Hi,
We are travelling to Rome this friday. We'll be landing on Saturday night and planning to stay until Tuesday in Rome. Just found out that there's going to be a heavy rain on Monday. Though it puts us down, I want to use up this time to visit some good place (indoor) and can do more outdoors on sunny days. Will vatican be a good place to visit on a rainy day?
Any other recommendations?
advitha
So you only have Sunday and Monday for Rome, and are leaving Tuesday? If so, the Vatican Museums are closed on Sunday so Monday would be the only day you'll have to do that. It's also the busiest day as the National Museums are closed on Mondays so they will be mobbed - not that they aren't anyway during high season.
But yes, you could do the museums and St. Peter's…with one caveat. The queue for tickets to the museums is going to be very, very long. As one of the most visited attractions in Rome, the way around standing in line for hours is to book your tickets - or a tour - in advance. I would get on the Vatican website RIGHT NOW and see if there's anything still open for available time slots, and book tickets if there is:
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html
With a good umbrella and the will to make the best of a soggy day, there are also heaps of fabulous churches you could visit as well; get out your guidebook, do some reading, and plot some of those on your map.
We are having until Tuesday with us. We are travelling to venice on Wednesday early morning.
advitha
Looking at the forecast now there is no sign of rain. 31 Centigrade and sunny! You might want indoor time to cool down, not to escape the rain. :-)
If on the fly you need a place that does not require advance reservations (the Vatican does), try Galleria Doria Pamphilj, the Pantheon, San Luigi dei Francesi (chiesa), Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul's Outside the Walls, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Palazzo Braschi Museo di Roma, Palazzo Massimo, Church of San Clemente. These are sites of some fabulous art and history.
Thanks for that info Laurel. We are planning to cover all the outdoors on the first day and keep a back up option just incase it rains. BTW, which website do I need to check for authentic Rome weather info.
advitha
We just use AccuWeather or Weather.com. Neither is better or worse than the other. Neither predicted today's surprise thunderstorm. :-)
I don't have much to add since you have received some wonderful ideas so far. As you can see there are many museums and churches/cathedrals you could visit if the weather turns bad. You can watch some of Rick's episodes to help you pick which of these indoor places you would want to visit. Otherwise it looks like you might luck out on the weather and you can visit any of your top choices.
Thanks for all the advices. We have decided to reserve a slot in vatican for the noon and might hang out there until it closes. There's going to be a shower around 4 PM but that's about it as what I see from all the major weather websites. I hope it will pass away.
Looking forward for a pleasant holiday in Rome :-)
advitha
