Rome tourist locations

The Vatican is typically closed on Sunday's, EXCEPT for the last Sunday of the month. And it's free. And it's a madhouse packed to the rafters with people. Any sane person ought to stay away. My 2 cents.

Angela is right. The Vatican museums are free on the last Sunday of the month and so packed with visitors that you can't move. I would avoid the museums and just visit the basilica. You won't need a ticket for this. The only other place you may want to pre-book entry tickets for is the colosseum. You can do that online at: http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm The other option is to go to the forum or palatine hill to buy your tickets. The lines are usually much shorter. The ticket is good for all three sites. Donna

We were planning to take a train from the port in Civitavecchia to San Pietro station.and start our visit at the Vatican. Based on responses, would we better off getting off at Termini and taking buses? Any suggestions on what to do on the last Sunday of the month when you need to get back to the port by 7:00 PM?

Butch, you can take the bus from the San Pietro station to the Vatican (get off at the colonnade).

Ron in Rome is a stalwart here on all matters Rome. The link above talks about a day in Rome; I would be very careful about trying the Vatican Museums on the last Sunday. His >> http://www.roninrome.com/sites-and-attractions/vatican-museum-to-pre-book-or-not/comment-page-2&#35;comment-52350 << column on Vatican Museums visits in the second and third paragraphs speaks about Free Sundays. Luckily there absolutely loads and loads of other things to do...

If it is the last Sunday then I would skip the Vatican and save it for the next trip. I would go to Termini and pick up one of the hop on and off buses that start in front of Termini. On Sunday the Appian Way is closed to most traffic so you might take advantage of that and visit a catacomb. The Archaeological Hop on/off Bus covers that area. You time is going to be limited as Civit.. is a good hour from Rome so I would leave the Rome area by 5pm. Go to the Tobacco shop in the train station but opposite the ticket window and buy an all day pass for 9E (last year). It will get you back and forth on a regional train to Rome and can be used on any Rome transportation. Be very sure to validate the ticket in the yellow box.

Frank, the new prices have been announced for the ATAC and Cotral tickets. All types of Bus fares and BIRG tickets will jump a staggering 33- 50%. See this post for more info on the price changes - to go into effect, May 25, 2012. The 5-zone BIRG ticket for example, jumps from €9 to €12.

Ron, that's a pretty big jump. But - Rome busses are really efficient, if sometimes a bit crowded, and €24 for a CIS is much cheaper than an equivalent ticket in London, say.