Yes

Good walking day: start at Trevi Fountain (there's a Spar nearby get yourself a picnic brekkie and eat it by the fountain) walk to piazza venezia then down the straight road towards colosseum, half way down there's an entrance to the forum which never has queues and your ticket is good for the forum, colosseum and palatine hill. Do the forum then exit it by the colosseum and go past the queues for the colosseum right up to the turnstiles, I saved over an hour in August doing this. Then if time permits do Palatine Hill as well.

Ostia Antica - much better than Pompeii on the grounds of not having been destroyed by a volcano. Get a ?1.50 metro ticket and get to Pyramide on Line B, change to the urban train (there' sonly one you can't go wrong) and your metro ticket gets you there. Acres and acres of genuine roman buildings, a few mosaics roped off but otherwise kids can run free (mine did) - caff is well pricey so again take picnic. You'll need to buy another metro ticket from the machine at the station to get back into Roma

Vatican - huge queues in the morning, none at all lunchtime. Ignore touts, just get a ticket from the museum. You'll do a walking tour with or without guide (I did without as kids wouldn't have lasted a 3-hour guided tour) and end up in the Sistine Chapel. They say no photos but aeveryone takes them anyway just don't be blatant. As you come into the chapel, at the far back on the right is a door which is offficially for groups ounly - latch onto a group as they walk through and you'll get stright to st peters (otherwise it's all the way out, round th front, huge queue and aiport style security again). Well worth the extra ?5 to go up to the cupola. Also if you can organise it get on the necropolis tour...

Catacombs - get to the square by the station and jump on the archeo bus, there are three catacombs and they stagger their day off so two are guaranteed open any day. Other sights also on the bus route. Archeobus leaves from the side of the sqaure opposite the station, by the brick church.

APologies for crap typing, all thumbs today

Posted By: Old Man, Oct 9, 11:05:49