If you had two days in Rome

[Funbobby68]

Hey all , if you had two days in Rome ,what would you do , we plan on staying to full days before we sail next year , but have no clue what to take in , we are in decent shape and enjoy walking , so hoping to find hotel , centrally located to make exploring easier 

[mskaufman]

If I had two full days I would do the full Vatican tour that includes the Sistine Chapel.

 

Also must sees in two full days

 

Walk from the Spanish Steps to Pantheon, Plaza Navonna, Trevi Fountain

 

Also, Colosseum and Forum

 

Should keep you busy for a couple of days.

[mapleleaves]

Rather than follow someone else's to-do list, wouldn't it be better to determine YOUR own interests for Rome and the other ports. 

I borrowed a few travel books from the library to learn about the sights available at each destination .  Then I bought Rick Steves book on Med Ports. 

For instance I had zero interest in a Vatican tour .... with my limited time I only wanted to visit sights that interested ME.  By the way, we walked A LOT, but also grabbed taxis in order to make good use of our limited time. 
  

Good luck with your research !

 

[Tapi]

I can tell you what we did on our 2 night pre-cruise stay

 

DAY 1

 

- We landed in Rome around 9:30am and we were at our hotel around 11:00am

- We checked in at our hotel, located just a few minutes walking distance from the Vatican.

- We then had lunch at a local restaurant near the hotel.

-  We took it easy and rested at the hotel since we were a bit jet lagged after our 10 hour flight to Rome and we wanted to be ready for the busy day ahead, 

 

DAY 2

 

- Our first stop was St. Peter’s Basilica. We purchased early morning skip the line tickets to tour the basilica. 

- From there, we took a taxi to the Trevi Fountain. After that, we went shopping and had a light lunch near the Trevi Fountain.

- We then took another taxi and went to the Colosseum. We didn’t go inside though (it was pretty late and the sun was setting).

- We had dinner at a highly recommended local pizzeria near the hotel. Truly amazing and authentic. 

 

 

DAY 3

 

- We returned to St. Peter’s Square to watch Pope Francis give the Angelus. After that, we had a light lunch before taking our transportation to Civitavecchia to board the ship.

 

 

Probably not what others would’ve done, but it was exactly what we wanted to see and do. We were very satisfied with the way we spent our short time in Rome.

 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Tapi

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

Rather than follow someone else's to-do list, wouldn't it be better to determine YOUR own interests for Rome and the other ports. 

I borrowed a few travel books from the library to learn about the sights available at each destination .  Then I bought Rick Steves book on Med Ports. 

For instance I had zero interest in a Vatican tour .... with my limited time I only wanted to visit sights that interested ME.  By the way, we walked A LOT, but also grabbed taxis in order to make good use of our limited time. 
  

Good luck with your research !

 

Fantastic advice. Just commonsense. 

[mskaufman]

Here is a link to some of our pictures from one full day in Rome.

 

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/828

 

 

[cruisemom42]

The top highlights have already been listed -- but what interests you most?  Ancient Rome? Renaissance Rome? Religious Rome?

 

Top sites: 

Vatican museums (includes Sistine chapel) -- reservations or tour a must; lines are horrendous otherwise

St. Peter's basilica -- no ticket/entrance fee but sometimes included with tours of the Vatican museums

Colosseum -- worth an inside visit but buy ticket in advance

Roman Forum/Palatine Hill -- additional ancient Rome sites adjacent to the Colosseum (and included with some tickets) worth visiting

Pantheon -- very well preserved Roman temple, now a church. Free entry. Best neighborhood for look for a hotel as it's very central

Trevi Fountain -- few blocks east of the Pantheon, beautiful but hugely crowded, watch out for pickpockets

 

 

There are many other sites worth considering from museums (Galleria Borghese, Capitoline Museum, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme), to ancient sites (Circus Maximus, Imperial Forums and Column of Trajan, Baths of Caracalla, Appian Way) to catacombs and of course dozens of churches, fountains and piazzas. 

 

Best thing you can do is to do some research here (just start reading), on other internet sites, and in guidebooks. When you have some idea of what you want to do, feel free to ask further questions.

 

 

[Funbobby68]

Thanks for all the responses , honestly Europe was not even on my radar , before booking the TA 

i would have to say Ancient Rome would peek my Internet the most , really was only considering the Vatican ,cause everyone say to go there 

we enjoy walking the streets shopping and hunting out the local cuisine, but just don’t want to miss the must see stuff 

[Highlandgirl1]

19 hours ago, Funbobby68 said:

Hey all , if you had two days in Rome ,what would you do , we plan on staying to full days before we sail next year , but have no clue what to take in , we are in decent shape and enjoy walking , so hoping to find hotel , centrally located to make exploring easier 

Booked a tour through Rome's  Citywonders tour.com..It is a 9 hour tour that is divided in half and it's $128 per person...It includes Skip the line which means you're not standing in line for a long period of time to get in..You will tour the Vatican, Sistien Chapel and the Basilica..Then you have about a 2.5 hour break go have lunch and take a short taxi ride over to the Colosseum ( 2nd part of tour) where you will meet up with the tour group and tour the Colosseum along with the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill..again no lines...bit of advice..Do not book a tour that does not include " Skip the lines" as you will be stuck in 2 hour long lines.

[ldock]

Rome is one of my favourite stops. 
We spent one day there few years ago on a port stop, then Last fall did 4 nights before a cruise.

 

You already have some great recommendations,  and agree do one day start at Vatican, and one day start at coliseum and forums. You will have plenty of time to explore many more sites, but start your day with those. (Forums are so much larger and more interesting then had anticipated, they require much more time then the coliseum, they also offer the best picture spots of the coliseum) 

 

we stayed very close to the termini train station, and recommend the area. Hotels are much better priced there and we found the location very central and easy to walk. (Restaurants in area better priced also) We walked pretty much everywhere, you see Soooo much more when you walk. Using the train or bus is a great way to return to hotel at end of day. 
 

enjoy!!!

 

[LisaSp]

We stayed in the Campo de Fiori area after our Med cruise and had 2.5 days in Rome before heading to Florence for a few days. The only "official" stuff we did was a Colosseum/Roman Forum tour that was great that first afternoon...next early morning did a "Pristine Sistine" tour of Vatican and Sistine Chapel. The rest of the time we walked all over. Used Rick Steves audio tour as a guide to see Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps...We loved our hotel (Boutique Hotel Campo de Fiori) and thought it was a great location. We ate well. Rome definitely captured our hearts and we liked it way more than we expected to!

[pkbpickering]

Agree with what was written above, you need to determine what really interests you. 

You mentioned ancient Rome, so definitely see the Colosseum and Roman Forum.  When we were there last year, we booked a Breakfast at the Vatican tour...highly recommend this since it gets you into the Vatican before it opens to the public. 

 

When we were done there, we walked to the Colosseum.  On our way to the Colosseum, we walked by the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Campo de Fiori (we stayed at the Hotel Primavera 1 block from Campo de Fiori and really liked the hotel and location).  With a couple of lunch and snack breaks, we made it to the Colosseum with plenty of time for a tour ...about 2 hours before it closed.

 

1 thing I would HIGHLY recommend, is a walk about in the Trastevere area of Rome...it’s, to me, real Italian with lovely winding streets and cafes.  Also if you can , while in Trastevere go the Giancolo Aka: Janiculum Hill for an amazing view of Rome.

 

Most important....have fun and don’t stress about what you need to see...there is so much in Rome that even just walking around with absolutely no agenda will be amazing 🍷

 

[Marie.A]

Hi,

 

I will recommend some "must-see" sites like the Colosseum and the Vatican. Also, I appreciated the local culture hazarding the streets, walking in public parks, going to farmer's markets, and (most important) enjoying the Italian cuisine!

 

Additional recommendations:

- buy tickets in advance for museums

- public transportation is convenient to navigate

- Take comfortable walking shoes as a lot of landmarks are within walking distance

 

If you're interested, I wrote an article for a perfect itinerary to see Rome in 3 days: http://daydreamunderthestars.com/2019/08/16/3-days-in-rome-chasing-the-extraordinary

 

Let me know if you have any questions

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Marie

 

 

 

 

[Hlitner]

Cruisemom42,   

I hope you see this post :).  Somewhere in the recesses of my ole mind I seem to recall you mentioning a favorite hotel near the Campo de' Fiore.  Is my memory correct and, if so, what is the name of the hotel?

 

Hank

[pkbpickering]

Hi Hank...the hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Primavera.

It’s not a fancy hotel..room was basically furnished with the necessities... but it was clean, the staff very friendly, a nice breakfast..but the biggest plus is the amazing location.  For a 2 or 3 night stay it’s the perfect place to stay.

Enjoy your stay!

[cruisemom42]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Cruisemom42,   

I hope you see this post :).  Somewhere in the recesses of my ole mind I seem to recall you mentioning a favorite hotel near the Campo de' Fiore.  Is my memory correct and, if so, what is the name of the hotel?

 

Hank

 

Hotel Smeraldo:  https://www.smeraldoroma.com/en/

 

 

[bbwex]

We had several people recommend As the Romans Do (astheromansdo.com) when we were there.  I think it is now run by Alan's son, but the explanation of the history of Rome over the millenia, and then two days of an extensive walking tour of the city, showing things that many people do not know about, was simply incredible.  It is not inexpensive, but as I told a couple that joined us on the second day, it was incredibly worth every penny.  It was, by far, the most incredible few days of tours that we have had anywhere, anytime!

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, bbwex said:

We had several people recommend As the Romans Do (astheromansdo.com) when we were there.  I think it is now run by Alan's son, but the explanation of the history of Rome over the millenia, and then two days of an extensive walking tour of the city, showing things that many people do not know about, was simply incredible.  It is not inexpensive, but as I told a couple that joined us on the second day, it was incredibly worth every penny.  It was, by far, the most incredible few days of tours that we have had anywhere, anytime!

 

Wow, I had never heard of their tour business, but I read Alan's book years ago when it first came out (I've been a Romano-phile for a long time!) and loved it. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity and something that I will point others toward. 

[titanic27]

We did the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel on a night tour booked trough Vatican website.

Walking to the Fountain Trevi, Spanish steps an night would be a must.