ROME

Just booked our trip to Rome for a week in late June!

Any advice on...

what to see?
what to do?
where to eat?
off the beaten path type things?
what to pack?

THANKS!

Re: ROME

Comfortable shoes and sun screen - it will be HOT!!!!!!

Re: ROME

sneakers, capris, bermuda shorts, tanks, shawl/scarf for churches

coliseum, trevi fountain, pantheon, vatican, spanish steps

sunglasses, sunscreen, camera with a lot of space for pics!
i know i will think of more things....and i'll come back and post!
u will love it....so beautiful! we went to the trevi fountain almost every night!

i'm back!
long skirt

we even went to rome's zoo!
we also went to a museum which was near a park...so after the museum, we had lunch in the park and then wen row boating! we needed a day to just relax after being in italy for 3 weeks!

plenty of gelato!!! yum! and try all different desserts..canoli, cassata cake, tiramisu, etc.....delish!

i'll be back again!

Message edited 5/15/2009 10:35:44 PM.

Re: ROME

stay away from any restaurant in a piazza...they're horrible tourist traps. Try going down to Trastervere or Campo di Fiore, two neighborhoods that are much less populated by tourists (better food). We loved the area right around Piazza Navona (we stayed there) it was lively at night and really easy walking distance to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain at night. (Definitely go to the Trevi Fountain at night).

We were in Rome around the same time as you'll be going last year. It's so hot! We booked guided tours of the Roman Forum/Colisseum and Vatican City and we thought it was really worth it.

Also, Villa Borghese Gardens is a great park to escape to. The museum had A.C! You could rent a bike for two and have a picnic-- it's really pretty!

--You can totally drink the water from the fountains in Rome. It's cold and fresh. Don't buy bottled water!!

Re: ROME

Im not sure if you have time but try and take a day tour to venice (they have trains that run from rome to venice) if you have never been to venice its sooo worth it!!! One of my favorite places in the world!

Re: ROME

I'm happy that you're going!

Ok, I'd say don't miss the "big" things if you haven't been before - the Colosseum (it's beautiful at Dusk!), Spanish Steps (nice to have some gelato sitting there and people watching and then shopping down Via Condotti), Trevi Fountain (just be prepared for the immense # of people!), Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Vatican!!! The Vatican was our absolute favorite - see St. Peter's Basilica, climb up to the top of the dome (just note that the staircase up can inspire claustrophobia!), if you're interested, request tickets for the Papal Audience on Wednesday mornings, and get tickets for the Scavi Tour (which is the excavations UNDER St. Peter's of the original pagan cemetery and the actual place where St. Peter is buried). You should go to the Vatican Museums if just to see the Sistine Chapel. I enjoyed the Borghese Gallery, but more for the building and architecture than for the artwork - DH didn't really enjoy it and it was the ONLY thing he said that about.

Also, I would recommend you get the Roma Pass - it's only 23 Euro pp and you get two free entries to covered places (such as the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill which counts as one entry, Borghese Gallery, Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant'Angelo, etc.). Also gives you a 3 day Metro Pass to take the Metro or any buses (which was great for us, we never had to worry about buying tickets etc, especially when we were in a rush to get somewhere). After the first two free entries, you get discounts on any other covered places, ANDDDDD you skip the INSANE line at the Colosseum (seriously, we walked right in and people had been waiting forever!).

Will you only be staying in Rome or venturing out elsewhere too? I would really recommend a two day trip to Florence to see a few of the sites there - we loved that it was a smaller city than Rome and had that more "Italian" feeling. We also took a 1/2 day trip to Pisa fom Florence (just over an hour by train each way) to see the Leaning Tower and climb up to the top (if you go and want to climb to the top, buy your tickets 16+ days in advance online so you don't have to wait a few hours for the next available time when you get there).

You can do a one day trip to Venice too, as suggested above. We did it from Florence so the train ride was only 2 hours 40 minutes each way - I think from Rome the trip is about 4 hours each way, but you might be able to do the overnight train to get there really early.

Let me know if you have any questions!!! Have a great time!

ETA: June will be hot, like mentioned above! Make SUREEEEE you bring comfortable shoes - I would say that's the number one priority because even if you do take the Metro, there's still a LOT of walking to do. I brought a few different pairs and it turned out that the most comfy were a new pair of Skechers I had bought recently. Otherwise, we actually didn't shop for anything before we went - since we went in early May, it wasn't TOO hot yet, so I took a couple of pairs of jeans, capris, t-shirts, dressier shirts, leggings, tunics. I opted not to take any dresses and only took one skirt and I was fine. I "dressed up" my outfits with a few different long necklaces. I would still bring a sweater for the evenings in case you get chilly.

DH took jeans, khakis, t-shirts, polo shirts, button down shirts. He was fine with that. I know in Italy it's kinda not the thing to wear shorts - apparently they only wear shorts at the beach, so keep that in mind. Also, if you're going to visit any churches including the Vatican, you MUSTTTT have your knees and shoulders covered (men too).

Message edited 5/19/2009 10:44:20 AM.

Re: ROME

Thanks for all of the info everyone! (especially Yesi )

We've actually been to Florence and Venice before... are there any other good places we should try to visit while we're there?

strongisland - rowboating sounds like so much fun! that's a great suggestion! and we definitely can't wait for all the desserts!

Yesi - you're amazing! I'm gonna FM you

Re: ROME

Posted by maybeamommy

Thanks for all of the info everyone! (especially Yesi )

We've actually been to Florence and Venice before... are there any other good places we should try to visit while we're there?

strongisland - rowboating sounds like so much fun! that's a great suggestion! and we definitely can't wait for all the desserts!

Yesi - you're amazing! I'm gonna FM you

Re: ROME

the Rick Steves Rome book has great in depth descriptions and walking tours.

besides driving through it last Saturday, I haven't been to Rome in 10 years, so I'll leave it to these ladies who remember more than I do.

it's a beautiful bustling city. I agree with staying away from touristy areas for food. Rome actually has some of the worst restaurants i've experienced in Italy. (and I know how much you like food )

Go local!!!

you could also day trip it to Naples/Pompeii and even Capri if you left early enough (dh did this one year). the trains from rome to Naples are frequent and there is ferry service from Naples to Capri.

enjoy yourself. relax, refresh, rejuvenate, and renew.

Re: ROME

i was just thinking about writing this! DH and booked a trip to Italy in August. We were supposed to go on an escorted tour, but of course our tour got canceled. We are still trying to follow the same route we would have taken on the tour, so our agent booked us hotels in Rome, Florence & Venice (2 days in each city). Now we are trying to plan tours and things to do in each city.

Our travel agent printed out tours for us, so we have to sit and go over them, but if anyone has suggestions we would gladly take them too!! TIA!

Re: ROME

Hayley, let me know if you want to borrow my 2009 Rick Steve's Italy book... it's not the in depth Rome book, but it has a section for Rome and all the important info. I can mail it to you.

Re: ROME

Posted by Ma-n-Pa2008

i was just thinking about writing this! DH and booked a trip to Italy in August. We were supposed to go on an escorted tour, but of course our tour got canceled. We are still trying to follow the same route we would have taken on the tour, so our agent booked us hotels in Rome, Florence & Venice (2 days in each city). Now we are trying to plan tours and things to do in each city.

Our travel agent printed out tours for us, so we have to sit and go over them, but if anyone has suggestions we would gladly take them too!! TIA!