<p>Hi,</p>
<p>The long awaited trip we’ve been planning is only weeks away. Still a little planning to do - any suggestions for places to visit in Rome and Florence? Most likely there will be 3 days in Rome and 2 in Florence. </p>
<p>I still need to book hotels or B&B’s - any one have recommendations?</p>
<p>Other than Rome and Florence are there any other must see places to visit on the way back to London?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>We just returned from a trip that included Florence and stayed at a wonderful tiny B&B right in the center of everything – blocks from the Duomo called La Dimora degli Angeli. [.::</a> B&B with a View La Dimora degli Angeli - BED & BREAKFAST in front of the Duomo of Florence, Italy ::.](<a href=“http://www.ladimoradegliangeli.com/].::”>http://www.ladimoradegliangeli.com/) It has free wifi, free breakfast certificates to a nearby cafe, free tea and coffee available all day, etc. It was very reasonably priced and the owner was incredibly helpful in helping us plan our day, make museum and restaurant reservations for us, etc.</p>
<p>If you want to see our photos (which also include photos from Florence), you can check it out here: [Flickr:</a> Susan Koch’s Photostream](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/kochsusan]Flickr:”>Susan Koch | Flickr)</p>
<p>Have a wonderful trip!</p>
<p>What gorgeous photos, Susan. Especially some of the landscapes around Pienza and Montepulciano…wow!!</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Thanks for the link - it looks perfect. Your photos are absolutely beautiful. Any suggestions for museums or anything else? At this point in the trip our son will be traveling solo. He’s a technical theatre major, wants to see the sights, visit museums and is looking into opera performances. Do you think 2 days in Florence is enough?</p>
<p>Any suggestions for Rome? Is the Roma Pass a good idea?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Looking at the B&B site it looks like their are 2 locations - La Dimora degli Angeli - Firenze and La Dimora del Centro - Firenze. I can’t quite figure out how close they are to each other. </p>
<p>The first one doesn’t show a room available for one of the nights. The second one does - but only for one of the nights. To make this work it looks like it would be one night at one property and the second night at the other.</p>
<p>Would you do that?</p>
<p>If you have time for it the Cinque Terra is very nice to see. It’s not all that far from Florence.</p>
<p>[The</a> Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Corniglia, Riomaggiore](<a href=“http://www.lecinqueterre.org/eng/]The”>The Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Corniglia, Riomaggiore)</p>
<p>You could make a quick stop at Pisa along the way and see the leaning tower.</p>
<p>In Rome: B & B Marlu: [Marlu</a> Bed & Breakfast (Rome, Italy) - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d1011446-Reviews-or10-Marlu_Bed_Breakfast-Rome_Lazio.html#REVIEWS]Marlu”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d1011446-Reviews-or10-Marlu_Bed_Breakfast-Rome_Lazio.html#REVIEWS)</p>
<p>Wonderful hostess, reasonable price, near the train station.</p>
<p>Th Cinque Terre looks amazing. I bookmarked the page to show our son. He want to see Pisa so this could work.</p>
<p>I emailed B&B Marlu after reading all the great reviews - thanks for the link. </p>
<p>Any museum suggestions for Rome or Florence? What about theatres/opeas?</p>
<p>For Roma, make sure to walk around and spend some time in Trastevere. It’s like a small medieval village right in Rome.</p>
<p>We bought a Roma Pass for each of us when we went and found it useful. Unless it has changed, admission is free to the first two sites and discounted after that, plus it includes a bus/subway pass. If you use it to get in free at the Coliseum it lets you go straight to the metal detector line, which is a huge time saver.</p>
<p>You also should consider buying tickets in advance for the Vatican Museum, the Uffizi and the Academia in Florence, also to avoid lines and better plan your days to get the most out of them.</p>
<p>In Rome, I recommend the Borghese Museum. I also recommend the Trevi fountain before 7:00am so you can enjoy it without the crowds.</p>
<p>Think about a day trip to Pompeii. If you decide to go, don’t miss the archeological museum in Naples.</p>
<p>Would you purchase the Roma Pass online ahead of time and pick it up in Rome or just wait and buy it at the train station in Rome? As much as I like to get things done ahead of time it seems like there is less that could go wrong buying the pass in Rome.</p>
<p>Naples/Pompeii also sounds great but its traveling in the opposite direction. Is it worth the trip?</p>
<p>Just looked it up - Naples would add about a 5 hours round trip so I don’t think its going to happen. So - more time is Rome and Florence!</p>
<p>I’m not sure Cinque Terre is a great idea during the cold wet days of winter. Choose your destinations based on the availability of plenty of indoor activities.</p>
<p>Cinque Terre is beautiful, but during the winter months most of the amenities in the villages are closed, and I would not recommend going during this time of year. We were just in Vernazza several weeks ago; if I were to visit again, I’d go during the summer. If you decide to visit, I’d recommend going via train; driving in via car can be terrifying (we did this on a rainy day and it was the longest 40 minutes of my life!)</p>
<p>The Roma Pass is worthwhile financially and it allows you to skip the lines at many sites. The pass also gives you free access to the subway and buses, which is great. One note of caution: The Roma Pass is only good for a limited period of time, and it starts when you pick it up, so plan accordingly.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for the Villa Borghese; you can get tickets in advance online. When visiting the Colisseum/Forum/Palatine, walk a bit further and visit the Baths of Caracalla - spectacular, and you can really picture what the baths must have looked like in their prime. From there, it is a short walk to the top of the Aventine hill - check out the keyhole at St. Sabina, and the nearby orange grove which has great views toward St. Peter’s. </p>
<p>When walking through Trastevere, stop at what is supposed to be the best biscotti bakery in Rome (I don’t know if this is true but the biscotti were delicious!): Biscottificio Artigiano Innocenti, V. della Luce 21 </p>
<p>If you visit the Vatican, a tour guide can really help; the Vatican Museums can be overwhelming without a guide. </p>
<p>After visiting the Pantheon, try the gran caffe at Sant Eustachio which is just around the corner - I love this coffee! And Giolittis gelato is very near the Pantheon.</p>
<p>The tips and suggestions are great - thanks.</p>
<p>How far away in Cinque Terre? If its close enough maybe it worth the trip just to see it and take photos.</p>
<p>Did you buy the Roma Pass in Rome? I think its only good for 3 days once its activated.</p>
<p>This help is incredibly useful in helping me make plans and prioritize.</p>
<p>There are plenty of scenic regions closer to Florence ----Cinque Terre is definatly a good weather destination. You will be hard pressed to even find a place to eat if you make the trip. I just Skyped a friend in Florence last night and they are suffering from some seriously bad frigid weather and snow. Try a quick 1/2 hour train tip to Arezzo or Lucca if you are looking to get out of the city. But seriously, there is plenty to do in Florence for just 2 days. Also—the vistas from the hills in Fiesole, above Florence, will afford you some opportunities to take some fantastic photographs.
<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesole[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesole</a></p>
<p>2 days in Florence is so little time. Some things to see that most people miss: The Bargello – the Donatello David alone is worth it (I like it wa-a-a-ay better than the Michelangelo David, which I think is a waste of time unless you have a time to spare), The cells at San Marco – Fra Angelico is called an angel for a reason, the Duomo Museum, Donatello’s Mary Magdalean is outstanding, the inside of the Baptistry, which most people don’t realize was the inspiration for Dante’s Inferno, Santa Spirito, San Lorenzo, the Medici Chapel. Oh, the list goes on and on.<br>
For opera, it depends when you are there. If you are there in the next couple of months it will be the Teatro Communale that is in season, you can get an idea of their progamming here [url=<a href=“http://www.maggiofiorentino.com/?q=en/node]Teatro”>http://www.maggiofiorentino.com/?q=en/node]Teatro</a> del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino<a href=“part%20of%20the%20website%20is%20in%20english,%20but%20it%20is%20mostly%20in%20italian”>/url</a>, but there may be something at the Teatro Verdi or Teatro de Pergola as well, I will check later and get back to you, but I have to run off to a Christmas party.</p>
<p>The Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence was great for our family & very convenient to the train station (2 minute walk) & an easy walk to pretty much everywhere. Hotel Ponte Sisto in Rome was very nice, too & great location -about 15 min walk from the Vatican. We walked & walked all over both Florence & Rome. The train system between the two cities was extremely convenient & easy to use.</p>
<p>Lolou - thanks for the info. I love the off the beaten path stuff. Thanks for the theatre info too -I’ll look into it and see if I can find a performance that works. The Italy part of the trip will be the 2nd week of January. An opera is perfect. Have fun at the party.</p>
<p>Sweetdreams - thanks for the hotel suggestions. I’ll check them out too - the plan is to do a lot of walking but close to the train station would be great.</p>
<p>Reposting a post I put up some months ago on another Rome thread:</p>
<p>I’m a Roman history buff, but this is written from memory from my two trips to Rome, so some of the historical dates may be off by a few years)</p>
<p>Gossipy Details Beyond the Guidebooks to Pay Attention to When in Rome:</p>
<p>In The Forum</p>
<p>The Arch of Titus
The Romans built arches to commemorate some great military triumph. The Arc D’ Triomphe in Paris is a modern imitation of a Roman arch that was built by Napoleon. At one end of the Forum is the Arch of Septimius Severus - an emperor who was born in Leptis Magna (modern day Tripoli, Libya) and ruled in the early 200s A.D. At the other end is the Arch of Constantine - the first Christian emperor who lived about a hundred years later than Septimius. But in the middle of the Forum is a smaller but rather neat little arch - the Arch of Titus. </p>
<p>Titus was an able general and was also the son of the emperor Vespasian - a general himself who became emperor in the turmoil that ensued after the assassination of Nero in about A.D. 67. The arch was built to honor Titus’ victory over the Jews from their revolt in AD 68 - 70. As you walk under the arch, notice the carvings on the underside showing soldiers carrying booty out of the temple in Jerusalem - the huge menorah and other Jewish stuff. It was possibly during this sack of the temple that the Ark of Covenant finally disappeared, without which we wouldn’t have had all those Raiders of the Lost Ark movies 2000 years later. The sale of the booty from Jerusalem and the temple helped to finance the construction of the Colosseum, which was started in the reign of Vespasian and completed 8 years later in the reign of Titus. To this day, Jews will not walk under the Arch of Titus since it celebrates the destruction of their temple, which has never been rebuilt. The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is the last vestige of the temple that Titus’ troops destroyed. </p>
<p>Titus later succeeded his father and became emperor himself. Like his dad he was honest and upright and a good administrator, but he died under possibly mysterious circumstances after only three years in office - the main suspect being his evil younger brother Domitian who succeeded him. The destruction of Pompeii by the eruption of Vesuvius happened during the brief reign of Titus. </p>
<p>The Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina
Antoninus Pius was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors who ruled Rome from approximately AD 100 to AD 200 - forming the absolute golden age of ancient Rome. The stalwart Faustina was the emperor’s beloved wife and she actually died first. He built this temple in her honor. When he died some years later his name was added to the inscription as well. They are described as DIVAE and DIVI respectively - the feminine and masculine forms of the Latin for “divine” indicating that both were elevated to be gods after they died. Only psycho emperors like Caligula and Nero had themselves made gods during their own lifetimes. But it soon became routine to deify any halfway good emperor after his death.
Notice the Christian church which was later built right inside the ruins of the pagan temple. It was built in about the 6th century. And those huge bronze doors you see there are the originals, having stood there on their hinges for over 15 centuries</p>
<p>Inscriptions
Notice that many of the ancient inscriptions on arches in the forum and elsewhere contain the abbreviation SPQR. This stands for Senatus PopulusQue Romanum, meaning “(In the name of) The Senate and People of Rome.” It means it has the official stamp of the government. It is still used today - you see it in Rome on modern public works such as manhole covers and fire hydrants. </p>
<p>The Pantheon
Not to be confused with the Parthenon in Athens, the Pantheon is unique in that it is a temple dedicated to all the gods (pan = “all or every” + theos = “god”) instead of honoring the gods one at a time as was the usual custom. The temple you see was built by Hadrian (the third of the Five Good Emperors) to replace an earlier pantheon that burned down. The original was built ~130 or so years earlier by Marcus Agrippa, the emperor Augustus’s favorite general and side kick. The odd thing is that the inscription you see on the front of the building still credits Agrippa and not Hadrian, even though the structure that Agrippa built is long gone. It says: MAGRIPPA…(other stuff)… FECIT = “M(arcus) Agrippa made this.” (“Fecit” is pronounced “fekit”).</p>
<p>The wonderful thing about the Pantheon is that it is made almost entirely of concrete - very similar in composition to modern concrete. The Romans invented concrete and used it to great advantage. But like much of their advanced technology, the recipe for concrete was lost in the dark ages and was not reinvented for many centuries.
Many scholars believe that the current Pantheon was designed by Hadrian himself, since he was known to be a talented architect. </p>
<p>Hadrian was an interesting character - very talented, very literate. But he didn’t get along with his difficult wife Sabina. All agree that Sabina was a very disagreeable person, but the whole situation was helped by the fact that Hadrian seemed to prefer the company of good-looking young men. His favorite boy-toy was a Greek youth named Antinuous, who died under mysterious circumstances in Egypt during a trip down the Nile with Hadrian. Some suspect that one of Hadrian’s ministers or generals pushed the lad overboard. Some say it was suicide. It’s still a mystery to this day. Hadrian never really recovered from his grief over the loss. At Tivoli, the ruins of Hadrian’s villa outside of Rome, they have dug up dozens of statues of Antinuous in various heroic guises: Antinuous as Pharaoh, Antinuous as Hercules, Antinuous as Apollo, etc.</p>
<p>The amazing thing about the Pantheon is the dome. Thanks to the use of concrete and some very clever design features, it was for centuries the largest unsupported (i.e. no interior columns holding it up) dome in the world from the time it was finished in the second century A.D. until 1965 when the Astro Dome was completed. Engineers in the middle ages were completely baffled as to how the Romans did it. How could that dome possibly stand up? In fact some medieval Church leaders proposed that, since the Pantheon was originally a pagan temple, demons must be holding the dome up. This despite the fact that the Pantheon was converted into a Catholic church in the middle ages. It was the only possible explanation.</p>
<p>The Spanish Steps
If you walk up the Spanish Steps and head to the right, you will pass by the building in which the poet Keats died. It has been made over into a museum to him and some of the other 18th and 19th century literary figures who lived in the Piazza Di Spagna area - Keats, Shelley, Byron, etc.</p>
<p>The Spanish Steps area is a popular hang-out for tourists, especially kids on backpacking tours. Panhandlers there can beg for your money in over a dozen different languages. I once got panhandled in Finnish because I was wearing a “Finland” t-shirt, but he immediately switched to English when he saw I didn’t understand. </p>
<p>Beware of pickpockets there too. In fact, beware of pickpockets all over Rome, especially gangs of little Gypsy kids. They will approach you waving things at you and making a lot of racket to distract you, while they surround you and one of them lifts your wallet. If you see a gang of Gypsy kids approaching, cross to the other side of the street. Do not let them get within 20 feet of you.</p>
<p>Food
You can get great Italian food pretty much anywhere in Rome. Be sure to try a pizza. They do the crust differently there. It’s very thin and crispy, almost like a cracker. Restaurants always give you a basket of great tasting bread called a rosetti - a loaf that is roughly flower-shaped. It is identical to the charred bread found still on the tables of Pompeii, served nearly 2000 years ago.</p>
<p>Also try the linguini in white clam sauce. It’s wonderful in Rome. I’ve searched in vain for years to find a US restaurant that makes it half so good as they make it in Rome. I’m not sure if it is still true, but when I was there it can be hard to find a restaurant open on Sundays. If your hotel doesn’t have food service, you could be pretty much staring at McDonalds. There is one in Piazza Di Spagna. They are probably all over the place by now. Order a “torta de melle calda” and you will get a McDonalds hot apple pie</p>
<p>I envy you for your trip. I love Rome.</p>