Roman Holiday?
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
All the ones you have listed are a good start for sure. When we were there this summer we did a free tour that started at The Altare della Patria, and ended at the Jewish Ghetto. The tour guide does ask that they get a tip of some sort if you see fit, as this is a side job for them.
The story of the Jewish Ghetto was alot more interesting to me than I would have thought, and when the tour is done you are in a good spot for finding a nice restaurant. We walked up and down the river, got a couple beers for the walk, and took in the sunset on the river and it was really cool.
Other than that Rome is awesome, you can find something to fill your time no matter what you are feeling like doing.
Also, Pantheon was awesome. Wasn't expecting much again, but that place is very very cool.
The story of the Jewish Ghetto was alot more interesting to me than I would have thought, and when the tour is done you are in a good spot for finding a nice restaurant. We walked up and down the river, got a couple beers for the walk, and took in the sunset on the river and it was really cool.
Other than that Rome is awesome, you can find something to fill your time no matter what you are feeling like doing.
Also, Pantheon was awesome. Wasn't expecting much again, but that place is very very cool.
The best time I had in Rome was just wondering around and going into random churches. We found the prettiest places that way. I've also found walking tours to be really nice on Europe trips. I don't have any recommendations, but have found good ones through places like Trip Advisor. They usually take about 2 hours and kind of give you the lay of the land and lots of history that I wouldn't have known. I've found that booking a walking tour first thing is very helpful.
Just don't do what I did....I was traveling with 2 friends and we hadn't traveled internationally before. One friend was very regulated and wanted to see absolutely everything---to the point that we would walk somewhere and spend about 5 minutes and then leave. We were so exhausted that we didn't get to enjoy the $900/night hotel that we stayed at right at Trevi Fountain. And at the end of the day we were so hungry that we had to settle for basically the Italian version of Lean Cuisine.
I did something similar to this the first time we went to Europe. We spent two days in London because it was so expensive (2 GBP=1USD) and tried to see everything in pretty much one day. We were idiots and never did anything like that again. We have friends that spent 6 days there last year and saw fewer things then we did in one day.
I had heard some pretty mixed reviews on the Spanish Steps, so I was fairly "meh" on that. Which sounds bad, but I think there's just way more that we can do that would be awesome, you know? That is all AWESOME - I found that there's a store near the Pantheon where the Pope and all of the cardinals/bishops get their clothes made, so I'm totally going to go get Janny some Pope Socks. Because who doesn't want Pope Socks?
I'm ordering the Rick Steves book right now! I'll look up a bunch of buses that start near our AirBnB - thank you! I was also curious about the food tours you could take.
The best time I had in Rome was just wondering around and going into random churches. We found the prettiest places that way. I've also found walking tours to be really nice on Europe trips. I don't have any recommendations, but have found good ones through places like Trip Advisor. They usually take about 2 hours and kind of give you the lay of the land and lots of history that I wouldn't have known. I've found that booking a walking tour first thing is very helpful.
Just don't do what I did....I was traveling with 2 friends and we hadn't traveled internationally before. One friend was very regulated and wanted to see absolutely everything---to the point that we would walk somewhere and spend about 5 minutes and then leave. We were so exhausted that we didn't get to enjoy the $900/night hotel that we stayed at right at Trevi Fountain. And at the end of the day we were so hungry that we had to settle for basically the Italian version of Lean Cuisine.
I'll have to post my updated list in here - it sounds like the stuff that is NOT on the beaten path is some of the most interesting stuff. I am so excited to explore!
I am super-excited about the Jewish Ghetto. I was reading up on the story, and then saw that there's the little chapel with Saint Valentine's skull just chilling in it near the Mouth of Truth (or whatever it's called). I think it's going to be so interesting!
Here's my updated list (not sure if the links will paste). I emailed the Vatican to see about getting the Necropolis tour and papal admission tickets on the Wednesday we're there:
MUST see/do:
- Trevi Fountain (near Palazzo Barberini)
- Colisseum/Pantheon/Forum
- Wed, 5/9 - Vatican City (and ideally tickets to Necropolis and/or papal audience) - TICKETS and SCHEDULE and NECROPOLIS
- Capuchin Crypt (near Piazza Barberini) - TOURS
- Palazzo Barberini (and gardens/gallery) - http://www.barberinicorsini.org/ and https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2016/05/palazzo-barberini-museum-and-gardens/
- Quartiere Coppede - area of city with unique architecture
Very high-ranking #2 options:
- Spanish Steps
- Ancient Thermal Baths at the Baths of Caracalla
- Galleria and Villa Borghese - http://www.galleriaborghese.it/it/ - can rent a rowboat for 20 min
- Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere: LINK
- Piazza Navona
- Protestant Cemetery: LINK
- Jewish Ghetto: LINK
- Santa Maria in Ara Coeli - LINK
Churches and really interesting free stuff:
Restaurants:
- Open Colonna - http://antonellocolonna.it/doc/open/open-menu.pdf
- Fatamorgana (gelato) - http://www.gelateriafatamorgana.com/web/index.php?p=2&c=2
- Armando el Pantheon - http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/
- Pepper - http://pepperrestaurant.thefork.rest/en_GB/
Shopping:
MUST see/do:
- Trevi Fountain (near Palazzo Barberini)
- Colisseum/Pantheon/Forum
- Wed, 5/9 - Vatican City (and ideally tickets to Necropolis and/or papal audience) - TICKETS and SCHEDULE and NECROPOLIS
- Capuchin Crypt (near Piazza Barberini) - TOURS
- Palazzo Barberini (and gardens/gallery) - http://www.barberinicorsini.org/ and https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2016/05/palazzo-barberini-museum-and-gardens/
- Quartiere Coppede - area of city with unique architecture
Very high-ranking #2 options:
- Spanish Steps
- Ancient Thermal Baths at the Baths of Caracalla
- Galleria and Villa Borghese - http://www.galleriaborghese.it/it/ - can rent a rowboat for 20 min
- Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere: LINK
- Piazza Navona
- Protestant Cemetery: LINK
- Jewish Ghetto: LINK
- Santa Maria in Ara Coeli - LINK
Churches and really interesting free stuff:
- San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane: LINK
- Museo Criminologico (has medieval torture devices, 2 euro): LINK
- Rose Garden (free): LINK
- Church with 22 former popes’ embalmed hearts: LINK
- Dorothy Circus Gallery - pop surrealism gallery (I’d recommend looking at it to see what you think - listed as one of top 100 galleries in the world): LINK
Restaurants:
- Open Colonna - http://antonellocolonna.it/doc/open/open-menu.pdf
- Fatamorgana (gelato) - http://www.gelateriafatamorgana.com/web/index.php?p=2&c=2
- Armando el Pantheon - http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/
- Pepper - http://pepperrestaurant.thefork.rest/en_GB/
Shopping:
- Polvere di Tempo (in Trastevere): https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2017/12/polvere-di-tempo/
- Gammarelli (POPE’s clothier - near Pantheon): LINK
- Lela Casa - home stuff: LINK
- Via del Boschetto in the Monti district (unusual trinkets)
- Mercato Monti (LINK) - unique Italian designers, only on Sundays. Just north of Colosseum
I can't speak for the actual rome tour but we did a food tour with this company in Bologna and it was the best food tour I've ever experienced.
http://www.italiandays.it/
http://www.italiandays.it/
It’s just a being claimed that way as a tax write off so @Angie and I can get some romantic alone time.
I'll take things you should never put in writing for $1,000, Alex...
Romantic alone time to scout new potential locations for offices
Agree with CyBride! Stop at the Compo di Fiore for bakery items and also the weighed out pizza near the Caesar ruins. There are many little mom-n-pop restaurants in the area - stop and be delighted! Also, Pantheon (stop for gelato near there!) and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel absolutely are must sees. I loved seeing the church St. Peter in Chains to view the numerous Michaelangelo's statues that he sculpted for a pope's tomb inside that church. The wall murals in that small church would cause church-goers to behave just in sheer fright. Loved roaming the narrow roads (alleys!) in the old Jewish Ghetto which have some good shopping bargains, too. All of these places are very walkable. The quality and quantity of art at the Vatican is amazing! Michaelangelo's sculpture of Mary holding the dead Christ at St. Peter's is one of the most inspirational and beautiful pieces of art on Earth.
THANK YOU! I'll do some googling on their Rome tour, that's awesome. I had no clue where to even start!
Ix-nay on using my real first ame-nay, bae!
I've seen the Vespa and Segway tours - I was curious about them! I need to look into them more and see if they are guided, or on headsets, or what.
This is also HUGELY helpful! I'd read that there are some places you don't go into the alleys, but that the Jewish Ghetto is a fine place to do it. I'm so fascinated by the Jewish Ghetto, I think it sounds just fascinating. I'm going to map stuff out!
No lie, I thought this was going to be a recruiting thread. I’ll show myself out.
Only tip that I’ll add is that there is a backdoor exit from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s that can save you a lot of time by avoiding exiting the Vatican Museums and re-entering through the Basilica security lines.
The catch is that it’s technically only for tour groups and there are sometimes guards there. But if you have no qualms about hat sort of thing (and even though I’m not especially religious, it *does* somehow feel sacrilege to be doing it in the Vatican), finding a tour group to blend into usually isn’t too difficult.
The catch is that it’s technically only for tour groups and there are sometimes guards there. But if you have no qualms about hat sort of thing (and even though I’m not especially religious, it *does* somehow feel sacrilege to be doing it in the Vatican), finding a tour group to blend into usually isn’t too difficult.
You can do the Coliseum and Roman forum in a morning. Something near the Coliseum is the Basilica di San Clemente. It has 3 levels each taking you further back in time.
If you like art you can stop by any church and see works by many the Renaissance masters. San Pietro in Vincoli has Michelangelo's statue of Moses. It is Michelangelo's interpretation of Moses right before he broke the original tablets of the ten commandments. It's real near the Coliseum.
The Sistine Chapel will be crowded. By the time I got there I was tired of looking up at all the ceiling frescoes. You really appreciate it after you leave because all of a sudden everything else looks so flat and lifeless after seeing it.
Another thing at St Peter's. The Pieta is behind about 3 inches of bulletproof glass so when I took pictures the auto focus was focused on the glass. This was in the film days so I didn't know my pictures didn't come out until I had them developed.
If you like art you can stop by any church and see works by many the Renaissance masters. San Pietro in Vincoli has Michelangelo's statue of Moses. It is Michelangelo's interpretation of Moses right before he broke the original tablets of the ten commandments. It's real near the Coliseum.
The Sistine Chapel will be crowded. By the time I got there I was tired of looking up at all the ceiling frescoes. You really appreciate it after you leave because all of a sudden everything else looks so flat and lifeless after seeing it.
Another thing at St Peter's. The Pieta is behind about 3 inches of bulletproof glass so when I took pictures the auto focus was focused on the glass. This was in the film days so I didn't know my pictures didn't come out until I had them developed.
Once you see the traffic in Rome you might rethink that option.
You are going to LOVE Rome! My only rec is the the Basilica of San Clemente al Laterno, just a few blocks east of the Colosseum. The current church dates back to the 12th century and has a stunning mosaic, BUT the best part is going down to the crypt. There is a whole other church down there that was built in the fifth century. AND below that you can tour an ancient Roman temple, a mithraum which was a weird secretive cult that no one knows much about. You are literally walking through time as you descend to each level. I've spent months in Rome and haven't seen anything cooler. HIGHLY recommended.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...7e138e66d21b151!8m2!3d41.8893347!4d12.4975757
https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...7e138e66d21b151!8m2!3d41.8893347!4d12.4975757
The Italian name for church Saint Peter in Chains is San Pietro in Vincoli. It is within walking distance of the Coliseum. The statues, including the imposing-looking Moses, were sculpted for the tomb of Pope Julius II. The original plan called for 40 statues to be adorned on the tomb, but that goal was never achieved. The Pieta is the name of Michaelangelo Buonarroti sculpture of Mary cradling the dead Christ. It is the only statue he ever signed, and amazingly he sculpted it at the tender age of 24 years! It is believed he made Mary look very youthful as a tribute to his own mother who died when Michaelangelo was just a lad. If you get an opportunity to wander the Jewish Ghetto, stop and browse through one of the small grocery stores. One that we stopped at had maybe only 4 or 5 aisles, but one entire aisle was devoted to JUST olive oil! It is just an interesting little bit of entertainment that only takes a few minutes, but it is fascinating, nonetheless! Read one of Dan Brown's books, Angels and Demons, before going. The fiction story is set in Rome, but the places really exist and it is interesting to make those connections.