Can anyone give me a suggested itinerary for a 3-day visit to Rome (Friday - Sunday). We are going to be there the weekend after next. Shall we reserve any suggested tours of the Vatican and museums or just purchase tickets ahead of time. Thank you!
Posted by
New York
1206 posts
You may not get too many replies as you are in the forum for Italy reviews ( trips people already took and are writing about their experiences). You should post your question under the correct forum for Italy where I am sure you will get many replies. Yes, I do suggest you reserve/buy your tickets to the Vatican so you will not have to wait in a long line. And the only other museum you also need to reserve/buy tickets, is the Borghese Gallery which is a two hour only visit ( but you will be able to see everything in that amount of time) and is a wonderful museum and worth seeing. All the other museums you can just go to if you have time. Look at the Rick Steves tour ( he has a week long tour which is excellent, done it twice) and that will give you some ideas as to what to see and do for your three day visit. Have a great time.
Posted by
Central Florida
484 posts
Plan on 2 hours in Vatican museum and 1-2 hours in St. Peter's Basilica. I liked St. Peter's after 3 pm. The crowds start thinning out. Expect a mob at the museum. I also liked the colosseum after 3 pm. Much shorter lines. Go to Roman Forum first (side entrance on Fori Imperiali) and buy a combo. ticket. Do forum first (bring a bottle to fill with water at the water spigot). Then, stroll over to the colosseum. You can now skip the ticket line and get in the entrance line which is short late in the day. If you like churches - go to Santa Prassede in morning, followed by Santa Maria Maggiore. (Santa Prassede closes in middle of day.) You can make a half day of visiting Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Sopra Di Minerva. You can also cruise past largo Torre Argentina and see a small collection of Roman ruins.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
232 posts
We really enjoyed the "Eating Italy" tour of the Trastavere neighborhood. It's a 2 hour walking tour where you stop at various places for pasta, pizza, gelato, wine tasting. You learn a lot of Italian food and history. You need to make reservations in advance. It was one if the highlights of our two weeks in Italy.
Honestly one of the low lights was the Vatican museum. Very crowded, we had an amazing guide I felt like unless you have a guide I wouldn't have known what I looking at. The Sistine Chapel is shoulder to shoulder people with a guard yelling "Silencio" through a megaphone every few minutes.
I would definitely suggest a guide for the Forum or at the very least down load the Rick Steves audio guide.
We really enjoyed the church of San Clemente. A church built in top if a church built on top of a Roman home and pagan temple. Really gives you a perspective on the layers of history you are walking above in Rome.
Have a great time!