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When we travel I use a cross-body handbag with various pockets, etc. For our first trip to Rome I bought a steel wire based replacement strap for the bag so it couldn’t be “slashed and grabbed.”</p>
<p>If you want to do touristy stuff you can easily do a jam packed day of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Vatican (even if you aren’t Catholic it is pretty amazing). </p>
<p>Go to the Trevi Fountain (which someone else suggested I think). Yummy pizza in that area.</p>
<p>Definitely the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel Museum. Even if you’re not Catholic, the architecture is absolutely jaw dropping. Invest the time and go up to the top of the narrow staircase of the Vatican - Michelangelo’s dome as well as the panoramic views of Rome and worth it.</p>
<p>That’ll probably take an entire day of your time. For another - go to the Colliseum, Palatine Hills, and the Forum.</p>
<p>I also enjoyed the Pantheon for a quick stop. It’s close enough to the Fountain di trevi to fit on one trip.</p>
<p>My only suggestion on where to “splurge” and pay a little extra for something because it is worth it: have your travel agent book you a private guide for the Vatican. When we visited in 2006, we used our American Express consierge service (complimentary with a platinum card, and they were FANTASTIC) to book us one.</p>
<p>The guide contacted us the day prior, asked how long we wanted to spend there and if there was any particular sights / things we wanted to see or do. Gave us a meeting place and time by the visitor entrance. When we got out of the cab,she met us right away, and just walked us to the front of the very loooong line and got us right in. Took us to all the standard sights without EVER waiting (it helped she was an attractive female guide who did this all the time. Every guard just greeted her with “Caio, Bella” and waved us ahead of everyone else!), and explained EVERYTHING we could want to know or just didn’t know to ask. You could see all the other visitors leaning over and straining to hear her as well when we were in the same area. </p>
<p>Total cost for the 5 hours of the private tour: Four Hundred Euros for the whole family (80 Eu a person, included admissions ticket). Expensive, sure. But worth it.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, if you’re a Catholic go to the Vatican on a Wednesday. Our personal guide said she could have gotten us into the Pope’s private Mass (if you can call a group of 200 people “private”) if we came on a Wednesday. I think the price of the ticket was 10 Euros each? </p>
<p>Any other day? I would put aside some extra time in St. Peter’s. There are Masses going on all the time different areas of the Cathedral, in a multitude of languages (including Latin). Must have been four ongoing as we walked through. And how many times in your life can you say, “I went to Mass in St. Peter’s in Rome”? You may not understand the Language, but if you’re a Catholic I bet you know the playbook and can pretty much follow along what to do / say next…</p>
<p>Study a tour book and plan each day well - at least in terms of the major attractions you want to hit. We were able to walk all over Rome, in a different direction each day, and saw something amazing around every corner. Rome is one of the best walking cities and the fountains are all clean spring water - so there’s almost constant water available to replentish tired walkers. Our most interesting Rome experience was our evening time spent in Trastevere. There were amazing restaurants and the feeling of Old Rome was everywhere. The Pantheon and the Forum were truly unbelievable. The on/off bus tours are great to get a quick view and solid explanation of many sights that may not be a specific destination but are of interest. Best city - have a great time!</p>
<p>I visited Rome last summer. It is a wonderful and exciting city.</p>
<p>We went to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel on a Monday. I’m glad I went; it was beautiful and I loved the history and architecture. It was also shoulder to shoulder crowded. At times the crowd was quite overwhelming (and rude) and it did take some of the joy out of the experience. If I was going to do it again, I would do the private tour recommended above by Bullet.</p>
<p>We also did an Angels and Demons Tour, based on the book of the same name. The tour took us to on the “Path of Illumination”. My teenage sons and I thought it was great. You need to have read the book or at least watched the movie to really enjoy the tour. The stops included: </p>
<ul>
<li>St. Maria del Popolo Church </li>
<li>St. Peter’s Square </li>
<li>St. Maria della Vittoria Church </li>
<li>Pantheon </li>
<li>Piazza Navona </li>
<li>Castel Sant’Angelo </li>
<li>“Il Passetto” (from outside) </li>
</ul>
<p>Also, remember some of the best times can come from things you don’t plan. We had dinner one night at a cafe at the Piazza Navona. At night there are street performers and artists; the area was hopping. After dinner we decided to take a walk around the city. During our travels that night we stumbled upon an outdoor concert. There was an opera singer and a military band playing in front of one of Rome’s many old and beautiful buildings. It wasn’t a tourist thing, it was mostly a gathering of locals. It was one of my favorite events from our trip. Also, Rome is very beautiful at night and something you definitely want to see. I have a night time picture of the Pantheon with the moon rising behind it that is incredible. We also visited Trevi Fountain that night; it’s said if you toss a coin in Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome someday.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention the Sistine Chapel, which is of course a must. We’re probably going to buy tickets beforehand but out of curiosity, how long is the wait if we buy them on-site?</p>
<p>My sister would love the Angels and Demons tour but I don’t think my parents (nor I) will appreciate it.</p>
<p>My mom did go to Trevi Fountain in her younger days and wished to be back there someday, so this trip would be a realization of that wish.</p>
<p>Is it true real Italian food is not as good as the one served here in the US (well, that’s subjective but I mean it’s more bland there)?</p>
<p>We are not normally “tour” people, but we stumbled into the tour for the Colosseum and it was great! Never knew they had elevators to bring the animals up! Definitely the Sistine Chapel but pay close attention to the hours and days they are closed. We almost missed our chance to get there because they had an early closing one day. Just wander the streets too. We found this amazing block that was partially excavated, but had been turned into a cat sanctuary. Rome is a great place to visit.</p>
<p>The best thing we did in Rome (ten years ago) was to go on several walking tours offered by a company called Enjoy Rome: [Enjoy</a> Rome travel guide in Italy: tourism in Rome tour and sightseeing tours](<a href=“http://www.enjoyrome.com/]Enjoy”>http://www.enjoyrome.com/)
We did the Ancient Rome walk and loved it so much that we signed up for the Vatican tour. It was great for non-art types because they give you the background and history and take you right to the top things to see. You can always go back and browse on your own later.<br>
When we were there the tours were marketed to college students and advertised through the hostels - not sure if they are still like that but it made it a fun group of tourists and guides.</p>
<p>Consider getting the Rick Steve’s travel book. Also check out “Angel Tours”–we enjoyed their Vatican and the Coliseum/Forum tours–not cheap, but you skip the lines and learn alot.</p>
<p>Some one may have mentioned this already, but the monk bone museum in a church basement was one of my family’s favorite Rome sights. A quick search for “monk bones in rome” brought this up:</p>
<p>[NINE</a> SHRINES TO THE OFFBEAT IN ROME - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/04/travel/nine-shrines-to-the-offbeat-in-rome.html?pagewanted=2]NINE”>http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/04/travel/nine-shrines-to-the-offbeat-in-rome.html?pagewanted=2)</p>
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We loved it, but we’re not normal. We also loved the Museum of Torture in Amsterdam.</p>
<p>bugmom, oh yes the engineering intricacies and marvels of the Coliseum are absolutely mind blowing! There was a whole underground city down there. They also were able to open some dams and trap doors to flood the arena to have water battles! It’s literally like a modern day hockey/basketball/concert/circus arena.</p>
<p>^^They did flood the floor of the Colosseum and stage sea battle reenactments in the early years of its operation. But once the underground tunnels, corridors, and elevators were dug out and floor boards installed over the top of them to create a new floor water shows were no longer possible. Flooding the arena above would have inundated the all the men, beasts, and rooms below. The sea battle shows were over.</p>
<p>Side point: our word “arena” literally means “sand” in Latin and comes from the days of the Colosseum where sand was used to cover the floor to soak up the blood of the losers.</p>
<p>What are some movies we could watch to get excited about Rome? I’ve watched When in Rome, which I think is pretty funny so I’m thinking of renting that again. Gladiator maybe? Angels & Demons?</p>
<p>My son and I watched Angels and Demons right before we went to Rome. When we got back we watched it again with my husband and other son. It was very cool to see Rome in the movie and then see it in real life. I haven’t watched Gladiator, but my sons and husband were making reference to it when were at the Colosseum. Both movies are probably worth watching.</p>
<p>You asked earlier about standing in line for the Vatican. Don’t stand in line. The line was enormous. Sign up for a tour.</p>
<p>The food in Italy was wonderful. It’s different than ours, but quite tasty.</p>
<p>I had a great time in Rome. Thanks everybody! I loved the piazzas most of all (Piazza Navona was great) and Italians are the nicest people!</p>