Rome in 7 Days Tour

I spent my two extra days seeing more of ancient Rome. But if that's not your passion, write back with more detail.

Specifically, on arrival afternoon I ate gelati and used Rick's guidebook to stroll the Imperial Forum, climb the Capitoline Hill and circle outside the Forum to reach the Circus Maximus. The next day I had prebooked a guided tour in English of the Domus Aurea, Nero's Golden House. Afterwards I walked to the National Roman Museum at Palazzo Massimo to see some amazing ancient Roman art. It was raining so I aborted a plan to see the Baths of Diocletian. Then the day the tour started I explored the Pantheon neighborhood as my roommate had arrived and wanted to see a famous lantern steeple on St. Ivo alla Sapienza. We finished with the Basilica of San Clemente, but you do have time to do that during the week of the tour, we discovered.

I arranged a private guide for the Baths of Caracalla that included walking tour from Hotel Lancelot to the site and it was a fantastic experience. While this is not an inexpensive activity, I find tremendous value using a professional guide and came away with thorough, accurate and engaging in-depth knowledge about the Baths along with truly wonderful memories. My guide Wally Zanchetta [email protected] is an absolute delight, her story telling is compelling and she made the history come alive with such passion and energy. If she is available during your time in Rome, you will be in for a very special treat no matter what location you might choose. Hope you have a great tour and stay in The Eternal City.

We rode Vespas throughout Rome. It was exhilirating and fun. We scootered all over Rome and saw places and nooks and crannies of Rome that no tours ever go to. Our tour guide was fantastic! We owned a Vespa at the time and rode our own Vespas. However, Scooteroma offers other alternatives if you are not comfortable on a scooter by yourself. IMHO, it is the only way to experience Rome and truly experience the Italian way of life in a big city.

https://scooteroma.com/

On my visits to Rome (not on the 7-day tour) I've enjoyed the Capitoline Museum.

Are you a Bernini fan, lol? Last time I also went to the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria to see his Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. I'm not sure where your tour stays but it was very near the hotel for my RS BOI tour.

I was not really in to Bernini until, on the advice of another forum member, watched Simon Schama's Power Of Art and his segments on Bernini. I enjoyed the Borghese so much more after having seen that and then could look for the things he pointed out on the Bernini statues located there.

IF you are up for a walk on your first day, I walked to the Aventine Keyhole on my first visit before my Heart of Italy tour...."The Secret of Rome"....really you peek thru a keyhole in a door to gardens and see a beautiful view of St Peters.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-aventine-keyhole-rome-rome-italy

OR...walk to see some of the outside art of Bernini!

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/where-to-see-bernini-masterpieces-in-rome.html

IF you are up for a walk on your first day, I walked to the Aventine
Keyhole on my first visit before my Heart of Italy tour...."The Secret
of Rome"....really you peek thru a keyhole in a door to gardens and
see a beautiful view of St Peters.

Ooh, Pam! That's a fun thing, for sure! Took me a bit of work to line up the shot, though. While you're up there, PMM, also stop into very old Santa Sabina. She's an important lady with an interesting history. The view from the orange garden next to the church is very nice too; bring a snack for a bit of a sit-down.

https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/villa-magistrale-sovereign-order-malta-aventine
(The gates weren't open to explore the Priory further when we were there.)
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/savello-park-or-orange-garden
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/basilica-saint-sabina-allaventino