Wife and I are spending about two weeks in Rome and Florence coming up in May/ June for our 5 year anniversary . I actually spent quite a bit of time in Rome as a child because my dad worked in Italy, but I was young and don't remember specifics.

Who has restaurant suggestions? Who has unique activities outside of the main attractions? Can anyone recommend a classic theater to see an opera or play? Any random suggestions are welcome!

We did a cooking class last summer at a private apartment with private chefs through a company called Walks of Italy. It was really fantastic (a highlight of our trip) and I'm sure there are other companies besides this one that offer something similar.

Buy this: Rick Steves' Pocket Rome and this: Rick Steves' Pocket Florence.

If you plan on touring Tuscany, get this one, too: Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany

I purchased the Pocket Rome book when we went in 2015 and it was absolutely perfect. The walking guides and ticket purchasing tips were spot on. His app with audio guides is also really good - we used it when touring the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica.

Yes, the guy is cheesy as hell. But, his books and materials are really good.

Thanks everyone!

Since it seems like you will have plenty of time, look into a day trip to Orvieto and/or Castelli Romani.

When we went on our honeymoon we did a Dark Rome tour. They walk you around the city at night and take you to places and statues where sinister things have happened in the past. I thought it was awesome.

It looks like they do other cities now too. I wish they would have done tours in Venice while we were there.

https://darkrome.com/

Congrats on your 5 year.

My wife and I recently spent 10 days in Rome. We did a Food Tour, and it was one of our favorite tours, and one of the top Trip Advisor recommendations.

http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/rome/tours/

THey offer cooking classes too.

taverna dei fori imperiali. It is very small but it is so good. De Niro and Dustin Hoffman's top place in Rome.

Bookmarking this as wife and I will be in Rome in August for a week

Op just got back from Italy, and I told you that I'd update this thread. First off let me say that Italy didn't disappoint at all. It was my first trip overseas and my wife and I had the best time, and Rome was by far my favorite. We went to Cinque Terre and an agritourismo Tuscan farm house. Rick Steves recommends this app for dining in Rome. We used it and you can use it off line as well to look at different non touristy places. We basically had the whole city to ourselves the three nights while we were there. We maybe waited like 5 min total for the colosseum and we were in the site. The app is this: http://katieparla.com/rome-for-foodies-app-dropping-soon/
Hope you enjoy Italy and Rome like we did.

"His app with audio guides is also really good - we used it when touring the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica." Cannot agree enough with this idea enough. We did it too. It is a free audio tour app to begin with, and he was a history major in college, and he used to take his groups on the same tours that you see tour guides on the sites, and just think of it as more wine or cocktail time during aperotiva since you'll save money instead of purcashing an audio tour at the site.

Aggie_3 said:

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Bookmarking this as wife and I will be in Rome in August for a week

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Nice humble brag.

Great_I_Am said:

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Aggie_3 said:

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Bookmarking this as wife and I will be in Rome in August for a week

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Nice humble brag.

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We got one of those killer flash sales out of Houston for flights it was 820 total round trip for both of us on Delta

Enjoy, went to Rome 3 years ago......wonderful place.

Just back from 4 nights in Rome (spent 2 weeks total in London, AMS & Venice too).
Fantastic time in the Eternal City. If you love food, history, beauty, you too will have a great time.
AirBnB is best way to experience an authentic Roman time. If you can get out of your hotel res, book an Airbnb with terrace/outdoor space.
Note: It gets rather warm during the day april & may, can be swelter throughout the night during the heart of summer. Take it easy during the day, make use of siestas, try to keep your activities to evening.
If you and the lady are active-types I urge you do 3 things.

1) Do the Appian Way/Catacombs bike tour with topbike rental. it's 6hrs, but the bikes are electic-assist and it's fricking amazing time.
If not their Appian Way, do their Panoramic Rome.
Appian Way
Panoramic Rome
I do NOT work for toptours, but they are the highest rated on trip advisor for good reason.

2) Colosseum at Night tour. Less crowded, better photo ops.
Colosseum

3) Regardless your faith, you must do the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel tour. Again, I suggest at night, but I think the night tours are only on Fridays.
Vatican Museum at Night

I booked everything through Viators, to keep it simple. They're a yanky company associated with TripAdvisor.
Have a blast!
I'm planning my next trip to Italy now, and I have not even finished unpacking.

Here are some good do nots:
DONTS

All good suggestions above. The wife and I went to Rome 3 years ago and had a wonderful time! To this day we still reminisce about our trip! We stayed in a VRBO right by the Trevi Fountain, a quaint little studio apartment, and if I remember correctly it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $150USD a night. It was awesome! We did more of a budget trip and bought the Rick Steves Rome book as recommended on here and other sites. It was our "bible" and it didn't let us down. Everything from the food recs to the tips/tricks was great!

The other we did is downloaded the Rick Steves App and listened to his Audio Tours. It was a very cool way to do things at your own pace, yet have a "personal" tour guide describing what you are looking at.

must do - see the neighborhood of Testaccio specifically go to the salumeria Volpetti's.

What can you do in Rome for two days? My wife and and I are going in June but it has to be a hit and run trip. I'm thinking just drink wine and eat pizza for two days.

That's a good plan.

The Rick Steves guide book has itineraries for 1 and 2-day trips. Check it out.

dodger02 said:

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The Rick Steves guide book has itineraries for 1 and 2-day trips. Check it out.

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Just downloaded his app. It's free.... looks like you can print out a map and then listen along for a free walking tour.

Downside is we will look like American tourists but screw it.

CoolaidWade said:

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What can you do in Rome for two days? My wife and and I are going in June but it has to be a hit and run trip. I'm thinking just drink wine and eat pizza for two days.

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do this. http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/rome/tours/testaccio-supper-stroll/

trust me .

Take the train to Naples and then to Pompeii...doable on a day trip

Pompei would be miserably hot, we thought it was boring and traffic was bad in and around Naples to get there.

Random restaurant rec - Dar Poetta, it's the best pizza I have ever had. Been there twice now, and suggested it to others and all have loved it. Kind of a little hole in the wall, great great great pizza. Link to trip advisor

Coliseum after dark was great, I have done it during the day and night, and the night was far superior.

In all honestly, Rome is fun for a couple of days, maybe 3 tops. We spent a week in Priano/Positano/Amalfi before going back to Rome on the way home. I can' t recommend doing a couple of days minimum in the Amalfi Coast enough.

Need some help what is the best part of the city to stay in we are wanting to do the hotel on a super tight budget and spend money on the other stuff. I've seen some phenomenal prices but have no clue best parts of town to stay in our trip date is August 12th landing in Rome and fly out 19th

Need help guys

We stayed in an Airbnb just steps from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. It was the perfect location. We were no more than about a 20 min walk from everything.

We stayed in Trastevere and loved it. Amazing food and drink everywhere, and it feels very local. Also, it was a pretty quick walk to everything, less than 30 min most everywhere. I would highly recommend getting an Airbnb in that area.

I've never used airbnb how does it compare price wise with hotels

Three of us went last year to Italy for 3 weeks. We stayed at Airbnb apartments the entire time. The rates were as good if not better than the hotels we were going to stay in & we had more room. We never stayed less than 3 nts in each city.

I would say on the whole it is normally cheaper if you book something comparable to a hotel room, and you are open to a whole bunch of different areas that hotels may not be that present in. AirBnB's can really end up at whatever price you want to pay because they range from just single rooms with a bed and bathroom to more extravagant houses with as much luxury as you desire.

We chose a cheaper spot in Rome that was a full apartment to ourselves in the Trastevere neighborhood because we knew the room was pretty much solely going to be a spot to sleep and shower, so it made sense for us not to splurge on accommodations there. You really can find just about anything you want on AirBnB. Highly recommend it.

DallasAggie2012 said:

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We stayed in Trastevere and loved it. Amazing food and drink everywhere, and it feels very local. Also, it was a pretty quick walk to everything, less than 30 min most everywhere. I would highly recommend getting an Airbnb in that area.

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Agreed with the Trastevere recommendation. Right next to Testaccio for awesome food places that actual locals go to.

We stayed here

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5277705?bev_ref=1458753999_NHNCp2ivK4Ej47kP&eluid=0&euid=ae563e88-edc0-fc2d-c3be-7909c8da82d5&s=22&user_id=59405456

We just did a Rome/Florence trip in June and stayed at an AirBNB in the Monti neighborhood. Just around the corner from the Colosseum. It was a great area since it was a short walk from the Train station and also multiple bus stops. There were also a ton of bars and cafes in the area with a more locals vibe.

Favorite things we did:

Trastevere Food Tour with Eating Italy
Borghese Gallery
Sistene Chapel

Food: That's Amore

Tips: Pre-book everything online for museums. It will save hours.

I thought the food in Florence was the best we had in Italy. Including some of the best sandwhiches I've had at Vecchio Forno and pizza at Fuoco Matto