Itinerary for 5 nights in Rome?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

St. Peter’s is a must and if you have time you should consider the Scavi tour and the Sistine Chapel.  There is an ancient Roman street and necropolis under the Basilica as well as St Peter’s tomb.  The Scavi tour must be booked in advance directly through the Excavations Office in advance and one must be appropriately attired.  The Scavi tour is the most fascinating thing I’ve ever done in Rome and I’m neither Catholic nor religious. It would also be a shame to be in Rome for 5 days and not see The Pieta.

 

 Metro or taxi will work.

The Sistine Chapel is grouped with the Vatican tour, Saint Peter’s is not so we’ll have to do that on our own. I will look up the Scavi tour, as I have no idea what it is.  Thanks!

[marazul]

13 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

The Sistine Chapel is grouped with the Vatican tour, Saint Peter’s is not so we’ll have to do that on our own. I will look up the Scavi tour, as I have no idea what it is.  Thanks!

Scavi means excavations. It refers to the archaeological finds underneath St. Peter's.  

scavi.va

[Gourmet Gal]

What has been excavated is a Roman street, multiple necropolises, the original church built upon the spot where Peter was crucified.  You will also see his tomb and a glimpse of what is believed to be his bones.  That is the Scavi tour.  It is extremely limited in the number of people allowed per day and well worth the trouble of booking.

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I didn’t realize that but I’m sure we’ll enjoy them wherever they take us. 
 

Any suggestions on things to see on our way back to our hotel day 2, following our tour?  We’re starting at the Colosseum. We plan to take a leisurely walk back, enjoying Rome, and lunch, along the way. 
 

Also, I understand the Vatican is far from where we’re staying. Should we plan to see Saint Peter’s Basilica while we are there?  Are they within walking distance?  Anything else we should do before heading back?  What’s the best mode of transportation there and back?

 

If your tour ends in the vicinity of the Colosseum, I think either one of these sites (in close walking distance) would be a nice addition:

 

The Basilica of San Clemente -- it's not just a church, it's a time capsule. You can explore the 3 different levels, starting with the Roman era (1st c.), a second layer built in the 5th c. and destroyed in the 11th c, and the "newest" layer, which is still nearly 1,000 years old and has beautiful mosaics. This video gives you a good idea. Darius Arya, a leading expert on ancient Rome calls it the best underground site in Rome. It really helps you understand the long history of the city and why modern Rome exists on top of ancient Rome.

 

You need to book a reservation in advance here.

 

They do close daily for a long lunch break (12-2), so if your Colosseum tour is in the morning, look for a place to eat lunch (I can recommend the Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, but you probably need a reservation.)

 

Baths of Caracalla -- These are probably the best preserved ancient Roman imperial baths that I have ever visited. Imperial = built in the time of the Emperors, but also they are imperial in size and scope. You can easily walk there from the Colosseum/Palatine Hill area. (They also offer a great audioguide or, for more $$ you can rent their VR headset and have the opportunity to see virtual footage superimposed on the existing site that shows how it would have looked in antiquity. As a plus, you can also visit the vast underground area where slaves would have been busy stoking the furnaces and doing other maintenance work for the baths. Video here. 

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Should we plan to see Saint Peter’s Basilica while we are there?  Are they within walking distance?  Anything else we should do before heading back?  What’s the best mode of transportation there and back?

 

I agree with others that you should plan to see St. Peter's while you are there. It sounds like you've already booked your tour, but there are tours offered that include St. Peter's as well as the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel.

 

Getting back -- since you're staying at Albergo del Senato, the metro isn't super handy. I would just get a taxi. It won't be very expensive maybe 12-15 euro plus or minus. You can find taxis at the bottom of the colonnade around the Piazza in front of St. Peter's. If for some reason you're ending at the museum entrance, you can often find a few taxis there but it's not an official taxi stand.

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

What has been excavated is a Roman street, multiple necropolises, the original church built upon the spot where Peter was crucified.  You will also see his tomb and a glimpse of what is believed to be his bones.  That is the Scavi tour.  It is extremely limited in the number of people allowed per day and well worth the trouble of booking.

That sounds like something I’d enjoy!  Thanks!

 

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If your tour ends in the vicinity of the Colosseum, I think either one of these sites (in close walking distance) would be a nice addition:

 

The Basilica of San Clemente -- it's not just a church, it's a time capsule. You can explore the 3 different levels, starting with the Roman era (1st c.), a second layer built in the 5th c. and destroyed in the 11th c, and the "newest" layer, which is still nearly 1,000 years old and has beautiful mosaics. This video gives you a good idea. Darius Arya, a leading expert on ancient Rome calls it the best underground site in Rome. It really helps you understand the long history of the city and why modern Rome exists on top of ancient Rome.

 

You need to book a reservation in advance here.

 

They do close daily for a long lunch break (12-2), so if your Colosseum tour is in the morning, look for a place to eat lunch (I can recommend the Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, but you probably need a reservation.)

 

Baths of Caracalla -- These are probably the best preserved ancient Roman imperial baths that I have ever visited. Imperial = built in the time of the Emperors, but also they are imperial in size and scope. You can easily walk there from the Colosseum/Palatine Hill area. (They also offer a great audioguide or, for more $$ you can rent their VR headset and have the opportunity to see virtual footage superimposed on the existing site that shows how it would have looked in antiquity. As a plus, you can also visit the vast underground area where slaves would have been busy stoking the furnaces and doing other maintenance work for the baths. Video here. 

I had forgotten about the Baths of Caracalla. We had watched a video about it and thought it looked like a cool place to see. I will watch both videos you linked. Thanks!

 

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I agree with others that you should plan to see St. Peter's while you are there. It sounds like you've already booked your tour, but there are tours offered that include St. Peter's as well as the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel.

 

Getting back -- since you're staying at Albergo del Senato, the metro isn't super handy. I would just get a taxi. It won't be very expensive maybe 12-15 euro plus or minus. You can find taxis at the bottom of the colonnade around the Piazza in front of St. Peter's. If for some reason you're ending at the museum entrance, you can often find a few taxis there but it's not an official taxi stand.

 

 

I emailed Marisa last night. Our tour includes the museums, and Saint Peters. She said she will email us in May with more details. Would that be too late to book the scavi tour?  I’m sure Marisa will tell us where we can locate a taxi. We’ll plan on using one, especially since we will need to bring our passports. 
 

 

Edited March 5 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Gourmet Gal]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

That sounds like something I’d enjoy!  Thanks!

 

I had forgotten about the Baths of Caracalla. We had watched a video about it and thought it looked like a cool place to see. I will watch both videos you linked. Thanks!

 

I emailed Marisa last night. Our tour includes the museums, and Saint Peters. She said she will email us in May with more details. Would that be too late to book the scavi tour?  I’m sure Marisa will tell us where we can locate a taxi. We’ll plan on using one, especially since we will need to bring our passports. 
 

 

You’ll have to go to the Scavi Office website.  There are no other resellers of tickets and you must purchase them yourself.  Marisa cannot do this for you and only official Scavi tour guides will conduct the tours. 

[marazul]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

That sounds like something I’d enjoy!  Thanks!

 

I had forgotten about the Baths of Caracalla. We had watched a video about it and thought it looked like a cool place to see. I will watch both videos you linked. Thanks!

 

I emailed Marisa last night. Our tour includes the museums, and Saint Peters. She said she will email us in May with more details. Would that be too late to book the scavi tour?  I’m sure Marisa will tell us where we can locate a taxi. We’ll plan on using one, especially since we will need to bring our passports. 
 

 

You can only book here:

www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/prenotazione.html

[Gourmet Gal]

16 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

The Sistine Chapel is grouped with the Vatican tour, Saint Peter’s is not so we’ll have to do that on our own. I will look up the Scavi tour, as I have no idea what it is.  Thanks!

I recall we had a private guide in the Sistine Chapel and when we arrived in the packed chamber he took us directly to the AC vent in the floor near the center.  Hopefully your guide can do the same!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

You’ll have to go to the Scavi Office website.  There are no other resellers of tickets and you must purchase them yourself.  Marisa cannot do this for you and only official Scavi tour guides will conduct the tours. 

Ok, I’ll ask her what time we could plan on. 
 

1 hour ago, marazul said:

You can only book here:

www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/prenotazione.html

Thank you!