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Rome

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Good morning. My husband and I are traveling to Rome mid-May. We arrive on Friday May 12, early morning, and depart on May 16 (Tuesday). We definitely want to tour the Vatican City - Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basillica. I have read that there are tours that start before the public hours open. Also, I read you can tour in the evenings. We would like to do this on the least crowded day so I was thinking that Tuesday might be the best day.

My questions:

1) Should we go early morning or late afternoon
2) Private Guide or just prebook tickets? We are in our mid-60's and we prefer not to stand in long lines. We can arrange for a private guided tour if that is the best way to assure that we can get in quickly and have a chance to see everything in the most efficient way.

3) We also could combine other sites that we want to see with a private guide so I am thinking that might be the best and easiest way to get the most out of Rome in the short time that we are there.

Also, would love to have some restaurant suggestions for dinners.

Thank you.

Posted by
11613 posts

Walks of Italy has many tours of Roma and gets very good reviews.
Just my opinion:

I would get an early morning tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, then have a relaxing lunch, and spend the afternoon doing something not too intensive. You could go to the Galleria Borghese (across town from the Vatican) and tour that on your own, and since the number of people admitted to the galleries is controlled, it's not as crowded as the Vatican Museums will be. Go directly to the upper floor and then come down, the crowd will be going in the opposite direction. You need to get a reservation in advance.

Another day, I would suggest a tour of the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Palatine Hill, if you are interested in ancient history.

Afternoons or free mornings can be spent at other museums, churches, etc., depending on your interests.

A couple of restaurant suggestions: Cul de Sac and Antico Taverna, both near Piazza Navona; and Arlu, at Borgo Pio 135, near Saint Peter's Basilica.

Posted by
1625 posts

With only 3 full days I would do tours for the best use of your time. If you do plan on booking Walks of Italy tours for the Vatican and the Colosseum I suggest booking ASAP as this company is very popular (and for good reason) and the tour groups are small so they sell out fast. There is a RS discount code and they also offer a discount if you book more than one tour. We used them for the Vatican and the Colosseum and highly recommend this company! The Vatican tour is long, even though it starts very early we did not get out of there till around 1, we wondered around on our own for a bit, purchased a postcard and stamps at the post office there and mailed one out. Then we had lunch, walked around grabbed a Gelato and then went over to the Parthenon and before you know it, it was almost 7pm, a full day! Same with the Colosseum, the tour started at 1 and ended around 4, we had time to go over to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona and then grab dinner. It is amazing how fast the days go by between getting to your destination, eating, wondering around etc.

Posted by
4152 posts

To make the best use of the short time you have in Rome I would book an evening visit to the Vatican museums. You don't need a tour to do this, you can simply book entry tickets and wander at your own pace. These tickets are timed so just show up 10 minutes prior to your scheduled time to get in. You can visit the basilica before going to the museums, leaving the entire morning and afternoon free for other sites.

Donna

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