Rome, Italy – what to visit
Hey hey! What to visit while in Rome, Italy…Rome has been on my bucket list for quite some time and I finally decided to visit it last spring (2017). I have this tradition to organize a mother-daughter trip for my mom once per year. As Rome was huge dream of hers I wanted to surprise her and take her there. Now, don’t think that I am the best daughter ever, definitely not.
When you love travelling as much as I do, most of the time it’s really hard to find a travel buddy. Going somewhere with your mom is a win-win situation – she is happy to spend some time with you and you have a great company to travel with. Clever, isn’t it? My mom is a geography teacher, this is why she really enjoys being able to see all these new places and I feel happy to see her happy. Oh stop it, don’t get too emotional, let’s go back to Rome.
Living abroad gives you the chance to meet many international people. Before going to Rome I didn’t know any Italian from there, which I do now. When I travel I always try to ask local people for tips where to go and what to visit, but this time I couldn’t. Anyway, I will tell you what we did and visited during our short 3-4 days stay in the capital of Italy.
Before starting I would like to give you some tips:
- Rome has many interesting places, if you have 3-4 days only most probably you won’t have the time to see everything. Make a list!
- The city is extremely crowded, so have this in mind when you choose accommodation . My recommendation would be to avoid renting something right next to a popular monument, because it is not only very expensive, but super noisy as well. Close to the city center there are plenty of nice and cheap options.
- You cannot reach all the important places by metro, especially in the old city center. Be prepared to walk a lot! For that reason during our first day there I broke my personal record – 32km for a day!
- Try to book your tickets online, there are huge queues everywhere.
- The prices in the restaurants close to the touristic places are more than twice more expensive compared to the rest of the restaurants. If you want to save some money, just walk 2-3 blocks further and you will find better places with even more delicious food.
Rome is such a beautiful city! As I told you many times before, I do love visiting some touristic places, but I would rather enjoy walking around and admire the authentic beauty of the city. And Rome can offer a lot! The architecture of the city is so ancient and majestic, so colorful and unique. It is such a pleasure to get lost in the narrow cobbled streets of old Rome.
Here is the list of 15 places that we managed to visit. We definitely couldn’t see everything that Rome is famous for, but I am planning to go back again one day as I really loved it!
- Roman forum
Maybe the most important ruins in Italy! There you can find many ruins of temples, squares and arches. We were really lucky because every 1st Sunday of the month there is a free entrance to the Roman forum and the Colosseum! How cool is that! Of course this means that the queues are huge but it is manageable. It opens at 8a.m. and if you go early (we were there at 7.40a.m.) you will wait no more than 20-30 minutes to enter. And do not listen to anyone! There are some random people walking around trying to sell you tickets, but the 1st Sunday is free! Going that early has its advantages. 1st the place is completely empty and you can enjoy almost private experience and you can take as many pictures as you want without having thousands of tourist crossing your path. 2nd the place is quite big so you can easily spend 2-3 hours inside.
- Colosseum
The free entrance on the 1st Sunday of the month applies to the Colosseum as well. Quick tip – there are 2 queues, one to obtain the ticket and one for ticket holders. In case you entered the Roman forum first you are lucky, because you don’t need to wait again, you just enter! I found this by chance, because when we got out of the forum the queue for the Colosseum was around 200m long! I just went to the beginning of the queue with the intention to ask if we have to wait again and I saw the other sign for ticket holders and we just got in, immediately, without even waiting for a second! So lucky! To be honest, I was not that impressed by the Colosseum from the inside. I definitely like it more from outside.
- Arch of Constantine
This arch is the largest of its kind in Rome and it is dedicated to the great emperor Constantine. It is one of the oldest buildings in Rome and stands right next to the Colosseum. Its ornaments are truly fantastic!
- Fontana di Trevi
If you go to Rome you must throw a coin in the Trevi fountain. Make a wish, it might happen they say. Trevi is a beautiful fountain indeed, but it is so tremendously crowded that makes the experience sort of unpleasant. Being said that, it is almost impossible to find a spot to take a picture without thousands of tourists. If you want to have it for yourself just go during the night or before 7h a.m.
- Piazza Navona
One of the most beautiful squares in Rome! It is located close to the Pantheon and Trevi fountain. It is a large square where you can find a lot of street artists, cute coffee places and restaurants and several interesting monuments such as: Fontana di Neptuno, Fontana del Moro, Palazzo Braschi and few more.
- Vatican city
You cannot go to Rome and not see the Pope, right? This is a popular saying in Bulgaria. Well, it is true though. Being in Rome gives you the opportunity to visit another small country located there. The Vatican is really beautiful! It is a small state but has many significant places inside. One of the most important is the St. Peter square where all the important religious events take place. It is framed by two sets of colonnades. Besides that there are many hidden narrow streets where you can walk and take a break in a cute Italian restaurant.
- Sistine chapel and Vatican museums
You already know me, I am not a huge museum fan. Not even a small fan. But my mom really wanted to visit those museums so I had to make her happy. Buy the tickets online! First of all it will save you hours of waiting! Second – you have a specific hour to access it and you can plan your day. Here the case is similar, you have two lines – one for ticket holders and another one to buy a ticket. With a ticket you can enter directly without waiting.
About the museums…well…they are many, way toooo many for my taste. We spent 5 hours inside! I was just about to kill myself. Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful and super interesting if you are into this. But in my case it was a pure torture! The worst thing was that you have to pass through all of them in order to get to the Sistine chapel which was my ultimate goal.
There are so many tourists inside that you cannot walk, you just go with the flow. Finally we arrived at the Sistine chapel. It is beautiful, indeed, but there was a screaming lady inside, employee, who didn’t allow us to talk. Thousands of tourists, no air, no space to move, constant screaming “Quite!”, “Shhhht!!!”, was not the greatest experience on Earth, so we stayed there for 5 minutes and went towards the Basilica St. Pietro.
- St. Pietro Basilica
The entrance to the Basilica is for free, but to climb the dome you must pay. The view from the dome is marvelous! It is not really easy to climb it. There are two options – to use elevator to the terrace and to climb 320 steps and you pay 8 euros or to climb the 551 steps by foot and to pay 6 euros. The last part is a narrow and steep spiral staircase. But when you reach the top it is worth it! It is so amazingly gorgeous!
- The Pantheon
It is one of the best preserved roman buildings in the world! It was constructed in 118 AD. The name of the square where the Pantheon is located is Piazza della Rotonda.
- Spanish steps
They are located in Piazza di Spagna. It is a stairway monument with 174 steps. On the top you can find Trinita dei Monti church. The place is also quite touristic. Fun fact is that the Roman legislation forbade eating lunch at the stairs.
- Castelo San Angelo
This castle was originally constructed to be a Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian. It was built in 129 AD. Nowadays it is part of the Vatican state and it is connected to the St. Peter Basilica by a corridor called Passeto di Borgo. It is the tallest building in Rome and you can climb it. Ponte San Angelo connects the Castle with the near side of the river. It is truly beautiful!
- Trastevere
Located on the west side of the river Tiber. This is certainly the most authentic part of Rome, the old Rome. In this neighborhood you can see how local people live – washing hanging between the streets, neighbors shouting to each other from building to building, narrow cobbled streets, many tiny restaurants and bars and a quality night life. Simply amazing!
- The Altar of the Fatherland (Altare de la Patria)
One of the most impressive buildings in Rome. It is dedicated to king Victor Emmanuel, who was the first king of unified Italy. It features stairways, columns, fountains, a sculpture of Victor Emmanuel II, and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. The base houses the museum of Italian Unification and in 2007 a panoramic lift was added to the structure, allowing visitors to ride up to the roof for 360-degree views of Rome. Above all – the view from the top is stunning!
- Piazza Venezia
One side of the Piazza is the site of Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Altare della Patria, part of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of Italy. The piazza or square is at the foot of the Capitoline Hill and next to Trajan’s Forum. The main artery, the Via di Fori Imperiali begins there and leads past the Roman Forum to the Colosseum.
- Piazza del Popolo
The literal translation of Piazza del Popolo is the square of the people. It is a nice place to relax. When we visited it there was a festival happening. It is surrounded by different buildings such as: the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the Porta del Popolo gateway and the Basilica Parrocchiale. There you can also find few beautiful fountains – the Fontana del Netuno and the Fontana dell Obelisco. In the centre of the Piazza stands the huge Popolo Obelisk which like the one present in St. Peter’s Square was moved from Egypt.
Rome is one of these cities where you breathe history. Its vibe is so unique and ancient. Every corner of the city is part of something bigger and more important that we could even imagine. It is certainly a travel machine. Rome combines ancient and modern, it is romantic and at the same time powerful. It is honestly one of my favorite capitals in Europe! Yes, it could be dirty and overcrowded, but it is a small price to pay in order to feel its undeniable magnetism.
Go to Rome, drink Aperol Spritz, eat gelato, fall in love, be happy!
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More Italian destinations you can find in my travel section.