walking distances between major attractions in Rome

[Nanci40]

Are the major attractions in Rome a walkable distance? For example, could I see trevi fountain, the colloseum, and the vatican in one day (9a to 5p)?

[EV2008]

Are the major attractions in Rome a walkable distance? For example, could I see trevi fountain, the colloseum, and the vatican in one day (9a to 5p)?

You could do the Trevi and the Colleseum in a day but I dont't think you would have enough time to see the Vatican, from the Colloseum to the Vatican that is a pretty good walk.

[chipmaster]

Are the major attractions in Rome a walkable distance? For example, could I see trevi fountain, the colloseum, and the vatican in one day (9a to 5p)?

 

If those are the only 3 things on your list it is very doable and cheap. Here is a link to a map of where attractions are and public transportation which is convenient.

 

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/rome/l/bl_rome_map.htm

 

Trevi/Colosseum in the morning then afternoon for the Vatican/Basilica/Sistine Chapel would be my suggestion. Do be prepared for lines to get in the Vatican Museum if you don't have tour or tickets pre-arranged.

 

Between train to/from port and the public transportation in the city its very doable. Depending when you go it could be very hot/humid for the walk between trains/transportation. You also need to factor buffer time back to port if 5pm is departure then you likely have to leave the Vatican by 3pm at the very latest.

 

Good luck

[CoralReef]

You can easily see those three attractions in one day. It's possible to do so on foot, but that's more walking than most people want to do. (And I say that as someone who walks 4 miles every single day.)

 

I would do the Colosseum first, then take the metro to Termini. Switch there from Metro B to Metro A, go to Barberini station. Get off and walk to Trevi. After a few minutes at Trevi, get back on Metro A (same ticket should still be valid) and take to Ottaviano San Pietro to see St. Peter's (or stay for one more stop to Cipro Musei Vaticani if you are touring the Vatican Museums).

[CathyCruises]

And then you can take the train from San Pietro back to Civ. Totally doable. Just be sure a) to allow adequate time to get back to the port, walk to the shuttle, and ride back to your ship before it leaves and b) validate your train ticket!

 

The other option would be to take a taxi between the sites if your time gets short.

 

Cathy

[Poconolady]

You can easily see those three attractions in one day. It's possible to do so on foot, but that's more walking than most people want to do. (And I say that as someone who walks 4 miles every single day.)

 

I would do the Colosseum first, then take the metro to Termini. Switch there from Metro B to Metro A, go to Barberini station. Get off and walk to Trevi. After a few minutes at Trevi, get back on Metro A (same ticket should still be valid) and take to Ottaviano San Pietro to see St. Peter's (or stay for one more stop to Cipro Musei Vaticani if you are touring the Vatican Museums).[/quote

Another option to this is to walk from theTrevi Fountain to the Pantheon, spend a few minutes viewing the inside and then walk on through to the Piazza Navona, (be sure to stop off for gilato at Mariotti's) ,over the bridge past the Castle San Angelo (great views and photo ops here), and then on to the Vatican. This route won't give you enough time to see both the museum and inside St Peters, but you should be able to do one of them

[lambs2]

Here's exactly how we got to do it all in May of 2007. We would have been able to make even better time if we hadn't left our good map of Rome back on the ship:

 

We bought €9 BIRG tickets (include day use of trains, Metro and city buses) caught the train from Civitivecchia just as early as we could get off the ship. When we exited at Termini we transfered to the Metro, Blue Line B, and got off at the Coloseo exit. We came out right in front of the Colliseum. Since then read that we might have been able to shave off a few minutes travel time by exiting the train at Ostiense and connecting to the metro there (also line B) and going the few stops to the Colosseum (Coloseo).

 

Bought our tickets at Palantine Hill, so no line, paid €5 or so extra once inside the Colliseum for an English guided tour. Great decision! Afterward roamed the forum area with a guide book I had brought before walking (got a little lost so lost some time here, but saw more of Rome!) to the Pantheon - the oldest continually used building on Earth. Exiting the Pantheon I noticed to our right a street sign pointing the way to Trevi Fountain. Longer walk than we thought at first, but so worth it. We both tossed coins over our shoulders and made wishes to return to Rome soon. We decided to just retrace our steps and before we got back to the Pantheon area we caught the city bus to the Vatican (we looked for one with San Pietra displayed and heading in the correct direction). Toured the Vatican Museums and St. Peters. After exiting the Vatican area we caught the Metro not far from St. Peters to go see The Spanish Steps at the Spagna exit. Caught the metro to Termini where we connected with our train back to Civitivecchia. Very ambitious day, but it was WONDERFUL!!! (No time to stop for lunch, just grabbed some gelato and pizza from vendors we passed! With the new ban on eating near the monuments be very careful as tthose eating or drinking near them are now fined!)

 

So, we are proof that it can be done! We are in our mid 50's, but we do walk 4 miles each and every day to stay in shape.

We will be in Rome again on January 27 and plan to do the Scavi Tour under the Vatican, climb the dome, go to the Borghese Gallery and several other sites we missed last visit. Can't wait!!!

[bobbisailsolo]

I think that is too much for one day..I was in Rome for a week several years ago. You could wander around Trevi- Pantheon- Navonna area for hours and hours. The Forum-Colliseum are a lttle further away...the Vatican is at least a half day by itself.. Maybe if you went with a tour group, you would be able to do more... My advise it to visit St Peters and the Sistine chapel first,(if you are bent on seeing the sistine chapel) then spend the afternoon wandering around piazza navona, the pantheon, trevi, and the spanish steps..in that order...because the streets can be very confusing, i found it took me much longer to get from point A to point B than I had thought it would. Forum and Colliseum were okay, but remember that they are ruins. And unless you know what you are looking at, it wont have much meaning. In my opinion, relax more... wander the streets of old rome, study the architecture of the 14th and 15th century buildings. Go into the churches... Have lunch and soak up the atmosphere. You are in a magical place. As you may have guessed, I loved Rome.

[rufustelestrat]

I think that is too much for one day..I was in Rome for a week several years ago. You could wander around Trevi- Pantheon- Navonna area for hours and hours. The Forum-Colliseum are a lttle further away...the Vatican is at least a half day by itself.. Maybe if you went with a tour group, you would be able to do more... My advise it to visit St Peters and the Sistine chapel first,(if you are bent on seeing the sistine chapel) then spend the afternoon wandering around piazza navona, the pantheon, trevi, and the spanish steps..in that order...because the streets can be very confusing, i found it took me much longer to get from point A to point B than I had thought it would. Forum and Colliseum were okay, but remember that they are ruins. And unless you know what you are looking at, it wont have much meaning. Hope that helps.

Barb

 

I am in total agreement with the visit the Vatican Museum/ St. Peters first then the other two in the following order, Spanish steps, walk 4 blocks to the Trevi Fountains, then about a half a mile to the Colosseum. Total length of the walk from spanish steps to the Colosseum would be about 1.5 miles. With a little jog in the route you could see the Pantheon.

 

Then about a one mile walk to the Termini station from the Colossem. (or grab the metro right by the forum across from the Colosseum)

[truckerj1]

There are very long lines at the Colosseum. You can pass the lines and walk right in if you buy your tickets on line. We did it in June and it was great. The cost is 13.5 euros each for Adults, and 1.5 euros for under 18 and over 65.

The website is

www.ticketclic.it

 

click on the American flag in the upper lefthand corner for english.

 

Print out the voucher and when you get there, just walk on the left, passed everyone who is in line, and they will have a special window where you will give them the voucher and you can walk right in.

[cruisemom42]

The problem with visiting the Vatican first is that it is most crowded in the mornings. If the poster can preorder tickets for the morning, that may work. If you plan on just showing up and waiting on line......early afternoon (e.g., around 1pm) is a much better time.

 

If you just want to *see* the 3 sights you mention, then it is doable, but probably not walkable. CoralReef gives a good itinerary. However, if you want to spend any amount of time at any of these places, one day really isn't enough.

[chipmaster]

I am in total agreement with the visit the Vatican Museum/ St. Peters first then the other two in the following order, Spanish steps, walk 4 blocks to the Trevi Fountains, then about a half a mile to the Colosseum. Total length of the walk from spanish steps to the Colosseum would be about 1.5 miles. With a little jog in the route you could see the Pantheon.

 

Then about a one mile walk to the Termini station from the Colossem. (or grab the metro right by the forum across from the Colosseum)

 

 

Only comment is that in AMs the lines are rumored to be longer at the Vatican. We arrived around 11:30am and the lines were LONG :eek: We had lunch across the street and by 12:45 they were 1/3 as long. Luckily we didn't actually have to stand in the line, but after seeing it, unless you are there very very early I can see the lines resulting in wasted time. Makes sense too, huge museum wouldn't you want to spend the whole day, thus the 1/2 day AMers and the all day people will be there early, only the PM 1/2 dayers will there after lunch as in a 1/2 day you really can't see too much of what really take a day if not more to do justice.

 

Can others confirm if AM or PM have longer/shorter lines. The 3 private tours I inquired with this past summer all recomended the afternoon.

[truckerj1]

We took the first train in the AM got to the Vatican around 9:15 am and walked right in to St. Peters. Stayed till 11am and took the HOHO bus to all the other sites. We had tickets for Colosseum and saw everything in 1 day. It is doable, but we didn't see the Sistine Chapel.

[texancruzer]

Even though we spent 2 nights in Rome precruise..... we really only had 1 full day to sightsee. We arrived after dark the first night and the last day had to check-out and get to port to embark on our cruise.

 

We did the Vatican museums (huge place !!!), Sistine Chapel and St. Peters (also large !) in the morning (in at 9 a.m. - out by lunch) with a private guide (no line)

 

then lunch at a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria (YUM) then taxied to the Coliseum/Forum for a tour in the afternoon.

 

We took taxis from our hotel to the Vatican, then to the Coliseum then back to our hotel.

 

We stayed near the Spanish Steps so all was technically within walking distance.

 

That said......even taking taxis from one sight to another it was ALOT of walking. All day walking. Up and down walking.

 

We taxied to our restaurant for dinner (we met 30+ of our cruisemates for Thanksgiving dinner) then walked to the Trevi fountain and had gelato for desert. Began walking back and I gave out. Found a taxi for the rest of the way back. Perhaps mostly jet lag catching up with me or I'm just not in as good of shape as I think....but it is alot of walking.

 

Taxis are everywhere and not expensive. They save time AND wear and tear on your feet :o.

 

Save yourself from being bone tired and catch a taxi :D Remember - this is only one port on your cruise.....

[jpthomas27]

You could do it, but walking seems to make it an unlikely combination becasue they just don't line up. Regardless of whether you start at the Vatican and end at the Colosseum or the other way around, the Trevi Fountain is a little out of the way. Doing a little "map math" it looks like the walk would be around 4-5 miles. Considering the time you will want to spend at the Vatican, walking 4-5 miles will be a lot. Figure the Vatican is at least half the day. Now you only half day to walk 4-5 mils and see the Colosseum and the Fountain. It's tight!

 

Not to mention that you have to get from the ship and back to it. I'm assuming this a port stop since you mentioned 9a-5p. If your actually off the sip at 9, you'll be at your first of three stops 10-10:30. If your ship leaves at 5, you'll need to be on your way back by 3-3:30 to ensure your onboard by 4:30. This means you actually have about 4.5 hours of site seeing. You have two things working against you with only 4.5 hours; the Vatican seems to suck up a lot of time and walking will do the same.

 

If the Vatican is really important to you, I would pick only one other site to see and find transportation between them. If the Vatican isn't important to you, everything else is close enough together that you could pull off a walking tour. Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps could probably all be done by walking in one day. It would be about the same distance (4-5 miles), but would not include a site such as the Vatican that sucks up a tone of time.

[agabbymama]

I have to agree with jpthomas27

 

We were just there in Oct '08. We had three nights pre-cruise in Rome. I purchased a 48 hour Ho Ho bus pass. Our hotel was near the Vatican, so took a taxi to the Vatican to catch the Ho Ho there. There was a Papal Audience, so we stayed at that about an hour. Then we rode to Via Veneto stop (I think) and got off to walk to Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and Navona area. Then back on the Ho Ho bus at Barberini stop and back to the Vatican. That walk and ride took us all day. From 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon.

 

If you really are only interested in those three things, you might squeeze it in with taxi rides, but remember the maps in Rome aren't exact. You think you are on the right street, but then never come to the intersecting street when you are supposed to. I had been to Rome before, so thought I knew exactly how to get from the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain, and still ended up lost, wandering around for hours.

 

Then we did the Ho Ho again the next day to the Palatine Hill, Forum, Colloseum, Circus Maxima and Santa Sabina Basillica. We walked so much those two full days. And that isn't even going into the Vatican Museum or St. Peter's Basillica at all.

 

You would probably do best to pre-arrange a driver (with or without a guide) to at least get you to those sites you want to see. The driver will wait for you. Private drivers are expensive, but taxis can be too. We averaged about 10 EUR per ride. That's for 2 people, but with such limited time in Rome, to be sure and see what you want to see, you just have to bite the bullet and do it.

[texancruzer]

If you really are only interested in those three things, you might squeeze it in with taxi rides, but remember the maps in Rome aren't exact. You think you are on the right street, but then never come to the intersecting street when you are supposed to.

I agree..... the streets go here and there - we got turned around more than once even with a map provided by our hotel.

Private drivers are expensive, but taxis can be too. We averaged about 10 EUR per ride. That's for 2 people, but with such limited time in Rome, to be sure and see what you want to see, you just have to bite the bullet and do it.

 

Well put....bite the bullet. However, I don't think the cost of taxis can compare to a private driver. We paid 7 euros for 3 people from the Vatican to the Coliseum. Most of our fares were a bit lower than that and with the crummy conversion rate we had in Nov. 07 it worked out to about $10.50 or less. I just didnt want to be "worn out" to START my cruise. All totaled we paid about 27 euros ($40.00)for all our taxi rides (5 of them) - (except for airport to hotel).

[Nanci40]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I guess I need to do a bit of planning if I am to attempt to go from the port and see as much as I can in one day. I am going Sept 19th so hopefully won't be too hot. The ship sails at 7pm so I should have about 11 hours to work with, if I can hold up that long !

[agabbymama]

Well put....bite the bullet. However, I don't think the cost of taxis can compare to a private driver. We paid 7 euros for 3 people from the Vatican to the Coliseum. Most of our fares were a bit lower than that and with the crummy conversion rate we had in Nov. 07 it worked out to about $10.50 or less. I just didnt want to be "worn out" to START my cruise. All totaled we paid about 27 euros ($40.00)for all our taxi rides (5 of them) - (except for airport to hotel).

 

texancruzer,

 

Absolutely taxi's are cheaper than a private driver. My intent was just to give another option. I did mention that private drivers were expensive, but they do stay with you all day. We didn't find taxi's readily available anywhere except termini, the airport and the Vatican. If you are out in the middle of Rome walking on those small alley-like streets, we didn't find many taxi's. And the private drivers do it on a daily basis and know that the passengers have to get back to the ship by a certain time.

 

We did use taxi's in Rome, but I wouldn't say they were reasonable at all. To go about 10 blocks from the Vatican to our Hotel at three different times ran from 5 EUR, 7 EUR and 10 EUR. In Rome, it depends on the time of day you are using the taxi too, as to what the start charge is. We left from the area right in front of the Vatican on all three trips, and for a 3-4 minutes ride we didn't think the fare was reasonable at all. Whereas in Naples, we hired a private taxi driver for the trip to Pompeii and Sorrento for 100 EUR pp and that driver stayed with us the whole 8 hours. He wasn't a guide, just a taxi driver at the pier. We felt it was money well spent, to have someone taking you where you needed to go, knowing the roads to take & how to circumvent traffic jams, see what was important along the way, stop when you wanted to for photos etc., then make it back to the ship in a timely manner. Plus he threw in a mini-tour of Naples showing us the important buildings and sights even though we didn't have a lot of time there after the day on the road. We had not pre-planned this taxi, I was going to take the hydrofoil to Sorrento and the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples. But a miscommunication through Princess left us high and dry as their shuttle wasn't going to start running until 9:00 which was when the hyrdofoil was scheduled to leave. We felt it was one of our best days of the cruise.

 

The trip to Europe ended up costing half again as much as I had planned. I thought we could do it for $4500 pp but it ended up costing us around $6000 pp. And that was planning for 18 months, penny pinching where we could (we did a lot of walking & Ho Hos). We did splurge on the private drivers twice, but did not do a lot of organized tours, as the costs were just too high for us. We didn't eat out much either, grocery store and pizza stands were the norm, and we did eat on the ship as much as possible. For a 22 day trip that comes to $273 pp per day. Not a very economical vacation, but we had a great time and saw lots of sights that just wouldn't be possible any other way than a cruise.

 

If you are going to go to Europe, you have to plan that it's going to be costly. The EUR is so much stronger than the dollar, but Europe is high priced anyway. Even if you don't consider the conversion, 50 EUR pp to go to a restaurant for dinner is expensive in any currency, or 250 EUR for a hotel room is outrageous as far as I'm concerned. There are bargains to be had, but you have to search for them. The hotel I found was run by nuns and we paid 95 EUR per night, but it was not really convenient, we had to add the taxi's, so did we save anything???? We did find another hotel run by nuns that had meals, we walked to it from our hotel for a lovely dinner one evening for 15 EUR pp including wine, but it wasn't a restaurant, and you had no choice of entrees. They prepared the meal and you got whatever that was. The price wasn't bad, but if you didn't like what was prepared, you were in trouble.

[browneyes7]

Are the major attractions in Rome a walkable distance? For example, could I see trevi fountain, the colloseum, and the vatican in one day (9a to 5p)?

 

Yes, you can see all of these in one day. Just have a plan and stick to it. We walked all over Rome and saw these attractions and more. Have a great time!:)

[texancruzer]

texancruzer,

 

Absolutely taxi's are cheaper than a private driver. My intent was just to give another option. I did mention that private drivers were expensive, but they do stay with you all day.

 

Gabby: I agree !!! I was just assuming that the original poster was taking the train INTO Rome from the port. Then walking around on foot.

 

If you use a private driver for the whole day (from port to city and back) it is the best way to go.....as far as the experience you will have. We also had a driver in Naples (Pompeii/Ravello/Amalfi/Positano/Sorrento) and it too was my favorite day :) We shared with 3 other couples - this is really the way to save some dinero $$$$ We found them on our Meet & Mingle thread.

 

My point was if she took the train in, toured the Vatican, then took a taxi to the Coliseum it would save not only her feet but time since she is not in port but for the day (unlike us who stayed precruise).

 

We did find taxi stands all over. Unlike say, New York you can't just hail one. They line up at stands at all the sights and you go to the head of the line and take the first one (he's been waiting the longest) We found out what happens if you take one further down the line ---- WWIII :eek: we didnt know :o

[Cruise Junky]

Very easy to do these sites in one day. Just take a cab between the two farthest points, which would be the colliseum and the vatican.

[fun*n*sun]

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to give information. It's so helpful to be able to learn from other experiences.

 

My experience in some cities is that taking the metro means a bit more walking but ends up being faster because it bypasses traffic. What are your experiences in Rome in this regard? We'll be there for a day and a half pre cruise so we aren't in as much of a hurry as the OP. Is the traffic bad? Are the metro stations far from the tourist sites? How much time/foot wear does taking taxis save? Thanks !

[cruisemom42]

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to give information. It's so helpful to be able to learn from other experiences.

 

My experience in some cities is that taking the metro means a bit more walking but ends up being faster because it bypasses traffic. What are your experiences in Rome in this regard? We'll be there for a day and a half pre cruise so we aren't in as much of a hurry as the OP. Is the traffic bad? Are the metro stations far from the tourist sites? How much time/foot wear does taking taxis save? Thanks !

 

First of all, the traffic IS bad. I'm a walker and many times I've been walking in Rome and have bypassed taxis and HOHO buses, beating them from point A to point B.

 

The metro system, while VERY easy to use, is hit-or-miss because there are only two lines. For example, if you are going from the Colosseum to St Peters, it is quick and fast as the Colosseo metro stop is just across the street from the Colosseum. You will change lines at Termini metro station (where line A and line B cross), then travel to one of the two stops that serves the Vatican. The Spanish steps also has a metro stop right at the foot of the stairs.

 

Some places are less accessible by metro, such as the Pantheon. However, there is a stop not far from Trevi Fountain (Barberini), and from there it's a pleasant stroll to the Pantheon area with Piazza Navona just beyond.

 

The Borghese gallery is another place where the metro just isn't convenient. I'd recommend a taxi to get there, if you plan to go.

 

All in all, I normally do a lot of walking in Rome with the occasional metro ride or taxi thrown in when traveling to spots that are further away.

[nparmelee]

Google directions now has options for walking, public transport and driving between points. With Rome though, the fun of walking is the little places you find when you take a different path. Not so fun if you are on limited time, but definitely worth walking everywhere when you have a few days.