ROME - Three Days (Sat, Sun, Mon) - Intinerary, Hotel, & Restaurants?

Hi Bob,

We did three nights/four days in Rome last November. Do your three days include your arrival and departure days? What time of year are you going--as this can affect the crowds and your ability to get around.

Roughly here is what we were able to accomplish on our visit:

Day 1: Arrived at noon; Checked into hotel around 2:30; Left about 4 or 4:30 and went to Santa Maria Vittorio before going up to the Spanish Steps; Did Rick's Night Walk across Rome in reverse from Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain (stopped for gelato), skipped the gov't buildings and went to the Pantheon, then Piazza Navona. We skipped Campo de Fiori and went to dinner around 7:30, passed by Largo Argentina on our way back to the hotel.

Day 2: Colosseum, Palentine Hill, Forum (roughly 8:30am to 2pm); gelato/hotel break; up to Borghese Gallery for 5pm reservation; dinner around 7:30.

Day 3: Vatican Museum at 10:30, St. Peters' Basilica, climbed dome, finished about 5pm, walked past Castel Sant'Angelo (didn't go in), explored Trastevere until about 10pm.

Day 4: since our hotel was nearby, quickly visited St. Peters' in Chains and Trajan's Forum/Column (which was under construction and kind of boring) before heading to the train station around 10:30am.

Obviously we missed the Capitoline and Nat'l Museums and not everyone will be interested in everything we did. But hopefully it gives you some ideas.

Here's Rick's recommendation for Rome in 2-3 days:

"Rome in Two to Three Days
On the first day, do the "Caesar Shuffle" from the Colosseum to the Forum, then over Capitol Hill to the Pantheon. After a siesta, join the locals strolling from Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps. On the second day, see Vatican City (St. Peter's, climb the dome, tour the Vatican Museum). Have dinner on the atmospheric Campo de' Fiori, then walk to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. With a third day, add the Borghese Gallery (reservations required) and the National Museum of Rome."

We will be in Rome for 3 nights the first week in October, arriving via train from Florence before noon on Day 1. We arranged for a 5 hour tour with Ron in Rome that first afternoon and will be following Rick's suggestion of the Caesar Shuffle and whatever else Ron recommends we see that afternoon. Day 2 is the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, followed by the Vatican in the afternoon and we are trying to book the Scavi Tour for that day since it was recommended that we see this burial ground underneath the Vatican. Day 3 is the Borghese Gallery and anything else we might have missed or decide to see. We also plan to do the night walk on one of our three evenings in Rome before heading south to Sorrento. Enjoy your trip!!

Hello, again! Here's a link to our last three days in Roma, plus some more ideas in Firenze for you from a 2007 trip, planned in large part with RS Italy:

http://moltogentileitalia.blogspot.com/2008/09/itinerary-8-night-christmas-trip-to.html