A Saturday in Rome - what are some non-tourist sights or activities

Presuming your ship will dock at Civitavecchia? You aren't obliged to go to Rome from there. You can take any number of tours to towns close to the port. Research what would interest you ( Etruscans, wine, food) check out how to get there or negotiate with a taxi guy on the pier.

We will dock at Civitavecchia. We looked at Tivoli and Ostia Antica and decided both took too long to get to. Ostia is similar to Pompeii that we will be seeing the day before in Naples so we nixed that idea. We did look at Tarquinia and decided against it. Any more ideas? Thank you.

What about a cooking class? I think that would be fun.

Go north. Porto San Stefano and Giglio Island (where the Costa Concordia was wrecked), the island of Elba where Napoleon was held, Maremma National Park.

Hi Linda, We took the Eating Italy tour which took place in Testaccio. It was a great experience to explore a neighbourhood not well known to tourists and taste food products from market stalls, a deli, a bakery , a restaurant for lunch and a gelato parlour. Our guide also educated us on the history of the area and toured us thru' the Foreigner's cemetary where famous poet's and other luminaries are interred.The tour started (in 2012) at 10:00 am and concluded at approx. 2-2:30 pm. The walking was easy on level ground. I understand that there is now a Trastevere tour as well but it may be only in the evening. Others will probably comment as to their experience, hopefully. This tour was one of our favourite activities on our trip.
I agree about the Spanish Steps, I couldn't figure out what the fuss was all about. Buon viaggio, Sherry

I agree about the Spanish Steps: much ado about nothing. Here are some ideas:

• Galleria Colonna open only Saturdays 09:00-13:15 and lightly attended. Guided visit in English around 11:30 I think.

• Walk the Aventine Hill to see the churches, the view through the Knights of Malta keyhole, then descend to the Tiber River and check out the Rose Garden (there may still be some blooming in Sept). Also some ancient temples along the river nearby that are lovely to see.

• Villa Torlonia, an historic estate where Mussolini lived for 18 years. There are three buildings within the estate, which is a big park, worth seeing. I am told lunch at the cafe is good. Haven't been yet as it is a bit new.

Right on, Laurel:-

Galleria Colonna open only Saturdays 09:00-13:15 and lightly attended. Guided visit in English around 11:30 I think.

A very very interesting place. You forgot to mention the cannonball in the stairs.... See the Princess apartments there...

Thank you all for your responses.

Hi Linda,

We just got back. The Spanish steps were so jam packed with tourists that you almost can't walk up and down. We liked Trastevere a lot on both sides of the river in the evening. More locals, good food. Note the Trevi fountain is closed for repairs so don't bother.

Hi Linda. Have you been to Trajan's Market? It's not exactly not touristy, but it is definitely not a top tourist attraction. When we visited, there were very few tourists and we really enjoyed it. It was very interesting; we loved walking around and contemplating that our modern shopping mall is really not so modern! Another less touristy sight is the Church of San Clemente in Trastevere. We loved seeing the 2 churches built on top of the pagan temple and getting to walk back in time with each layer/church.