1 week in Rome, what would you do?

[mommyoffive]

If you had one week in Rome what would you do? 

 

Side trips to other areas?  

 

Spend the whole time in Rome?

[HomeAgain]

We watched a Rick Steves episode first, then read some guidebooks, picked out things that we really wanted to see, and plotted them on a map. There is so much in Rome that you can't do everything, but you can do a personal list.

[My4arrows]

Head to Pompeii for a day!

[lmrich]

Eat! 

 

Seriously you can't go wrong if you love history and art. 

 

Take a trip out of the city one day. I love the hill towns.

[displace]

Another vote for day trip to Pompeii. Pizza in Pompeii is awesome too.

 

All the historical sites- colosseum, pantheon, forum, Spanish steps, Vatican City (easily one whole day here imo), Trevi fountain.

[gardenmom5]

all the classic roman sites.

side trip - herculaneum was 1dd's favorite - more than pompeii. she also got to capri.

 

 

[Angie in VA]

Eat! 

 

Seriously you can't go wrong if you love history and art. 

 

Take a trip out of the city one day. I love the hill towns.

 

This is what I tell my family.

 

I want to go where the locals eat, hidden treasures that are tucked away on side streets. I joke that I don't want to see any art or architecture (not really true!) but spend my time eating. I want to eat good, real Italian food. So much so that I would need 2 seat on the plane ride home. 

 

:drool5:

[wintermom]

Depends on your interests. Churches, art, music, archeological sites, movies sites (famous fountains), crazy drivers (very easy to find. I was particularly afraid for the scooters weaving in and out between the buses), food. 

[linders]

I would probably do the long day trip to Pompeii, but I love history and that story. (Note: we actually stayed down there for 2 days, but if I wanted to remain based in Rome, I would consider it day-trip worthy.) Day trip to Florence if you love art (although you'll find lots in Rome.)

 

Rome itself...

 

- Could spend a whole day wandering the Colosseum and Forum.

- The Capuchin Crypt, decorated with centuries worth of monks' bones.

- St. Peter's, Vatican Museum. Re: the latter, look carefully at the floor plan and suggested routes, or you could spend hours on ancient Greek and Roman art before you stumble exhausted to the Sistine Chapel.

- Every little church you pass, because the most obscure places have luscious Caravaggios.

- Wandering the streets at night, where every fountain is an evening party.

- Campo di Fiori market (every morning, I think), where skinned pigs hang for sale and you get yelled at by fruit vendors because "you touch it, you buy it"

 

Sorry, a week isn't enough  :001_smile:

[FriedClams]

We did Rome last fall. Love, love, loved it.

 

Gelato. Everywhere. Eat it all.

 

We ate at a highly rated local place 6 blocks-ish north of the train station twice. The pizza was epic. Brick fired. All you'd expect. An amazing gelato place was a block away. Insane.

 

Do the guided tour of The Sistine Chapel. Worth the money to skip the lines. Go EARLY or it's PACKED.

 

Rick Steve's walking tours are fabulous. We did one twice we loved it so much.

 

We did a trip out to the aquaducts. Fun, but not required.

 

Public transport is great. Super easy.

[Bootsie]

For me, this would really depend on the ages of those traveling.  We went for several days when my kids were 5 and 8 and that was more than enough.  Now that they are older, a week in Rome is not too long

[Miss Tick]

In addition to great walking tours, Rick Steves books have a section that suggests what to do if you are just there for 1, 3, etc. days. That can be helpful for finding out the "top sites" (not that you have to do them!). I like his books because they are no-frills, informative and down to earth. I always cut mine apart so I'm just carrying what I need for the city I'm in.

If you are there for that long, I'd certainly take a day trip down to Ostia Antica, and see the old port.

 

Definitely watch Roman Holiday before you go.  Maybe read some of the Lindsey Davis mysteries before traveling.

[ThursdayNext]

Love this thread! My daughter and I were looking for the best deals on flights to Europe yesterday, and Rome was the cheapest. Then we went crazy looking at all the adorable apartments you can get on Airbnb. It'll probably be several years before we can save up the money, but a girl can dream, right?

[mommyoffive]

I would probably do the long day trip to Pompeii, but I love history and that story. (Note: we actually stayed down there for 2 days, but if I wanted to remain based in Rome, I would consider it day-trip worthy.) Day trip to Florence if you love art (although you'll find lots in Rome.)

 

Rome itself...

 

- Could spend a whole day wandering the Colosseum and Forum.

- The Capuchin Crypt, decorated with centuries worth of monks' bones.

- St. Peter's, Vatican Museum. Re: the latter, look carefully at the floor plan and suggested routes, or you could spend hours on ancient Greek and Roman art before you stumble exhausted to the Sistine Chapel.

- Every little church you pass, because the most obscure places have luscious Caravaggios.

- Wandering the streets at night, where every fountain is an evening party.

- Campo di Fiori market (every morning, I think), where skinned pigs hang for sale and you get yelled at by fruit vendors because "you touch it, you buy it"

 

Sorry, a week isn't enough  :001_smile:

 

 

We don't have to stay based in Rome.  We can do an overnight any place. 

[mommyoffive]

Love this thread! My daughter and I were looking for the best deals on flights to Europe yesterday, and Rome was the cheapest. Then we went crazy looking at all the adorable apartments you can get on Airbnb. It'll probably be several years before we can save up the money, but a girl can dream, right?

 

Dream big

 

 

We did this trip by travel hacking.  Opening credit cards meeting the spends on them and getting miles.  We opened 2 cards and we had enough for 7 tickets.  Plus we have TONS of miles leftover.  

 

Our out of pocket price for the tickets.   $0

 

 

It can be in your reach soon.  

[shawthorne44]

First, extend your trip   (LOL)

 

Get the City Secrets book for Roma.  Totally different than a travel book.   

 

If you are into Ancient Rome the Vatican totally rocks as a museum.   

[mommyoffive]

First, extend your trip   (LOL)

 

Get the City Secrets book for Roma.  Totally different than a travel book.   

 

If you are into Ancient Rome the Vatican totally rocks as a museum.   

 

 

We can totally go back if we want to.  But we are doing a week there and week in Denmark and Sweden. 

[Carla]

Book a Scavi Tour right now. http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html

 

It can take months to get a response, apparently.  I booked one in January for this past April and heard back quite quickly, but some people never hear back during busier times.  

 

As a bonus, on top of the fascinating tour led by a real archaeologist, you finish your tour already IN St. Peter's, thus skipping the huge line-up entirely.  (The only "line-up" to start your tour will be with the 12 other people accompanying you into the necropolis, as the entrance is in an entirely different location than the main entrance to St. Peter's).

 

Book the Vatican Museums ahead of time online to avoid line-ups as well.

 

The email to reach the Scavi office is scavi@fsp.va.  It doesn't appear at first glance on the website I linked above.

 

(Edited to add email for Scavi office.)

Edited May 5, 2017 by Carla

[displace]

We can totally go back if we want to. But we are doing a week there and week in Denmark and Sweden.

I assume flying? If by train, consider stopping to see Pisa on the way north.

[mommyoffive]

Book a Scavi Tour right now. http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html

 

It can take months to get a response, apparently.  I booked one in January for this past April and heard back quite quickly, but some people never hear back during busier times.  

 

As a bonus, on top of the fascinating tour led by a real archaeologist, you finish your tour already IN St. Peter's, thus skipping the huge line-up entirely.  (The only "line-up" to start your tour will be with the 12 other people accompanying you into the necropolis, as the entrance is in an entirely different location than the main entrance to St. Peter's).

 

Book the Vatican Museums ahead of time online to avoid line-ups as well.

 

The email to reach the Scavi office is [email protected]<script data-cfhash='f9e31' type="text/javascript">/* */</script>  It doesn't appear at first glance on the website I linked above.

 

(Edited to add email for Scavi office.)

 

 

Thank you!!

 

Any other inside advice?

[Annie G]

We did a walking food tour and it was SO much fun. Places where the locals eat, not touristy stuff. It was great. I don't remember the tour company name but there are plenty of reviews out there. 

 

We received a quick response for our Scavi tour but as mentioned above, I think sometimes it can take a while. 

 

There is much to see but we were able to see a LOT of things every day.  

 

Our method was a good guidebook and a folding map. The guidebook was great for giving us info, especially when we ran across something we didn't even know we wanted to see. And the map really helped because we could look and see what was near us and how to get where we wanted to go.