Plan my trip to Rome!

[Innogen]

I'm going to be in Rome for three full days in July.

I've never been.

I want to see the Vatican, all the ancient sites, and do a night of clubbing. Mostly, I want to pack as much as a possibly can into my time there.

How do you suggest I do it?

I would do a food tour of Testacchio. It's a great way to spend a couple if hours, out of the touristy bit and with gorgeous food. I would spend 1 day in Ostia Antica and finish the day with a walk along the beach, propping up a beachside bar ..... Sigh!

Don't underestimate the massive queues. Go early to things, have lunch/nap and then out again to party.

Book Vatican and underground Colosseum tour in advance. You skip the queues and the underground tour is the best way to see ALL of Colosseum, skip the massive lines and stay cool for at least a bit underground. You still get to see what everyone else does too and it doesn't cost very much more than a normal ticket. TripAdvisor will give you the heads up on booking sites.

Have a vague knowledge of what shuts when (Sundays and Mondays mostly).However many sights are just there and you can see them whenever. Perhaps save those for afternoons when you will be wandering looking for nice places to eat.

Rome is brilliant. We didn't do the Vatican (just too much time in queues, and too much to see that it would have taken all day).We detoured to St Peters first thing and had an amazing time walking to the top.By 11.00am though it was completely over run and the same trip would have taken us hours surrounded by coach trips.