5 hour layover, Pantheon visit possible?

Question

I will have a 5 hour layover at the airport before catching a connecting flight to Casablanca in September...is it feasible to make it to the Pantheon and back with time to pass airport security etc? (ps, I'm not checking any luggage :)

Answer 1

if you are at Fiumicino, you can visit Ancient Ostia better than Pantheon: it's much closer!

Answer 2

It's a bit risky, which airport do you mean? There are trains from Fiumicino to Rome center, but if I remember well it takes more than 30minutes travel, you need time to get from the train to the taxi, drive to the pantheon, visit the pantheon and drive back to the Termini station to catch your train, and then walk back to your gate (and I suppose it will take you at least 30 minutes to get off the plane and you need to board also 30minutes before taking off)...

I would definitely first ask at the airport if there are no demonstrations in town, if so, I wouldn't risk it.

Answer 3

Hello,

It could be possible.  You will have to quickly make it through customs and then out to catch a cab or train.  If I were you I would arrange to have a car pick me up and take me back.  It is about a half hour from the airport to the center of town.  If you have a driver waiting for you they can take you directly to the pantheon, wait for you and then take you directly back to the airport.  This will probably cost about 100 euros but it will guarantee that you see the Pantheon.  You could try to do this with a cab for about 80 euros but you will have to wait in the cab rank and make sure to get an honest driver who will wait for you outside the Pantheon.  You can try contacting romecabs.com or airportconnection.it to see if you can arrange something like this with them.  Remember, you must allow at least 2 hours prior to your next flight to get back to the airport.  

Good luck, Donna

Answer 4

I wouldn't argue with the first responder about how you could attempt to do this, but I really think you'd be unwise to try.

I know five hours is a long time to sit around in an airport when you know that there's all sorts of interesting, historical stuff not far away, but transportation in and around Rome is very often a nightmare.

In order to make this excursion and catch your flight to Casablanca, you'd be relying on your plane to arrive on time, your path out of the airport to be trouble-free, the trip into and back out of the city centre to go smoothly with no traffic jams (unlikely at the best of times around Rome) and then you getting back through security checks at the airport without any delays.

There have been times when I've breezed through Fiumicino security in a few minutes, but there have been other times when there have been huge queues of people waiting and it has taken the better part of an hour to inch along toward the metal detectors and X-ray machines.

Even if everything seemed to be going well as you completed each step of the journey toward the Pantheon and then back toward your departure gate, wouldn't you be constantly wondering if there weren't going to soon be problems that would make you miss your flight? I know I would be and that would pretty much ruin the excursion, but then maybe I worry about these things too much.