GREAT ITINERARIES IN ROME BY FODOR'S

Rome presents a particular challenge for visitors: just as you begin to fall in love with the city, you realize you don't have the time -let alone the energy- to see more than a fraction of its treasures. It's wise to take this into account from the start, and follow a focused yet flexible itinerary. A ramble through a picturesque quarter of Old Rome can be just as enlightening as a chapel redolent of incense or a trek through marbled miles of museums corridors.

IF YOU HAVE 4 DAYS
Day 1:
Begin your first day at the Campidoglio and survey Rome from atop the Colle Capitolino (Capitoline Hill). Next, explore the Foro Romano (Roman Forum) and see the Colle Palatino (Palatine Hill) and the Colosseo (Colosseum). In the afternoon, combine sightseeing with shopping and make your way through the neighborhood around the Scalinata di Spagna (Spanish Steps).
Day 2:
The following morning visit the Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums) and the Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel), then the Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica). Relax in the afternoon, perhaps exploring the neighborhood around your hotel.
Day 3:
In the morning explore Old Rome and make your way to Trevi Fountain. In the afternoon you can visit a museum of interest (such as Castel Sant'Angelo) or watch the passing parade from a sidewalk café in one of the city's beautiful piazzas. You could walk from the Mercati Traianei (Trajan's Market) to the great basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano.
Day 4:
Get in some more shopping and/or museum -Galleria Borghese (Borghese Gallery), perhaps- and spend your final afternoon and evening exploring the picturesque Ghetto and Trastevere neighborhood.

IF YOU HAVE 6 DAYS
Spend your first four days as above

Day 5:
In the morning wander through Villa Borghese and, if you haven't done so already, see the Canova and Bernini sculptures in the Galleria Borghese. Explore the Piazza del Popolo area and make your way to the Ara Pacis. In the afternoon see Piazza del Quirinale and make your way to Piazza della Repubblica.
Day 6:
Make an excursion either to the Appian Way or to the ancient city of Ostia Antica. In the afternoon, stroll on the Aventine or Celian hills.

IF YOU HAVE 10 DAYS
This will allow you to see Rome with more leisure.

Day 1:
Start at the Capitoline Hill, see the Forum and Palatine and the Colosseum. In the afternoon visit one of the archelogical museums (Palazzo Altemps or Palazzo Massimo).
Day 2:
In the morning see the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's, and in the afternoon see part of Old Rome.
Day 3:
Set off in the morning through Villa Borghese to the Galleria Borghese and then continue westward to the Tiber and the Ara Pacis. In the afternoon explore the shopping streets around Piazza di Spagna and toss a coin into Trevi Fountain.
Day 4:
Start from Trajan's Market and make your way to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano. In the afternoon explore the area between the Quirinale Hill and Piazza della Repubblica.
Day 5:
Make an excursion to Ostia Antica.
Day 6:
Devote the morning to a museum or neighborhood of your choice, and spend the afternoon exploring the Celian Hill and the Baths of Caracalla.
Day 7:
Walk from the Ghetto through Trastevere and continue up to the Gianicolo (Janicule Hill).
Day 8:
Explore the Aventine and make your way to San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St. Paul's outside the Walls).
Day 9:
Make an excursion to the Appian Way and spend the afternoon shopping or relaxing.
Day 10:
Take a  museum or neighborhood that interest you, and ramble through Old Rome.

 

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Rome, the ‘eternal city’, exerts an enduring fascination over its countless visitors.

 Capital of Italy and the country’s largest city, it is littered with the relics of over 2000 years of history. Only in very few places in the world is the visitor confronted with the past in such an immediate and forceful way. It has a unique atmosphere. The monuments of ancient times and the splendors of the Baroque are the backdrop to the hectic buzz of swarming scooters, bellowing motorists and animated street cafés. The streets contain reminders of all the eras in Rome’s rich history – the Colosseum and the Forum are the most famous from the classical period, ancient basilicas bear witness to the early Christian era. As the major city of the Counter Reformation, it is not surprising that Rome is also infused with the feel of the Baroque. It is, indeed, the influence of the 17th century which defines the city through the work of architects such as Bernini, Maderno and Borromini. The magnificent squares and flamboyant façades mask a wealth of painting and sculpture by some of the greatest high-Rennaisance and Baroque artists – Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio, Caracci and Raphael to name but a few. The Via del Corso, Rome’s main thoroughfare, cuts through the length of the city centre from the Piazza Venezia in the south with the vast marble Vittorio Emanuele Monument (erected in the late 19th century to honour Italy’s first king and to commemorate the unification of Italy), to emerge in the Piazza del Popolo in the north, beyond which lies the cool green refuge of the Villa Borghese. To the east of the Via del Corso lie the elegant shopping streets including the Via Condotti and the Via Borgognona which lead up to the Piazza di Spagna and the famous Spanish Steps. At the nearby Trevi Fountain visitors guarantee their return to Rome by throwing a coin into the waters. To the west of the Via del Corso a maze of narrow streets winds its way down to the Tiber River. It is here, in the historic center of Rome, that the most complete ancient Roman structure is found. The Pantheon, on Piazza della Rotonda, was the work of Emperor Hadrian and was finished in AD125. Monumental in scale, the dimensions of the dome and its height are precisely equal while the building’s interior is illuminated by the sunlight entering through the 9m (30ft) hole in the dome’s roof. Just beyond the Pantheon lies the Piazza Navona. It is a long thin square, on a classical site, but rebuilt in the 17th century at the behest of Pope Innocent X in the high-Baroque style. It is almost entirely enclosed and thronged with people night and day. It is here that the crowds come on a warm summer’s evening to sit late into the night on one of the many café terraces and to watch the passing scene. Moving across to the right (west) bank of the Tiber, the Vatican City is an independent sovereign state and has its own chapter later in The World Travel Guide. On the way to the Vatican the visitor will pass the circular hulk of the Castel Sant’Angelo, burial place of the Emperor Hadrian and in later times the papal city’s main fortified defense. Moving south, the district of Trastevere is the city’s alternative focus and is home to numerous bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The life-long inhabitants of Trastevere regard their home as separate from Rome across the river, an independence that is celebrated every year in July with its Festa Noiantri. 

Inland from Rome are the hill towns known as the Castelli Romani, which are popular for excursions. Tivoli, just 40km (25 miles) east of Rome, was once the haven of the rich, first in Roman times and later during the Renaissance. It is well-known for its magnificent villas and gardens, such as the Villa d’Este, Villa Gregoriana and, just outside of Tivoli, the Villa Adriana. Frascati, only 20km (12.5 miles) south of Rome, is famous for its Frascati wine, a light, delicate, dry white wine which has an international reputation. The town itself is also very pleasant. Many of the town’s restaurants specialise in the local wine and it is widely available in all local shops. Other hill resorts include Genzano, Castel Gandolfo and Rocca di Papa.