3 Day itinerary - Rome

It's easy to rent bikes at Borghese Gardens, but I wouldn't ride a bike to the park. If you are staying near the Pantheon, take a bus or taxi. It's a rather long walk.

I think that’s all fine, but I would skip Borghese Gardens altogether. It’s kind of an odd place to get to, and honestly I found it pretty unappealing. Just generally unkempt, uninteresting and rather lifeless in comparison to just about any Roman street. If you’re keen to get on bikes, the Appian Way sounds much better. With your brief itinerary, I might trade it for a walk in Trastavere or something.

Thanks for your feedback. I was originally thinking to bike the Appian Way but from what I’ve read it’s a brutal ride over the cobblestones!

While the Borghese gardens are rather unkempt, in May they should still be quite green and are a nice respite from busier Rome. Do you plan to go to Borghese Gallery? This was a highlight for us. Testaccio has great food too. Market is interesting and the restaurants are fabulous.

Thanks Lisa. We visited the Borghese Gallery the last time we were there and it was the highlight of our trip. Would love to see it again but have limited time so trying to do different things this trip.

Suggest adding the Capitoline Museum and Trajan's Forum.

We just did the Borghese Gallery on our 1st night in Rome and the audio guide from the museum was very confusing
I wish we would have realized Rick had a guide and a map in the tour book! I feel like we did not have the optimum experience there.

I just visited Rome and Villa Borghese in September. I walked around the bucolic public park for a bit, saw the bike rental area and stopped at the Zoo. I was happy that although the zoo was a relatively small size, that the assortment and presentation of the animals was impressive. A lot of the animals were active. The reptile and amphibian house was amazing! They had an albino tiger, a Bengal tiger, brown bears and a large Kimodo dragon. I think that I spent between 2 and 3 hours at the zoo. And I saw the whole place.

I didn't have time to rent a bike, but I think that there are enough interesting things to see for an hour or two in the park.

I also enjoyed Domus Aurea and Ostia Antica, if you can work them in to your schedule.