Going to Rome next week

[Darg]

Hey all, first time I've really asked for tips on places to see and now that I am it's probably the city with the most to see in Europe. I'm sure we could go there and find something good to see on every corner in the city centre but I'd like to have some sort of list of the places that have to be seen when there. I'm going with my gf for 4 days so we won't be able to see everything and probably won't be going on a day trip to Pompeii (as much as I'd like to) or anything like that.

So what places apart from the Colosseum and Vatican should we try and get around to see? We're both interested in the old Roman stuff but also any good shopping areas or other interesting places to see.

 

[borich_planner]

heres a few old sites well worth going to see in rome:
1) pantheon (best preserved roman temple in rome)
2) Roman forum, so many buildings to see here
3) The Capitoline Hill (the hill above the forum, two museums)
4)The Palatine Hill (remains of the massive palace to the Ceasers)
5) Baths of Diocletian (once a 32 acre site) well worth a visit
6)Baths of Caracalla (impressive ruins to this day)
7)Trajan's Market (the oldest shopping centre in the world)
8) Ostia Antica (well worth a day trip, you can get there on the metro and its like pompeii

The above are just a fraction of the ancient roman things to see in the city!

Borich

 

[antijoke]

Well you know what they say.....
....when in Rome.

Never been but would love to go at some point.

 

[Darg]

heres a few old sites well worth going to see in rome:
1) pantheon (best preserved roman temple in rome)
2) Roman forum, so many buildings to see here
3) The Capitoline Hill (the hill above the forum, two museums)
4)The Palatine Hill (remains of the massive palace to the Ceasers)
5) Baths of Diocletian (once a 32 acre site) well worth a visit
6)Baths of Caracalla (impressive ruins to this day)
7)Trajan's Market (the oldest shopping centre in the world)
8) Ostia Antica (well worth a day trip, you can get there on the metro and its like pompeii

The above are just a fraction of the ancient roman things to see in the city!

Borich

Great, thanks mate I'll add them all to the list

 

[Majago]

My wife and I visited Rome last month and there's so much to do & see. We did a lot of walking (didn't use public transport at all except for getting to / from the airport).

Here's what we did / visited each day:

Day 1: Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona (where the 4 rivers statue is), Piazza Venezia

- think we did a bit too much this day though and it was a lot of walking!

Day 2: Colosseum, Forum, Jewish Ghetto - go before 2 (I think) and there's a market in the Campo de' Fiori. Took in things like the Trevi Fountain & Spanish Steps again on the way back to the hotel.

If you / your gf are Audrey Hepburn fans, the Bocca della Verita is on the route between the forum and the Jewish Ghetto - we didn't put our hands in it though as the queue was massive!

Day 3: The Vatican (took us a while to walk there), St. Peter's Basilica (don't wear shorts or you won't be allowed in)

Day 4: Lazy morning in the Borghese Park near the hotel then took in the Colosseum at night - looks amazing all lit up.


If you get a chance, walk up the Spanish steps and turn left at the top. Keep going for a minute of two and there's amazing views over the city.

Have a great time

 

[borich_planner]

Rome at night is a must!

Borich

 

[Sharlaw]

When I went to Rome, one of the best days I had was starting off at the Spanish Steps. Great shopping around there. Then essentially walking from there to Piaza Navona.
We went past the Patheon, the Trevi fountain (you must throw a coin in ), and lots of other wonderful sights. We arrived in Piaza Navona just after dark and had a wonderful if slightly expensive meal at one of the many restaurants around it.

We spent one entire day going round the vatican museums and St Peters.
Another day on the forum and surrounding area.
There's so much to see and always more to see than you can fit in. Would definatly go again.

 

[h00fzilla]

Pantheon = breathtaking, as is the Colosseum. I loved Rome when I went - everything is just massive! Old pillars about 3 metres across, stacked high; it's amazing what they did so long ago.

 

[Tummy]

Remember don't wear a football shirt

 

[ro55o]

It's the most impressive place I've been to. I went for a couple of nights earlier this year, not long enough to take in everything, but we certainly tried our best

Our hotel was just outside the S. Maria Basilica, so it was our first stop. A rough list of what we managed to see

Trevi Fountain
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
San Giovani
Coliseum
Piazza Navona
Pantheon

The final day we were there we made a trip to the vatican, which was incredible. We didn't realise it before but there was a canonization taking place (where a deceased person becomes a saint), so to say it was a little busy was an understatement We stayed for a few hours, the mass was still going on when we left, but was amazing to see the scale of the occasion.

We used the tube to get everywhere, it has got to be easiest way to travel. Worked out next to nothing for a day ticket, so we just jumped on and off where we wanted to go.

 

[D.P.]

The metro works quite well in Rome but to be honest, just walking around you will see so much and find great little restaurants.
Can't go wrong in Rome really, so much to see.

 

[h00fzilla]

The metro works quite well in Rome but to be honest, just walking around you will see so much and find great little restaurants.
Can't go wrong in Rome really, so much to see.

Yeah, totally agree. Only get the metro if you need to cover a significant distance: walking around you see so much random and great stuff. Awesome remains juxtaposed with the modern city.

 

[Jenjey]

Rome is just amazing!! We spent 4 days there when we went travelling around Italy and it was for sure my favourite place.

All the big ones already suggested in this thread are a must, but if you have time, get a map and look for santa maria en trastevere which has one of the oldest (and beautiful) churches in Rome!! I lost count of the number of churches I lit a candle in whilst in Rome, but I do remember this church very clearly inside!

After you've seen the church there are lots of windy cute side streets with painters, cafes, gelati etc and you can follow the path down to the river and there is a ferry-type service you can catch that takes you all the way up the tiber (lovely ride and you can see a lot of the major sites from the water!). This costs a mere 1 euro and lasts about 45 mins! If you do want to try it, board at the southern end (calata anguillara) and ride up to the northern end (foro italico).

Hope you have a lovely time!!!

 

[Darg]

Hey guys, I've been meaning to come back to this thread and say thanks to everyone for all their suggestions. We had an amazing time, such an awesome place. I rarely use that word but there's no other way to describe it. Every street we went down had a huge old building or church. I took loads of pics but sadly my camera is broken so it's just phone pics. I'll copy a few of them over (lost the cable so have to bluetooth it which takes ages) and post them tomorrow.

We had our first meal in trastevere on the square of santa maria church without even realising it. We did think it looked quite good from outside but it seemed to be closed. If I'd known that was it I would have gone back when it was open

We saw most major places, Pantheon, vatican (took a full day almost in the museum), outside the colloseum and the forum. We didn't have time to go into them sadly as we were running out of time by the end. So much to see we have to go back. We both agreed it's our favourite city we've been to by far.

Thanks again everyone