This list of Tours proposed by the Hotel Soggiorno Blu in Italy, aims at making you discover the famous monuments of Rome, to make your roman holiday a memorable one.
The staff of our hotel close to the Termini railway station will suggest you the best sightseeing tours to the most famous monuments of the Eternal City.
TOUR 1: MONUMENTAL ROME (TREVI FOUNTAIN – PATHEON – PIAZZA NAVONA – ST PETERS BASILICA)
The tour starts in Via Veneto, famous for Fellini's movie "La Dolce Vita" and Piazza della Repubblica with the Najadi's Fountain. Our promenade through the historical centre starts with the famous Trevi Fountain and will lead us to Piazza Navona, with the well-known Four Rivers Fountain, Bernini's masterpiece. Along the way we will admire Piazza Colonna, with the Column of Marcus Aurelius, and the Pantheon, built in the 1st Century BC with the widest dome in the world. We will continue our tour by coach to the Vatican, the heart of Christendom, passing by St. Angel's Castle. Visit Saint Peter's Square and St Peters Basilica where you will have the chance to admire, among others, the Pieta by Michelangelo. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 35€
(*) Departure: every morning. Duration: 3 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 8.30 or free hotel pick-ups from 7.45 to 8.15. Visitors in shorts or with uncovered shoulders are not admitted into churches. During particular ceremonies (ie the Holy Father's Audience), the visit inside the Basilica will not take place.
TOUR 2: ANCIENT ROME (ROMAN FORUM – COLOSSEUM – CAPITOL – ST PAULS OUTSIDE THE WALLS)
Crossing the Quirinal Square, with the Presidential Palace, we arrive at Piazza Venezia towered by the imposing "Vittoriano". The tour will continue on foot through the Capitol, a unique treasure of history and art, and then the Roman Forum, the most enchanting and important archaeological area in the world; the view of it from the Capitol Hill or the Titus Arch will leave you breathless! We will then arrive in front of the Constantine Arch and of the Coliseum, majestic symbol of the Eternal City of Rome. Proceed by bus, passing by the Piramide Cestia, to St Paul's outside-the-walls built where the Apostle of the People is buried. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 35€
(*) Departure: every afternoon. Duration: 3 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 15.00 or free hotel pick-ups from 14.15 to 14.45. March - October: runs daily at approximately 3:00pm.
November - February: runs daily at approximately 2:30 pm.
TOUR 3: ARTISTIC ROME (VATICA MUSEUMS – SISTINE CHAPEL)
Crossing the Aurelian Walls and the Park of Villa Borghese, we reach the Vatican Museums. During the visit you will admire: the Candelabra Gallery, the beautiful Tapestry Gallery and the Maps Gallery, and the Raphael Rooms, entirely frescoed by the Master. The tour ends with the Sistine Chapel, where you can admire the "Genesis" and "Last Judgement" by Michelangelo, recently restored. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 51€
(*) Visitors in shorts or with uncovered shoulders are not admitted into the Vatican Museums. During some high travel periods it will be possible to find lengthy queues at the entrance of the museum.
TOUR 4: CHRISTIAN ROME (SAINT MARY MAJOR – SAINT JOHN OF LATERAN
After passing through Piazza Barberini, home of Bernini`s Triton Fountain, the tour begins at St. Mary Major, the most beautiful and ancient basilica dedicated to Mary, the mother of Christ, with gorgeous mosaics and the relics of Jesus` crib. St. John of Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, is the next stop with visit to the Scala Sancta (the Holy Stairs). Following the old Appian Way, with a short visit to the Church of Domine Quo Vadis, the tour arrives at the Catacombs of St. Domitilla and St. Calixtus. These ancient underground tunnels were once the burial places for Christians. A panoramic view of the Baths of Caracalla ends the tour. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 40€
(*) Departure: every afternoon. Duration: 3 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 15.00 or free hotel pick-ups from 14.15 to 14.45. March - October: runs daily at approximately 3:00pm.
November - February: runs daily at approximately 2:30 pm. Visitors in shorts or with uncovered shoulders are not admitted into churches.
TOUR 5: TIVOLI – HADRIAN VILLA – VILLA D’ESTE
An excursion to the countryside to explore Tivoli. Our tour includes: Villa Adriana, built by Emperor Hadrian, the biggest Villa in history, with countless ruins of palaces, baths, theatres, temples, in unique setting of water games. We then continue to the Villa D'Este, one of the most beautiful residences of the Renaissance. The Villa's countless waterfalls, water games and fountains, set in the heart of magnificent Italian style gardens, create a delightfully graceful symphony of carved stone, shade, sunlight and water. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 53€
(*) Departure: from 1st April to 30th September every afternoon except Monday. Duration: 4 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 15.00 or free hotel pick-ups from 14.15 to 14.45. From 1st November to 31st March: Tuesday – Thursday – Saturday and Sunday morning. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 08.30 or free hotel pick-ups from 07.45 to 08.15.
TOUR 6: PAPAL AUDINCE IN ST PETERS
After crossing the Villa Borghese and passing the Castel Sant'Angelo, the tour arrives at St. Peter's Square where the guide will escort you to the Papal Audience. After an address in several different languages, His Holiness will impart his blessing. At the end, participants will have to return to the meeting point. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 53€
(*) Departure: every Wednesday morning, unless the Pope is absent. Duration: 3 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 07.15 or free hotel pick-ups from 06.30 to 07.00.
Visitors in shorts or with uncovered shoulders are not admitted to the Papal Audience. The audience may be held either in the Sala Nervi or in St. Peter's Square and the time may change; if this is the case, the starting time of the tour will change as well.
TOUR 7: ROME BY NIGHT (TREVI FOUNTAIN – COLOSSEUM – PIAZZA VENEZIA – ST PETERS BASILICA – PIAZZA NAVONA)
Rediscover Rome in a magic atmosphere created by romantic lighting. Tour starts from Via Veneto, the Dolce Vita street, then Piazza Barberini with the Triton Fountain by Bernini, Piazza Venezia with the "Vittoriano", Via del Fori Imperiali, the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Palatine, the Temple of Vesta, the Theatre of Marcello, the Capitol, Tiberine Island, the Synagogue, Castel St. Angelo, St. Peter`s Square and Basilica. During this panoramic visit of the city your guide will take you to visit the famous Trevi Fountain (do not forget to throw a coin in it, in order to return to Rome) and Piazza Navona, the baroque square, cosmopolitan meeting place. Return to, or nearby your Hotel.
Price per person: 39€
(*) Departure: every evening. Duration: 2 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 20.15 or free hotel pick-ups from 19.15 to 20.00.
TOUR 8: ANCIENT OSTIA
Something really special to crown your Roman holidays. Not everybody knows that only 30 minutes from Rome, an extraordinary archaeological site, as important and exciting as Pompeii, awaits us: the impressive excavations of Ancient Ostia. This was the city-harbour founded by ancient Romans at the mouth of the Tiber, and which later was hidden by floods and oblivion up to our days. Its remnants are thus better preserved than in Rome itself and offer us an extraordinary testimonial of the Roman civilization along its entire evolution. By walking through the ancient roads we will plunge straight into the past everyday life of a refined and dynamic city where the cult for arts and pleasures was sovereign. You will admire, in fact, the ruins of majestic public buildings, like temples, theatres, fora, or basilicas, as well as of the private ones, like houses, shops, inns, workshops, etc., ranging from the sumptuous to the humblest. Particularly attractive are the famous mosaics of the 12 thermal baths and of the various harbour offices (Corporations Square). A further bonus: archaeology spared the whole area from modern artefacts, turning it into a delicious natural oasis, constantly cooled by healthy sea breezes.
Price per person: 50€
(*)All entrances are included (€ 14.00). Departure: from 1st April to 31st October every Tuesday and Friday morning. Duration: 4 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 08.30 or free hotel pick-ups from 07.45 to 08.15.
TOUR 9: ANCIENT OSTIA
Something really special to crown your Roman holidays. Not everybody knows that only 30 minutes from Rome, an extraordinary archaeological site, as important and exciting as Pompeii, awaits us: the impressive excavations of Ancient Ostia. This was the city-harbour founded by ancient Romans at the mouth of the Tiber, and which later was hidden by floods and oblivion up to our days. Its remnants are thus better preserved than in Rome itself and offer us an extraordinary testimonial of the Roman civilization along its entire evolution. By walking through the ancient roads we will plunge straight into the past everyday life of a refined and dynamic city where the cult for arts and pleasures was sovereign. You will admire, in fact, the ruins of majestic public buildings, like temples, theatres, fora, or basilicas, as well as of the private ones, like houses, shops, inns, workshops, etc., ranging from the sumptuous to the humblest. Particularly attractive are the famous mosaics of the 12 thermal baths and of the various harbour offices (Corporations Square). A further bonus: archaeology spared the whole area from modern artefacts, turning it into a delicious natural oasis, constantly cooled by healthy sea breezes.
Price per person: 50€
(*)All entrances are included (€ 14.00). Departure: from 1st April to 31st October every Tuesday and Friday morning. Duration: 4 hours. Meeting point at Vastours Terminal at 08.30 or free hotel pick-ups from 07.45 to 08.15.
