First trip to Europe! Please give me feedback for my 4 days in Rome

I would delete Castel SantAngelo. It features great views of the city, but I thought just seeing the exterior was enough.

1. You mention the importance of your Christian faith. The catacombs of San Sebastiano is a spectacular sight on early Christian history: http://www.catacombeditalia.va/content/archeologiasacra/en/catacombs/by-provinces/rome/catacomb-of-st-sebastian.html

I saw the tombs of nine early popes in there.

1. If you want to see more great churches other than St. Peter in Chains, there are a few others in central Rome I found stunning: 1. San Giovanni in Laterano (the first Vatican); make sure to see the Holy Stairs in a separate building. 2. Santa Maria in Trestevere, the most stunning church mosaics. 3. Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, more stunning art. 4. San Clemente Church; it features four layers of Christian history. The most fascinating section covers a long-gone faith tradition that seemingly bridged pagan Rome and early Christianity.

2. If you do have time, the Jewish ghetto is definitely worth it. Tour the gorgeous synagogue with superb museum. Don't miss the great ruins in the neighborhood, including a couple arches of an arena that predates the Colosseum and serves as a template for it. There's also a great ancient arch in the neighborhood.

While I would still visit the inside of the pantheon on your day 1, I would also return to see it super early on your day 2. It’s all lit up in gold. You can get some good pictures of the outside with no people. It’s only about an 8-minute walk from the trevi fountain.

I really enjoyed the Jewish Ghetto and would suggest making that a priority over Trastevere.

Have a great trip!!

You should go to San Clemente Church which is in the same area as the Colosseum. You might want to do one of the forum night light shows.

I think you have a great itinerary and clearly one suited towards your own priorities. You have a nice balance of big sights and exploring, full days but not overly aggressive.

I agree with Craig that you should be sure to incorporate the “smaller” churches scattered throughout the old center. You can do this as you explore. Several are right by the Pantheon, and frankly I enjoyed them more than the Pantheon.

Also, Castel Sant Angelo is not too high on most lists. It might be fine, but on the scale of things to see in Rome you could probably skip it. There’s a fair share of old, important buildings in Europe that impress from the outside, but have little to see inside. I suspect this is one of them.

Your geographical organization looks good to me. For extra assurance, you could ask Google Maps to plot walking routes from point to point. Watch for places where the route is circuitous (indicating care must be taken to avoid a hill or a pay-to-enter archaeological area) or where the walking time is more than the standard of 20 minutes per mile. The latter would suggest there's some hill- or stair-climbing involved. The Capitoline Museums are at the top of a significant set of stairs, for example.

I assume you have already taken care of tickets for the tours mentioned in your original post, including the Domus Aurea.

I'm always dead to the world on arrival day and wouldn't plan to do anything beyond aimless wandering around outdoors, because I wouldn't remember doing it. If you are lucky enough to survive the overnight flight well, I think you could include the Jewish Ghetto on your arrival day.

Day 2 looks heavy to me in terms of getting everything accomplished and needing to be on your feet a lot. The Capitoline Museums are in two buildings connected via an underground display area. I'd urge you to poke around on the website and prioritize the areas you most want to see so you don't miss what's most important to you if you begin to flag. I'll mention here that the Jewish Ghetto isn't far from the Capitoline Museums, but it's in the opposite direction from Monti, so I don't think you'd want to try to fit it in on this day.

On your Vatican/Trastevere day, try to see Santa Cecilia as well as Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Not too far from St. Peter in Chains is the aforementioned Santa Maria Maggiore. In that general area are two quite small (thus quick to see) churches with stupendous early mosaics; put a 1-euro coin in any light meter you notice for the best view. During my February visit, St. Praxedes was open from 10 AM till noon and from 4 PM to 6 PM--I think daily. Santa Pudentiana was only open 9 AM till 11:30 AM Monday-Saturday.

San Clemente is quite interesting. It now requires a ticket purchased in advance. The afternoon time slots, at least, were not selling out way in advance in February, but you cannot purchase an entry ticket onsite. It's easy to do online.

I can't really speak up for Castel Sant'Angelo, because I didn't have time to see it myself. It's not often mentioned here, and that is probably for a reason. However, it supposedly has a good collection of paintsings, sculpture and military memorabilia, and it sometimes houses temporary exhibitions.

I feel no trip to Roma should not include the Gallery Borghese, for me it is right up there with Saint Peter's. If you need to cut Castel Saint Anglo to fit the Borghese in do so. Borghese is a 15 on a scale on 1 to 10, and SA is a 2. Pop into any church that you walk by regardless of how it looks on the outside. And please see Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (next to the Pantheon). Enjoy your trip J

I don't think regular entry tickets are available from the Borghese's official ticket supplier (Tiqets) for a trip two weeks hence, unfortunately. There might be something available at a much higher price from a third-party source.

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Regarding the Borghese Gallery, it was originally in my plan, but since I am more interested in Roman history compared to sculptures, I figured I might as well skip the Borghese (I will also be going to the Uffizi and Academia in Florence later on during my trip).

Do you all still think this justifies not going to the Borghese, or is this a must-see for Rome like the Colosseum and Vatican?

1. San Giovanni in Laterano (the first Vatican); make sure to see the Holy Stairs in a separate building

As a Protestant Christian this church was also on my list to visit if I had time due to the significance of the Holy Stairs on Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation

I think you’ve got a pretty good itinerary. My other recommendations:

1) I vote for Galleria Borghese as well. This is where you can be up close and personal with some of Bernini’s very best work. It is stunning.

2). Make sure you see some of these monuments at night, if possible. Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Forum, Colosseum.

3). Make sure there’s time for gelato!

I recommend the Borghese Gallery as well. The art is stunning! For your time in Trastevere you may want to consider an evening food tour. We took one through Eating Europe. It was a great orientation to the area; the food tastings were generous and took care of dinner that evening (including gelato!).

You have a well-planned itinerary. My only concern is your comment that you plan to walk to most sites. To save time and energy, use public transportation when possible. Many guide books tell you which bus or subway to use for different tourist destinations.

I second the others--see the Jewish Ghetto.

For day 3 you have "Wonder around Trastevere in the afternoon/evening"
I can recommend taking a food tour in this neighborhood, it' a wonderful way to explore the area while eating wonderful food and getting a tour. We used Eating Europe Tour company and went on the Twilight Trastevere tour, I highly recommend this company and this tour.