Suggested places to see in Rome

If you love art and history, it's easy to pick the Borghese Gallery. Unbelievable artwork there, manageable size for the gallery and they limit the number of people allowed in every two hours. I didn't find the crowd sizes there a problem at all.

A place that people often overlook is the Calonna Palace. It's also gorgeous inside, if not on the scale of Borghese.

Capitoline Museum is incredible. If you go, be sure to go to the underground area and check out the overlooks of the Roman Forum - best view of the forum in Rome.

National Museum of Rome, Diocletian Baths and Palazzo Massimo alle Terme are all close together - you can get in to all 3 with one ticket.

Vatican is a mob scene, as is the Coliseum. Palatine Hill / Forum is more spacious so it handles the crowds a little better. Pantheon was packed but it moved very quickly. Trevi Fountain isn't too bad early in the morning, but the fountains may not be . . . fountaining if they're scooping up all the coins at that time.

I just got back from Rome and Florence so I'm just talking off the top of my head. What kinds of things are you most interested in seeing?

Basillica Santa Marie Maggiore / Michelangeo’s Moses
Palatine Museum
Coppede neighborhood

Rome is full of interesting and beautiful places…! What are you interested in? Churches, both St Celia and Sta. Maria (two of the oldest churches in Rome) in Trastevere are stunning, especially in the evening when the mosaics inside are lit, and bonus, Trastevere is full of interesting restaurants. Consider a trip out to Ostia Antica, the ruined port city of Ancient Rome. San Clemente Church with beautiful mosaics and layers of Ancient Rome in its basement(s). The top of the Victor Emanuel Monument just before it closes for great views across Rome - it’s usually quiet about then. Walk through the Jewish Ghetto for a mix of Ancient Rome, the Renaissance and modern history. It’s usually quieter than the rest of the city. The Appian Way, walk some of the ancient highway out of the city but unless it’s Sunday beware of traffic. There are monuments, tombs, catacombs and other sites to visit along the road.

Another vote for San Clemente church.

Unfortunately most of the beautiful or interesting places to see will have large crowds because they are interesting places to see. Any good guide book will cover the obvious for first time visitors. The catacombs on the Appian Way on a Sunday will be less crowded because traffic is very limited on the Appian Way on that day. St. Paul's Outside the Wall will get you away from some crowds.

Thank you for the quick responses. Our time is very limited. We'll be arriving on a Friday morning and our ship will depart on the following Monday afternoon. With that said, we would like to see more historical sites rather than museums. I know that the Vatican and the Colosseum are typically "must sees" but I'm thinking of avoiding them this first go around. Has anyone toured the Jewish ghetto? I also wondered about touring the catacombs.

Since you are there over the weekend I would do the catacombs on Sunday. The traffic on the Appian Way is limited to buses and taxis on Sunday. The Colosseum and Palatine Hill would be a good choice on your arrival day. It would keep you walking outside in the sunlight. The best thing to fight jet lag.

I would stay in the Termini area for convenience to the train and to Civitavecchia where you will board. It is about hour to an hour, 15 depending on the train. Easy to do. About three trains an hour. We have made that trip five times.