Rome... decisions, decisions. What would you do?

I would choose a museum such as the Borghese Gallery (reserve ahead), Museo dell' Ara Pacis (a short visit), or the Capitoline over a side trip to ruins at Ostia Antica or other ancient site outside the city, mostly for efficiency. If it's not a Sunday, then you could spend the morning around the Testaccio food market either on your own or with a tour like "Eating Italy." There are also churches and villas that don't take any advance reservation to visit, such as the Renaissance Villa Farnesina in Trastevere.

break from museum hopping to change it up a bit

I agree with the Ostia Antica suggestion--- did it, enjoyed it!

I also agree with the Ostia Antica suggestion.

If the last full day is Sunday, hit the Appian Way. And maybe one of the catacombs. Very pleasant area away from much of the city.

Our last full day in Rome will be a Saturday... we leave for Florence Sunday at noon

I also agree with the Ostia Antica suggestion, loved it, spent half a day just wandering the site. The other thing I did was take a walk down the Appian Way and visit the catacombs and other sites along the way. You can rent bikes for this, also.

The Eating Italy tour is worthwhile. If you like designer goods - there is an area near Spanish Steps that is loaded with designer shops. Campo Dei Fiori is worth a stroll through for flowers and food items, souvenirs. Borghese is a great choice - Bernini's best works. Church-hopping. Quest for best gelato.

Ostia Antica is easily reached by train....if you're more up for renting a car for the day, you could head up to the Tarot Gardens and Monster Gardens, looping north, then east, then south back to Rome, or do a day-trip to Assisi or other area you're interested in seeing that's outside Rome.

You may find that you may not actually get to the "Afternoon sightseeing on our own" it all sounds good on paper but I find that we are tired and the area we land up in on the tour is really interesting in and of itself or we grab some drinks and people watch or time just gets away from us. So you may also have some things to see on that 3rd day that you did not get around to. We found the best way to see Trastevere was to do a walking food tour with Eating Italy, we did the twilight one and we had the best night! You kill two birds with one stone, you walk and get a tour, eat and visit lots of local spots and meet some neat people. The last time we did it was last Summer and we stumbled upon a outdoor movie with families enjoying the show. They do sell out due to the small group size. A nice pace for us is to break up our tour days so I will do one day scheduled tour, next day no scheduled just a rough draft of what we want to see, next day scheduled tour, next day on our own etc...it breaks up the go-go-go pace.

Thank you for these suggestions and advice! Ostia Antica seems like something we’d love... but Letizia, I agree with you... I’ve thought the same- things look good on paper but don’t always pan out that way and exhaustion could set in. I also love the trastevere tour idea!

A walk through the historic center, Campo di Fiore to Piazza di Popolo is a great day. There are churches along the way, all wonderfully decorated, some with legendary Caravaggios, that are hidden treasures. There are others too, like Santa Maria della Vitoria... There’s so much more to Rome than the “big-time” sights, make sure you don’t pass them by!

Remember that a lot of places are closed for a few hours in the afternoon, so don’t plan on seeing places that you need to enter. If you are tired, go sit in the Fori Romani for an hour or two and contemplate these ancient ruins. I loved it there.

Wear shoes with thick soles. Otherwise you will not be up to afternoon sightseeing. Remember lots of places are closed on Mondays.

Will be doing Ostia Antica myself on my next trip in early October. Easy to get to by train. Google it for transport details. €12 entry fee. No luggage lockers to leave belongings either at the site or the train station. Take water bottles.

There's certainly nothing wrong with taking water along, but note that it's not a necessity. There is food and drink available on site--I had a tasty lunch there the day I visited.

Remember that a lot of places are closed for a few hours in the
afternoon, so don’t plan on seeing places that you need to enter. If
you are tired, go sit in the Fori Romani for an hour or two and
contemplate these ancient ruins. I loved it there.

Aside from some of the churches, few if any of the main attractions are closed in the afternoons. The Italian State Museums are closed on Mondays but there are plenty of other places to visit.

Just going for a sit in the Roman Forum is also not possible without a ticket: it hasn't been free since 2008. If you're purchasing a ticket for the Colosseum, entry the Forum and Palatine are included. The latter two must be visited together as they're considered a single attraction (you pass from one to the other inside the security barriers) and can only be visited once on a ticket.

Editing to add: you may also purchase a ticket for Colosseum/Forum/Palatine and just visit any one or two of the three if you don't want to see them all. There just aren't any tickets JUST for any one of the 3.

While you are in the area of the Colosseum - I would recommend taking the elevator to the top of the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II ("National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II") . You have almost 360 degree view of all of Rome and I found it amazing to see the city from that view and to see where things are located in relation to other places.
When I was there a few years ago there was no time limit and we could stay up top as long as we wanted to admire the view, take photos , etc.

Find a place close to where you are staying and get lost. some of the best times in Europe we had was trying to get back to our hotel/apartment. Explore! You will find wonderful experiences.

Find a place close to where you are staying and get lost. some of the best times in Europe we had was trying to get back to our hotel/apartment. Explore! You will find wonderful experiences.

I agree with Letizia----the best laid plans and all that....I frequently find my "perfect itinerary" is not so perfect if I don't leave a lot of leeway to take advantage of opportunities that pop up. Such as when returning "home" from the Pantheon, I happened to notice that there were tons of frolicking cats among the ruins of Torre Largo Argentina, 2 blocks from the Pantheon in the middle of the busy city (Torre Largo Argentina is where J. Caesar was assassinated). My teens were so enamored watching the cats sun themselves and jump from ruin to ruin, that we spent an hour there, leaning on the iron railing, enjoying their playful antics. Then I noticed a little leather shop and....totally unlike myself...I went in.... and bought a thin leather belt...a treasured souvenir now for years. The cats...and the belt...were not on the original itinerary!

So do leave yourself some wiggle room.
Enjoy every moment of your trip!

SuzieeQQ

I would use that open day to walk around or take the food tour after your intensive days of sightseeing. Save Ostia Antica for a time when you head to FCOa little early as it is very close. We visited right before dropping off our rental car and chexking into an FCO hotel.

One afternoon we did what most people consider a "secondary sight" and really enjoyed it - Castel Sant'Angelo and its Secret Passage Tour. We did the tour, including the castle, then went up to the top to the restaurant for drinks and snacks (dinner looked great too). We spent about 5 hours onsite and had a great time. The views of St. Peter's from the top were amazing, the history was interesting, it wasn't too huge and overwhelming like the Vatican, and it was fun to rest and have a drink.

Love all these suggestions! My countdown is at 4 weeks now! Still mulling over a few things but it’s shaping up nicely.