When in Rome...

[JtB]

Two things I enjoyed were a visit to Trevi fountain and climbing up inside the Vatican coupole and out onto the roof.

 

[Haitch]

Two things I enjoyed were a visit to Trevi fountain and climbing up inside the Vatican coupole and out onto the roof.

Near the Trevi Fountain is, or used to be, the Museum of Pasta. Its guest book has an entry signed by "Mick Jagger". Funnily enough lots of other museums I've been to with a guest book have entries signed by Mick Jagger. Not all of them are complimentary.

 

[slowwww]

The walk from the Capitoline Museum through The Forum and on to The Colliseum is stunning. Just don't bother going into the Colliseum once you get there as the modern-day Romans are more interested in rippng you off than giving you a real sense of the history of the place and demonstrating what it was like 1900 years ago

 

[Over The Hill]

As the Romans do...

Sorry

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqf5F5UTMY


Stick this on your iplayer and dance around like this must be top of the list!

 

[User482]

Just don't bother going into the Colliseum once you get there as the modern-day Romans are more interested in rippng you off than giving you a real sense of the history of the place and demonstrating what it was like 1900 years ago

The entrance fee is modest, and there are plenty of interpretation boards (in English) giving you the history, so no need for one of the tours.

 

[martint235]

Oh avoid men coming up to you and sticking a sword in your hand. They then charge you €15 for a photo.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Myself and my wife were there five years ago this month. Absolutely fabulous trip.

Colosseum and Forum were amazing, we did do a guided tour, and got a lot out of it.

Trevi Fountain a must see, but, unsurprisingly, very crowded, even at 1.00am.

Went on the Vatican tour, but with my Bah Humbug aetheist head on, enjoyed it from a purely historical viewpoint (just how much wealth has the Church accrued in that small piece of real estate over the centuries?!)

My personal favourite, was the Pantheon. Spent half an hour simply gazing up at the concrete domed roof, the largest until the 1830's. Incredible.

 

[vernon]

My personal favourite, was the Pantheon. Spent half an hour simply gazing up at the concrete domed roof, the largest until the 1830's. Incredible.

Seeing the wide expanse of the Pantheon's interior was truly an awe and wonder moment. The exterior did nothing to prepare me for what was inside. Mrs Vernon had to drag me away after half an hour or so and I could have done with something to prop up my lower jaw.

 

[Profpointy]

"beware the Ides of March" is my advice

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There's only one attraction worth visiting - the Pantheon. Everything else was underwhelming. The Sistine Chapel - I was freized out by the time I reached it.

Staying right next door to the Pantheon. Went in a opening time this morning. Just wow. Thus far a couple of things have left me pretty gobsmacked, St Peters, the crypt of Santa Maria in Via Lata, and watching the icon painter at work in the Greek Orthodox Church of San Teodoro, and a couple more have been a bit 'Meh!', and the bulk has been 'OK, but is that it...?'. As a practising Catholic there is a lot more to engage with as a pilgrim than there is as a pure tourist. Spanish Steps are closed for repairs, sponsored by Bulgari. Trevi Fountain was overrun with selfie-stick wielding tourists and whistle blowing police. Piazza Navona was way more wow than Trevi as a result.

 

[vernon]

Staying right next door to the Pantheon. Went in a opening time this morning. Just wow.

I'm so glad that it impressed you.

 

[srw]

As someone else mentioned, a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel and other bits of the Vatican museum are well worth it - but you do need someone to organise them for you. For my money, St Peter's is dull and bombastic - certainly not worth the queue. The best bit of it was the memorial to one of the pretenders to the British thone, simply for its rewriting of history.

I can't remember its name, but one of the older churches has a phenomenal very early mosaic in its apse, and a palaeo-Christian catacomb underneath.

 

[Rezillo]

As someone else mentioned, a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel and other bits of the Vatican museum are well worth it - but you do need someone to organise them for you. For my money, St Peter's is dull and bombastic - certainly not worth the queue. The best bit of it was the memorial to one of the pretenders to the British thone, simply for its rewriting of history.

Last time I was there, we just walked in to St Peters but that was a while ago. Unforunately, this seems to be a growing trend. We went to Versailles last October, where previously we only had time for a flying visit and had vowed to go back. Queuing wasn't an issue the first time - it was like going round an extra large NT property. It was a bit of a shock last year to see the snaking 90 minute queue to get in and to find out this was now the norm. We'd booked tickets online in advance but all this achieved was skipping the 10 minute ticket queue, not the much longer entrance queue. As for inside; well, it was so jam-packed that all we wanted to do was get out again.

Anyway, back to St Peters - while I share your opinion of the building, the Pieta there is a must-see.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Seeing the wide expanse of the Pantheon's interior was truly an awe and wonder moment. The exterior did nothing to prepare me for what was inside. Mrs Vernon had to drag me away after half an hour or so and I could have done with something to prop up my lower jaw.

Exactly what happened to me. Simply amazing.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

As someone else mentioned, a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel and other bits of the Vatican museum are well worth it - but you do need someone to organise them for you. For my money, St Peter's is dull and bombastic - certainly not worth the queue. The best bit of it was the memorial to one of the pretenders to the British thone, simply for its rewriting of history.

I can't remember its name, but one of the older churches has a phenomenal very early mosaic in its apse, and a palaeo-Christian catacomb underneath.

Queue? At St Peter's? The joy of coming in off-season in a Jubilee Year is you mutter "Holy Door" and are shown the special way in. I think there were three nuns in front of me for the bag check x-ray doodah....