Rome

Pretty vague. Any good guidebook will cover the "must sees." Cross off the Vatican and Colosseum and see what is left that appeals to you. Museums?? Borghese Gallery (need reservations), Baths of Caracalla, Diocletian, Ostia Antica, etc.

Suggestion Only as there is a lot to see in Rome. Plan on a half day ( late afternoon/evening) to see Piazza Navona/Pantheon/Sopra Di Minerva Church. These are right next to each other and easy to stroll around. Plan a half day to the Borghese Art museum. Buy tickets online in advance and reserve a two hour time slot. Arrive about 1 hour early. Morning - go to Santa Prassede, then Santa Maria Maggiore afterwards. These are next to each other. Santa Prassede closes for a "siesta" midday. So, go there first

We took a food tour and it was hands down the best ever! We did the morning tour with "Eating Italy" and some friends did the evening tour through the Trastevere neighbourhood. Raved about it! We will defiantly do this again. We tried to go with the "Eating Prague" tour this past September, but scheduling conflicts , so couldn't, was disappointed . Checkout their Website, you will not be disappointed!

If you'll be back for a tour I would suggest getting a guide book and just wandering the city. Only you can decide what will be of interest to you and only you know what will be on the tour you plan to take.

There are hundreds of things to see in Rome and if you're only there for a short time you should be sure to only visit sites that are interesting to you (and your friends). A guide book will have descriptions of each site along with other important information such as opening/closing times and dates.

Donna

In order to maximize your time it would be good to get a map and see what sites are close together, then start reading about them to see if you want to stop and visit. A guide book will tell you about the site, the open/close times, the cost and how much time to allow to see. Better to spend the time now doing a littel footwork than wasting precious time while there.

I'll re-use the same answer I gave to another poster a couple of days ago:
Rick's At a Glance listing for Rome will give you prioritized sightseeing list that you can flesh out with more detail in the guidebook. It makes sense to see several sites that are near each other before hopping across the city to another neighborhood, but that single hop doesn't take much time (maybe 20 minutes). For just shopping, strolling, and atmosphere, you could take bus #23 to the Trastevere neighborhood. From the "Listen" link on the same page (above) you can download Rick's self-guided Audio Walking Tour for the area.

See other responses from the thread at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/free-time-in-rome.

I agree with the others that using a guidebook to find sights that most interest you would be a good way to choose. With such a short trip, that will also help you to maximize your touring time in an efficient way.

One point to note is that the Trevi Fountain is closed for renovations at the moment, so that's one you can skip.

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. We will definitely do the food tour. We hope to make the most of our short visit to Rome. Mary Jo