Recommendations for Two days in Rome

You really should get a good guide book to help you decide which sites are of interest to you. There are many sites but not all of them will appeal to you.

Most sites offer their own guided tours so if you let us know which ones are of interest to you we can give you links so you can book before you leave.

Donna

Thank You so much Donna.
I will review Rick Steve's guidebook on Italy (Rome) and identify which sites in Rome we'd like to visit and reply in this forum. I will look for your recommendations and make advance ticket reservations for a few sites to avoid long lines, since we have only two days in Rome.

Regards,
Amitava

Depending on what is of interest to you, but I would suggest:

• St. Peter's Basilica (but time your visit to go early or late otherwise there will be a long wait to enter)
• Colosseum
• Roman Forum
• Pantheon
• Piazza Navona
• Spanish Steps
• There are lots of jaw-droppingly beautiful churches; you can take your pick: Chiesa del Gesu, Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, Santa Maria della Vittoria, or one or more of the other big basilicas in addition to St. Peter's (Santa Maria Maggiore, St Paul Outside the Walls, St Giovanni Laterano
• Gelato
• Vatican Museums for art
• This barely scratches the surface

Enjoy - you will love it.

Thank You Bill for your recommendations for Rome, which I will consider. I will review in Rick Steve's guidebook and will post a reply with my preference, so that folks on this forum can provide pointers for me to book the visits before I leave home.

Regards,
Amitava

Thank You Donna and Bill for your advice on visiting Rome for two days.
I reviewed Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports guidebook and have developed a short list below of sites in Rome we'd like to visit in two days, (Aug 9 after 12Noon, Aug 10 all day, Aug 11 AM until 12Noon) before leaving by coach for Civitavecchia Port for Princess Med/Aegean 7-day Cruise.

We will be staying at Best Western Premier Hotel Royal Santina on Via Marsala 22, close to Stazione Termini.
To save time, I'd like to make advance reservations online before leaving home on August 8, with any site-links or contact e-mail address you can provide.

The choice of sites in Rome that we would like to visit are:
The Roman Forum
Pantheon
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
Campo de' Fiori
Piazza Navona (any suggestions for a nice Italian dinner @ P. Navona)
Santa Maria Maggiore church (near Stazione Termini?)
Borghese Gallery (if time permits)
To move from site to site quickly, is Hop-On Hop-Off bus, or Rome subway, or 2-day Local Bus, ticket recommended?

Any other advice you can provide related to site selection, and safety, will be most welcome . THANK YOU, and other seasoned travelers, for your helpful recommendations and tips.

Amitava Mukerjee
Danville, CA

Forget the buses you mention and tne subway. You can walk to most of the places you list. Take a taxi if you go up to Villa Borghese.
Dinner near Piazza Navona-Armando al Pantheon, reserve ahead on their website.

With the amount of time you have, you should be able to do everything on your list. Since the 9th is your arrival day, plan on taking it easy. Visit Santa Maria Maggiore, it's at most 6 blocks from your hotel. Wander around the area then take a taxi to Campo di Fiori for dinner.

Taxis are not expensive in Rome. Use them instead of the busses.

On the 10th. Go to the Roman forum in the morning, lunch, then head to the Villa Borghese. Make this reservation asap. I'd try for something around 1-3pm. This site is the easiest to book.

http://www.tosc.it/galleria-borghese-rome-tickets.html?affiliate=T2C&fun=evdetail&doc=evdetailb&key=912678$10880232&jumpIn=yCalendarView

Otherwise use this one.

https://www.tickitaly.com/store/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=35&visit_date=08-08-2018

For the Forum, book here.

https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

10th continued. From the Borghese,
Walk to the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and end at Piazza Navona. Distance from the Spanish Steps is just a little over a mile, so you have plenty of time for all your stops.

I'll second suki restaurant suggestion. Real Roman food.

After dinner, I'd walk back by these sites as they're beautifully lit for the evening.

If you have time on the 11th, take the elevator to the top of the Victor Emmanuel monument for views over the Eternal City.

Have a wonderful time in Rome and enjoy your cruise.

THANK YOU Suki & Gerri for your helpful advice & pointer links.

I tried to reserve tickets for Roman Forum & Pantheon at “coopculture.it” web site. Looks like I can buy “bundled tickets” for Colosseum, RF, & PH. Also, entrance time for advance purchase tickets is ONLY AFTER 2PM. Is this understanding correct? I’d like to visit RF first in the morning, Aug 10, then visit Pantheon and Borghese Gallery after lunch. Is this plan feasible?
Advance reservation site for Borghese Gallery is EASY & clear., unlike coopculture.it site which is NOT EASY!
Please advise whether I should go ahead with buying advance tickets for “bundled tickets” and hope I can visit RF in the morning. THANK YOU 🙏

Thanks Suki for Restaurant recommendation near P. Naviona. I will make advance res for dinner on Aug 10. and let them know you sent me there
😊.

Regards,
Jeepu

The 2pm entrance is for the Colosseum only. It does not apply to the Forum or Palatine Hill.

Edit. You can buy these tickets at the Forum entrance, if it's crowded use the Palatine Hill entrance which seldom has 5-10 in line.

The Pantheon is as of today not selling tickets. They're still trying to figure out the logistics. If someone is trying to sell them, don't buy them.

On the 10th do the Borghese before the Pantheon, which is on your direct walk from the S Steps to P. Navona.

THANK YOU Gerri for your recommendations and very useful pointers for advance reservations, which worked fine!
On August 10, I have advance tickets from TickItaly.com for Borghese Gallery from 9:00 - 11:00AM. Their web site was well organized, explained, and easy to navigate!

On August 10, I also have advance tickets for "combo package" consisting of Roman Form, PH, and Colosseum, good for TWO consecutive days. Admission to Colosseum is only after 2:00PM. I plan to visit Roman Forum & PH after Borhese Gallery, have a nice Italian lunch and then visit Colosseum, all on August 10. Is this plan OK or too ambitious?

I followed Suki's (NYC) advice and tried to make dinner reservation @ Armando al Pantheon, on August 10, but ALL dates in August were crossed OUT (:((. Looks like either it will be closed due to Summer vacation, or it could be too early now for booking dinner reservation in August? Do you have any other suggestion for typically Italian restaurant right around P. Navona that will not break the bank, either for Aug 9 or 10?

Separately, can you please recommend a reputable Italian leather store for men's shoes, belts, wallets, and Ladies' handbags? My general impression is the quality of leather goods in Italy is very good, but so are the exorbitant prices! But, I'd like to try your recommendations for Italian stores, and decide later if I want to take the plunge into Italian "haute couture".

Thank you again SO MUCH for your help, and best regards,
Amitava Mukerjee

Gerri, Suki:

Thank You so much both for your recommendations for TWO days in Rome.
I have advance tickets to all the sites you recommended and feel well prepared to explore Rome in two days (Aug 9 & 10).

Unfortunately, Armando al Pantheon restaurant near P.Navona is CLOSED in August. Which other Roman restaurant near P.Navona do you recommend for dinner on August 10? We depart Rome for Princess cruise on August 11.

Thank you for your response and regards,
Jeepu

We actually "did" Rome in 1 1/2 days. We arrived by train around noon. After checking in to our hotel, we headed to the Colosseum and the Forum. The next day, we went back to the Colosseum and hired a bicycle taxi to take us to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, the Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona and ended at the Pantheon; this was a 30 minute bicycle taxi ride, which was plenty of time to see both of the first 2 sights - and so much fun! We did the Rick Steves Audioguide tour through the Pantheon and ate lunch in that area, at a place our "taxi driver" recommended. He spoke very little English, but we understood him to say, "not a tourist restaurant - real Italiano!" We then walked across the bridge to Vatican city. We had reservations to the Vatican Museum, and even though we arrived 1 hour early, they let us go on through. We were able to find the exit door in the Sistine Chapel that Rick Steves mentions, and saved time by not having to go back through the museum to exit. We spent the rest of our time in St. Peter's Basilica. This is the one place I could have spent more time (and I'm not Catholic!) We then took a taxi back to our hotel, because my feet were soooo tired!
We didn't get to see the Trevi Fountain, because it was closed for repairs. But we plan to see it on our return trip in August. Was there more to see in Rome? Absolutely! But I do feel like we hit the highlights and got a good feel for Rome in the day and a half that we were there. So it can be done!

Faye:

Thank You for your response. Surprised that you visited Colosseum & Roman Forum without advance ticket reservation, which I thought was virtually impossible! 😲
I have advance tickets for both sites on Aug 9, but we can visit Colosseum only after 2PM withbadvace tickets. How much time did both sites take?
We’ll first visit Borghese Gallery (already have advance tickets) @ 9AM, then go to C & RF & PH in afternoon. Depart for Princess Cruise from Civitavecchia on Aug 11.
Any recommendations for good Italian dinner near P. Navona (four rivers fountain) or Campo di Fiori?
Thank You for your response.

Eat. Rome has the best food! Use Yelp around wherever you’re staying and visiting.