Rome is one of the those places that should be on everyone’s bucket list. There is so much to do and see in Rome! History…check. Architecture..check. Good food…check. Amazing views…check…do I need to go on?? If you’re headed to Rome or planning a trip there, I would give it no less than three days. We spent three days here, and we felt like it was sufficient enough to see the city, but of course you can easily spend more time here! My advice….have a plan! Don’t just show up to Rome and wander around because the city is more spread out, and you will get tired and probably not have the best time! You know what they say, when in Rome…do as the Romans do. Sorry, you know I had to put that in there!
How to get Here
Since we came from Florence, we went to Rome by train. The train systems in Italy are very simple and easy to use. The main train station in Rome is called Roma Termini. We took the Frecce or high speed train from Florence to Rome. You can buy your tickets in advance or while you are there. If you need to be there by a certain time, I would recommend buying your tickets in advance so you know you will have a ticket. There are several websites you can buy tickets at but we bought ours here. If you are arriving by plane, there are two airports in Rome. If you’re coming from the United States you will land at the Fiumicino Airport. The other is called Ciampino Airport.
How to Get Around
Bring comfortable shoes to Italy because you will be doing a lot of walking!! I can not stress this enough…especially about bringing comfortable shoes! Rome is more spread out than Florence was, but you can easily walk everywhere if you wanted to. They also have buses and taxis if you don’t feel like walking. If you do want a taxi, it’s not like it would be in New York, where you see one driving down the road, whistle and wave your hand, and they stop and pick you up. You have to find the nearest taxi stand and get a taxi from there.
Where to Stay
We stayed at Hotel Campo de’ Fiori. This is a boutique hotel just steps from a popular square called Campo de’ Fiori. It was a perfect location that was in the center of Rome! We stayed in the classic double room. The room was on the small side, but it is doable for two people. It is beautifully decorated antique style. Besides the location, the best part of the hotel is the rooftop terrace. It has different levels on the rooftop with plenty of chairs and tables to sit and enjoy the view. Order a drink and take in the beauty of Rome and trust me it is beautiful! The staff at the hotel were the best!! One of the ladies at the front desk was on the phone right away trying to get my dress shipped that I left in Venice. She was so nice and kept me updated on where my dress was. She even sent me an email when I got back home. I would definitely recommend this hotel.
Things to do
Where to start?? There are many different districts and neighborhoods within Rome. It’s best to kinda have a game plan before tackling sightseeing, that way you won’t have to go back and forth all day from one end of the city to the other. This is the itinerary I had in mind to follow for 3 days. We did veer off of this a little bit because we mostly just wanted to see everything we could on the second day, so all we had to do was the tour of the colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill on the last day. Let’s be honest after sightseeing for three days straight, you are worn out!
Day 1:
- Castel Sant’ Angelo– A cool museum that you should see if you have time. It is close to the Vatican Museum.
- Angel Bridge– The bridge you cross to get to Castel Sant’ Angelo.
- Vatican Museum– We ended up doing a guided tour but you can leave the group at any time if you want to. You can buy tickets in advance or from somebody once you get there. There will be people all over trying to sell you tickets. There are so many sculptures and artwork here! The map room is cool to see so don’t miss it.
- Sistine Chapel– We couldn’t take pictures in here and they are very strict about that so please don’t try! There are guards in there and they would randomly yell at people who were trying to sneak a picture….so just don’t do it. It is amazing to see!!
- St. Peter’s Basilica– This is right next to the Vatican Museum. Since we had a group tour of the museum, we got to “skip the line” to get into St. Peter’s Basilica. I highly recommend this because the line is very long!!
- St. Peter’s Square
- Trastevere neighborhood for nightlife
Day 2:
- Piazza Navona– This was one of my favorite Piazzas. There are restaurants that line the square. Sit and have a drink, eat, or just take in the beauty of the square!
- Pantheon– This was so much bigger than I thought it was going to be! It was a former temple to the gods. You can also go inside it.
- Trevi Fountain– I can’t say enough about this fountain. It is so beautiful and massive!! This was my favorite spot in Rome!! I had to come back twice just to take in the beauty of it! Make sure you toss a coin in. They say if you toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain it will ensure you will return to Rome.
- Piazza di Spagna– The piazza at the bottom of the Spanish Steps.
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza del Popolo
- Largo Argentina– This is where Julius Caesar was murdered. It is now a big cat sanctuary! There are tons of cats everywhere that live there. So cool to see!!
- Borghese Gallery and Museum– We didn’t get to see this but it is an art gallery and they also have gardens that they say are beautiful.
- Capuchin Crypt– We also missed this because we were so tired and did a lot of sightseeing this day. This is a crypt that holds thousands of bones of monks. Sounds weird but hey if it’s your thing…go for it!
- Campo de Fiori– A popular piazza that was right beside our hotel. Everyday they have a huge market in the square. There are lots of bars and restaurants around here.
Day 3:
- Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill– We took a guided tour of all 3 and I highly recommend it!! It was a long tour but definitely worth it. We got to go onto the Colosseum floor where the gladiators fought, underground in the tunnels where they kept all the animals, and to the top levels.
- Piazza Venezia– “The Wedding Cake”– This is the building built in honor of Victor Emanuel II, who was the first king to unify Italy. Here lies the tomb of the unknown soldier as well.
- Capitoline Hill
- Bocca del Verita (Mouth of Truth)
Where to Eat
A popular neighborhood that is great for night life wether you’re looking for drinks, food, or bars is the Trastevere neighborhood. It gets very busy in this area. If you want to eat at one of the restaurants here, you should make reservations. One night we just headed over that way and if a place looked good, we stopped and tried to eat there. Nobody would take us because they said they were booked. I know we tried to eat at 4 or 5 restaurants before we found one that wasn’t booked. We ended up at Taverna De’ Mercanti. I had the Cacio e Pepe pasta and my husband had the cheese and truffle pasta. My husband did not like his meal at all so we ended up swapping. All in all, this wasn’t the best place. I wouldn’t recommend it really, and we wish we had chosen another place or made reservations somewhere.
Another restaurant in the Trastevere neighborhood we ate at was called La Scala. We sat outside and ate on the patio. The food here was very good! I had lasagna and my husband doesn’t remember what he had but he said it was good….insert eye roll emoji here!
Da Enzo was also in the Trastevere area. This was a little hole in the wall that doesn’t have a lot of seating. You for sure need reservations here for dinner. We went for lunch one day and had to wait for a while. It was so good. I had the Cacio e Pepe and my husband had the meatballs. I realize looking back now that I got the Cacio e Pepe several times in Rome, but as they say when in Rome…sorry I did it again! If you don’t know what Cacio e Pepe is, it means cheese and pepper. It’s like an adult Mac n cheese that is so creamy and delicious!! My mouth is watering now thinking of it! The tiramisu here was fabulous!!!
If you are around the Trevi Fountain and are hungry, stop at Ristorante Quirino. We stopped and ate lunch here after a long day of sightseeing. They have a lot of bad reviews on TripAdvisor but we thought the food was so good. Mostly the reviews are bad about the service, but we had great service here and none of the waiters were snooty to us.
Sora Lucia is where we had dinner one night. This was in the historic center of Rome and close to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. This place was also very good and the service was excellent!
There is something for everybody in Rome. It is so amazing to see all the history and architecture that you have seen in movies and read about, come to life. You will see why they call it the Eternal City. So have you booked your ticket to Rome yet….well what are you waiting on?!