Your favorite "just off the beaten tourist track" things to do in Rome
 

It doesn't have to be WAY off. ;) Or it can be. I'm really looking for the things that the average tourist doesn't do on their first trip to Rome. The things you do on subsequent visits.

Can be walks, neighborhoods, tours, museums, classes, cultural activities...anything really.

Thanks so much!

And yes. I'm obsessing over this trip plan more than ever before because I'm planning for people who aren't my immediate family.

Thanks!

E U R is a completely different side of Rome - built by Mussolini eventually to host the 1942 World's Fair it is now a vast area of Fascist architecture - so-called Realism I believe - anyway for something just off the beaten path:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EUR,_Rome

https://www.google.com/search?q=e+u+...=1600&bih=1075

We find so many fabulous things to do in Rome ON the beaten track. However, you will inevitably find your own "off the beaten track" things as you make your way around.

Ostia Antica -- well preserved port city of ancient Rome. Good consolation prize if they can't get to Pompeii.

A walk along the Appian Way on a Sunday, when it is closed to traffic.

Visiting some of the lesser visited churches for ancient mosaics: Basilica di Santa Pudenziana al Viminale, and the more extensive and dazzling mosaics at the Basilica di Sanya Prassede all’Esquilino.

PalenQ - Thank you for the idea and the links. Those photos were great and yes, totally unlike the rest of Rome.

Mamcalice - I agree and I love Rome, but on this trip - my third - it would be just fine with me to NOT visit the the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican, the Borghese, etc...so I'm just looking for suggestions of things others have enjoyed in that amazing city.

Fra_Diavolo - love the idea of the Sunday Appian Way walk. We will be in Rome over a Sunday. I should check to see if the Catacombs are open on Sunday. I'm starting now a list of the lesser visited churches.

Visit is Quartiere Coppede

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/5937437990/

the photographs are geo-tagged so that they can be located on a map. This is within walking distance of the Villa Borghese.

If you keep on going in the slide show, there is the new music center which is also interesting architecturally--and might have some interesting music events.

You don't need to wait for Sunday to do the Appian Way - you can get a bus up to the tomb of Cecilia Metella , and it becomes pretty much pedestrianised from there on. You can also hire bicycles quite reasonably - although the road can be "challenging" at times (think heavily rutted cobbles).

You could also walk through the Parco Appia Antica (http://www.parcoappiaantica.it/en/) which is beautifully tranquil, and has pretty much everything you would expect from the Appia antica itself - old tombs, ruins, flocks of sheep etc.

Not really "off the beaten track", but I really liked Tivoli (30-40 minutes from Tiburtina station) , particularly the Villa Gregoriana park , and the Villa D'Este (proof that you cannot have too many fountains)

Recently I was looking for information on the Protestant cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried and I came across a travel blog with an interesting write-up on the Testaccio neighborhood. It looks very interesting.
http://Www.neverendingvoyage.com/tes...track-in-Rome/

Tomb of the Eurisace the baker: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...01819&t=h&z=19
description: minute marks 00:41:32-01:00:14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuVa...339463FB957351

Tomb of Cestius: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...01819&t=h&z=19
description: minute marks 00:28:55-00:41:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuVa...339463FB957351

Temple of Portunus - a text book example of a Roman temple architecture: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.8...gl=us&t=h&z=19
description: minute marks 00:47:08-00:57:01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Z57...339463FB957351

Description of the tomb of Cecilia Matella on Appian Way mentioned by the previous poster:
minute marks 00:19:13-00:28:53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuVa...339463FB957351

https://www.google.com/search?q=foro...=1600&bih=1075

the Foro Italica is similar to E U R in that Mussolini planned this area of striking then new architecture to be the venue of the Olympic Games - he actually called it Foro Mussolini, a name quickly dropped after his death.

Folks looking for a good jogging track there is one here.

I like to go shopping for red or purple socks at Gammarelli, the popes' tailor in Rome.

But, contrary to popular belief, I do NOT try to impersonate the pope(s) to get a better martini at the bar in the Hotel Hassler.

My fav church in Rome, by the way, is Santa Prassede.

The Etruscan Museum is pretty pukka, especially the jewellery collection.

Thin

We had a great day In May.

Took the Metro down the Pyramid and then a walk round the corner to Eataly which is the huge iconic, high end supermarket, it represents everythng great about Italian food. It is nowhere near as spectacular as the original Turin store but still worth a visit.

Here, we stocked up a packed lunch and walked down to Via Appia Antica (about 15 minutes) then hired bicycles and cycled down Appia for miles. Even when the road is open you can avoid the traffic for much of its length and you are not actually supposed to cycle on the 2000 year old cobbles even the the bloody locals drive on it !!!!! We had the amusing sight of a visiting Australian archeologist screaming at the cars, a local walking past and simply pointed out that they illegally drove on it ever day, even outside the local police station and that his screaming wasn't going to change a thing.

Really enjoyed the day, at its lower end, as it leaves the city, the Via is incredibly beautiful and eerie, particularly when you are aware that 10,000 of the Spartacus slaves were crucified along the roadside for their role in the revolt.

Other thing off the beaten track.

Is actually on the most beaten track but is overlooked by most.

The Keats-Shelley house - the entrance is at the side of the horrible Spanish Steps. The house holds a large collection from the time the poets spent in Rome and also interesting material about the Brits living in Rome at the time. It has a great terrace for a drink which overlooks all the numpties sat on the Spanish Steps.

http://www.keats-shelley-house.org/

Nobody seemed to know where it was when we asked, it is on the right at the base of the steps.

St Paul Outside the Walls Basilica is off the beaten path but is a really monumental old historic church - one of the four Vatican basilicas I believe.

We enjoyed riding Segways in the Villa Borghese Gardens. The rental stand was just above Piazza del Popolo. Take your drivers license to leave as security.

I rented a bike for a day last week and can highly recommend it, because you're immediately free from the most trodden ant streams, and can zip around more remote spots at whim, often with many delightful discoveries. You can see piccies of my ride here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIk9rUyL6VI (the ride starts after the pic of the row of Vespas, and ends with the surreal birds in the sky). Then went to Tarquinia for a day - - one hour by train from Rome - - a fabulous place to escape the hustle and bustle for a day, and still get a fantastic eyeful.

OOOPS - - wrong link - - here is the bike ride:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/douglas...7637640291643/

I recently returned from a trip to Rome and will second the recommendation to visit the Quartiere Coppede. It's a lovely neighborhood with very interesting architecture. I was there on a Sunday morning and few people were out-and-about.

And I also recommend St. Paul's Outside the Walls, a lovely church and very easy to reach via bus from the Largo Argentina area.

Isola Tiberia is right in the heart of Rome but way off the beaten path - yet this small island is a delight to explore!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiber_Island

https://www.google.com/search?q=imag...=1600&bih=1075

Thank you so much for all your replies! I am making a list. I'm getting very excited about this trip.