To skip Rome?

[yellowtotebag]

DP and I are planning a trip travelling to various places throughout Italy for 3 weeks. Neither of us have been to Rome (DP never been to Italy at all) but we are not majorly bothered about it - there are far more countryside and coastal places we would like to visit.

I’ve had a real split of opinions when saying to my friends that we might leave Rome off the itinerary. Some have said they didn’t really enjoy it that much and could see our point of view, some said that given we’d only be able to go for 2/3 days anyway we wouldn’t have enough time to make it worth it. But then some people have said we are crazy and that it would be criminal to travel around Italy without going to Rome!

What do you all think?

Don’t miss Rome, Florence or Venice. Siena, Bologna, the lakes, Matera, Cinque Terre and Amalfi coast are also fantastic. Skip Turin, Milan, Pisa, Naples and Bari. Haven’t been to Sicily!

Rome is my favourite city in the world so I think YABU. I have visited several times, including grey, cold and raining and it’s still beautiful. Personally, I would skip Vatican, but just wandering around the streets, walking round an alley to suddenly be confronted by the pantheon, the trevi fountains (touristy but still beautiful), the history of the colasseum and the forum - all a must for me

Rome is my all time favourite place in the whole world and I could not imagine going to Italy and missing it out!
That being said, I love Roman history, so find the whole place fascinating and atmospheric and just amazing and could spend days mooching around the Palatine Hill and the Forum...

Its a fantastic place to just walk around, eat, drink, take it all in. As others have said, you don't have to queue up to go in to things to experience it. And things like the Trevi fountain/Spanish steps are just as good in the evenings (possibly even better as there's a different feel) so can be combined with going out for dinner.

You've made me really REALLY want to go! I just need to wait for DS to get a bit older as I know he won't appreciate it and will just moan....

I loved Rome so I wouldn't skip it - I've been 3 times and you can definitely do enough in 2-3 days to make it worth it.

Hate Rome. Love Italy, but Rome is a shithole.

Have spent far more time than I ever wanted there.

But it would be a shame to miss the Vatican.

I loved Rome. We went in December and had dry weather. It was still very busy and I'd say in the summer it's awful. We did an open top bus tour but there was still a lot of walking it's a beautiful city.

your holiday your choice

I think you would regret missing it. There is a lot to see culturally plus great food, drink and shopping. I would love to return!

Pisa, Milan, Florence and Venice are all missable in my view. Rome is a must and Napoli is worth a visit as well (don't be put off by the stories, it's no worse than any other city).

I adore Rome, have been twice. You need to do some research do you do not end up in tourist traps but wondering around those streets eating gelato and the sheer amount of history, drinking wine and sitting outside over dinner on a warm evening - heaven!

I would, even for a half a day, just walk around and soak it in.

It's amazing, the coliseum and the Roman town excavated next to it are so interesting. You really need 3 days min to do Rome justice especially if you like church architecture, if time is short, skip time and go for a long weekend another time

I also loved Florence, the Uffizi Gallery was amazing was seeing the statue of David. Palazzo Vecchio is the ideal place to take pictures of the cathedrals.

We went as a day trip from Rome and found that was plenty but
make sure to book your tickets to the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery and Gallery Della Accademia at least 4-6 weeks before you visit as the queues are so long!

We didn't book as it was a last minute plan so we ended up paying £80 each for a guided tour that let us skip the queues. In fairness the guide was really fantastic and make looking round the Uffizi Gallery much more informative.

I probably wouldn't bother with Pisa, Milan or Naples.

You shouldn’t go anywhere on holiday if you don’t fancy it - hate this idea that there are places you MUST go to or tick off before you expire. There is so much to see in Italy that you aren’t going to be stuck for thinking of places that do pique your interest for any days Rome would take up. Go to them instead.

Completely agree that Milan and Pisa are missable. Also underwhelmed by Palermo like another poster.

I love Rome: its one of my top three cities anywhere in the world. I think you'd be crazy to miss it tbh.

It's busy and hectic and there's a lot of crime to be sure, but so is any major European capital. I think you'd regret it.

Give the Vatican a miss though, or book if you have to. The queues there re absolutely nuts.

Rome is my fav city!

I love Rome. Its so alive but with so much history. It's noisy, dirty, you have to be careful not to be ripped off etc but there's so much to see. I like just walking. Am a big history fan though.

I didn't really like Rome but we went in June so it's probably better at other times of year. Obviously the ruins are magnificent but it's nothing like you imagine. Just throngs of people milling around everywhere, hot, dusty- you couldn't really take in the coliseum properly for all the people. And there are about a million guided tours taking place at one time which makes for a very loud, confusing experience. The shops were also crap - I'm a shopaholic and there was literally nothing to buy except tacky souvenirs with "Rome" emblazoned all over them.

One if my favourite films is "Roman Holiday" and I was keen to go to the bocca Della verita ("mouth of truth") which is in the film - we pulled up in a taxi only for there to be a 3 hour wait! So we skipped it but I was a bit disappointed.

Florence was amazing and we are hopefully returning this year. Go to the Uffizi gallery if you can - it's beautiful.

Another vote for Siena!

Rome is better than Paris. Its beautiful, I don't think I need to go back but I definitely think you need to go once.

Milan is like Sunderland with Gucci.

Don't skip Rome - Florence is also lovely and if you get the chance I'd recommend Verona too .

If you don't end up screaming in the Sistene Chapel are you even a real mumsnetter? (Sorry if it's already been said....)

Depends when you go, don't go at the height of summer, it will be 38C and you'll queue everywhere

I was extremely underwhelmed by Rome and I wanted to love it. We ate out a lot but the food was pretty average everywhere. A few gems and good bits but things like the colosseum looks better from the outside and were a little disappointing when you got inside it. The best bits were seeing the mix of ancient architecture with newer buildings, wandering around with a gelato, stopping halfway up castel sant angelo for coffee. I wouldn't go back though

Prefer Venice to Rome, Naples or Florence

Pompei is interesting

Roma not basta una vita!

For Rome, one life is not enough.

Each to their own, I guess, but I think you'd be nuts to miss Rome. It's my very favourite city. The only thing I dislike are the crowds, but if you're planning on travelling soon, tourist numbers should be lower than normal so it's a great opportunity to visit Rome without having to battle the hordes and queue for hours at the Colosseum.

I can practically guarantee you would never regret visiting Rome.