Rome - what do I need to book in advance - help!

[Romebreak]

Going to Rome in 3 weeks for 4 nights, life has been chaotic. GCSEs, Prom, work crazy busy and a breast cancer scare so haven’t had my head in holiday mode. Help me out… what do I need to book and if someone can point me in the right direction of where/how to book for best prices I would appreciate it and a list of must sees!

DH, DS (16yrs), DD (13yrs) and I. We are staying in an apartment in Trastevere.

The colosseum is the main one in my opinion. If you want to go into the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel etc you should book that too but it depends what you are interested in doing.

There is plenty to look at just walking around. Anything else either you probably don't need to pre-book or you just queue up on the day.

I’d say just the Vatican. We queued for the colisseum and it wasn’t bad but the Vatican queue was mad if you hadn’t booked.

Vatican/Sistine Chapel for sure.
Colosseum get the tickets that allow you onto the platform where they used to fight, not just the interior. The interior contains a museum which is much, much too crowded and the extras in the Colosseum are worth it . Also if you go to the forum and ancient parts near the colosseum, allow lots of time. It’s fascinating (more so than the Colosseum IMHO) and there is a museum there that we didn’t have time for. That said we went in October, it will be steamy hot in 3 weeks, and it’s all outdoor with little shade so hanging about for ages may not be the thing to do.

Go early to the Pantheon to have time to explore and not queue to get in.

Go to castel sant’angelo and stop for at the cafe there for tiramisu. I also liked the baths of Caracalla, the virtual tour is good - it’s a visual representation of what it would have looked like. No need to book though

It’s going to be hot and crowded, and most of the main sites will have long queues, so decide on an itinerary and book around that.

I’ve noticed things that used to be free (the Pantheon) for example now charge a fee and have security check. I expect Maria Maggiore will have long queues now at security as well.

There’s Lots on online itinerary suggestions, depending on what your family would enjoy.

https://promptguides.com/rome/downloads/3-day_Rome_PromptGuide_v1.0.pdf

I’m going myself in two weeks time after not visiting for 6 years. I’ll be interested to see how much it’s changed.

The Vatican. It would be overwhelming without a guide. And book a tour with an art historian.

Thank you so much. Any tips of where to book Vatican tickets, I’m feeling overwhelmed already with skip the line tickets, which tour guide, what is included. I’m at the point where I just need someone to tell me book this and I’ll throw money at it! 🤣🤦‍♀️

This is great! Have sent this to the 16yr old as a great starting point! Now exams are over I have told him that I want him to plan our itinerary. Good research skills ready for 6th form! And a bit of laziness on my part!

https://vatican.tiqets.com/en/rome-attractions-c71631/tickets-for-vatican-museums-sistine-chapel-st-peter-s-basilica-full-guided-tour-p1111538/

I have used this company many times, and this tour. There’s so much in the Vatican it can be overwhelming so a guide is an easier option.

My tip would be to book the early morning breakfast at the Sistine Chapel. Nice food, peaceful tour and you can actually spend time looking around rather than squashed in slow moving crowds. When you leave and see the long queues in the searing heat, you’ll feel very relieved.

We did Rome last year on a whim, booked about 3 days before we travelled.

I don’t think you need to pre-book all that much. We saw the Colosseo and the Vatican. We didn’t see the underground area of the Colosseum because that is booked out months in advance, so nothing could have been done about that, but it wasn’t that big a deal. The Colosseum and Forum are on the same ticket, but I’d recommend being well fed and taking food into the Forum because it’s huge, and there is only one cafe inside. We ended up leaving earlier than we otherwise might have because of hungry kids (and they don’t allow re-entry).

Personally, I’d skip the Vatican. It’s hot, and busy and not that great - full of tour guides and you sort of get shepherded around with the continuously moving crowd. The hall of maps is kinda cool, the Sistine Chapel feels like a herding exercise and is not really impressive. The museum parts are meh.

You really must see the Capitoline Museum as it gives important context for what you’re seeing in the Forum. It’s not a same day as the forum thing though just because of overwhelm, and is on a separate ticket.

I also really liked the Castle of St Angelo - that was a last minute dip into because we messed up our Vatican plans and that was an unexpected highlight.

Otherwise take some time to explore the beautiful churches, the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore is beautiful. Also look into whether the Domus Aurea is open on the days you’re there.

Enjoy! I loved Rome

I agree.. book the Coliseum and Vatican.. then walk / bus / eat / shop your way round the other highlights!! It will be hot, so set your expectations accordingly!

I've done the Vatican breakfast ticket. Done think you got a guide with mine but early entry and no queue. The place soon filled up though but you can find quieter galleries.

Personally I wouldn't bother going again, IMO there are far nicer churches than the Sistine Chapel

As all others have said Coliseum and Vatican book (been twice to the Vatican now, underwhelmed both times, won’t go again) I agree.

The only thing I’d add is go to each as early as possible in the day. It’s worth it - cooler and less busy. When it’s hot and hectic later in the day, you can sit in the shade eating lunch and chill like locals ;)

The trevi fountain earliest as possible too (no booking but it gets bonkers)

My daughter has an amazing picture of her in front of the Spanish steps, in July last year. All alone. I told her to go at the crack of dawn otherwise it would be madness, and ridiculously hot. She said it was one of the best decisions she made.

Personally I would decide an itinerary and book all of it in advance. It will be very hot and you don't want to spend any time in hot, unshaded queues.

For 4 nights you will need to be ruthless about prioritizing what you want to see. For churches, as you are in Trastevere, Santa Maria, Santa Cecilia, San Francesco a Ripa, San Crisogono makes a lovely walk - you'll likely find you are following people doing the same 4.

And don't forget all the water in Rome is drinkable - no need to buy bottled water as you can refill at public taps everywhere.

Perfect!

We went in May half term, the only thing we booked was the colosseum, we only did St Peter’s in Vatican City, I’ve done Sistine Chapel before and found it crowded and overwhelming, you get hearded in, people ignore the no flash photography and silence rules, the guards periodically tell people off, not a remotely spiritual experience. St Peter’s though is impressive and although you can book to skip the queue we found it wasn’t too long to just turn up. Make sure you go to the holy door so you can see the Michelangelo, it’s honestly so beautiful it makes me want to cry.
We found a couple of nice restaurants in Travestere district, we walked a lot, had amazing sandwiches (everyone talks about Italian pizza and pasta, but the sandwiches are amazing). Also did some tax free shopping in Rinascente, which went down well with dd.

We got the terravision bus from the airport and it was super easy, would recommend.

Only other thing that briefly threw us was that they don’t serve tap water in restaurants in Italy, apparently it’s just not a thing.

I Nasoni di Roma - there’s an app showing the sites for water fountains.

The one by the colosseum are modern vending machines now and have still or sparking water. Free!

Thank you all, going to sit down this evening and make some proper plans and get tickets to the main two booked! Appreciate your time x

Lucky you, it’s one of my favourite cities, been 3 times and did last August in searing heat. It was fine with fans, hats and bottled water. Used some cooling towels for the 1st time in Florida this May half term and they are great for keeping cool.

Like others have said, early entry tour for Vatican if it’s of interest.

You can get tickets from official colosseum site, kids are free. My favourite place to visit is the forum, the age of it blows me away. https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en/

You’ll do a lot of walking as it’s easier. Line A tube was down last year for repairs which meant we did use some taxis (hail them from ranks) when DS was pooped.

enjoy