Will we have enough time?
 

Please help: Our train arrives at Termini at 1:45PM. Our hotel is right by the Flaminio Metro stop which looks fairly close to Villa Borghese. Does anyone have an opinion if we will have enough time to ride the metro from Termini to Flaminio, check into our hotel and then make a 5:00PM Borghese Gallery reservation? It seems like plenty of time, however I have never been to Rome and don't know if there are any obstacles I should know about. Thanks!

Sorry to say this, but only once when I have taken an intercity train in Italy has it arrived on time. I wounldn't bank on the train arriving in time. Not sure what your sightseeing schedule is but I would book tickets for one of the other days you are in Rome.

You should have plenty of time if your train is on time.

FYI, the Flaminio stop is at the exactly opposite end of the Villa Borghese from the Borghese Gallery. I would expect you could walk across it in about 30-40 minutes, but keep in mind there is a hill climb involved. Once you're at your hotel and see the time you have, it would be easy to have your hotel call you a taxi if time seems short.

Thank you both for the info and advice, I greatly appreciate it. I didn't think about the train being late. We will be in Rome for 4 days, and I thought that would be a good time to visit that museum but we can always go on another day. But, then if we are running late, we can always take a taxi from termini to the gallery and check our bags - I will have to think a little more on this. Decisions, Decisions :-)

You will have plenty of time, even if your train is late. And you can always take a taxi - the fare won't kill you.

If you have never been to Rome before, I suspect you will not feel like heading immediately to a crowded museum. I suspect that your first inclination will be to wander.

I believe Rome hits everyone that way, on the first visit.

I defy anyone, en route for the first time from Flaminio to the Villa Borghese, NOT to stop and gape at the Piazza del Popolo and NOT to pop into one of the Piazza churches (Ideally, Santa Maria del Popolo: 2 Caravaggios in the Cerasi chapel, plus a Pinturicchio fresco, Raphael's design for the mosaics and a glorious mix of northern (Lombard) and southern taste.)

And having done that, who could resist heading along via del Babuino toward the Spanish Steps, ducking down the via Margutta -- the prettiest street in Rome -- on the way?

And if you found yourself at the bottom of the Steps, who would not climb them, then turn left toward the Villa Medici, so as to come out at the belvedere in the Pincio garden that overlooks Piazza del Popolo....?

Nothing wrong with your plan... I'm just saying that you MAY feel different when you're there.

You should e-mail the Borghese and see if they will allow you to check your luggage. I know they check purses/backpacks (mandatory), but not so sure they will allow luggage. If not, an option is to check your luggage at Termini and pick it up later.

I've never been to Rome either, but as a general concept I wouldn't book reservations for anything, so you have to rush around upon arrival in a new city. Why not put it on one of your other days, once you're settled in?