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A 'flying visit' really 😛
Fly from Birmingham airport - Friday pm comeback Sunday.
Is that 'enough' time?
I've always booked flight and hotel separately (hotel booked direct).
Any recommendations/ideas for a couple.
Define "enough" 🙂
I reckon you need at least two full days in Rome to see the Roman bits and the Vatican. You could squeeze it into less time, but I think it'd be a bit of a rush. One of the main delights of Rome is just wandering around the older part of town, there's something to see round every corner.
Still, on your timetable:
Saturday am: Vatican. (Not sure if you can pre-book tickets, that'd be worth looking into...)
Saturday pm: Wander round the Capitoline hill, head up towards the Spanish Steps for dinner. Maybe visit the Pantheon.
Sunday am: visit the Colosseum and Forum.
I'd definitely go, it'd be great, but another day or two would be better.
Not been to Berlin, so no idea. It's on the list.
Another possibility would be Madrid (I live here, I'm biased 🙂 ) - it's good for a short weekend break and has less to see than Rome.
I've been to both, for me Rome wins hands down.
Expensive city, though everything around the centre is walkable. Enjoy.
Cheers guys, how does Madrid compare to Barcelona? I was underwhelmed by Barcelona - found it abit 'dirty'(?).
Underwhelmed by Barcelona? But you enjoy Huddersfield. Hmmmmm Its all about managing your expectations I suppose. If all you were looking for was a familiar curry house, then I can understand your disappointment
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Cheers guys, how does Madrid compare to Barcelona? I was underwhelmed by Barcelona - found it abit 'dirty'(?).
The touristy part of Madrid is fine. I'm guessing you moved off the Rambla in BCN and headed into the back streets - it's not that different here. That said, it's not something that would put me off particularly.
If you do come to Madrid the main attractions are the Prado (art), Reina Sofia (more art), the nightlife (not so arty), and sitting around outside having a beer and watching the world go by. It hasn't got anything monumental that really compares with the Vatican or Colosseum, for example, but then Rome hasn't got an art gallery as good as the Prado. Depends what you're looking for... If you had three or four days I'd say Rome, definitely, but with less time available I might just save up that visit for a later date.
Errr parts of Huddersfield are glorious. Don't attack my hometown Warrington-whippin boy 8)
Whereas all of Barcelona is… well… underwhelming.
Rome FTW, easy In easy Out, lots in a small enough area to walk around, Berlins a bit bigger and spread.. Great if you know where you want to go, but Rome is geared up for Lads from Yarkshire and therefore the signs are BIG and the words are in CAPITALS.. 😉
Not been to Berlin but really liked Rome - we stayed [url= http://www.merulanainn.com/en/home.php ]here[/url] in August last year, handy for the train station, bus and metro, fifteen minutes walk from the Colosseum, not great for nightlife that we found but a great base for having a mosey around the city, clean, nice apartment and cheap too. Only caveat is there's a sh!tload to see - best to pick your favourites and do them properly, rather than dash about and only get a glimpse.
Rome... Can you bring me gelato please
I've not done Berlin but was in Rome for new year.
My advice would be to stay somewhere central so all the key bits are within walking distance. I stayed around the corner from the trevi fountain which was ideal for getting around town.
The Vatican can be preboked with a guided tour and I'd highly recommend it. Prebooking skips the truely horrendous queues so saves time and doesn't cost an awful lot more.
Eat gelato.
For a weekend away Rome. To live Berlin.
Did a weekend in Rome a couple of years ago. Unusually the cheap flights airport (Ciampino) is closer to the centre than the main airport, and a taxi into the centre is a fixed 30 Euros.
Get to the Vatican as early as you can - queues for the Vatican Museums (which includes the Sistine chapel) form quickly.
Rather than queuing up at the Colosseum, buy a combined ticket for the Palatine Hill/Forum/Colosseum at the Palatine Hill or Forum - saves lots of time.
Having said that, I really like Berlin - real sense of much more recent history, and it's a fairly cheap city.