Help Please-- My ROME Itinerary

Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 09:19 AM
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Help Please-- My ROME Itinerary

Greeting Fodorites --

I am in need of some Italian expertise. I've been working on a Rome Itinerary and I could use some good guidance from those in the know (You!). Please have a look and let me know what I'm missing or what I could miss. This is my first time to Rome and my interests include history (of course!) art and art (did I mention art?.

Arrive @ 10:15 am Day 1 --

Just thought this would be a good day to get orientated... maybe take a hop on off tour and just ride around seeing the sites? Perhaps peek into the National Museum or??? Orientation tour suggestions would be great.

Day 2 --
Ancient Rome -- Basically see the ancient city including Nero's Golden House (is this worth it?), the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus, etc. Should we take a tour to do this or is this something we can do on our own and still understand what we're looking at?

Day 3 --
The Vatican, etc. This fascinates me so I'm thinking a whole day with the possibility of a walk to Castel Sant Angelo, too. Is this where you can climb the dome?

Day 4 --
Would like to take a whole day trip to Naples/Pompeii or Naples/Capri. If you had only one time in Rome, which would you choose? I know this is a long day but I'm not adverse to sleeping on the train if I get to see more of Italy. Also, can someone tell me something about Naples: I saw a travel DVD and there was a sculpture in Naples (I don't know where) but the sculpture cut from marble with what appeared to look like a veil over the body (the veil was sculpted). It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life and that was on TV! I would love to find this if anyone knows where it is.

Day 5 --
Baths of Carcalla and Borghese Gallery

Day 6 -- This is a Monday. Anyone have any suggestions????

Day 7 -- Open for anything. I'm rather facinated by morbidity so I was thinking of the Catacombs, the monk thing (can't remember the name) or?????

As I have never been to Rome, I have no idea where things are in relation to one another so here are a few other things I've read about that might be worth adding to something on the above itinerary depending on location:

Top of my list that I must see is the Trompe L'oil (sp?) museum thatI've heard about -- I think it's called Sant Ignazio

Other possibilities: The Mouth of Truth, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Palazzo Senatorio, other churches, anything MUST SEE?

Finally (I know this is long so thank you for reading if you're still here:

We are definitely on a budget so this is something to keep in mind but I'm really interested in LEARNING so I'd like to at least take one really great tour (if not a couple). If you were on a budget and you could only take a great tour one day, what part of Rome would you most like to be educated on? Would it be best to invest in an education at the vatican, or ancient Rome or???? I'm not saying we'll only take one tour, but due to money I'm sure we won't be touring everything with a guide and so I'd really like to know where best to put our money.

THANK YOU very much everyone!
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 09:55 AM
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You are spending too much time in Rome for one. atleast in my opinion. You can knock out so much of this in alot less time. For example, the Castel Saint Angelo is all of 3/4 a mile away from the Vatican. read my trip report I just posted for Rome and you can get an idea of what i did with only two days. Do a search for "Italy Trip Report part 1" let me know if you have any questions after that. I suggest using Eye Witness Travel Guide : Rome to get you started.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 09:57 AM
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I thought the Pantheon was magnificent... and Piazza Navarro and Trevi Fountain (especially at night) are worth visiting, too. Some of these places you may stumble upon as you walk around the city, of course. The Mouth of Truth (Boca de Verita) is neat, and it has an interesting history.

By the "monk thing," do you mean the little church decorated entirely by monks' bones? I think it's called something Capuccine--very creepy and I think worth a visit.

I haven't taken any tours, so I can't offer any advice on that topic--although I have heard good things about Enjoy Rome (www.enjoyrome.com).
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 10:09 AM
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I don't think a week is too much time at all! I spent five days there, running around like crazy trying to see everything. Not only did I have a long list yet of things I missed, but I wish I'd spent more time just wandering and enjoying the city.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 11:09 AM
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If you really like art and you haven't been to Florence, you might consider an overnight trip to Florence in lieu of the trip to Naples.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 11:20 AM
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A week is a wonderful amount of time to spend in Rome, especially if you are thinking of taking a full day trip to Naples/Pompeii. The church with the monks' bones is the Capuchin Crypt in Santa Maria Concezione, but it was closed indefinitely for renovation earlier this year. The Catacombs are interesting (San Sebastiano is the best) but not particularly morbid. If you want to see bodies, there is a little girl (Santa Wittoria) in the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. This is a must see church if you are interested in art as the chapel decorated with frescos by Lippi was recently restored and Michelangelo's sculpture of Christ is inside. Santa Francesca Romana's body is in the church bearing her name in the Forum, St. Philip Neri's body is in Chiesa Nuova. St. Xavier's arm is in Il Gesu, and the body of the Blessed Annamaria Taigi is in the church of San Crisogno. The trompe l'oil "museum" isn't a museum. It is a fake dome painted on the ceiling of the church of San Ignazio. If you are interested in art, I suggest you look into as many churches as you can as they are all filled with magnificent works, but especially: Santa Maria di Popolo, Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Luigi Francesi, San Andrea al Quirinale, San Francesco Ripa, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, and Santa Maria in Trastevere. You can buy a laminated map called "Artwise Rome" that can pinpoint these churches and museums.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 11:25 AM
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I think that one of the things that might help most would be a good, detailed map of the city. Have you been in contct with the italian tourist office to get their basic package of handouts? This will also provide a lot more info - and locations of other things.

I recommend not doing all of one flavor evrey day - that is mix up ancient with Renaissance with moderm with strolling/fountains each day to avoid your brain getting too fried on any one topic.

One place I loved was the Villa Guillia - which had a fantastic museum of Etruscan life - not sure if it still houses this - it must be 8/9 years ago I saw it.

Count on doing a lot of just walking and looking especially in Piazza navonna - great area for restaruants, evening strolls (frequently some type of event is happening). And cafe sitting having a nice aperatif (Campari/soda) with perhaps a little munchie - the cafes in the piazza in front of the Pantheon are good for this.

Seeing a lot is great but too much rushing defeats the purpose of getting the real flavor of Italy.

I personally preferred Pompeii to Capri - but I'm a history nut - and both are definitely worth it. It just depends on if you prefer a resort (granted one with historical overtones) to a frozen snapshot of ancient life (that IMHO brings you face to face with the fact that the life of the average person has not really changed much at all in 2000 years).

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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 12:16 PM
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Definetly plan from a map. Once you have identified all of the sites you want to see then map out your course.
Since it's art, art, art, you will definetly need the time your allocating.
It could be argued that you would need another week to get in all the major sites not even mentioned yet.
Vatican for a day is good, several hours in the museums then St. Peters with lunch in between could be all day. When you finish there you can walk right to Castel & Ponte San Angelo. Most of the art will be sculpture, Archictetural & historic. It's a maginficent building with great views, especialy at sunset with a cafe near the top. Your feet will be tired ! It's good you have Borghese, this is a must see for art lovers. Check out the small guide book, Rome's Top Ten, it will list other palaces, like Borghese with works of art. This book also highlights many of the must see's with maps included.
As mentioned the churches have major art works , the ones mentioned are very good, include Gesu in that list. Many are close together, with good map planning you could see quite a few.
Again the Rome Top 10 book lists the better churches. Lots of pictures,in this small guide. You don't need a guide for the roman ruins a local guidebook purchased there would be sufficent. But local guides add another element that you don't get from the books. You should also plan to see some of the same sites that you see in the day time, at night. Some buildings have impressive lighting displays or have a totaly different look at night, Coloseum, Vittoria Emmanualle, St. Peters, the Forum are just a few.
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Old Jul 2nd, 2004, 09:47 PM
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Hi reedpaints,

If a sculpture on TV knocked your socks off then wait till you see what's in the Borghese Museum! You'll drool. Don't forget to make reservations for the museum and do take the guided tour. It's wonderful. If you're really interested in sculpture and art I would consider booking back to back tickets to the Borghese. I've been there twice and found the 2 hours wasn't enough, even for the second visit. You could do the guided tour during the first session (1.5 hours) and then leisurely visit what you've missed and revisit the special works.

A week in Rome isn't too much. There's so much to see and I find breaks are necessary otherwise you'll find yourself in sensual overload. I agree with the poster who said to vary your sightseeing. In otherwords do a church or two and then something historic.

Definitely go to the churches, especially Santa Maria del Vittoria for Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa (sculpture). I didn't see a recommendation for Santa Maria Maggiore listed here - another one of Rome's georgeous churches.

At St. Ignatius Church stand in the middle of the church for the best views of the trompe l'oeil ceiling. Then walk to either end of the church and you'll see how the effect flattens out.

Piazza Navonna and Campo dei Fiore are two lovely squares and do try to see as many fountains as possible.

When near the Pantheon (and you can't leave Rome without seeing it) stop into Il Gesu (church) for the Baroque altar and frescoed ceilings and giant lapis (near the altar).

I would suggest a tour of the Vatican. I thought Scala Reale was far superior to the tour I took with Enjoy Rome. They are more expensive but worth the price. I think you'd also get more out of the ancient sites if you signed up for a tour.

How could I have forgotten Michelangelo's statue of Moses in St. Peter in Chains church - another must see.

Re: the day trip to Pompeii or Capri. I would choose Pompeii since I wasn't that impressed with Capri but I only day tripped there and it was rainy. Pompeii was fascinating and I plan to go back there on my next trip since I didn't have enough time.

Either trip would be very long - about 5 or 6 hours round trip for transportation time. I would rethink these outings since you'll only touch the surface of Rome in a week and a long day trip may leave you exhausted.

I find Rome to be very noisy. There are some quiet places where you can get away from the crowds and noise. Trastevere is charming as is the Borghese gardens. Via Guilia is a delightful street and you may get the opportunity to see inside some private courtyards. A small cafe on this street is where I first tasted limoncello!

Enjoy.
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Old Jul 3rd, 2004, 06:58 AM
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Lot's of good advice. Just reurned from a week and expect to go back ASAP for another week.
There's so much to Rome.Enjoy!
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Old Jul 3rd, 2004, 07:37 AM
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Thank you so much for your advice everyone... I hope it keeps coming. As for a week being too long: I can't imagin that it will be for me. I'm most certain it will be too short! And, not to worry: Rome is only the first stop in the trip (I will also be spending time in Florence and Venice as well as places in between). I'm sure I will be asking for itinerary advice there as well!

It's very hard without knowing where things are to put this all together so your insistence on a good map is a great idea. Perhaps that will help the process.

As for the long day trips... I do realize taking one will be exhausting but honestly, I don't knwo when I'll be able to get back again and I would hate to miss something so extraordinary. I suppose it would be different if people were more ambivalent about Pompeii or Capri (and I will only choose one!), but it seems that everyone who goes comes back with such glowing reports and stories. I do admit I'm leaning towards Pompeii as it sounds more interesting to me but who knows at this point.

Just one more FYI: I will be staying in Campo Di Fiori so I would imagine that I will be walking to all of the center historical sites and piazzas, etc. if this helps.

Anyway, thanks again andI look forward to reading more ROME TOURING TIPS! You guys are fabulous.

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Old Jul 3rd, 2004, 04:21 PM
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I just want to reiterate... check out Scala Reale for indepth guided tours of places like the Vatican and the Roman ruins. We just got back from Italy and used Scala Reale for the best, most informative tours we experienced there. We contacted them online through their website and everything went smoothly. Their guides are graduate students in history, art, archaeology, etc., and they really know their stuff on a level you wouldn't find with the usual suspects. Groups are small, and they try to adapt to your special interest (if you have one). It's more expensive, but worth it. I definitely recommend it.
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Old Jul 3rd, 2004, 06:41 PM
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I don't think anyone addressed your question about Nero's Golden House (Domus Aurea). We found this site really fascinating and worth a visit. It's very near the Colosseum and the Forum. Reservations are required, and an audio guide is included with your entry fee. Our hotel made the reservations. BTW, the house is below ground level and can be quite cool inside. If you're susceptible to chills, take a sweater or light jacket.
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Old Jul 4th, 2004, 01:35 PM
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You're going to have a wonderful time. We're just back from 15 days in Rome and we enjoyed every day of it. You mention a day trip to Naples - partly to see a particular piece of art. We did the same thing, although in our case it was Caravaggio's Seven Acts of Mercy. But I think the veiled sculpture you're referring to is Sammartino's Veiled Christ. You can see if I'm right at the following link: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/0208/sansevero.htm

We also enjoyed tracking down all the Caravaggios we could find in Rome. It was a fun way to (partly) organize our trip and took us to a few places we might have missed.

We had a great tour of the Vatican from Scala Reale. Our tour guide was an art history professor and made the art & architecture come alive.

Personally, I think tour guides are a great idea when doing ruins. It can be hard to tell what used to be there without some help!

We enjoyed our day trip to Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana) and Villa d'Este in Tivoli. You can get there by public bus -- there are postings here about how to do it.
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Old Jul 6th, 2004, 01:21 PM
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My sister and I took four teenagers to Rome for 10 days over Easter. I've been four times before and still haven't seen everything! A week will just get you started!

All recommendations above are great. We also did a day trip to Naples/Pompeii while there. Using the Rick Steves guidebook, we made our way from the Naples train station to the small church that holds the Veiled Christ. It is amazing! It's the major attraction in this small church, which charges 12 euros p/p to enter. We walked around it staring in awe for 30 minutes. The kids still talk about it! Definately worth the effort to get there. However, I'd recommend getting a taxi to take you there, or getting a more detailed map that the one in the RS book. We had a real hard time finding it and no one, not even the police, knew where this church was!
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Old Jul 6th, 2004, 02:16 PM
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My husband and I just about killed ourselves (and we are in our young 20s and very athletic) aatempting to do Rome in 3 very full days - I think a week sounds wonderful and luxurious! There really is so much to see in Rome. That said, there is pretty much "so much to see" in almost every area of Italy so just plan on traveling to the country again and doing a different area then!

Definitely do not pass up Nero's Palace, it is amazing. The audioguide is fantastic, don't go in without it.
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Old Jul 6th, 2004, 02:33 PM
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My husband and I just got back from Rome last week and spent four days there. We enjoyed it very much. I would recommend a guided tour for the forum and the vatican. We took a student run tour of each place and were really happy with our guides! The tour company is called Rome Around or something similar. They provided a 2 hour tour of the the collosseum and the forum - for 16 euros each. The vatican tour was 5 hours and very detailed! My husband and I were blown away by the amount of knowledge these tour guides have. This tour was 30 euro each plus the admission to the vatican museum - 12 euros.

You mentioned that you were thinking about an orientation tour. We went on the green tour bus and were very disappointed. We have been on great sightseeing tour buses in paris and london and expected the same. However, this tour pointed out the sights - for example the trevi fountain is down that street if you make a right! We could not believe they did not even go by the sights. Try to avoid. I am sure there are better ones!

Happy traveling.
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Old Jul 6th, 2004, 05:19 PM
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As previously mentioned, do book your Vatican and Ancient Rome tours with Scala Reale. Definitely worth the money!
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Old Jul 6th, 2004, 11:31 PM
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Reedpaints, I suggest you spend a whole week in Rome, and hire a private licensed tour guide for a 3-hour walking tour of Ancient rome. It's hard to make sense out of a pile of ruins on your own.

But see St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums on your own! I found myself scurrying away from tour groups in the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's. We saw them on our own, carrying guidebooks. Art is a personal experience.

St. Peter's on your first visit needs no explanation. St. Peter's is so grand it defies explanation! Bring any guidebook that makes sense to you.

We hired Francesca Caruso, a private licensed tourguide, for our family for 40 euros per hour, and only used her for a 3-hour walking tour of Ancient Rome. She was great! Oh, bonus, a licensed guide will be able to jump ahead of the line at the colosseum!

Arrive at the Vatican Museums at 12:30 in the summer and there won't be a line.

We had 4 nights in Rome and the whole family loved it...leave some days unplanned, because there will be something you want to go back and see again...

St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums will consume an entire day and use up all your energy. Don't plan anything else for that day except dinner.

Have fun. and put a lot of time into your planning, because the more you know before you go, the more you will get out of the trip. but do plan some "unplanned" time into your trip!
 
Old Jul 7th, 2004, 05:14 AM
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I disagree with doing the vatican on your own. At least get the audio guide, but it's such a maze and so crowded, you'll get jostled trying to look at your guide book while trying to figure out what you are looking at and then you'll get caught up in the cattle drive to the Sistine Chapel. And by then you'll be like "big whoop"

My only regret from my trip is that I did not have a guide for the vatican.

Joelle
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