Rome Itinerary review

You've left out a lot of great sites.

On day 1 I would add the piazza navona as it is on the way to the vatican. You could also add the castel sant angelo depending on how long you spend at the pantheon and at lunch.

Day 3- you may want to do the Borghese gallery on this day and leave a little later in the day. It's a great gallery that shouldn't be missed.

I'm not familiar with the night tours you speak of but I hope they include many of the sites you don't have listed and even some of the ones you do as Rome is a beautiful city after dark and most of the sites are worth seeing when they are lit.

donna

Thanks Donna!

Piazza Navona is part of Rick's "Campo de Fiori to the Spanish Steps" nighttime walk, so we will see it.

Thanks for the tip on Castel Sant'Angelo near the Vatican. Will investigate.

Re: Borghese gallery, when you write "leave a little later" ... can you explain?

We just returned from Rome last night. It was our first time to Italy and Europe.

My advice: Everything seems to take longer than what you expect or plan. I would not plan on sticking to such a strict timeline otherwise you might be looking at your watch and thinking you have to get going when you are enjoying what you are currently doing.

We enjoyed the Piazza Nouvana very much - lot's to see there at night.

Consider going into Trastavere at the piazza for Santa Maria in Trastavere church. There you will see the locals doing their night walk. We really liked it a lot and there are some really good "back door" restaurants there.

Wherever you go, just sit down and watch and listen for a while. Look at the scultures up close as the detail is amazing and yes, the Bourghese Gallery was very worth it - you will appreciate browsing through that gallery after the Zoo that is the Vatican Museum. St. Peters is mind boggling.

We actually liked Trastavere a lot more than we thought we would.

Thanks Ken. The times are merely to indicate what I "think" it will take. Once there, we'll use the itinerary as a guide, but typically try to be flexible.

I think the thing I was aiming for mainly with this thread was to find out if the "expected" times I have listed are way off (either too much or too little).

Sounds like the Borghese should definitely not be missed.

Can anyone tell me if I can do the Appian Way/Catacombs and the Borghese Gallery in one day??

Steve,

My itinerary is based on Rick's Two and Three day suggestions that you posted (I used the book). Since it's generic (not based on arrival time or where one is staying), I tried to arrange the sites based on my specifics. He doesn't always indicate how long a site might take, so I was also trying to get feedback on that.

Thanks as always, Steve.

Do you have a reservation for the Vatican Museum? If no, you will need to plan on time to stand in line. We were there last week and there were several hundred people in line at 9 am.

On the day you are doing the Coloseum, you might want to consider seeing the San Clemente church. It is within a 10 minute walk of the Coloseum and if tremendously interesting, particularly when combined with the other sites you are seeing that day.

I was planning to get a reservation in advance, but figured I had plenty of time to do that between now and when I'm there.

Marshall , the Borghese was one of our favorites ! You are only allowed in there for 2 hours, so you do have time for other sight seeing. You MUST get reservations....highly recommended ....way ahead of time. Enjoy your trip. We can hardly wait to return ! marilyn

You didn't mention when your trip is, but don't assume you have plenty of time to secure your Vatican reservations and your Borghese reservations. Both are limited. As another post mentioned, the Borghese only admits you for 2 hours (so you can sort of plan the rest of that day pretty well)...but they do NOT accept walk-ups without reservations and they do NOT accept late arrivals even with reservations.

And yes, there are interminably long lines at the Vatican Museums, so don't waste your precious time...ensure that you have an advance reservation so you can skip the major part of the line. Be sure to bring your ID, though, as this is part of the pre-reserved admission process.

You didn't mention if you would be seeking advance reservations for the Colosseum. The lines here are also long, long, long....you can get advance reservation from Select Italy and skip that line...with the benefit that this is not a timed reservation, but simply show up when you feel like it on the pre-selected day to tour Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill.

And one last thing....an assumption on my part here, but worthwhile to inquire nevertheless...since you are faithfully following RS's Italy guidebook, have you made sure your arrival and touring days in Rome coincide with the sights you wish to see? Vatican Museums are almost always closed on Sundays, Borghese closed every Monday. Don't be disappointed! Nothing about Italy is 24/7/365, and nothing moves quickly, either (so do be prepared to be "off schedule" quite a bit). This is even more critical when planning for Florence.

Will be in Italy in mid-September. Will be ordering advance reservations for Borghese, Vatican, and RomaPass soon.

Have verified that the days of the week we're there things are open.

Thanks!!!