my 1st visit and after that it just became a fact in my mind:). I printed-out a website recently about the history of tomb and going back I see that they placed the bones back in the tomb area in 1968. Now a question: Do you know if the section with the Graffiti Wall is open again? I took the scavi tour in March '01 and that section was closed-off. I believe the guide said due to structural safety concerns. I'm taking the tour again next month and was hoping to see that section. Regards, Walter

Sistine Chapel My .02 would be to suggest a visit the Sistine Chapel. In truth, we feel so strongly about visiting the Sistine Chapel, that on our upcoming trip from Chicago, we will arrive in Rome at 07.00, hop into our rental car, drive to the Vatican Museum, walk briskly through the hallways and crowds straight to the Sistine Chapel. We'll wait a bit for a seat to open up and then sit down and enjoy, (we have been here before). Later, back to our rental car for a drive out of Rome to somewhere outside of Naples. Grinisa is so correct when she wrote, "people crammed in there", but we'd like to add that there is one huge reason why so many people visit the Sistine Chapel, it's because the chapel is one of the most remarkable places on this planet. We could never imagine a visit to Rome without taking in the chapel. After taking our seat and looking up, the crowds just disappear, most people only stay in the chapel for five minutes or so anyway. The Sistine Chapel is far better than the Coliseum, Pantheon or any single plaza in Rome, (IMHO). St Peter's Basilica, the Pieta and the Piazza San Pietro are a must see and can be easily visited after a trip to the Vatican Museum, but the other places that were mentioned pale in comparison to the Sistine Chapel, (IMHO). The coliseum can be viewed from the street on your way to the chapel. For us, the coliseum is mostly in your head, as much of what was there is gone. We spent all day at the coliseum, enjoying this massive structure, but found the allure was mostly in imagining what took place when the Romans would stream through the archways taking their seats in the hot afternoon sun. . At the chapel, the opposite is true, the frescoes are in your face, so real and current. The artwork is pristine and time has not diminished any of the emotions we received from Michelangelo's work on the ceiling and walls Later you can take in the other sights, but nothing in our opinion has time/value feature of a visit to the Sistine Chapel. The Galleria Borghese is also on top of our list and if we had to choose, we would go there, but the Galleria Borghese will take a reservation and a half day of your time. You can visit the chapel much quicker and still have time to take in other sights. Although the Trevi Fountain is brilliant and mostly empty in the daytime, you can take in the ambiance at night with a gelato in your hand. I'd also pass on taking a city tour, unless you have trouble getting around comfortably. To be fair, we hate city tours, much preferring to have our feet on the ground as far away from cars and traffic as possible. For us, a city tour lacks the smells and sounds of the surrounding area. Often a tour bus will only offer you a view through a grungy window. We can easily pass on taking city tours until the time comes that we are unable to walk around comfortable, then we'll take a million city tours and catch up on all the things we missed while we were walking and getting lost in places we traveled. Only my .02

ParadiseLost/Walter: I last took the Scavi Tour in 2000 and it was open then, but you have been there since then and it was closed. I do not know if it is reopened now. I'd check in April when I'm there next but I'm bringing my two little girls and the Scavi tour is not recommended for those under age 15. I could ask though. Maybe someone who is planning on taking the Scavi tour soon can help us out on this question. As to the Sistine Chapel, yes, everyone should see it at least once but I recommended against it for this particular poster as they only have such a short time Rome. Be aware that sometimes you just can't get into the Vatican musuems quickly. When we were there at the end of last July, the line to enter the museum stretched to the corner of Viale Vaticano and Via Leone IV. From here, we waited about 30 minutes just to buy tickets. It takes about another 20 minutes of very fast walking (stopping to see nothing along the way) just to reach the Sisine Chapel. So it can be almost an hour from arriving at the Vatican to being in the Sistine Chapel. And our line wasn't all that long. The next day, the line stretched almost to the Porta di Santa Anna, just a few yards from the Colonade around the piazza in front of St. Peter's basilica. One of the newspapers ran a story saying tourists were waiting up to four hours in the hot sun to enter the museums and that the refreshment vendors were jacking up the prices of water and soft drinks.