Rome first timer, please help

What's far? It's maybe a 15-minute walk from the Colosseum to the St.John Lateran. It's impressive. Don't miss it. From there it's a 20-minute walk to the S. Maria Maggiore, on your way back to the city centre.
Not many people mention the S. Ignazio. The painted dome is a perfect exercise in trompe l'oeuil. I can't remember it to be too dark to admire it and to amuse myself with the optical trick. Another beauty, not far away near the Piazza Venezia, is the Gesù. Also a Jesuit church. Try to fit in.
Except for the major churches, you need some careful planning. Most churches are open between 8 and 12, to open again at 3 or 4 o'clock. (In a guide book I've written down that the S. Ignazio is open all day, but I can't be sure of it.)
For me the Piazza Navona is the most beautiful square in Rome, but I'm a Bernini afficionado. The Piazza del Popolo comes second place with me. The Piazza di Spagna has for some reason become a hangout. I can't find it special.
Catabombs are, in my opinion, an overrated attraction. Better invest your precious time in something worthwhile.
Trenitalia.com is the website of the Italian railways. I've never had any problems with it being not accurate or whatever. It's also the place for buying tickets for the fast trains (»Frecce«), which come at a considerable discount when bought well in advance.

1. I prefer San Giovanni in Laterano, it is not far from the Colosseo (bus or walk). Each of the two (Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano) has an early Christian church nearby (San Giovanni in Laterano has San Clemente, Santa Maria Maggiore has Santa Prassee) which are beautiful.

Piazze: Trastevere has a few lively piazza, Santa Maria in Trastevere is calm during the day but livens up at night. Campo dei' Fiori is crowded until about 1pm when all the stalls get broken down, it's safe; not market squares but I love Piazza Navona and Piazza Rotondo (Pantheon).

1. Bahn.de has lots of information but does not sell Italian rail tickets, go to Trenitalia for that. A fast train from Roma to Venezia takes four hours.

2. The catacombs in Roma do not have human remains any more, they have been removed. Closer to the city than San Callisto is the Catacombs of Priscilla, in the northern part of the city (one bus ride and a very short walk).

What caused that ridiculously large text?

With only three full days -- I assume you will sleep here the nights of the 22nd and 25th, arriving the 22nd and departing the 26th? -- You will have to pick-and-choose as things are largely closed on the 25th. The 23rd is business-as-usual, and the 24th most place are open until late afternoon.

Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the 4 papal basilicas (St. Peter's, San Giovanni in Laterano, San Paolo Fuori le Mura are the other three). They are all incredibly beautiful and all easy to reach by public transport. Santa Maria Maggiore is the closest to the area you mention. Also easy to access is San Clemente, just east of the Colosseo.

I do not know about times they might illuminate St. Ignazio. I do not recall having a problem seeing the fresco when we went, but I see they do guided tours Tue, Thu and Sat at 3:00pm. Whether they would do so on the 24th is uncertain. You could email or call them.

AS to Piazzas - Other than Piazza Vittorio, I have never felt unsafe in any piazza. Piazza di Spagna is a non-starter for me. There's no there there as Gertrude Stein once said. Campo dei Fiori market is about 2/3 vendors of stuff, but there are viable fruttivendoli as well. We go there all the time. The biggest market in town is inside at Mercato Trionfale, but CdF has more atmosphere. I feel safe in all of Centro Storico. Trastevere is confusing to me. If you are only here for 3 days, stay in Centro Storico.

You have the right website for train tickets. You can buy high-speed train tickets now for December. Skip Pisa. This site lists all railway station in Italy. It is a good way to determine if the train goes where you want to go.

Cannot help you with the catacombs, sorry.

The 25th of December you will find open two exhibits of presepi, the 100 Presepi in Piazza del Popolo and the Museo in the church of SS Quirico & Guilitta, near the Forum. Otherwise Dec 25 is for church, eating and walking around. Make a reservation for Christmas lunch or you might not get to eat. The Ghetto is a good place to go as they are business-as-usual, but very busy.

Tom, I have had that large text happen recently and no idea why. It seems to occur with the horizontal rule. I had to delete my text and repaste it when it happened.

It was the # which caused it. Now it's back to normal.

Visited St Mary Maggiore in April 2015, very beautiful. Also close by is St Peter in Chains which is a minor bascilica and Michelangelo's statue of Moses.

We were in Rome the week before Christmas 3 years ago (and in Sicily over Christmas), and things were definitely open, with a very festive mood in the air. People were toting boxes of panetone, and be sure to have some panetone yourself, while you're there! Bring a jacket and be prepared for possible rain.

We had an apartment for a week in Trastevere, and enjoyed the piazza outside the Santa Maria in Trastevere church in the daytime and the night. A lively market occurred every day in Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere, where we picked up meat, fruit, and vegetables. There were outstanding flowers for sale there, too, but it was a locals' produce market, and not a place for clothing, handbags, or souvenirs.

Don't know whether this would be a pilgrim church, but a particular joy was visiting the Basilica of San Clemente, a short walk from the Colosseum, with a fantastic 12th Century church above ground, an older church underneath that, and below that, an ancient Roman collection of buildings that includes a pagan temple. It's a worthwhile church in its own right, with an archaeological site beneath!

As Laurel mentioned, much will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so you'll need to plan your itinerary carefully. Evenings and the 25th will be a good time to just do walk-bys of outdoor attractions, such as piazzas and fountains, and save daylight hours for the churches and whatnot which will be open. Nothing at all in Central Rome is really unsafe so I wouldn't worry about going much of anywhere.

There is supposed to be a Christmas market in Piazza Navona, although I read that it was sort of a bust last year:

http://www.carnifest.com/events/italy/roma/1229/christmas-and-epiphany-market-in-piazza-navona-2015-2016.aspx

That one and Campo di Fiori are very close together so it would be easy to do both on the morning of the 23rd or 24th (plus the Pantheon, Ignazio di Loyola and Gesù).

Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano are two very different churches and both of them well worth seeing. They really are not that far apart; the historic center of the city is not enormous. I'll echo votes for San Clemente and the ceiling at Gesù as well. Santa Maria del Popolo is another great church.

I believe the excavation of Portico d' Ottavia is open (and free) 365 days a year, and because of its proximity to the Jewish Quarter, there will be any number of restaurants open around there on Christmas Day.

http://www.turismoroma.it/dettaglio-060608?lang=en&idt=id9505

http://www.turismoroma.it/quartieri/ghetto-circomassimo?lang=en

You can also peer down into Area Sacra from the sidewalk on any day of the year; there are signs to tell you what you're looking at:

http://www.060608.it/en/cultura-e-svago/beni-culturali/beni-archeologici/area-sacra-di-largo-argentina.html

We haven't needed a railway map for Italy as just using a regular map and plugging our destinations (which have train stations) into the Trenitalia website has worked just fine. For Rome to Venice you might also take a look at Italotreno as it often offers competitive rates between a select number of cities.

http://www.italotreno.it/en

Other churches worth a look ...

San Luigi dei Francesi
Via di Santa Giovanna d’Arco 5
Mon–Wed and Fri–Sat 10am–12:30pm and 3–7pm; Thurs 10am–12:30pm; Sun 3–7pm
Free admission
Caravaggio's “Calling of St. Matthew” is in the far-left chapel of Rome’s French church.

Santi Quattro Coronati
Via Santi Quattro Coronati 20
Daily 6:30–12:45 + 3–6:45; S Silvestro Chapel 8:30–1:45 + 4–5:45; Cloister 10–11:45 + 4–5:45
Church and cloister free; Chapel of St. Sylvester €1 donation
Beautiful cloister with well-tended gardens and 12th-century fountain.
Chapel of San Silvestro (consecrated in 1246) with some of the best-preserved medieval frescoes in Rome decorating the walls.

San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains)
Piazza San Pietro in Vincoli 4A
Daily 8:30am–12:30pm and 3:30–6:30pm
Free admission
Founded in the 5th century to house the supposed chains that bound St. Peter in Palestine.
Tomb of Pope Julius II with Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of Moses.

Hi All,

I Thank You for all the inputs. I really appreciate them.

Based on the info here, I divide my 3 days itinerary in Rome as follows:
23rd : Colosseum, Romano Forum & Palatine Hill area w/ surrounding churches (I guess I would do 3 at most)
24th : Vatican --> has anyone know any info in regards to Papal Audience on this day?
I have posted queries in the forum https://community.ricksteves.com/travel- forum/italy/vatican-papal-audience-on-24th-dec
I emailed the CS there, they replied very quick but not really answering my questions
25th : the piazzas and fountains. i believe all the shops around the piazza would be closed >_< what about the fountain, do they still operate? any recommendation for restaurants open on this day?

TIA

Jen, there is no Papal audience on the 24th. There is a Christmas Eve Papal mass and it's a very, very big deal which requires tickets to attend inside the basilica. This is always a massively attended event, and this Pope is drawing record crowds. Tickets are free but are sure to be going fast (if not already gone); here's how you get them:

http://www.papalaudience.org/easter-christmas-tickets

You can also just stand outside with the (very large) crowd; the mass is broadcast on monitors in the square. I won't swear to the time but I think it's at 9:30 PM if they do it at the same time as last year. Watch this webpage for upcoming info on December events:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/liturgy/en/events/year.dir.html/2015.html

I would expect that St. Peter's will be closing very early in preparation (but I'm hoping someone else weighs in on that).

This may also be helpful:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2079215_attend-christmas-eve-mass-vatican.html

Do note that even having a ticket does not guarantee a spot in the basilica and it's recommended that you arrive three hours before services start.

Ten famous piazzas of Rome (after San Pietro of course)
Piazza Navona with Bernini’s magnificent Fountain of the Four Rivers
Piazza di Spagna with the iconic Spanish Steps
Piazza della Rotonda in the shadow of the Pantheon
Piazza del Popolo with its towering obelisk
Piazza di Trevi with its eponymous fountain
Piazza del Campidoglio
Piazza di Pietra
Piazza Farnese
Campo de’ Fiori
Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere

(Personally I would swap 23rd and 24th to avoid possible disappointment at St Peters and the Vatican)

St.Peter's will close early on the 24th, certainly by Noon and it may not open at all. (For Easter it closed at 14:00 on Saturday to prepare for morning Mass.)

The Colosseo, etc., are open on the 24th. Perhaps you would do well to schedule your Vatican time on the 23rd and the ancient Rome sites on the 24th.

Fountains run 24x7, for the most part. I have enjoyed using the book "24 Great Walks in Rome" as a guide for walking tours over the years. Most walks are 1 to 1.5 hours and take you past many interesting sites.

We have had dinner at Il Giardino Romano in the ghetto for Christmas. It was very festive and VERY busy but reasonably priced. Or you can find any number of Euro 100 per person multi-course options, especially at the big hotels. Katie Parla will list open restaurants she recommends sometime in late November. You might keep an eye on her site for that. Wherever you choose, try to call for a reservation at least a week, if not two, in advance. Your hotelier, B&B host, or apartment owner can be enlisted to call on your behalf, although email sometimes works if there is no online booking tool like Open Table.

Hi All,

as per your insightful recommendations. i re-arrange my itin as follows:
23rd Dec go to Vatican first thing first to exchange my letter (if i could get one) w/ the Mass ticket. now this would be a miracle I should say if i could get a hand of 3 tickets just a day before the Mass
we'll spend the rest of the day in Vatican as thanks for the info here that St Peter's would be closed early in 24th)
24th Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill area and if we could get the ticket at 6pm we'd head to St Peter's Basilica
25th the Piazzas and fountains

Kathy
thanks so much for the reminder that even a ticket is not a guarantee. but does this mean even a person without ticket could enter the Basilica for the Mass as long as we queue first?

Laurel
thanks for recommending the ghetto for dinner. that's a great idea as shops should be mostly open during xmas night there. one more thing as i'm not familiar with the ghetto and i haven't been to Italy aside from Milan sidetrip, how's the neighborhood, is it safe? i'm also interested in seeing the synagogue, is it open until late and non-Jewish are welcomed?

TIA

The Ghetto is very safe, one of my favorite places in Roma. The Synagogue can be visited with a tour (go to the museum first, tours begin there), English tours are available. Sometimes the Synagogue is closed to visitors for special events, and is closed to visitors for Sabbath services.

Kathy
thanks so much for the reminder that even a ticket is not a guarantee. but does this mean even a person without ticket could enter the Basilica for the Mass as long as we queue first?

No, you MUST have a ticket to attend mass inside the basilica.

You've evidently already applied but I might ask you to consider this use of your time? This mass is without a doubt important to followers of the faith - of which you may be one - but if you are not, you may want to think about whether you want to commit a chunk of the few hours you have to this? The hours spent in a queue plus the service itself could be time you could spend having dinner and walking around to other landmarks. Only you can answer the question but it's worth thinking about?

You might also consider attending Christmas Eve mass at another of Rome's churches which does not involve tickets, as many hours in a queue, and which start later so more of your evening is free. For instance, there's a midnight mass at San Giovanni in Laterano.

http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/it/vita_liturgica/calendario.pdf

I've read very good reviews of midnight mass at S. Maria in Aracoeli as well: the long stairway is said to be lit with candles. There are others, and I'd arrive early but you won't need to stand in line for 3 hours (or longer) as at the Vatican.

And to echo Zoe, yes, the Ghetto is very safe, and it's an interesting section of Rome. I'd previously recommended seeing Portico d' Ottavia on Christmas Day when much is closed? It's in that same area.

We spent 4 days in Rome and one of the best things we did to SEE the area and sample great food was taking an EATING ITALY FOOD TOUR. The sites and history we saw were amazing and the food was so good and authentic. http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/tours/

Hi, Jen!

1. I like Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori.

2. Can't help on rail travel.

3. In terms of catacombs, I think the most interesting are the Scavi underneath St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_it.html You need to write well in advance to make a reservation, uff.scavi@fabricsp.va with the number of visitors, date you want to visit, etc. The necropolis underneath is totally fascinating, and you do get a glimpse of the heel bone of St. Peter himself. ; ) If you want to see bones, don't go to San Sebatiano either, but it is worth a go if you have the time. So, where do you see bones? The Capuchin Crypt in Rome. I haven't been there, as I'm not into bones. : )

Good travels!

A lot has transpired since Jen's post above. It may help to read ALL of her threads at this point.