Rome Sightseeing: a 2 day trip to Rome.

WHAT TO DO IN ROME?

The obvious choices are Ancient Rome (The Forum and Colosseum), The Vatican (St. Peter’s Cathedral and The Vatican Museums), and the beautiful piazzas made famous in Roman Holiday and The Lizzie Maguire Movie.

Day 1

Spend the early morning at the Vatican Museums (you'll have time only for the highlights: the Pinacoteca, Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's.

Head to the Tiber Bend area for lunch and spend the afternoon admiring the neighborhood's churches and museums, including the Pantheon, Palazzo Altemps, and Galleria Doria Pamphilj.

Head over to the medieval Trastevere district for dinner.

Day 2

Have the earliest reservation possible at the Galleria Borghese, then swing by the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme branch of the Museo Nazionale Romano on your way down to tour the Roman Forum, Imperial Fori, and the Colosseum.

Take a passeggiata past the Spanish Steps at dusk, and be sure to head to the Trevi Fountain after dinner to toss in a few coins and ensure your return to Rome.


Eating: Rome has hundreds of excellent restaurants, delicious cafés, pizzerias, and ice cream shops. It’s more important to know what you want to eat and what kind of atmosphere before you go. Outdoors, indoors, traditional, nouvelle cuisine, chic, simple—Rome has it all. The more “traditional” Roman restaurants are in the Trastevere neighborhood, where as the center has some of the best pizza places and some very good Italian restaurants. Little Black Book Rome is an excellent and in depth guidebook to the best restaurants, cafés, and nightspots in Rome.

Advice Avoid carrying anything in your pockets. Wallets, etc, should be well hidden from pickpockets or firmly secured to your belt. Purses should be carried across the chest, with your arm protecting it.

ITALIAN CARNIVALS ! !

What is Carnevale?

Carnevale, also known as carnival or mardi gras, is celebrated in Italy and many places around the world 40 days before Easter, a final party before Ash Wednesday and the restrictions of Lent.

How is Carnival Celebrated in Italy?

Carnevale in Italy is a huge winter festival celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Children throw confetti at each other. Mischief and pranks are also common during Carnevale, hence the saying A Carnevale Ogni Scherzo Vale, anything goes at carnival.

Masks, maschere, are an important part of the carnevale festival and Venice is the best city for traditional carnival masks. Carnival masks are sold year round and can be found in many shops in Venice, ranging from cheap masks to elaborate and expensive masks. Walking through the streets of Venice, it's a pleasure to view the variety of masks on display in shop windows. People also wear elaborate costumes for the festival and there are costume or masquerade balls, both private and public.