Please sign in to post.

Pilgrim's Rome Tour - How much time to allow?

Greetings fellow travelers! We are planning our first trip to Rome this May and the Rick Steve book has been instrumental in our planning. I love the different walking tours that are presented. I am interested in the Pilgrim's Rome Tour (different churches), but for some reason this tour doesn't say how long to allow for completion. All the other tours offer an estimated time of the duration of the tour. Could any of you offer a guess-timate of how long the Pilgrim's Tour would take? This would really help me plan my time better. Thank you!!

Posted by
1206 posts

Hi, I have been to Rome and have seen some of the churches on the Pilgrim's tour as shown in the RS book. No one can really say how long the "tour" is, as it depends on how long do you want to stay in a church to see the church. You can stay 15 minutes or you can stay 40 minutes or you can take a brief walk around the church and then leave. As this is something you are doing on your own and not with a tour group, it is entirely up to you as to how long you stay in each church. Have a great time and as you may know already, wear modest clothes in the church as they will not allow you in. Have a great time.

Posted by
3 posts

I just found it odd that all of the other tours in his book have estimated times listed and this was the only one that didn't. Of course, all self guided tours vary in length but the estimate duration is a handy figure to have when planning. I appreciate your quick feedback!

Posted by
1994 posts

Part of the reason for lack of time estimate might be the distance between the churches, so time depends on how you'll get between them. If I remember correctly, it includes SM Maggiore, S Prassede, S John Lateran, and S Clemente? If so... I like to spend time on my visits and could easily spend more than a day on these visits; you'd probably spend at least a full half day on average visits, but could save some time by taking taxis. When I last visited, there was a taxi stand outside of SMM, and I'd guess there would also be taxis near the Lateran (although I never found taxis there). The walk from SMM to Lateran is about a mile down a major street (w S Prassede a half block from SMM, and S Clemente a detour between SMM and Lateran). Also, RS probably warns about this, but do check open hours carefully. S Prassede is closed from around noon to late afternoon. Not sure about S Clemente, but I'd guess it keeps longer hours. Papal basilicas such as SMM and the Lateran typically are open all day. If you are interested in early churches, you might also want to visit Santa Sabina, one of the best preserved early Christian basilicas; it's near the Circus Maximus. And I really like Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which is behind the Pantheon; it's one of the only (or the only) Gothic churches in Rome and has some beautiful fresco work (as well as Michelangelo's statue of Christ with the cross).

Posted by
11613 posts

If you go to San Clemente the church of the Quattro Martiri is very nearby. Santa Sabina is near a cluster of other churches on the Aventine. Near Piazza Navona is San Luigi dei Francesi (contains Caravaggio's paintings) and one street over is the church of Sant'Ivo with a beautiful spiral dome. Santa Prassede has beautiful mosaics. If you take the bus you can get to Santa Costanza, another Early Christian church with mosaics just a few steps from Via Nomentana. I would set apart a day, incuding some quiet time to absorb the atmosphere of these sacred places.

Posted by
34520 posts

I don't expect that it is on the particular walk you have but we enjoyed going behind the scenes and down through 1700 years under a church built about 1000 years ago - the Underground Basilica of San Crisogongo in Trastevere. It is right next to the tram station just on the Trastevere side of the river. The church above ground was pretty good too.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks for the comments and suggestions ... I'll check out some of the other churches you mentioned and will calculate distances so we can plan accordingly.

Posted by
11878 posts

We did this our about 2.5 years ago. It took about 1/2 a day. Started at the Pantheon when it opened, took a bus to San Clemente, then walked to San Giovani in Laterano and on to S. Maria Maggiore. Note any closing times. I think San Clemente closes at Noon for la pausa. As I remember we started very early to avoid crowds and to beat the clock.

Posted by
11613 posts

My mistake - the church I referred to as "Quattro Martiri" near San Clemente is actually the church of the Quattro Coronati.