Weekend break in ROME!! Lucky me!!

[Lonelymum]

Dh is taking me to Rome for our tenth wedding anniversary at the end of this month, without the children, of course. I am not supposed to know about it (the destination, anyway) but you know how we women have our ways of knowing everything! Anyway, it is only for a weekend and I have never been to Rome before, or for a weekend city break, so I would like to know anyone's top tips, firstly, what to do and where to go in Rome, and secondly, how to make the best of such a short time away. I know I should leave dh to organised everything but I have been married to him for ten years and alas I know him too well: he will expect me to know what I want to do, simply because I once expressed a desire to visit Rome. This is a very rare event for us - a holiday without the kids, abroad, romantic, etc. I really want to make the best of it.

Wear good walking shoes and walk! The center of rome is all pedestrianized and it's cobblestones, so don't wear high heels. You could spend the whole weekend wandering around the center, shopping, eating and visiting the sights. There is more than enough to keep you busy there without trying to fit in any more.

Ooh sounds like a lovely "surprise". We went 7 years ago so I'm sure things have changed but had a great meal at Vecchia Roma, St.: Piazza Campitelli Ph.+39/06/6864604 (Closed on Wednesdays). Embarrasingly they didn't take credit cards so had to go back to pay in cash next day ! (worth checking before you sit down !!)

There is a website here with some ideas. You can eat at the top of the Hotel Forum with a superb view of illuminated ruins - details also on that site under Romantic Restaurants.

Perhaps avoid St Peter's on Sunday am as it might get really crowded, unless you hope to catch a glimpse of the Pope. The Sistine Chapel is at the very end of a Vatican Museum tour - there are different length routes to take marked by coloured lines iirc. In addditon to the Forums and Colosseum it is worth going to the top of Palatine to get the aerial view of Circus Maximus and panoramic city view. Pantheon is worth a visit too - cool in the heat of the day. Remember to take a light scarf to drape over bare shoulders in churches and no skimpy shorts or skirts.

Sadly do watch out for pickpockets, even on scooters. We have fond memories of our trip to Rome and ds was born 9 months later

Lucky you! First of all expect it to be pretty hot - max temps at the mo in rome are about 30 degrees, so take some really comfy clothes and lots of sun block. I agree with sofia ames that rome is a lovely city to walk around so take some very comfy shoes! Itinerary was pretty much the same as SueW. It's worth going to have a look at the Colosseum even if you don't bother to go on (I was too stingy to do that). You don't have to pay to go into the Vatican itself, just the museums. The Vatican itself is absolutely stunning. Public transport is brill in Rome - lots of trains and buses (the Vatican is probably a bit far out to want to walk it!). Get yourself a nice guidebook - the Top Ten series are pretty good. I ate out at a really good veggie restaurant called Marguttas near Piazza Navona. If you have Visa or Visa Delta card it is dead easy to get money out from cashpoints in Italy - otherwise you might find it useful to get some euros out in advance. One word of advice; Italy in general tends to lack public loos - expect to dip into cafes or department stores or museum ones to compensate on a hard day sightseeing!

Thanks to all of you for replying. I am bubbling with excitement just reading your posts! I feel a bit overwhelmed by all there is to do, especially as I like history and churches and Italian food so it is not as if we could miss one aspect out. I shall definitely buy a guide and highlight all the places you mention on it in an attempt to narrow our options down.
I know it sounds daft, but I feel a bit sorry our children can't come too - especially the two eldest who are mad about the Romans. Still, it will give us a good excuse to go back one day!
Is it the Trevi fountain you are supposed to throw a coin into in order to ensure you return to Rome one day?

That's right Lonelymum, it is the Trevi fountain. One place you might want to consider is St Peter in Chains , which is a fantastic church with a great Michaelangelo statue of Moses. It's quite near the main station IIRC and gets less crowded than the Vatican. With limited time I would be inclined to do what SofiaAmes suggests and just soak up the atmosphere. As Lizs says the Sistine chapel is at the end of a tour which (IMHO) was not nearly as interesting as the chapel itself, but the Pieta, which is actually in St Peters, is definitely worth seeing. Have a lovely time!

Wow! You will have the most wonderful time, we have been twice and it is my favourite place in the whole world!
Piazza Navona is gorgeous by day and by night, the Trevi Fountain is spectacular, and visit the Pantheon and then spend the evening drinking wine in the square it looks on to - watching the world go by and the sun set - fabulous!
The Colosseum is touristy but is definitely worth a visit, and the Vatican also although I have never been inside.
We have hired a scooter both times and that is amazing, great fun and you get to see so much, but walking around the place is easy and you will see so much!
Have a wonderful time, it really is the most fantastic place!

you are so lucky! i've been to rome twice (me and my dh got together near there so i really really love italy)all i can say is it depends on your energy. the first time i rushed round with my guide book like a mad thing - museum/vatican/pantheon/gardens/galleries and to be honest can't remember very much. the second time i approached it as the italians - got completely lost, found a lovely italian restaurant near the trevi fountain and had the most delicious spaghetti and wine. spent most of the day there (warning - some places charge extra for sitting at a table)very cheap and then just pottered. my advice would be to just enjoy the moment - its not what you see thats important its the way that you see it

Went this time last year as surprise for birthday. Fantastic. Went to the Sistine chapel on my 40th . Top tips - comfy shoes - I had blisters on my blisters at the end of the weekend. Check the opening times of things like the Sistine chapel. IIRC it shuts at about 2:00 on Saturday pm & doesn't always open on Sundays - we nearly missed it & I would have been so dissapointed. If you want to go into the Vatican, cover up legs & shoulders (&dh, mine had to buy these huge paper trouser to wear over his shorts - & his shorts weren't v. short). Go to the top of St. Peters if you can - but not if you get claustrophobic - the steps narrow a lot as you climb. Villa Borghese is good as well.
We didn't do much shopping as only had long weekend & wanted to do other stuff instead, but remember that shops wont be open on Sun am

i also remember the museum of modern art was closed on monday - really bloomin' annoying as it took an age to find, though this was 8 years ago and things might of changed. i so want to go again - you must post next month to let us all know how it went. ciao. sigh.....

Climbing to the top of St. Peters sounds just my thing! And thanks for the advice about men having to cover up in the Vatican - I wouldn't have thought of that. I am going to ask a really crass question here, but is the Vatican really worth it and if so what for? ie art, architecture, atmosphere, etc. Can you just go to St Peters?
Thanks for the ideas. Wow, so much to do, so little time

If you are just going for the weekend, I would say skip it . We went for 3 days and the Vatican was imo the least enjoyable/rewarding/most crowded.
Would recomend
Colosseum morning (take a tour, not very exspensive and we thought excellent they find you outside), mooch about afternoon. Spanish steps, great squares etc
Romon Forumns next morning, again get a tour, mooch afternoon. The Panthean is fantastic place to cool off and dream.. Trevi fountain at night is best. Spend time getting lost in the most romantic city...

The centre is quite small and walkable but I'd say don't try to pack too much in - do it at Roman pace instead, pick a few key things to see and spend plenty of time sitting in cafes, eating ice cream and watching the world go by.
Piazza Navona is a good place to sit and people watch and is v near Trevi fountain and Pantheon (my favourite). Also Campo di Fiori is nearby which has a great food market and is a fun place to eat in the evening.
Spanish steps are near the posh, bond street type shopping and not too far from the previously mentioned bits. Good people watching here too.
The Colosseum and Forum are close to each other but will take a whole morning or afternoon to do both. Worth it though.
St Peters and the Vatican Museum are not near anything else (although you can see Castel St Angelo on the way). Quite a long walk from the centre so you might want to get a cab or find out about buses to get there. St Peters is worth going into but as others have said you must be covered up - no shorts for either sex and no bare shoulders for girls. The Vatican Museum is quite a long tour of lots of marble statues, tapestries etc, culminating in the famous ceiling. Depends if you're into that kind of thing but it isn't my favourite bit - long queues, lots of people etc.
These two will also take you at least a full morning or afternoon.
As others have said check opening times of things carefully, especially before making a treck to say the Vatican or Colosseum - epsecially on Sundays.

Eat out in the evening in Trastevere - across the river from the central old town but not far. Very buzzy, lots of restaurants with tables on the streets etc.

COMFY SHOES! I had to hobble barefoot to a hideous camping shop to buy 'sports sandals' because I had so mangled my feet on my honeymoon!

I loved the forum, and there are some fantastic English speaking guides who bring the ruins vividly back to life so you see it as it was - eg the building where the vestal virgins kept the eternal flame were (it kept burning down!) and where the slaughtered giraffe corpses were thrown after decadent celebrations for Nero's coronation etc
And have long, long lunches and dinners. We missed the Sistine chapel and all sorts because we couldn't peel ourselves away from little restaurants where we drank lots of prosecco and white wine, but it was worth it! After all, if you are so lucky to be away together do make the most of it.
When we were there the Trevi fountain was being drained! Not very romantic, but the rest was bliss.

oh, and would recomend you buy one of the small picture books of the forum and colesseum which has pictures of the ruins with overlays of how it used to look, very engaging. Negotiate with the venders who will approach you!

Ciao everyone!
Just got back from our weekend in Rome and would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who recommended places for us to visit when I first posted. I have just been absolutely blown away by Rome - I found the sheer size and number of most of the antiquities and churches, and the rich beauty of the city totally, jaw-droppingly amazing. My older children, who are into the Romans, were disappointed not to be going too, so I spent the whole weekend planning how we could get together enough resources to take all four of our children in the next few years. I know they would all love it.
Just to let you know what we did:
Friday evening: Trevi Fountain (hotel was nearby), Spanish Steps, and a lovely meal in a tiny street, again near hotel.
Saturday: St. Peter's, including dome and crypt; Castel Sant'Angelo; Piazza Navona for lunch; Pantheon; 2 buses to Catacombs; 2 buses back to hotel and bit of a lie down (rather needed by then!) Dinner out and then WOW! UNBELIEVABLE! Simon and Garfunkel in concert outside the Colosseum - free to all. I can't believe I was there, at the right place at the right time for once. This was not planned. The catacomb guide happened to mention this concert was happening and I am so glad she did. Real legends, and their support act were the Everly Brothers, believe it or not. How amazing is that? Having left the hotel at 9 in the morning, we finally got back at midnight!
Sunday: the Roman Forum, the Colosseum (brilliant guide, but rather long winded so we ran out of time). Even bought one of those books you recommended Yamamoto, for our boys. Thanks for that.
Lunch followed by a walk down past the other emperors' forums, but no time to look properly as we were picked up for the airport at 2:45.
All in all, a really brilliant weekend - musr rank as one of the best of my life - and life back home now seems rather dull and colourless in comparison (hence this long post!)
Best bit (apart from the unexpected concert) was getting my first glimpse of the interior of St. Peters from half way up the dome. And yes, we did miss the Vatican completely, but we had to leave something to go back to see!
Worst bit was coming home so soon. What to do now with the remainder of the school holidays?

Just read your post Lonelymum and glad you had a fantastic time. We also went to Rome for our 10th anniversary - it was brilliant, best city I've ever been to. 4 years later we decided that our dds, then aged 8 and 6 would also love city break in Rome - dd1 also doing about Romans at school. It was so expensive though that in the end we had an apartment for a week for half the price of 3 nights in hotel. DDs loved it and we felt like locals by the end although it was a very tiring holiday. We've all thrown a coin in Trevi fountain so hopefully we'll be back again one day - well it worked the first time.

Goingcrazy

Where did you hire the apartment from and how much was it (if you don't mind me asking). I am thinking of Rome for February next year

Malinki, sorry I've taken so long to answer - haven't been on for a few days. I've been racking my brains (didn't take long!) to remember who we went with. I thought it was with Italian Life but just looked on their web site and there are no apartments in Rome. I'll have a good look round the house - probably still got the brochure even though it was over two years ago - and I'll let you know if I find anything. It cost about £1100 pounds for a week during May half term and we had to pay for flights on top but got them quite cheaply - I'm sure february will be quite a lot less. The apartment was lovely, in a big old building in suburbs of Rome but not far to centre on bus. There were lots of nice restaurants nearby plus shops and a street market. Like I said, it really felt like we were living there as opposed to being on holiday. It was unbearably hot though, so I think Feb would be a great time to go. If I can find any details I'll post again.

Just looked again at price -don't think that's right - must have been much less than £1000 for apartment but can't remember exact price. My long term memory is definitely going - sorry I can't be of more use!

Goingcrazy - is it true what they say about the Italians loving children or were the Romans a bit too cool for that? There is no way we could afford to take ours just yet (reality has struck with the arrival of our credit card statement and we are now overdrawn for the first time in ten years of marriage! - great way to start the next decade of marriage!) but I am fascinated to know how people manage in other countries with children. I so want mine to experience a bit of Europe with us, but I worry about countries being child friendly or not.

Just seen your post Lonelymum - just got back from a very wet week in Lake District - not exactly Rome, I know, but we're also on an economy drive! Everyone was fantastic with the children in Rome. We took them to all sorts of restaurants even posher ones and if there was nothing suitable on the menu they would make something especially for DDs, usually pasta with tomato or pesto sauce. They loved the colisseum and all the gladiators outside(did you have your picture taken?) were brilliant with DDs. I know they were trying to make money but it was all part of the girls experience. We also took a train one day to some lakes just outside Rome - that made a nice escape from the heat of the city and was very rural Italy. We would love to take the children back and I would definitely reccommend it. Despite being a city holiday with no beaches, swimming pools etc the girls really enjoyed it and it was a very stress free holiday. Hope you make it there with the children sooner than we did - it took us four years after our 10th anniversary before we went back with a few wet weeks in the Lake District in between!!!