First day in Rome help!

I stayed in the Pantheon area last November. The beautiful squares Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona are a short walk away from the Pantheon area. Although they are more atmospheric all lit up at night you can consider visiting them in the day. There are a few great churches ( Santa Maria supra Minerva, San Ignazio church) in the Pantheon area which are beautiful and thankfully tourist free at most times. I liked them as much as the great St Peters just because of the lack of crowds and the great art at these churches.

I would suggest you skip the Trevi Fountain in the afternoon and go early morning the next day when it is relatively empty and a pleasure to be at.
It's a great area to live in ( The Pantheon area) since all sites are equidistant and convenient to get to.
Have a great trip.

Just curious where you saw that the Pantheon was closed on Aug. 20th? Except for 10:30 mass, it's usually open to visitors on Sundays from 9:00 - 18:00.

Walking on your first day to stay awake is a good idea but instead of heading north - as you might do that for other reasons later on - you might make a circle to the south instead? I'd have to look up hours for the churches but you could hit the Pantheon (if it's indeed open), Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and Gesu, down to Teatro Marcello/Portico d'Ottavia ruins (outside; free), San Nicola in Carcere and a little around the Jewish Ghetto, over to Campo di Fiori and then Piazza Navona on your way home. The excavation at Largo di Torre Argentina - where Julius Caesar was assassinated - is sort of in the middle of all that too; you can peer down into it from the street, and there are (or were, anyway) signs to tell you what you're looking at.

You wouldn't need to do ALL of this by any means but there are quite a number of possibilities closer to your accommodation without going north to Trevi and the Steps. Depending on your itinerary, I'd add those in with other attractions on that end of the city.

I would walk over to the Victor Emmanuel Monument and take the elevator to the roof. You will get a great view of Rome and it will give you an idea of where everything is located in the city. They have large placards around the roof pointing out all of the sites. You can also look down on the Roman Forum from there.

We always try to take a walk on our first day, like the one you described. We usually eat pizza at Dar Poeta in Trastevere (close to the Ponte Sisto bridge near Campo di Fiori). RS recommends Dar Poeta, and they are open early, so we try to eat before 8 when they get busy. We also get gelato at Frigidarium, near Piazza Navona before we turn in- they are our favorite gelato place anywhere.

My adult daughter and I took a quick nap around 3:30pm on our arrival day and then got cleaned/tidied up for a walking food tour that ran from around 7pm-10pm, ending up back at the Pantheon, with our hotel right on the square.
This got me a little rest from the intercontinental fight and then kept me up until (what should be) my regular bedtime. I then slept a good 8 hours and was ready to go the next day.

i liked it this way because I got dinner, spread out over several hours and while keeping active.

Also, as a first night activity (especially if it's your first night there ever), it's a good introduction to the area around you and the food that you'll find in Rome.

You can find places that maybe you want to go back to, which is good to learn on the first night rather than the last.

Oh, I'll be following this closely as we, too, arrive Rome on the same day (Aug 20) but at 8am. We are staying near the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterno so I'm trying to plan our arrival day, too. The challenge I am encountering is that it is both a Sunday and August and many places are closed.

Donna, that some places may be closed really isn't an issue. You don't want to spend a lot of time indoors anyway on arrival day as walking and fresh air are the best methods of revival for many of us after a flight. I did list a couple of churches the poster might be able to pop into along their walk (haven't check their hours yet) but I don't suggest spending a long time in them. Interesting things to see outside are better for keeping the eyes open.

We cannot nap on arrival day. We'd be much worse for wear than if we'd have just stayed up until normal bedtime!

That said, San Clemente wouldn't be far from you and looks like it's open from 12:15 or so until 6:00 (last entry for the excavations at 5:30). You could also walk over for a look at Circo Massimo, up the Aventine Hill for a nice view of the backside of the Palatine and a city view from the little orange garden beside Santa Sabina. The church is very old and very interesting; I believe it's open to visitors on Sundays from 3:30 - 6:00. Peer through keyhole in the gate of the Priory of Malta at the dome of St Peter's while you're up there.

You'll pass by the municipal rose gardens on the way up but they probably won't have much for blooms in August. No matter; still a nice walk! :O)