2 days in Rome ideas

Graham, Do you have a good guidebook? These issues are precisely why guidebooks are written. Perhaps borrow the Rick Steves Rome guide from your library. He even has itineraries laid out based on how much time you have. After some research by you, we can help with refining day plans, tour companies, opinions on specific hotels, etc.

I usually start looking for lodging using www.booking.com.

Hey Graham,

Take a day trip to Ostia Antica just outside of Rome, I am sure you have not yet been there. It's an harbor city of ancient Rome somewhat similar to pompeii but smaller. A second option can be to take a trip to Tivoli and tour Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. If touring archeological sites is not exciting enough for you, than take a day trip to the lovely hill town of Orvieto, little over 1 hour from Rome via train. Those activities should fulfill your 2 days in Rome.

https://www.ostia-antica.org/

Rjean that’s great thanks. And yes I have many guidebooks hence why we’ve previously visited a lot of the better known sights etc. Local plus previous people’s highlights are far more helpful I’ve found and I use booking.com a lot but again personal experiences tend to be far better plus you never can entirely trust reviews:/ratings on booking.com or any other similar portal......

An easy way to break down into two days is
1. Christian Rome and 2. Ancient Rome. It sounds like you need to see more of number 2. The Forum is a wonderful place to explore and spend time.
Hotel price point? How many rooms?

3 or 4 star hotel 1 double I am very keen re Ancient Rome we’ve been to many sites outside of Italy in North Africa and Europe so your probably right re more Ancient Rome etc

We went for 2 days too. The day we landed at 10am and we did a 3pm tour of the Colosseum and Forum (3 hours through Roman Guy). The following day we had a 7:30 am Sistine Pristine Tour through Walks of Italy - included Basilica and after we walked up the Dome. This was also a 3 hour tour. After the Vatican we had lunch nearby and hopped into a taxi to Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The Pantheon was near our hotel so we stopped in there too.

The 1/2 day we had before our return flight we walked around Trastevere, ate there and also stopped in a few churches while there. We loved our hotel Albergo Del Senato (https://www.albergodelsenato.it/) we had a room with a balcony (the only balcony) overlooking the Pantheon. The location was amazing, we really had no issues seeing everything and doing what we had planned, we walked to everything. They also have a lovely rooftop bar for guests only.

If you want a great view of Rome, you can visit Castel Sant Angelo on your Vatican day and climb to the top! We were there before 10:00, and I think it was only 5 euros (usually more).

This won't be of any help - just a rueful observation from an unsavvy traveller - you all seem so confident with your itineraries. Despite months of planning, of our three days in Rome, we spent the equivalent of half a day lost.
Loved it anyway -

I suggest you visit even unusual places in Rome. For example the Coppedè District, the new Colosseum (EUR District), the Ancient Appian Way (in this case, rent a bike ;))

Liz: getting lost is when you find the most interesting things and places!