SITES IN ROME

Some of the sites listed here should be visited with the help of an expert guide. You learn so much more about each place with a certified archaeologist or historian leading the way! Simply let me know which site you are interested in, so I may reserve the perfect tour for you (I can easily be reimbursed via Venmo).

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Ancient Rome

(Guided by an expert)

I recommend the tour of all three locations at once for an in-depth walk through the very beginning history or Rome. You are certainly welcome to split the locations into three separate tours, fo course, but they do go hand in hand historically, so touring them on the same day may be more interesting. There are daytime tours of all three, as well as night tours of the Colosseum:

• Colosseum

• Roman Forum

• Palatine Hill

Borghese Gallery

(Guided by an expert)

This is usually a 3 hour tour of the important works of art that I am sure you’ve seen in books at some point in your life. Works of art by Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael to name a few. So incredibly beautiful and informative with a guide:

• Borghese Gallery

Vatican

(Guided by an expert)

There are various tours that take you into the Vatican. Some are early in the morning (to avoid the massive afternoon crowds), some include just about all important areas at once, while others are quick tours of just the essentials:

• Vatican Museums

• Sistine Chapel

• St Peter’s Basilica (this is accessible for free and anytime as well, since it is a church, but a guide will show you secrets you may not notice otherwise)

• Spiral staircase to the very top of the dome in the Chapel

• St Peter’s tomb underground, underneath the altar in the Chapel

Catacombs

(Guided by an expert)

This is a bit macabre and not to everyone’s liking, but touring the underground catacombs (of which Rome is full of) might interest you as well. There are crypts that contain bones of ancient capuchin monks. There are daytime and night time tours as well:

• Catacombs of San Callisto (Ancient Christian burial tunnels containing 3rd-century frescoes & the crypts of martyrs & popes)

• Catacombs of Santa Priscilla (A 13km network of tombs & chapel dug into volcanic rock richly decorated with stucco & artwork)

• Catacombs of Domitilla (Tours through 15km of catacombs with a sunken church & 2nd-century fresco of the Last Supper)

Castel Sant’ Angelo

This site is SO prominent and important to the Roman empire and the Catholic Church in Rome, yet it is one of the least visited. Consider touring this beauty at some point too, the tour usually is coupled with one or two of the ancient Roman bridges around the site:

• Castel Sant’ Angelo (Hadrian’s Mausoleum) (Circular, 2nd-century castle housing furniture & paintings in Renaissance apartments)

Day Trips

(Some guided by an expert, some solo)

Day trips north or south or Rome are usually a full day experience since it involves a van or a train ride there and back. So incredibly worth it. The Florence day trip is via high-speed train:

• Pompeii / Herculaneum

• Amalfi / Positano / Sorrento

• Florence (Uffizzi Gallery and more)

• Orvieto (ancient hilltop town with delicious wine and an imposing Duomo)

Walking around Rome and visiting nearby sites

Many of the sites listed here are free and open to the public. These are piazze, churches, certain monuments and courtyards of palazzi that we will simply walk through when exploring the various Rioni (neighborhoods) or Rome.

Basic knowledge of the statues, the fountains, the buildings and the churches is something I am happy to provide to you, though I am not a formally licensed tour guide in Rome... I simply know my way around my city! :) These are places we will be walking through during out week in Roma (all or most of them, anyway).

Others in this list have a minimal entry fee that can be paid at the time of the visit. All are well worth considering, when you’re walking around Roma. So much to see in this gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage City!