We pulled the trigger last night on tickets to Rome for 9 days. Our original summer trip plans were to go north for some hiking in the Dolomites from Rome but knee surgery last week has made us rethink plans a bit. Instead we’re going to spend 3-4 days in Rome, we’ve already got evening tickets to the Vatican Museum, we’ll hit some of the usual suspects like the Forum, Colosseum, and Pantheon since my wife teaches ancient Roman history. We also want to head out to visit the ancient aqueduct and Appian Way, possibly renting bikes and touring around a bit. What other suggestions in the city can folks recommend? We have guidebooks but don’t need to hit all the big ticket items; some other suggestions to round out the visit are welcome.
After Rome we plan to rent a car and drive to the Amalfi Coast for a few days, visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Vesuvius, and possibly a trip to Capri. We have a 2-3 more days and would like to see some variety in the region south of there. Suggestions?
In Rome we’ll probably find a B&B or apartment via AirBnB. I’ve got a friend living in Rome who has suggested a nice town on the Amalfi coast but we haven’t made reservations anywhere yet.
Our goals for the trip are experiencing the culture of Italy, hiking/outdoor experiences, and viewing ancient Roman history. And good food.
I don’t know how far it is from Rome (even tho I took a train from there years ago) but Cinque Terra hands down!
The single most beautiful place I’ve ever been. You can just hike the trail, pop from city to city and enjoy the food, the pictures, the water, and everything. It’s gorgeous and I can’t recommend it enough
Cinque Terra does look amazing, and we were contemplating it, but it’s in the wrong direction. We’re saving northern Italy for a later trip so that’s off the table for this adventure. For extended hiking we’ll probably be up in the Alps, but that does look like a great way to spend a week.
Allow me to make a restaurant recommendation in Rome: Spirito Divino, in Trastevere. Best food we had in Rome (in two visits) and charming host/owner. I strongly recommend the house specialty - pork shoulder. The wine cellar also happens to be in the remains of an ancient synagogue - your wife should enjoy a quick tour.
We’ve had great luck with just day tripping by train to other cities and keeping a home base in Rome. We’ve gone to Firenze and Napoli/Pompeii (first train in the morning and late evening train home).
The archeology museum in Napoli is awesome (and awesomely underrated). I recommend going there after seeing Pompeii- see the city and then imagine that many of the villas were decorated like the museum shows. Also just walk around Naples, it is an amazing and full-of-life town. It was 1/3 the price for food (bakeries especially) compared to Rome and other more touristy towns. We averaged 8 miles of walking per day in Rome (the vatican museum was 1.5 in itself!) and did 14 miles on our Naples/Pompeii day so no need to do more hiking.
Firenze is a great one day trip- Take in the Uffizi and the Acadamia see the Duomo, Santa Croce, and the Basilica and grab some gelato between every stop. Finish the evening on the bridges and catch a train back to Rome.
We’ve never driven in Italy and relied only on trains and public transport, but you can see a LOT as long as you are motivated and willing to get moving early till late.
This really. From the OP’s description it’s looks like they’re skipping it. Don’t. You have to have a heart of stone not to like Naples. I think people are afraid because of scare stories about pick-pockets and dirt. It’s a bit grimy, yes, and if you like everything super organised and squeaky-clean, don’t go, but you’d miss the experience (and the food) of a life-time.
Good tip for Naples also is Napoli Sottoteranea, a guided tour of the old aquaducts under the city. Though avoid if you’re in any way claustrophobic or not very small - those tunnels are very tight in some places.
If you want to drive a bit, I’d also recommend Lecce and the Salento region, which is in Puglia in the “heel” of the boot. Lecce is a splendid baroque town and the coast around offers what are probably the nicest beaches in the country. Food is good, too, but all food is good in the south of Italy!
(Also, when are you going exactly? The hotter it gets, the better it is to be near a beach, whereas the bigger cities often empty out as people flee the heat. My city, which is the north, is a wasteland in August, filled only with tourist dragging whining children from one church to the next. All the Italian are in the mountains or on the beach.)
Thanks everyone, keep 'em coming. This is exactly the information we’re looking for.
We’ll be going the last week of June and first week of July. I’m sure it will already be getting hot be we can’t avoid it. My wife is a school teacher so we’re going as soon as she’s out of the classroom.
My knee should be in pretty good shape by then. It’ll be eight weeks from surgery and once I’m cleared to start running again (in three weeks) I’ll be working hard to back into reasonable shape. I think backpacking in the Alps would be a bit much, but we’re planning to take some long days in the cities, hiking on the Amalfi coast, and at Pompeii.
We’d love to spend time in Naples but we’re torn between spending the majority of the trip in cities versus smaller towns and outdoors. If we stay near Amalfi we can visit the city one of the days - it’s on our short list. The problem is that it’s a fairly short trip - that’s why we want to concentrate on Rome and south.
We’ll probably splurge for some really nice restaurant one day in Rome - for the rest we may find little places near our hotel/B&B and rely on recommendations from our hosts. We’re looking at staying near the city center, somewhere between the Colosseum and the Vatican.
Interesting idea about using all public transport rather than hire a car. For Rome we won’t need a car for sure, but as scary as driving in Italy seems to me I think it would allow us to get further afield. Maybe that’s a pipe dream.
I really wouldn’t drive in Naples! :eek: It’s like this. Romans are somewhat better behaved, but you still need nerves of steel and I think it’s probably not worth it, as all the main sights are within walking distance from each other (with gelato breaks, naturally). In the smaller towns and countryside you could probably drive, as long as you’re a fairly confident driver.
No matter how many days you spend in Rome, you’ll regret not spending more time there. And don’t underestimate wear & tear on your knees. Just walking on hard pavements can become painful.
I’ll second Naples as being a lively town with great food. Don’t drive.
I wouldn’t drive, trains are more than adequate. If you want to save money, go on the local for about 12 euros one way, Roma, Napoli, as opposed to the $85 non stop. It’ll add maybe 30 minutes to your trip. Roma Termini is a little sketch, but nothing terrible, just be aware if you buy tickets at the kiosks for unwanted “help”. I will say Termini has the best dressed bag ladies I’ve ever seen.
Stayed in an orange grove in Sorrento, it was the best smelling place I’ve ever been to. Lovely.
Rome is awesome, and if it gets too hot, you can take a train to the Mediterranean. You may pay for some beach, but there is public, too.
You can ride in big all terrain buses up Vesuvius, which is fun. Pompeii is huge. There are ferries, too, you can go from port to port, reasonably priced.
Bullshit. My wife is from Italy, my inlaws are from Italy and some of them still live there. I’ve been there several times and I can honestly say Italy sucks it really sucks. It totally sucks.
It sucks you in and you won’t want to leave!!!
Honestly, I love the place. Been to all 50 states and 6 continents (no lie!) and it’s in the top 5 of my favorite places on the planet. Though I prefer the northern part (Venice, Pisa, Florence, etc) it’s all good. No,** GREAT! **
I disagree about driving though. if you can drive in Italy you can drive almost anywhere. Though India and Korea may be an exception!
Meh. Try driving in Florence. The scooter folks are like kamikazes. it’s almost as if they want you to hit them. I’ve never been so stressed as I was driving in Florence!
Here are some recommendations for Roma (for reference I have spent a total of 5 weeks walking Centro Storico, Vatican and other areas primarily within the wall):
[ol]
[li]If you like gardens and incredible sculpture (Bernini) then you must visit the Villa Borghese gardens and museum.[/li][li]The churches controlled by the Vatican are a must see and include San Pietro, Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, Basilca Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall). Having said this St. Pauls is the least interesting as much of the basilica was destroyed by fire during the 19th century and rebuilt. For the festival of San Giovanni (June 25th I believe) the Pope delivers the mass at the mother church of Rome which is San Giovanni traditionally walking from San Pietro to San Giovanni. It was interesting watching this on my last trip (2003) when most of the tourists had no idea who was conducting the service. There are over 300 Catholic churches in Rome and a walking tour of Centro Storico is worth getting lost several times. There is incredible artwork in many of the lesser churches.[/li][li]You need to make reservations in advance but the catacombs under the Vatican are a worthwhile visit. Contact the Vatican to make arrangements. This was far more interesting than the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian.[/li][li]As already mentioned the trip to Ostia Antica, the port of Republican Rome, is a fascinating visit.[/li][li]The two highest hills of Roma are a great walk and they surround the city on two sides. The first is the Gianicolo (Janiculum in English) and you can start just southeast of the Piazza San Pietro and southwest of the Ospedale Santo Spirito (Look at a map) In the evening the walk looks over the city above Trastevere. You can climb down stairs into Trastevere along the way or just keep going. The other is the Pincio which is the hill in the northeast quadrant of the Centro Storico of Rome lying north of the Quirinal and overlooking the Campus Martius. You walk up to the top at either end at the Piazza del Popolo or the Scalinata di Trinita dei Monti (the Spanish Steps). The Villa Borghese is just to the east once you reach the top of the Pincio at the Piazza del Poplo.[/li][li]The fountains of Roma are justly famous and worth a trip including Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona, Barberini and others.[/li][/ol]
You could easily spend three or four days visiting the architecture and artwork of Bernini. If you have any interest in architecture then a visit to the Pantheon is a must.
The best recommendation I can make is to get a good map of the city that you can carry in your pocket and set out on foot at any location within the Centro Storico and just be prepared to get lost as you traverse the hills and cobblestone streets of the City. Do not wear light colored clothes as they will be terribly stained from the dust from the cobblestone streets. Wear darker earth tones.
We have our reservations for 4 nights at an AirBnB near the Colosseum (with terrace!). We’re now planning the rest of the trip reservations to the south.
Book tickets for any museums you want to see online before you go. The difference for us was 15 mins waiting in line to pick up our tickets vs the 4 hr line that others were in to get tickets.
It doesn’t work for everything but the Vatican, the Colosseum and many others do participate.
It will be hot, bring a refillable water bottle and drink regularly.
If you’re renting a car to drive along the Amalfi coast make sure it’s a small one. Holy crap that’s a narrow road. Pay attention to the mirrors on the corners, it’s the only way you can see the road sized bus that’s barreling towards you.
We have our Vatican museum tickets already. Over the next week or two we should be mapping out our time in Rome and getting tickets for the major sites we want to visit. We also can be early morning people and have been told that if you get out bright and early you can often have places like the Pantheon to yourself. Any experiences with that?
I’m still working through the whole driving thing. We’re packing light so we can fit in a small car without trouble.
For a unique and somewhat sobering stop in Rome, I recommend the Capuchin Crypt, filled with the bones of friars arranged in intricate patterns. It’s basically art made from dead bodies.
If you are a cat person, swing by the Largo di Torre Argentina. It’s right downtown, walking distance from the Pantheon as I recall. It’s a big block of ruins and there are a ton of cats that live there. There is a cat shelter as well that you can visit. Give them a small donation if you can as they are trying to care for a lot of sick and injured cats.
Hmmm, I’ve gone into the Pantheon at various random moments and have never really found it full of people to the extent that it spoiled my enjoyment. It’s amazing, but you sort of get the same effect no matter where you stand, so unless people are being noisy or irritating, to me it doesn’t really matter if there are a few others. It’s not like standing in front of one picture or fresco, elbowing the other tourists out of the way. July is probably peak time, but if you get there early then I’d say you’d have some space.
