Best of Italy - Last Day in Rome

I would definitely recommend the Borghese, but do be aware that you must reserve your tickets well in advance. The park surrounding it is a very pleasant place to spend some time as well, walking in the shade, or sitting and enjoying a beverage as you watch the families enjoying themselves.

Think about a trip outside Rome to the ancient Roman City of Ostia Antica. Think of it as a site similar to Pompeii but without the tragic eruption. Ostia was the original port city for Rome until the river siltedup and became impassible. It is a well shaded site and is not crowded. It’s easy to reach from central Rome - see the section about it in Rick’s Rome guide. Takes about 45 minutes by metro/train. Take metro line B to Piramide station and change to the Roma Porta San Paola station, the tracks are practically next to each other. Make sure you get off at Ostia Antica, the next stop Is the beach town of Ostia. Great to spend an afternoon in a rural area of Rome.

This will be your last day after a jam-packed 16 day tour! I’m with Jane and would pick the Borghese IF you are interested in their collection.

To me, in the heat of June the Colosseum will be too hot. Vatican and St Peters will be packed as it’s a Jubilee year. You’ll have been moving quite a bit on the tour so a day trip would not appeal to me although it might to you.

So for me, Borghese with gelato afterward! Walk in the park afterward and make your way back to the hotel.

Enjoy this tour! You will see so much!

Hi karykrip. I am in your exact situation; taking this tour in early May. I have watched a lot of the RS videos and called into a couple of his live events last month. Here are a few things that I made note of that should not be as busy or crowded as other tourist spots. I have not decided yet what I will do that afternoon. Enjoy your tour!

Eating Italy Food tour in the Testaccio District - https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/
Visit the Trastevere neighborhood
Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli - St. Peter in Chains and Moses by Michelangelo can be seen - https://www.rome.net/san-pietro-in-vincoli
Catacombs of Pricilla - https://catacombepriscilla.com/en/home-en/
Skip an inside tour of the Colosseum – utter chaos.
Bathes of Carpalla - https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/baths-caracalla
Appian Way - https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/time-travel-on-romes-ancient-appian-way

I thought of some other things which I don't think you'll see with your BOI guide (I didn't).

Near the Colosseum is the Basilica di San Clemente in which you can visit the under layers of a church and a Mythraic Temple. One advantage to this is that the lower you go the cooler it is, hahaha! I happened to go on a hot afternoon and it was great in there!

https://www.basilicasanclemente.com/eng/the-basilica-and-the-excavations/

Are you staying at Hotel Aberdeen? Nearby to there is the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria which houses the Bernini statue of the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa if you are a Bernini "fan", lol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa

On my Best of Italy as a group we also did not go into the Capitoline Museum which is just near the Forum. It is excellent as well!

I enjoyed visiting the Domus Aurea which is the Palace of Nero. You'd need to check to see what the visitation times are for it as you have to take a guided tour in since it's an active archeological dig. It, also, is near the Colosseum.

Thanks so much for all of these great tips!! There's just so much to choose from but we are fairly certain we will be back to Rome so it takes some of the pressure off. And yes, at the end of 16 days of go, go, go we will be fairly tired so keeping it simple feels like a good idea. I'm going to look into a few of these options and depending on the weather we can figure out even the day of (although I'm guessing we should get Borghese tickets ahead if we want to do that??).

And when in doubt...GELATO!!! :-)

Yes, Borghese tickets would need to be bought ahead. They were doing some renovations there and had part of the collection in Paris so check to see how much is open.

Colosseum needs pre-bought tickets if you decide to do that.

I agree with just taking it easy. Capitoline Museum does not need rebooking. I am not sure about Basilica di San Clemente as I went in, oh gosh....2013...so well before the advent of timed entries!

Oh...just thought of another cool thing...walk thru the Circus Maximus and go up to the Aventine Keyhole if it's not too hot. This goes thru a rose garden which may or may not still be in bloom in June. It was gorgeous on that long ago May trip.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_del_Priorato_di_Malta
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MoFSZ4kP8LYSRX4B6

And yes, you are right...there is so much to do that you will need another trip back, lol!! It's good to have a number of choices and some of these can be last minute see how much walking you feel like doing!