Rome in one day (what can we do)

We did the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon in one day. Start early if you can. We were in line at the Colosseum at 9AM, spent an hour there, then walked through the Forum, just enjoying the atmosphere. We didn't take a tour of either sight. Skip Palatine Hill...not much there, the Forum is more interesting.

the Pantheon is an easy walk from the Forum.

Probably no time to the the Vatican. You should take a tour to enjoy the museum, and that will take a minimum of 4-5 hours.

You COULD just take the metro to the Vatican and walk in St Peters, but check closing hours!

As others mentioned, you didnt' tell us what time of year you are going....these sights close earlier in winter months.

If the Vatican is most important, start there, get a "skip the line" tour and expect to spend the morning just in this location. In the afternoon, take the metro to see the Pantheon, then walk over to see the Forum (Free too) and if you have time, pay to get into the colosseum.

Rome is a day is not doable for what you listed. The Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill can take you 4 hours. I'd skip Rome and stay in Florence or go to a hilltown out of Florence. (I can't recommend where but others have listed their choices here.)
The Vatican line in October went for blocks. We did not go but if you only have a few hours, you'd be in line then couldn't enjoy the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. It also closed around 3 pm. We missed it after going to the Basilica. The Basilica was great to see. Either spend the night in Rome and get up VERY early to see the sights then go back to Florence for the night or skip Rome.

You can take the ATAC city red bus hop on hop off tour #110 from the Termini station. It covers over 80 sightseeing destinations with an audio guide. It will give you a wonderful overview of the highlights. The route takes 2.5 hours, the ticket good for 24 hours. Take the full route, then get off at places of interest that will not take a lot of time.

Thanks for the feedback. We are going in May. Probably would have our Rome day either May 16 or 17. We will take the first train out of Florence to Rome in the morning.

The first trip to Italy we did Rome in a day. Well, 2 half days. One afternoon and the next morning. We did no tours. And since this was 1994, there were no lines at the Vatican. We walked right in, then around the wall to the Sistine Chapel.

We started from the Spanish Steps, hoofed it to the Coliseum (no lines there either). We wandered around there, walked back through the Forum, through Piazza Navona, checked out the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain and back to the hotel at the Spanish Steps. The next morning we hopped the subway and did the Vatican in about 3 hours. Yes - we moved fast. But we enjoyed it.

forget the coliseum: u already have seen it in national geographic..boring, too many ppl..forget the vatican, same deal..i suggest to not "go" anywhere..just wander around, relax, breathe in the atmosphere..i was in rome , running all around, for 3 days, and the most memorable was when i was NOT trying to "see something".

IF you get to Termini EARLY, you can buzz through the things you mentioned. The only thing that will really slow you down is the Vatican museum. Buy the Roma pass from the Termini station. It will give you access to two museums (line skipping) and the metro (unlimited) for two days. Go to St. Peters/Vatican first, then work your way back via metro to the Coliseum and Forum. It will be rushed, but you will get great pictures. You can buy books with dvd's outside the C & F for a complete over view of your fast trip. Don't miss the opportunity, JUST DO IT!

The hop on and off bus tour was great for me. You can hop on and off at the Pantheon area, Spanish Steps. St. Peters, etc. Please skip the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. You just won't have time unless you take a completely private tour. We ran into someone who took it with her mother and arrived at the Sistine Chapel before 8 am but said it was extremely expensive. We even took a "Skip the lines" bus tour and it still took 1 1/2 hours just to get in. We were herded and rushed through once we to in.
If you get to St. Peter's before 9:30 am or in the later afternoon you will probably not have long lines. It seems all the tour group off the cruise ships,etc hits St. Peter's around 10. Get there first to avoid the lines. My husband did as Rick Steve's guide recommended to get his tickets for the Coliseum and avoided the lines to buy tickets right at the Coliseum. If you take the hop on and off bus tour, please have a good street map of Rome with you to find the Pantheon,etc

I agree with almost everyone else - drop the Vatican museum from your plans. Two of my friends were just there a couple of months ago and said it was absolutely packed with people and they were all rushed through. They didn't enjoy it at all. (They loved the Borghese Gallery.)

I agree with seeing St. Peter's, the Pantheon and the Colisseum and that Hop On/ Hop Off tour bus line might be the way to go. (A word of warning about the "English" bus on that line - Our guide's English was so heavily accented that we could decipher only the occasional word or two.)

Here's another thought, if you can afford it: You might want to hire a guide to make the most of your time. Get one that provides his/her own car.

We were recently in Rome and got a reservation at the Vatican Museum by fax.The cost was 22e which is about 10 more then the entraaaance fee.It was about 1 and one half hrs and we left by Steves door near the Sistine chapel and visited St.Peters.All in all it took 2 -21/2 hrs. and while the line was 3 blocks long we walked right in at our appointed time.If you had a reservation you could see the museum,church,walk to the Pantheon,forum and buy a ticket at Palatine hill to see the colliseum and then walk to the trevi,spanish steps which are only a short walk from the train station and catch your train.A hetic day but the Sistine chapel is one of the highlights of Rome and not to be missed.

Dara - depends on what time you arrive in Rome and the lines to enter the places, particularly the Vatican. I was in Rome in September, so I cannot predict what its like to visit in May..however, while I was in Rome for several days, I actually visited the sites you mention in one day. Now we, were up early, left hotel at 8:30am. We went to Coliseum first, spent a lot of time here, then caught the metro to the Vatican, grabbed paninis for lunch from a streetside cafe & ate on the way. Our Vatican tour was at 1 pm and lasted almost 4 hours. We visited St. Peters, but didn't spend a significant amount of time there and last we went to the Pantheon. I will say, of my 3 week tour of Europe, that day in Rome was the most exhausting!

Two things that I think helped (in addition to short lines) was we had Roma Passes which allowed us to skip entrance line at Coliseum and provided unlimited bus/metro travel and we had a tour booked with Odyssey Tours for the Vatican.

I agree with Jack about absolutely trying to fax the Vatican directly to book a tour of the museum. The tour is 2 hours long, and you just need to go in about 15 minutes before to get your tickets. No waiting in line. I think this is the only way touring the museum is doable given the 1 day limit.

The Pantheon was pretty much just a walk around and take a quick look kind of thing, in my opinion. Not much there unless you are really reading along with a lengthy self-guided tour. You can probably do the Colosseum self-guided tour in 1-2 hours if there is no line to buy tickets. I think someone mentioned earlier to pick up your tickets at Palantine Hill close by which never has a long line.

For maximum efficiency, I also suggest taxis for transportation. Even if you know the bus and metro well system, I found that we waited for at least 1/2 hour for the bus on the return trip from the Vatican to to the Colessum area where we stayed.

You can "see" much of Rome in a day; you just cannot see it in any detail. Your best bet is to wander around and see the city - Spanish Steps, Forum, Pantheon, Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain and many other outdoor sights. You can best see the city by wandering around. Skip the Vatican, you will use too much time just waiting in line to see things. Remember the best you will do in such a short time is to get a flavor of the city. Enjoy!

If time doesn't allow for seeing the Vatican Museum, still visit St. Peter's. The Basilica is a destination in itself, and Michaelangelo's Pieta is not to be missed. St. Peter's, Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain...if you can manage these, then you will have a taste of the glory that is Rome. You will want more. Plan to return.

The hop on/hop off bus is the best. They provide earphones so you can listen in your language. It cost 15 euro and was the best deal.