met19

Hi all-

I will be going to Italy (northern) and Switzerland. On the way back rather than direct from Zurich, I decided to add a long weekend in Rome (sept 2-55th or 6th).

I have never been and am looking for tour recommendation or just things that you highly recommend seeing.

For background I am single, young (I only put that to say I can do a decent amount in one day). Interested in history and photography.

Things I figured are can't miss or I should def try to fit in:
Vatican Museums, St Peters, Sistine chapel
Ancient Rome (Partheon, Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill)
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps

I am aware the first two are whole day experiences.

Thanks for all your advice.

Perche

Seeing the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps you can do when you arrive. They are all basically all a half a dozen blocks from each other. It just depends on how much time you want to stare at them, because they are awfully beautiful. I haven't been in Rome for the last 4 months, but when I was there, the Spanish Steps were undergoing a restoration. It's going to go a least throughout this year. Worth walking by, probably not to spend any time there. The Fountain of Trevi is always too crowded. Go before 9 AM, or after 11 PM to see it.

Anyone can easily walk into the Pantheon. I've never seen much of a line there, although maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but my apartment was just around the corner. When there was a line it always seemed as if they were just keeping people out because a mass was going on. If you walked to the front of the line and just told security that you wanted to go to the mass, they immediately raise the rope and let you in.

But outside of that, on a quick trip seeing the Pantheon, then you literally go straight across Via del Corso and you hit Fontana Trevi in about 300 yards, then you hook around and you are on the Spanish Steps in another few hundred yards. It doesn't take days to see these things.

The Colosseo you have to see is about a 30 minute walk from the Pantheon, a perfect excuse to stop at Piazza Venezia for a glass of wine, and I will tell this to everyone, just because you saw it in the day, it's not enough. You also have to see it at night, when it is lit up.

The Forum is basically just a few streets down the block from the Colosseo. Walking to the Colosseo you have to walk by the Forum. The Forum is on both sides of a very wide street. Go from one side of the street to the other, and you'll have seen the Colosseo and the Forum. It can all be done in one good walk.

Now, no one who has done that should say, I've "done" Rome, anymore than someone who just had a cruise ship stop in Venice should say they've, "seen Venice." Not possible.

But I get what you are trying to do. If you put on your running shoes, you can see the Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum, Fountain of Trevi, and Spanish Steps in a typical 3 mile run. Do it early, then stop for coffee. Or Prosecco. Forget Palatine Hill. It's not a thing to visit, it's just a neighborhood.

Scratch Palatine Hill and see Piazza Navona, and if before noon, Campo dei Fiori.

Perche

For the Vatican museums, in September which is high season, if you don't want to stand on line in the heat forever, get a qualified guide. No other way to do it on a quick trip when time is short.

FlossieFlyer

As usual Perche is spot on. I was in Rome mid-June and the Spanish Steps are closed.

I did not get a guide for the Vatican museum but prepurchased a ticket from the Vatican museum and was able to skip the line and enter straight away.

I also went to St Peters Basilica at 7am and was able to enjoy the atmosphere without any crowds.

The line at the Colosseum was a bit on the longish side but once it opened we went through quite quickly.

You could walk from Trevi to Parthenon and Coliseum but I was travelling with 2 older ldier so we ha a 48-hour metro pass that allowed us to get around with ease.

met19

Any guides you reccommend?

met19

Appreciate your thoughts. I am spending the entire weekend in Rome, any other suggestions. No way I will consider that "seeing Rome". But if I never get the chance to go back, I want to at least see and tour the hi-lights. It sounds like I will want to do the Colosseum twice- day and night (prob will make for excellent photos).

Giggleswick

If I may offer a different view on the Palatine: I quite like it. Granted, I'm more interested in archaeology and ruins than many people are, but since you say you're interested in history, you might want to try to fit it in (especially since it's on the same ticket as the Forum and Colosseum, if you decide to go into them rather than going by them).

The problem with the Palatine, possibly even more than with the Forum, is that the ruins are pretty confusing if you don't have a guide or a good guidebook. At the core are the ruins of Domitian's Palace (a/k/a the Domus Augustana, the Domus Flavia, and probably some other names!), which was vast. But there are also the ruins of the stadium/hippodrome, houses like the so-called Casa di Livia, and other buildings. So it can seem pretty jumbled. Alternatively, you can just call it atmospheric, without worrying about what's what, and enjoy the views over Rome. Also, I think that the underground passageway (cryptoporticus) built by Nero to give him private access to the palace is still open to the public, but I could be wrong.

KLouis

I disagree with Perche as far as the Palatino is concerned (in addition to the reasons laid out by Giggleswick I find it really amazing to be in such a calm place with few tourists in the very middle of Rome). Also, I fully support his idea to visit Campo de Fiori early in the morning (the earlier I go, the more it reminds me of the first time I saw it 38 years ago: it's still full of merchants and local buyers, rather than tourists).

JBD

Perche, I think you've momentarily confused the Palatine with the adjacent Aventine.

Hi met19. I'm a huge fan of the Palatine, for reasons listed above and also to be able to see the House of Augustus and the House of Livia. Here's a piece on them from an amateur classicist (but who's quite knowledgeable and who takes great photos) and will give you good idea of what to expect:
https://followinghadrian.com/2015/09...palatine-hill/
(The link brings you to her post on the House of Livia, but within it there's a link to her piece on the House of Augustus).

I also very much enjoy the Palatine's museum.

The Coloseum, Forum and Palatine are all on one ticket and allows admission over a two day period. Check out the official site for more info:
http://www.coopculture.it/en/

For tour guides I highly recommend Context Rome:
https://www.contexttravel.com/cities/rome?page=1

And a suggestion for something else to add to your list is a visit to Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini. I haven't heard people here discuss it much in the past couple of years, but to me it's a fantastic experience especially for a first time visitor - since it gives you such a great appreciation of what could be under your feet at any time. Here's its link:
http://www.palazzovalentini.it/domus.../index-en.html

Perche

I guess my point is that the Palatine Hill is a neighborhood. You don't go there to look at the hill. There are nice things to see there, but you don't go to Rome to visit the Palatine Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Aveline Hill, the Esquiline Hill, etc. They are just neighborhoods, all with very cool things to see. I've never heard of anyone going to Rome and saying, "I'm going to go and see this hill."

You don't need to go into the Colosseo if you are only there for a weekend. Just walk by it, during the day and at night.

If only there for a weekend I would say your main activity should be walking, not visiting particular neighborhoods or hills, with few exceptions. The exceptions wold be walk by the Forum, the Colosseo, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Fountain of Trevi, stop for a drink at Piazza Venezia. Go by the Tiber river and walk along the river. Campo dei Fiori. Piazza Largo Argentina. If you are a really good walker, cross the Tevere, Tiber River, and see if you can make it to Piazza San Pietro, St. Peter's Square. Or take a cab there and back. Just about 10-13 euros each way, but worth it.

Everybody has indelible memories of Rome, so they will tell you to go here and there, where they made their memories. I suggest that you go and make your own, and don't have too long a list of "must do's." I'm sure in the next day someone will say that you also have to visit the Villa Borghese. Then, you'll just be another tourist going insane.

If you only have a weekend, just get up early, and start walking, with no particular attention to hills or neighborhoods. Just don't come back and say you skipped seeing the Colosseo, Forum, Trevi, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, and even covered up in scaffolding the Spanish Steps, and getting to the Spanish Steps by walking down the street called Via Condotti, because those are the must do's, plus Piazza San Pietro.

When you are at the main part of the Forum there is a hill behind it. That's the Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill is basically where the Forum and Colosseum are. You are going there to see those things, not to see the Hill. If you want to walk up the Palatine Hill behind the Forum, go for it. Rome has so many wonderful neighborhoods, but that place is a great neighborhood to walk around because there are so many ruin and excavation sites.

One thing you don't want to screw up is the food. The food is terrible in Rome in the historic center. It's like eating in Times Square in NYC, or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Since you only have a weekend choose where you want to eat, and make sure you make a reservation. There are not too many places in central Rome that you can just walk into without a reservation, and eat well. In your shoes, I'd also start focusing on what you're going to eat, because a weekend is not a lot of time.

MrTemporal

deleted.

Perche

Good guides for Rome:
http://katieparla.com/rome-walking-tours/
http://www.aglioolioepeperoncino.com...onsultant.html
http://www.italyfoodandwinetours.com/rome/
http://www.storytellingrome.com

I think that the last one, with Massimo, Storytelling Rome, might be the best. 9:30 AM to 4 PM, for about 30-90 euros, depending. Well worth it. Plus, you'll have great company with him.

There are many, many more. And if they are booked, they will refer you to an appropriate colleague.

Giggleswick

Okay, I get it that you think the Palatine is a waste of time, but I still think it's a stretch to call it "just a neighborhood" and "not a thing to visit.' Unlike, say, the Aventine or Esquiline, it is an uninhabited archaeological complex, under the aegis of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici, operated basically as an open-air museum, like the Forum. It's not just some ruins scattered around among lived-in buildings. The fact that it is called by the name of its hill doesn't mean that visitors go there just to see a hill. Similarly, talking about visiting the Capitoline is more likely to mean visiting the Piazza del Campidoglio and Capitoline Museums, not just a hill per se.

As you say, it's up to visitors to decide where to go, especially with limited time, but you were the one to prescriptively tell the OP to skip the Palatine because there's nothing there. Pointing out that there is indeed quite a bit there--especially if one is interested in Roman history--doesn't equate to encouraging somebody to be (horror of all horrors!) just another tourist.

Perche

Context travel is always a good and safe bet. Instead of it being just anybody, their guide have to have at least a masters degree level of education, so you're not just getting a retired cab driver trying to make a few bucks on the side. They are usually teachers trying to make a few extra dollars. That said, it is entirely dependent on who you get. Context is a world wide contracting agency. That's all they do, is the booking. They can set you up with someone in Rio di Janeiro, Singapore, Dublin, or Bangkok. They don't even know the person they are sending to take you on a tour. But it is definitely better than just anybody with a website.

The ones I mentioned above get you specific people whom I know and am familiar with. Katie Parla gets you Katie Parla. Agilooliopeperoncino and italyfoodandwinetours are basically the same people. You get Eleanora Baldwin, Elizabeth Janus, or Gina Tringala. Storytellingrome gets you Massimo di Fillipis. These are all individuals who do private tours. Context is a good agency, but it is still the crapshoot of who they send you. The links I sent are to Romans, living in Rome, not an agency.

Perche

I don't get it, the Palatine Hill and the Forum are basically the same thing. They are adjacent archeologic areas. One part of it is called the Forum, then you start walking up hill and it's now called the Palatine Hill. If the OP's weekend is to be spent visiting ruins, then buying a ticket gets you into the Forum, the Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum, because it is the same archeologic area, of which the hilly part is called the Palatine Hill.

On just a weekend visit I would not buy a ticket to tour these archeologic areas. I would walk by and look, otherwise it will take up most of the day, and there are a lot of other things to see in just a weekend. On just a weekend trip I would walk by the Colosseum, look down into the Forum from the street, and look up at the ruins on the Palatine Hill, unless it is going to just be a day dedicated to seeing ruins.

I'd try to make my way back there at night as well, because the area is amazing lit up at night. When you are standing on the street outside of the Forum just look up and see the Palatine Hill. It's a neighborhood or area that is part of the Forum, unless you have decided that want to go to the Flavius House or the Palatine Museum or some particular thing that you have a fancy for. Otherwise, it's just an area of the Forum, and you can look at it without buying a ticket and going inside, unless exploring the awesome ruins is how you want to spend the weekend, and not do anything else. There are nice things to see in the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill complex, but to buy a ticket to them is to spend the weekend doing that, and not seeing the rest of Rome.

My suggestion to the OP is to walk by the Colosseum, walk by the Forum, look up at ruins on the Palatine hill, and keep walking, or else a whole day would be spent on just ruins. If I were taking someone around Rome who was going once in their life and only had a weekend I wouldn't devote so much to that. I would just see the Colosseum and ruins from the street. If there was extra time to burn and I had really strong walker with me, in addition to the places I mentioned maybe I'd head to the river, over Ponte Sisto, and show the person some of the unique areas of Trastevere, and not spend the whole day just exploring the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill complex ruins because you can spend the weekend just doing that.