Top tips on Rome please

[fedupandnogin]

Having a break in Rome in March (four days and no children). Obviously we want to do the main tourist sites but does anyone have any other must dos and advice. Is there anything we should book in advance from the UK before we get here (to avoid queues, etc)? Thanks in advance.

Pre-book the Colosseum, definitely. Book the third tier/underground tour: you get into areas of the Colosseum the main crowds can’t access. Even with a pre-booked slit you have to be very pushy to get in. Various officials will wave you to the huge line for security checks, but persist! Go to the entrance nearest the metro (left if facing Colosseum) and show your booking there. The Villa Borghese also needs pre-booking if you want to see that. If you like art, go to the Palazzo Doria Pamphilji (might not be huw you spell it!) - fascinating and beautiful. In terms of areas to wander, we like the Piazza Navonna/Campo di Fiori area. Trastavere is a must for an evening. If you want a half day trip, visit the Via Appia Antica (old major Roman road). It’s amazingly preserved, goes through very pretty scenery and you can hire bikes at the tourist office and pedal for hours along it - take a picnic!

Apologies for spelling errors: typing on my phone!

Second booking the third ring and underground tour and in advance. If you want to go to the Vatican- I would book that in advance too.

Oh and use the Metro where possible. Depending on how you are with bones- the Crypt of Capuchin is worth a visit. You can also book a tour of Pompeii from Rome but it is a whole day

Watch out for the people dressed as gladiators around the Colisseum..they will have you posing for a pic with them before you realise what has happened, THEN they ask for money. Mind you, when it happened to us our "gladiator" looked exactly like Sid James from the Carry on films, so it was a funny picture. Do try and find the sunken cat sanctuary in Rome..also the site where Ceasar was stabbed to death.

*the cat sanctuary IS the site where Ceasar was killed is what I meant.

The tickets for the colosseum for March opened today and sell out very quickly. I'd book now if I was you. The official site is coop culture.

You need to purchase a tour, and separate entrance ticket to visit.

There's lots of good information on booking/ things to see on the Trip Advisor forum section.

www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_en.html

We did this - the excavations underneath St Peter's Basilica when we went and it was amazing!
The other thing we really liked was Babington's which is at the bottom of the Spanish Steps and is a tea room!

We have just come back. Definitely book colosseum and Vatican tickets. The official ones for the colosseum are from coop site which I found really hard to track down. Cat sanctuary was nice (if you like cats!)

I can also highly recommend the chocolate fondant ice cream @ gelataria frigidarium!

If you want to go St. Peter's check if there is any events - there was a military ceremony we didn't know about so couldn't go in as we had left it to the last day. And build your patience so you don't just want to scream 'f off and leave me alone' at the various selfie stick / umbrella / ticket / general crap sellers that plague you constantly!

Can second Babingtons..had my only cup of tea in Rome there and enjoyed it SO much. Would highly recommend the Vatican Museums too.

Would also recommend the Mithras temple (look it up) its under a church near the Colosseum. It was really intact, pretty quiet (everyone's at the forum) and best of all it was cool in the middle of summer when everywhere is boiling!
For an amazing cheap lunch check out the fresh pasta place opposite Pompii by the Spanish Steps, amazing fresh pasta made there and a cup of wine for under 5euro, obvs follow this with the best tirimisu at Pompii. Enjoy!

If you have no children with you and four days, take at least one afternoon to just walk away from the main tourist sites and the main roads. Have a long, long lunch and slowly wander around the cobbled backstreets without looking at your map. That really is Rome. You want to see the sights as well if course but really, just wander about for an afternoon and stop and have a coffee every hour.

Ostia Antica is well worth a visit imho. The cafe is a bit rubbish and expensive though so take your own drinks and eat elsewhere.
The Pantheon is high on the list of must see buildings.
I second just wandering around taking in the atmosphere and stopping for coffee and gelato and people watching.

Enjoy

Ostia certainly if you would be interested, I loved visiting there. The Pantheon was my favourite building in Rome. If I was there for 4 days I would probably go in about 20 times (slight exaggeration). We once saw a wedding coming out which was wonderful. Think I need to go back to Rome

Go to Alfredo's for the Fettucine Alfredo.

I still dream about it.

Walk up through the Rose Gardens up to the Piazza of the Knights of Malta, and peek through the keyhole in the gate you’ll find there.

Check out Cul-de-sac, just off the Piazza Nirvona, it looks a bit of a dive, but had a huge wine list (starting at about €12 a bottle), and nice meat and cheese plates.

Definitely check out Trastavere in the evening- go for aperitivo at Freni e Frizioni, where people spill out onto the pavements in the early evening.

Thanks for the great advice so far. I went on the website and booked the Colosseum tour (lucky I posted that day as they'd just gone on sale). Very confusing site and not sure what I'm getting for the tour. I think I still need to buy general admission as well?

Also have booked Vatican.

So pleased I've got a couple of things booked in advance. The Pantheon is definitely on our list as well.

When hungry/thirsty find a place up a side street. The places that look into the main sites are usually very expensive. The places just off and out the way are much more reasonable and very tasty imo.

Yes you need to buy general admission to the colosseum as well as your tour.

Which one did you go for?

The underground one includes the colosseum floor and lower levels, the beldevere or panoramic tour is for the higher levels and there is also a combination tour which does both.

The sights thar have been mentioned already - and The Gallery Borghese & the park it is in. Wonderful sculptures in the Gallery and fun cycling in the park
We took an organised taxi ride to Pompeii and Herculaneum-think you can get the train too, a guide of some sort would be good