Heart of Italy in 9 days tour

By all means, visit the Baths of Diocletian, in the area of the Colosseum. We stumbled onto it a few years back and it is awesome.

Also, if you go to Florence and visit the Duomo, be sure to check out the excavations below the main floor. Near the exit there is a small staircase with a wrought iron/wood bannister that caught our eye. We spent over 3 hours down there. Another "amazing find".

There are so many possibilities!!! Here are two ideas, either for the day before your tour begins, or during the free time you have on the tour: (1) the Borghese Gallery, a wonderful gallery of Bernini sculptures and many diverse paintings, in a very special building, within a large park. Advance reservations are required, for a particular 2-hour time slot, and you must arrive 30 minutes in advance to claim your space and stash your stuff, during which time you can get a snack or visit the bookshop; (2) an unusual afternoon tour offered by Walks of Italy, called "Crypts,, Bones and Catacombs: An Underground Tour of Rome". You could never visit these three spots on your own in just a 3.5 hour period, since they transport you by nice private bus. Go to WalksofItaly.com and click on Rome. Not offered every day. This is a great tour company, with excellent guides, and I believe they still offer a 10% RS discount if you ask for it. In addition, child or senior discount if you are one of those.

In pre-tour days and I think on the free afternoon, I enjoyed going to San Pietro in Vincoli to see the Michelangelo Moses (have some change to put in the slot to turn on the light for it).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pietro_in_Vincoli

I also did the Basilica of San Clemente to see the different excavated levels below the current Basilica which include a Temple of Mythras.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Clemente

The National Roman Museum is also interesting and if you are staying in one of Rick's tour hotels near the Termini will be convenient as well. It is 4 separate sites including the Baths of Diocletian mentioned upthread.

http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en/node/482

We had also taken an hour's tour on the way in from the airport with Rome Cabs and my nephews wanted to go back and see one of the things we saw on the tour, which was the Aventine Keyhole. We walked from the tour hotel by the Colosseum, across the Circus Maximus, by the rose gardens and up the Aventine hill to revisit it.

http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/sights/knights_malta.html

Have a wonderful time! This was my first RS tour and it got me hooked!

One of my favorite places in Rome is the Galleria Doria Pmphilj. It's a private palace with lots of great art. Make sure to get the audioguide as the current prince gives a wonderful family history.
http://www.doriapamphilj.it/roma/en/

Wow those are some great suggestions. I'll have a hard time choosing. I'm sure I'll be hooked after this tour too. Thanks so much for your help. This is an awesome forum for information.

A hearty yes to the Borghese Gallery, the Pamphilj mansion and taking the elevator up for the view from the roof of the Victor Emmanuel monument. However, most importantly, just walk, walk, walk and soak it all in.

We are also "foodies" and really enjoyed a walking/eating tour of Testaccio neighbourhood. I believe the name of the company is Eating in Italy. The tour was approx. 4 hours ( max 12 people) and we sampled food at a historical market stall, delicatessen, bakery, a restaurant for lunch and a gelateria. There were also other historical sights included. Now this company also offers a dining tour in Trastevere. This tour was one of our trip highlights and if we get back to Roma we will definitely do the Trastevere tour. I know that you will love the Heart of Italy tour as we did the RS Italy 17 day tour and count it as one of our favourite vacations ever. Buon Viaggio