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Advice on itinerary- My first trip to Rome

Posted by (Dallas, TX) on

Thanks to the many suggestions from the first question I posted, I've compiled an itinerary. It's a version of the one from Rick Steves' Rome book. We would leave home on a Saturday and arrive Sunday. Because of jet lag, I made the first day lighter. I would appreciate any suggestions/changes/etc. My spouse and I will travel with our sons 18 and 20. We arrive in Rome on a Sunday at 9am and depart the following Saturday at 11am.

Day 1: Walking tour of ancient Rome (in Rick’s Rome book)

Day 2: Colosseum, Forum and Pantheon. Dinner on Campo de’ Fiori and Night Walk Across Rome to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.

Day 3: St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museum. Evening: walk the Via del Corso from Plazza del Popolo (go there) to the Spanish Steps.

Day 4: Borghese Gallery and the Capitoline Museums. Rent cart.

Day 5: Side trip to Ostia Antica, the Appian Way and the Catacombs of Priscilla, or Tivoli.

I would like to add: National Museum of Rome, walk through Trastevere and Jewish Quarter but don't know if there's time or if so, when to add that.

Posted by
1501 posts

Skip the Spanish Steps and instead spend an afternoon in Trastevere. The Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere are very close together. Seriously, my whole life I wanted to "see" the Spanish Steps, but basically it's just "STEPS" Stairs. People sit there, it's not a site, and I walked right past it, backed up, and said, "oh."

Do just the side trip to Ostia Antica. That is enough for a day trip.

Take some time to just enjoy! You don't need to check off every box! The Joy of Italy is sometimes just sitting in a piazza and enjoying a pizza and a glass of wine. That's an important box to check off!

PS Campo De' Fiori is best seen in the morning with the vendors, flower carts, etc. Maybe lunch there would be more charming!

Be aware that the Jewish Ghetto is pretty much buttoned up from Sundown Friday till Sundown Sat.

Posted by
11613 posts

The catacombs of Priscilla are in the opposite direction from the Appian Way, although there are major catacombs there. You can take the bus to the Catacombs of Priscilla, off Via Nomentana. Acqueduct Park is on the Appian Way, you could pack a picnic.

On day 3, you could visit the Galleria Borghese and then walk to Piazza del Popolo from the Pincio terrace.

Posted by
10344 posts

I think you meant to refer to the Jewish Ghetto when you said Jewish Grotto.
As Donna mentions, you don't want to go during the Jewish Sabbath, which will be sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Posted by
11852 posts

With a 9AM arrival on Sunday, you can make use of the afternoon. In fact it is advisable to get out into daylight to beat jetlag. Check in, shower, change, do not sleep! Head out to lunch and a walk. This would be a good afternoon for walking the Via del Corso and also via Fori Imperiali is a pedestrian scene worth making. This is the walk from the Colosseo to the Vittorio Emanuele monument and you can consider going up to the roof of the latter for a magnificent view over Rome.

Side trip to Ostia Antica, the Appian Way and the Catacombs of Priscilla, or Tivoli.

Pick one: Ostia Antica, the Appian Way, or Tivoli. Keep some open time/flexibility for things you stumble across you didn't know you wanted to see.

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