Hi,

the public transport in Rome is almost inexistent. I would advice you to stay not far from the center (whatever center means in Rome ...) and to walk most of the time instead of relying on buses or metro. Actually the best would be to rent a scooter but do it only if you are very confident, traffic can be very cahotic. 

Otherwise, four days in Rome is a very short time. I would reccomend a tour in fori romani, campidoglio, piazza venezia, via del corso, pantheon, fontana di trevi, piazza di spagna. You can do this in a day by foot. In piazza venezia don't miss the lift that brings you at the top to enjoy one of the best view in Rome. Near the Pantheon go to have a 'granita di caffe' con panna' in a bar called 'la tazza d'oro'. Ask there, everybody knows it.

Don't enter the Colosseum. It's expensive, for tourists and nothing really worth seeing.

Skipping queu at the Vatican is almost impossible as far as I know but worth at least for to see la cappella sistina.Don't enter the museum. It can takes three days only that. San Pietro, via della Conciliazione and Castel Sant'Angelo are a must for a first time in Rome. (All this would take another day)

I would also spend at least an evening in Trastevere. You can eat there almost everywhere without spending a fortune.

If I was you I would go to see the Galleria Borghese in villa Borghese. It is so beatiful... and a good excuse to walk down via veneto (dolce vita etc etc).

Something I absolutely love is the appia antica. You can visit some catacomb there if you are interested. Apparently there is a service for tourists called 'archeobus' that shows tourists the area. One friend of mine few years ago waited for it the entire afternoon...

Taxi can be an option sometimes but be careful, unfortunately they will try to raise the price with tourists.

As for the lonely planet. Once I had a look and I have to say it is very complete. I would struggle reccomending you something that is not there too.

I hope you will enjoy Rome.

You can pre-book tickets for the Sistine Chapel through :

biglietteria.musei@scv.va     Say you want the first slot in the morning - I think it's 08.30 and you walk straight in without having to queue.

If you are flying with Easy Jet, there is a link to Terravision on the EJ site where you can pre-book the bus from the airport.  Otherwise, it is good to stay centrally and walk everywhere.  You see a lot more.

A good Guide is the Eyewitness Travel Guide.  It has good descriptions of the various churches and interesting sections on the museums and galleries and fountains... 

Thanks for your help.

On the website of the Vatican I could also order tickets in advance, but does anybody know if I have to wait in line to pick them up as well?

We bought tickets through the link and were able to print them up and show them at the entrance to the Vatican museum.   By taking the first daily time slot, there was no queue.. You will see on a map of Rome and the Vatican that the museum is a bit of a trek from the Vatican itself.

Hope it works for you!

Hey Yaron,

I've been to Rome about one year ago and a pretty practical thing I've found was the Roma Pass: http://www.romapass.it/

You get two entries for free to the first 2 visited museums or sights (it's practical as e.g. in the Colosseum you can skip the line). You get to use the free - true, as mentioned above - practically inexistent public transportation, etc. (for more details see: http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2 ).

You can skip the line at the Museii Vaticani when you pre-book your ticket online (don't forget to print it out). It's - according to my knowledge - the only way you get to see the Sixtian Chapel ... and I think it's worth it if you like art and the like ... question of taste though. The little shortcoming is that you have to book for a specific time slot and they won't allow you to enter after that time slot.

What I personally liked very much is the Galleria in the Villa Borghese (if you like art) ... there you have to book in advance too, you get free access when you have the Roma Pass _but_ only if you reserve online in advance.

I think for a lot of things you get tickets here: http://www.tickitaly.com [to be honest though, a travel mate of mine organised the whole thing, so I don't exactly know - besides the Roma Pass - where he has booked everything].

When it comes to restaurants, I can recommend you two: Ristorante Enoteca e Taverna Capranica ( http://www.thediningexperience.org/?p=155 ) and Ristorante Alfredo's Gallery ( http://www.thediningexperience.org/?p=149 ).

Hope you enjoy Rome! It's worth a visit! =)

Cheerio, Sven

Since the post is from March i dont think Yaron needs our help anymore. Im going to Rome hopefully soon though so i could use the help. Thanks!!

Well, I didn't see that it was from March (shame on me), but apparently the "pushing" of monik made it appear up again =)

Hope the hints will help you though, Maria_ =)

They will. I had no idea about the Roma pass. I will definetely get it! Do you know if its accepted everywhere?

As much as I know, the pass is accepted in all public transportation (we didn't have any problems with the metro or the bus).

I'm not sure if they accept it with all sights to be honest, but I know for sure that they accept it for the Colosseum (you can skip the line) and the Villa Borghese (Gallery) ... but I think you can find the respective things here: http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=3

Actually DO go into the colluseum, with a guide, it's not that expensive and it's really interesting to see the technology that was in place 1000's of years ago. Also I was in a hotel on the outskirts of rome, and found the metro pretty good.

Will definately check out the romapass

Hi.. We are renting a flats for the tourists in the centre of Rome(in area Vatican),we have the flats for 2,3,4,5,6 person..So if u are looking for a flat in Rome for your holiday write to me : monica.holidayrome@gmail.com

Regards.Monica