Rome in a Day???? Please help.....

[lrcruising]

We are in port from 7 am to 8 pm, taking the train to Rome and using the Metro around town. We just want to walk through St. Peter's Basilica and pay to see the dome and skip the Vatican museum all together? Where would be enter to pass the museum? I know there is a fee for the dome where do we pay for that? We are trying to squeeze as much of Rome as we can into 1 day so we are looking at just the Basilica, Dome, the Spanish Steps/area, Trevi fountain and the Coliseum. Doable?????

[cruisemom42]

The Basilica has a separate entrance from the Museum (in fact, they are quite a distance apart). If you take the train to the San Pietro stop and get off, follow the Vatican signs (or just look for St Peter's dome) and you'll come to the basilica first. The entrance is pretty clear.

 

The entrance to the dome is also very close to the entrance to the Basilica. Look for signs. If I were you, I'd check on the line when you first get there. If the line is short, do the dome first. If it is already long, you can check back later.

 

In my opinion, the Spanish steps are skippable. But if you plan your day wisely you can accomplish your list. After you finish at the Vatican, I'd take a taxi to the Colosseum and do it next. Then walk to Trevi Fountain and continue walking to the Spanish steps (a pleasant walk). You could then hop on the Metro (entrance just to the left of the bottom of the steps) to Termini, and from there get your train back to Civitavecchia.

[euro cruiser]

I might suggest a slightly different order, depending on the time of year of your visit, though I completely agree with Cynthia about skipping the Spanish Steps.

 

The entrance for the dome is on the right side of the basilica, as you face it. You go up the stairs, but don't go into the building, follow around to the right. The signs will say "cupola".

 

If you click on "tourist info" on this site (http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/) you'll find all the information you need about visiting the basilica and climbing the dome.

[ActiveTraveler]

Confused here - What is the "dome" you people are talking about? Is that at the church or Vatican?

[cruisemom42]

Confused here - What is the "dome" you people are talking about? Is that at the church or Vatican?

 

The term "Vatican city" includes the entire area of the Vatican sovereign state. The term is sometimes used synonymously with "The Holy See" but that's not quite accurate. The full name is "The State of the Vatican City" Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City

 

St Peters basilica and the Vatican museum are both within Vatican city. Vatican city is not part of Rome or of Italy. It does not necessarily observe the same closures and holidays as does Rome.

 

The dome refers to the famous dome of St Peters basilica, from which you gain a birds-eye view of Rome. You can either walk the entire way (a lot of steps) or take an elevator part-way and walk the rest. The steps near the top can be somewhat claustrophobic.

 

If I could make a suggestion -- you generally have been asking very basic questions here that could be answered by a quick read-through of any guidebook or one of many sites that others have already recommended to you.

 

Not that answering simple questions is a chore, but you could easily look up the answers yourself without having to wait for responses from the posters here.

[Chester & Brewster]

We did Rome in a day last year & it was pretty easy, just required some advance planning & a good map.

We got the 8.40am train from Civitavecchia & got off at Termini, not San Pietro. Metro to Colliseo, then walked up from the Coliseum, past the Roman Forum to the Trevi Fountain. Then from there we walked to the Spanish Steps & along the street with all the designer shops (name escapes me right now) & onto Piazza Navona, where we had lunch. From there we crossed the river past Castel San' Angelo & onto the Vatican. We caught the 2pm train back from San Pietro.

It was a fairly hectic day & we didn't go into St Peters but it's certainly do-able, as long as you are prepared for a decent amount of walking.

[6rugrats]

 

If I could make a suggestion -- you generally have been asking very basic questions here that could be answered by a quick read-through of any guidebook or one of many sites that others have already recommended to you.

 

Not that answering simple questions is a chore, but you could easily look up the answers yourself without having to wait for responses from the posters here.

 

Totally agree. The posters here will not be on your trip with you. Learning how to figure things out yourself will be tremendously useful for you.

[Seabee]

We did Rome in a day last year & it was pretty easy, just required some advance planning & a good map.

We got the 8.40am train from Civitavecchia & got off at Termini, not San Pietro. Metro to Colliseo, then walked up from the Coliseum, past the Roman Forum to the Trevi Fountain. Then from there we walked to the Spanish Steps & along the street with all the designer shops (name escapes me right now) & onto Piazza Navona, where we had lunch. From there we crossed the river past Castel San' Angelo & onto the Vatican. We caught the 2pm train back from San Pietro.

It was a fairly hectic day & we didn't go into St Peters but it's certainly do-able, as long as you are prepared for a decent amount of walking.

 

Wow! That is a lot of ground covered in 4 hours. Did you actually go in the colisseum and walk through the Forum? You might be able to walk all of that in the time frame shown but not really see any of it.

 

I do like train to Termini and metro to colisseum to start. Allow 1 hour in col then walk through the Forum (45 minutes) using the same ticket as the col.

 

Exit the forum at the Capitol Plaza, walk across the plaza and head for the Pantehon. Spend 30 minutes or so there, maybe grab a quick bite on the square. From there walk or cab to Trevi. Then on the St Peters. Catch a 4:00 train (5:00 at the latest) from St Pietro station.

 

I agree...skip Spanish Steps

[euro cruiser]

I do like train to Termini and metro to colisseum to start.

This is an unnecessary step that adds at least 15 minutes to your travel time and, worst case, as much as a half hour.

 

If the Forum/Colosseum is your first stop, get off the train at Roma Ostiense and take the metro to the Colosseum from there.