From Florence: Rome by Train, Vatican Museums and Squares

Begin a day trip to Rome from Florence by high-speed train.

Admire the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.

Enjoy an Italian lunch and also have time to visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.

Start at the Spanish Steps and Trinità dei Monti.

See the well-known steps that run from Piazza di Spagna up to Trinità dei Monti Church above.

Pretty twin bell towers rise high while creamy travertine front shines gently in the sun.

Trinità dei Monti gazes over Rome is quiet place within noisy city.

Go to the Trevi Fountain- a very great work of Baroque art showing Neptune with Tritons and other sea horses.

The myth that if one throws a coin over their shoulder into the fountain, they will return to Rome has caught on quite well.

Walk into Piazza della Rotonda where the mighty Pantheon sits.

It is a great piece of engineering and soul.

This ancient temple, meant for all gods, stands as a symbol of Roman art.

The large dome with a hole in the center lets light come through.

Take the pretty, narrow paths past secret gardens until you reach Bernini’s masterpiece at Piazza Navona.

This active square was once where chariot races and sports took place in the Stadium of Domitian.

Now it is even more lovely with Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers as its grand center point showing allegorical forms that represent the great rivers of the world.

The square buzzes with artists and street players.

Eat at some local eatery, taste classic Italian fare, and later taste works of art by Michelangelo in the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.

Casually walk down hallways to view what is now considered the largest private collection of art in the world but was meant exclusively for the Pope.

Move through Raphael's Rooms-four joined spaces painted by Raphael and his students to reach the lovely Sistine Chapel-seen as the Pope's Holy Chapel.

Here you can view one of the most honored places in all Vatican where Michelangelo's large frescoes that display scenes like 'The Creation of the World'and'The Last Judgment'plus more works from well-known artists such as Perugino, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio are ready for your praise.

Tour ends with a drop-off at the train station where they may catch their return trip back to Florence.