We hopped on another train from Florence to Rome and arrived at the busy Roma Termini station midmorning. We dropped our bags at the hotel and walked straight for the Colosseum. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are just across the street, so give yourself at least half the day to explore these ancient Roman ruins. Unfortunately, even our prebooked tickets didn't allow us to skip the long line, so this is one case where I would recommend spending the extra money on a guided walking tour that does allow you to skip the line. You can book this ahead of time, or there were plenty of tour guides offering up their services as we approached the entrance.
