Places to stay in Rome.

You cannot miss the Capuchini Bone Chapel (a church decorated with 1000s of human bones.  It's amazing)

The Pantheon

The "Wedding Cake" - Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

The Spanish Steps (cannot recall the name of the hotel but the one we stay in is right off the Spanish Steps)

The Vatican (and all that is inside it)

Trevi Fountain

The Forums

The Bocca della Verita - Mouth of Truth

The Catacombs (just outside the city)

The Colleseum - grab a sandwich or slice of pizza at one of the cafes outside and sit back and watch the modern hustle bustle go past this centuries old building.  The combonation is quite amazing.

When in Italy DO NOT miss the gelatto.  There is NO comparison here in the states (trust me we've tried to find one)

Decorated?  That just doesn't sound right.

I'm jealous. Have fun!

want me to call my buddy Benny (you know... the 16th)? He owes me a solid.  I think he might be able to find a place for you... he's not married, nor does he have any kids.

-B 

So, what do you classify all those people who refer to him at "Il Papa"?

If it's the one I am thinking of, check out the hours beforehand.  It's closed on some totally random day, like Tuesdays

Don't leave home or go to Rome without it ... Rick Steves's Rome. And a decent, preferably laminated, easy-to-fold map of the city. Have a look-see through the book, and it'll give you great tips for shortcuts, best times to see things, and certain things you'll want to see will just pop out at you. Also day trips if you are interested in leaving the city. And a detailed list of places to stay with price ranges and phone numbers/e-mail addys/etc.

Have a blast. Italy is one of my three favorite places on earth.

or did you mean Rome, Georgia?

http://www.romega.us/index.asp?NID=55

Rome is awesome--all the incredible places have been mentioned. I walked my parents (at the time late 40's/early 50's) and teenage brothers everywhere.  We didn't take any public transportation.  If you have a good map, with all of the landmarks, you can navigate all over the place.  Someone mentioned the gelato.  It is simply THE BEST there in Rome.  The best place we found was by the Trevi Fountain.  If you go to the Vatican, get there early so you can get into the musuems there...they are pretty incredible.  But, make sure if going to the vatican that you wear pants/capri's/sleeves on your shirt or they won't let you into the cathedral.  A good guide book will get you everywhere you want to go, and really, you can walk everywhere faster than public transportation.  Just quickly learn the crossing the street game, you MUST make eye contact with drivers, but so long as you do, you can get across pretty easily.  Rome is awesome--I have seen lots of the world, and it is probably the city that enthralled me the most.

Dammit. I might have to make the visit a bit longer. The plan is to fly into Rome, stay a day or two, leave, race, come back for another day or two. 

 Zilla, how much time you got??

Hey we just took a trip to Rome about a month ago.   We stayed in the Westin Excelsior on Via Viento ( I think that's how its spelled..) But it was a pretty main street, and there were a number of hotels to stay at on it. Since there were so many hotels, it was a pretty "touristy" area, but that was kind of nice, because mostly everyone spoke at least some english, and there were tons of great places to eat and little shops.  For places to eat, we would ask the hotel for recommendations or just walk along the street and stop somewhere that looked good. It was a great area to stay also because both the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain were within walking distance. Must-see places would def. be like the Colleseum, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain... the typically ones you always hear about. We took a tour of Old Rome one day, which was like the colesseum and what not, and another tour of Underground Rome, which was like the catacombs where they buried people, which was cool too. We took a couple days out at took a train up to Florence in the am, saw the David and did a wine tasting, and then came back the next day in the afternoon. It was cool to see some of the country side and everything. We also visited Vatican City, St. Peters Basilica, St. Paul's Basilica, and gazillion other basilicas.... the Sistine Chapel... We're not Catholic, so a million catholic churches got a bit old... but the're really pretty. I would recommend only seeing two or three unless you're catholic/ have tons of interest in them, because they're all alot alike. Just some things to think about...

 Do yourself a favor and don't plan on driving around in the city! If you plan on biking in town I would consider body armor. Use the public transportation system. I would have liked to have spent a full day at the Vatican. I think I could have spent an afternoon just looking at the floor.

 Take an umbrella or rain poncho, or you can buy a POS unbrella there for 5 Euros! Beware of pick pockets. Trevi is supposed to be the worst place for this. Be sure you have plenty of memory/ film and an extra battery for your camera. Mrs. mdg2003 found this out the hard way and was out of battery by the time we hit the Vatican. There is really that much stuff to see and photograph!!

 Be ready to pay a considerable amount more for everything. Keep this in mind when planning your trip. It just costs a lot more to do anything in Europe. The sights are well worth the added costs. 

 Edit to add that there is a dress code for the Vatican. Not to sure how strictly it is enforced, but no shorts and tank tops. No flip flops either I believe. 

a day or two???? no no no!

A week, at least. 

I don't remember where we stayed - we took a right at the "fancy priest store" and were "home".   not much to recommend it - some random hostel, but the scrabbled eggs for breakie were amazing!

THAT has got to be a GREAT story.

Last trip, I stayed in my brother in law's apartment about 1km from the Vatican.  Sorry, it is not for rent though. 

What to see?  EVERYTHING!  No matter where you turn, there is something of historical significance to see, and you will love it all.  But, do yourself a favour and stay longer than one or two days.  Of course, one would need many lifetimes to see and appreciate everything that Rome has to offer but a few weeks is highly recommended.