Rome

[paulaplumpbottom]

My Dh is whisking me away next month to Rome. We are staying at the St. Regis so that is already taken care of. We know we want to see the Vatican but can anyone give me tips on what else they might do. We are going for 5 days.

walking! Rome is a surprisingly lovely city just to walk around!

Other things to see:
Trevi Fountain
Pantheon
Colosseum
the Forum(s)

lots of nice shops and cafes etc.

double check the closing times of the Vatican Museums before you go, if you want to see Sistine Chapel.

Go to the Palatine, by the Colosseum. It's on a combined ticket. My biggest tip is buy your Colosseum ticket at the entrance to the Palatine (Colosseum end of the Forum)to save queues at the Colosseum.

We went to Rome for a week on our honeymoon and walked loads! so have a comfy pair of shoes!

Join a guided walk at the forum, it was great fun, explained loads and you just give a small donation at the end.

Do a tour of Vatican - there is SO much to see that you really need some guidance (well we did). If we'd have had time, we'd have gone back again the next day to wander too
Collisium/palatine is amazing.
Lovely town for Italian-watching too, imho - lots of sitting around drinking coffee & being amused at the extent of Italian women's immaculate grooming/co-ordination/general neatness (scruffy, me??)

oh, yes, we did the forum free tour thing too!

Our hotel has been kind enough to set up a private tour of the Vatican, so we won't have to stand in lines or anything. Thanks so much for your tips. Keep them coming. What about places to eat?

if you like veggie food, there is a lovely veggie restaurant called Margutta's just off Piazza Navona. I would just have a look at the Rough Guide/Lonely Planet for eating recommendations, they are usually pretty sound.