Rome, Italy
Last September, we went on a trip to Rome, a beautiful city filled with history and culture. You can see the city’s rich heritage at every turn, from the Colosseum to the Vatican City. Each corner reveals a new story and it’s so exciting to explore and learn as much as you can.
We stopped in Rome for three days. We highly recommend staying in Rome for 3-4 days, as it will give you enough time to visit all the monuments, explore the city, and go to great restaurants.
Rome is the capital of Italy, and home to some of the most popular attractions in the world. Come with us as we share our experience traveling through this beautiful city.
When To Visit
The best time to visit Rome is during the spring and fall months when the weather is pleasant, and the tourist crowds are smaller compared to the summer season. When we went in September; the weather was 75 degrees fahrenheit or 24 celsius . It was the perfect weather while walking, as you won’t get very hot. If you do travel to Rome in the summer, be prepared for hot weather, larger crowds, and longer lines.
In our time in Rome, we never had to wait in a line for more than 30 minutes to get into any monument. Restaurants were also easy to come by, as we had dozens of different options on each street to choose from. Almost all of the restaurants we ate at were walk-ins, with little to no wait time at all for us to be seated. These benefits of traveling in the spring or fall to Rome is why we high recommend basing your travel dates around these months.
What To Expect
While visiting Rome, you can expect to find local markets in alley ways. The city is full of maze-like alley ways that are filled with restaurants, local stores, and markets. Some of these stores are gift shops, but a majority were local businesses. Finds in the local markets may include food items, sweets, drinks, and handmade items.
The locals are very friendly towards tourists. We didn’t have any problems on our stay. The city is surprisingly clean for the amount of people who travel and live in the area. There was little if any trash on the streets, and trashcans in many places. Rome was one of our favorite cities we have traveled to and we’ll definitely come back in the future.
Getting Around The City
Getting around in Rome was easy, we mostly just walked everywhere because our hotel was close to everything and we enjoyed the little alleys while also admiring all the buildings. The hotel we stayed at is called Hotel Smeraldo. There is plenty of restaurants with great food in the area. If your hotel is further or you’re not all that excited about walking, the public transportation system works well in Rome. There are buses, trams, and metro lines that connect the city’s various attractions. Rome has scooters that you can rent to drive around. We tried a scooter once and it was fun, but getting through crowds was hard.
If you are visiting Rome in the warmer months, I highly recommend carrying some sort of water bottle with you. There are free water fountains all over the city, with safe drinking water.
Booking Your Attractions
You should book tickets to popular attractions in advance to avoid long lines, and it’s just so much easier when you already have everything ready on your phone. We booked everything two weeks in advance and didn’t have any issues. An app/website I would suggest for booking tickets is the Get Your Guide App.
While visiting religious monuments, such as churches or the Vatican City, be sure to dress modestly and cover your shoulders and knees. We weren’t allowed to visit a church because I didn’t have my shoulders covered. Be sure to check dress codes for each monument you plan to visit.
We recommend booking your attractions in the morning, as more people tend to book theirs in the afternoon. This will save you time on lines, and for the attraction to be less crowded. Additionally, many of these attractions close around 5-6, so plan accordingly!
Lastly, when purchasing tickets, decide if you want to be in a tour guide, audio guide, or no guide. We always chose the no guide, so we have time to walk around on our own without any restrictions.
Things To See
You will find iconic landmarks at every turn in this city, but some of the more popular ones we recommend to see are listed below; some with links on where to buy tickets.
- Colosseum Roman Forum
- Palatine Hill
- The Vatican
- Sistine Chapel
- Chiesa Del Gesu Church (free)
- Trevi Fountain (free)
- Villa Borghese (free)
- Monument of Victor Emmanuel II (free)
- Piazza Del Popolo (free)
These are the sights we went to on our stay. Many of these are free, and available to visit to the public. I would make sure to look up the hours and days of operation, as some vary. A couple other popular places to visit that we didn’t make it to are Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Capitoline Musuems.
Descriptions Of Sites
The Colosseum is the most popular arena in history. It was full of history, and is a must see.
The Roman Forum was a trading market for the people of the Roman Empire. It was the central hub for market places and social gatherings.
Palatine Hill is located in the center of the city, and is one of the Seven Hills in Rome. It is considered one of the oldest places in Rome, and associated with the foundation myth of the city.
The Vatican is filled with age old art work and beautiful sculptures. This is a must see for anybody interested in art.
Sistine Chapel is apart of The Vatican. The Chapel is famous for its ceiling painting by Michelangelo.
The Chiesa Del Gesu Church is the mother church for the Society of Jesus and holds amazing architectural views.
The Trevi Fountain is a massive fountain located in the Trevi District. If you want to beat the crowds, we recommend getting there early in the morning.
Villa Borghese is one of the largest parks in Rome, with stunning gardens and pathways. There are multiple museums in the park as well.
Monument of Victor Emmanuel II is extremely hard to miss. You can see the massive statues from walking on the street.
The Piazza Del Popolo is a large people’s square. Down many of the streets nearby are shops and restaurants.
Nightlife
While visiting, having a night out with tons of different drinks is a great way to end the day. One of our favorite things to do was called a Bar Crawl. We booked this on the Get Your Guide App, and a local guide takes you to all the best bars in the area. All drinks are included, and they give you some fun history about the area you are in while also taking you by monuments with your drinks. We thought the guide was going to just be telling us facts about the city the whole night, but it was more drinking than history lessons, so we definitely recommend this. The tour ends near a local pub, so if you want to stay out longer, you have a place to go, or you can go back and revisit the bars you previously visited.
There are bars all over the city. When we wanted to find one, we didn’t even look up the locations; we walked down streets and alleys until we found one that looked nice. It won’t take you long, and if you don’t like it, then keep walking! You’ll find a new one very quickly.
Crime
While Rome is gorgeous, it’s important to be aware of common scams targeting tourists. Pickpocketing is common and there are also some scams where you’re told to pay for something you actually don’t need to pay for. Tourists should be aware of that, especially in crowded areas and popular tourist spots.
Rome is generally considered safe for tourists, especially in popular areas. However, like any major city, crime can exist, so it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. We felt safe in Rome the whole time and we didn’t have any issues with safety.
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