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Rome Itinerary planning question

Posted by on

Hello! We have a family trip to Italy this coming summer - two weeks in July, visiting Rome, Orvieto and Venice.

We have a Scavi tour already booked on the Friday that we are in Rome. I don't want to do the Vatican Museums that same day, as I want to do an early entry to the Museums and I can't do that with our 9 a.m. Scavi tour. My thought is that we'll arrive a little early for our Scavi tour, and then, since the tour ends inside the Basilica from my understanding, we'll visit St. Peter's, do the dome climb, etc. Then come back on Monday to do the museums.

My question is: does it make sense to visit the Borghese Gallery following St. Peter's? We'd have lunch in between. (unsure where currently so suggestions are appreciated!) They're not exactly in the same part of the city but it seems feasible since the metro line is close to both. Are the two too much to tackle in one day? We'll be traveling with our 18 and 15 year olds, neither have been on a trip of this sort.

I'm trying not to overpack our days but it's hard with all there is to see! We're spending 6 days in Rome (which includes our flight day, landing at 9 am so more like 5.5 days) and I'm trying to leave lots of time to wonder and eat gelato and have random adventures while still having a good outline and structure each day. I'm also trying to avoid scheduling things on opposite ends of the city on the same day if possible. We're staying two blocks past the Colosseum so I am trying to group activities by area. Or at least close by area.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
117 posts

Are you looking to do one of the English language tours of the Borghese gallery, as that may impact your timing on the visit? My mom and I did the Scavi tour a few weeks ago at 9 am like you and then toured St. Peters. With our time at St. Peter's, it was about 3 hours but we did not climb the dome as my mom is in her late 70s. We also saved the Vatican Museums for another day. I think if you are ok visiting the Borghese using either the audioguide, on your own (you could use Rick's audio tour) or with another private guide seeing the Borghese in the afternoon after lunch could work. We took the bus from our hotel to the Borghese so I will let someone else comment on getting there via metro. It will be a full day for sure. I think 6 days is a good amount of time for Rome, although there is so much to do I'm already planning another trip with my boys.

Posted by
11 posts

We landed at about 9 am, in from LA. Went to our pension, where they gave us espressos!! (espressi?) and let us leave our stuff. We then bused/ walked to the Milvian Bridge. There are some interesting sites along the way, a beautiful church near the wall (where the road leaves for the bridge) with wonderful paintings. We were done in by the travel and hadn't slept well, but we didn't want to miss a minute of Rome. We also loved Pentaluccia restaurant which is near the Termini. Sorry I don't have more specific directions, but you can find it. One of the amazing things to us were the very very old churches - St. Praxida (Via Torino) has a red marble circle marking where the early Christians saved the blood of the martyrs from the Coliseum. There is also a church near there where St. Peter actually preached. St. Paul's Outside the Walls, etc. We took taxis and public transportation, walked miles and miles. We just love Rome. Have a great time. Go ahead and pack your days full - after all, you are in ROME and you won't be back for a while.

Posted by
11 posts

Oh yes - My husband and our son climbed the dome. I started up, but the stairs are marble and slick, and there is no hand rail. And the dome is rounded, right? So it gets smaller and smaller and the walls come in. I finally sat down because I did not like it at all and went back down. Many others had turned around also. My husband is a mountain goat sort and he loved it.

Posted by
15798 posts

The Flaminio metro stop is (maybe) close to the Villa Borghese, it's a mile to the Borghese Gallery. Go for a nice lunch and take a taxi to the Borghese for a late afternoon visit. For a first visit, I think the audio guide is a better option than their English tour.

Posted by
1067 posts

Your current plan would make for a long day, it’s doable time-wise but you might lose your audience. With six days in Rome I have to believe you can fit the Borghese Gallery in more comfortably. Plan one major sight for a day, and let the rest of your day be the easy-going, “hey there’s such-and-such, let’s check it out!” exploring bit. The Borghese gives you a real unique advantage in that you can schedule your time and you know exactly how long you’ll be in there. Be sure to book those tickets as soon as you’re able.

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