Rome Sightseeing -independent of guides

[redzinner]

I know we have some time on our own in Rome, at least on the Viva Italia tour, and was wondering if anyone has seen or 'done' anything that they would highly recommend. We are going in a day early and I don't plan on spending that precious time in a hotel room!

Has anyone gone to the Villa Borghese Gardens? They don't look all that far from the hotel but you do need tickets in advance.

What about Capital Hill? That isn't in the Viva Italia tour is it?

Any suggestions..other than shopping...that's a given.

 

[tiggerk]

Redzinner,
I am trying to remember - we stumbled on what we considered the most fantastic view of Rome. I think it was above Piazza del Popolo, maybe it was the Borghese gardens or near there. We weren't sure where we were, it wasn't on the map as a tourist attraction. But we were at the Piazza (I am pretty sure del Popolo) and I kept seeing people at the top of a wall on one side of the piazza. I wanted to know what they all were looking at. I dragged my mom (who is pretty frail) up the hill (a street that went up hill) and she barely made it up and we found are way over to the wall and it was just a spectacular view. At that point we started taking pictures, and about 10 seconds later the batteries on the camera died. And there were no vendors or anything around. It was such a great view though that we went back the next day. Now that won't use up a lot of time - it is just soaking up the view.
I have a vague recollection of it being something like napolean park or something but I could be wrong. There is a tiny da vinci museum in the piazza. Nothing spectacular.

Castel SanAngelo was interesting - don't know if the trip goes there.

When mom and I went I had just read "Angels and Demons" and I set out to visit all the churches in the book. The descriptions of the insides are very accurate. It was like walking through the book.

 

[3pirates]

The Castel San Angelo is not on the tour...a couple of families went there on the day we visited the Vatican. We were finished by lunchtime and it is very close.

We visited Piazza de Campo during our free time. A lot of farmers and street vendors...it was Saturday, but I think it is frequently full of vendors. We had lunch in one of the outdoor cafes there.

We also looked in the shops near the Spanish Steps...close to the hotel, and full of trendy, upscale shops. No, we didn't buy.