3 Days in Rome: a Whirlwind Itinerary in the Eternal City

Rome wasn’t constructed in a day, and also you certainly can’t expertise all of it in a day and even three days. Maybe solely a taste, because come on, a half of being in Italy is the food, right? Three days in Rome is sufficient to see the big sites, expertise a few of the best issues to do in Rome, have a few tasty meals alongside the way.

We’re right here to assist you out with our Rome itinerary so you’ll know what to do in Rome in three days.

Even still, that is Rome, the everlasting city, the largest metropolis in Italy, and the center of the traditional Roman Empire. There is sufficient history, ruins, museums, and monuments to maintain you occupied for a while, particularly if you take issues slowly.

Here is an itinerary for three days in Rome to get you started. It is similar to one which we have personally done.

Food excursions and cooking classes are good methods to learn about the wealthy meals tradition in Rome. You’ll get to style a quantity of native foods, try your hand at pizza or pasta making, and learn how to identify genuine gelato.

We seek for meals tours in every metropolis we visit. Rome was the place this behavior all started for us.

We like that meals excursions present a different side of the metropolis and usually a list of locations to eat and we attempt to do them on the primary day. I extremely recommend together with a meals tour in your Rome itinerary.

I think meals excursions are a few of the most enjoyable issues to do in Rome. We’ve taken two different Rome meals tours, and each were excellent.

Each of those excursions begins inside the mid morning and finish round mid afternoon. This leaves you loads of time to see some extra sights after.

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Eating Italy in Trastravere

This one inside the neighborhood of Trastevere lets you style a quantity of dishes, such as porchetta, pasta, pizza, gelato, and more.

Take Walks Rome meals tour shut to Campo Fiore

This one inside the center shut to Campo Fiore lets you dive deeper into every of some types of Italian meals and compare them. Vinegar, olive oil, salami, cheese and more, plus you get to make your personal pizza on the end.

Read extra about picking the perfect meals tour and the way to put together for a meals tour.

Explore the city

Regardless of which tour you pick head into the center to discover the streets of old Rome. From Trastravere, take a tram ride to the center. Explore Plaza Navona with the fountain of Neptune or the Pantheon building.

Walk off all of the meals from the morning. The inner metropolis of Rome is walkable, however it may be bigger than it seems, particularly inside the heat. Make sure you get a map.

At some level throughout your days here, you’ll probably need to see the should see locations in Rome that everybody sees. Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are two of them. By all means go and enjoy, however be prepared to deal with large crowds, so have patience.

Trevi Fountain

There are fountains throughout Rome, which add to the charm and atmosphere of the city. But the most well-known one of all is the Trevi Fountain.

Legend has it that you’ll return to Rome if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. Plus the cash is collected and donated to a native charity.

Spanish Steps

These gorgeous stairs are named for the close by Spanish Embassy. It is the widest staircase in Europe, and these steps were one of many sights made well-known by the film Roman Holiday. They’re a good place to sit and relax in between seeing the larger sights.

Day Two in Rome – All the big should see locations in Rome

The most iconic picture from Rome is the Colosseum, and a go to to Rome isn’t full with out visiting this landmark. Next door to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum, which is worth doing a tour of as well.

It is a lot of being in your feet, however completely fascinating and worth it.

Colosseum

Rome’s Colosseum was constructed in simply eight years, which is fascinating given how huge it’s and the way way again it was built. It was the site of many gladiator battles placed on as shows, however there is a lot extra to its history.

I extremely recommend taking a tour so that you can hear the particulars whereas you’re there, and many of the excursions will additionally allow you to skip the lengthy lines to get in. We took this one, which gave us unique entry to the underground space and the third tier for amazing views.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is proper subsequent to the Colosseum and usually included on a tour of the Colosseum. At one time, this was the center of exercise inside the city.

The ruins are constantly being excavated, so what you see now might look different if you return in 10 or 20 years. Just like with the Colosseum, there are such a lot of tales of the historical past that took place inside the Roman Forum that assist bring all of it alive when you’re there.

Especially inside the summer, attempt to pick early excursions to keep away from a few of the afternoon heat. Italy doesn’t have a siesta like in Spain, however the afternoon is definitely a slower time due to the heat.

If you do the tour talked about above, it ended round lunch time out from the Colosseum. Try to not eat proper there, it’s tourist-ville. Your meals tour from yesterday ought to have given you an idea of at least one place to eat, so attempt to hunt that out.

Venture throughout the river

Especially if you didn’t get right here yesterday, head throughout the river to the Trastravere neighborhood. Trastravere actually means “Across the Tiber” in Italian.

The Tiber is the river that flows through the city. The banks of the river and the small island (Isle Tibertina) come alive inside the summertime evenings with bars and outdoor events.

Rome doesn’t have any skyscrapers or tall towers to climb, however it does have Giancollo Hill. This hill in Trastravere is reached by bus 115 to cease Piazzale Garibaldi. There is a plaza with a good view over the old city.

Find the footbridge called Ponte Sisto that leads from the north financial institution of the river the place Campo Fiore into tiny Piazza Trilussa.

Andy and I sat on the steps there with as soon as heat night and it was a lot of fun. Behind the piazza towards the east (left if you have the bridge at your back), is a big community of crisscrossing streets full of restaurants.

If it’s nonetheless early, wander your way to Fata Morgana Gelato (Via Roma Libera, 11, 00153 Roma RM, Italy). They have actually tasty gelato in some loopy and interesting flavors.

Day Three in Rome – Vatican City and beyond

While technically a separate nation (the smallest inside the world), Vatican City is found entirely inside the metropolis of Rome. This is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, however even when you’re not Catholic or religious, the artwork and historical past inside its tiny borders are well worth a visit.

Consider a tour to get in to the Sistine Chapel forward of the general public. We took this one, and it was so good to get in earlier than the crushing crowds.

Castel Sant’Angelp

To the east of the Vatican again inside the metropolis of Rome correct stands the spectacular fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo. Leading throughout the river from the main gate is the Sant Angelo bridge.

Both of those were initially constructed inside the 2nd century. The construction was constructed because the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, however has seen many makes use of each military and civil since then.

Best excursions in Rome

Andy and I have personally taken these excursions in Rome, and we extremely recommend them.

Best issues to do in Rome at night

Especially if you go to inside the warmer months, you may need to uncover a cafe and relax inside the shade inside the center of the afternoon to keep away from the hottest a half of the day. Venture again out at night when issues begin to chill off.

Nighttime in Rome is the perfect time for a leisurely stroll. Check out some ruins, seize a gelato, and remember that Italians typically eat dinner late, beginning round 9pm. Read extra on issues to know about consuming in Italy here.

You can additionally take some nighttime excursions in Rome. If you’re not a morning person, the early Sistine Chapel and Vatican tour might not appeal to you, however you can take a Sistine Chapel and Vatican night tour.

And how cool would it be to do a tour of the Colosseum at night?

If you’re up for one thing a little creepy, try the crypts and catacombs tour at night!

Rome transforms at night. Though many of the vacationer attractions in Rome are solely open throughout the day, it’s worth saving some energy to wander round and expertise this ancient metropolis after the solar goes down.

When to Go to Rome

You can certainly go to Rome all year around, however some times are potentially higher than others. Summer can be fairly hot and comes with a higher quantity of cruise ships.

Avoid August if you can. It is hot and muggy and most Italians are on vacation, which means lots of attractions in Rome might be closed.

Winter can be cold, and though rare, it’s known to snow. Some companies additionally take time off inside the months of November to February.

Our best times in Rome have been inside the spring and fall, April, May, September, and October. The climate is warm, however not unbearable, and though there are nonetheless tourists, it isn’t the highest concentration. Easter time and Christmas can be busy though.

Where to remain in Rome

When deciding the place to remain in Rome, it’s important to look at what the different neighborhoods have to supply and which of them match with your pursuits and deliberate activities. I additionally recommend staying inside reasonable strolling distance to public transport.

We have stayed in a quantity of different areas in Rome, however one of our favorites was Trastevere. It’s throughout the river from the main sights however nonetheless not far away.

The neighborhood does see its fair share of vacationers however nonetheless manages to maintain a native vibe. Staying right here will give you a glimpse of how the Romans live and a calmer escape after a day of sightseeing.

Check availability and reviews for hotels in Trastevere.

If you prefer to remain nearer to the sights, you’ll need a neighborhood inside the metropolis center. You’ll discover extra choice north of the Colosseum, shut to different sights such as Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain.

Check availability and reviews for hotels in Rome’s metropolis center.

Transport

Getting there and away

Rome is simply reached by both train or airplane. The main train station is called Roma Termini, however there are a quantity of others inside the city. Termini has all of the lengthy distance trains to the remainder of Italy in addition to the train out to the airport.

TrenItalia is the nationwide rail company. Check out our whole post on train journey in Italy.

The worldwide airport in Rome is called Fiumicino Airport. It is roughly 35 minutes from Termini and express trains run every quarter-hour at a cost of about 14 Euro. There are cheaper bus options, however they take longer.

There is a second smaller airport, called Ciampino Airport, for budget airlines. Make sure you know which airport your flight is leaving from.

Getting around

There are loads of transport choices contained in the metropolis of Rome. There are two main metro lines and a 3rd being built.

They don’t always get shut to the vacationer sites, however there’s a cease on the Colosseum and on the main train station. These are the quickest methods round Rome if there’s a cease shut to the place you are going.

Next there’s a system of trams. They are actually solely inside the center, however do go throughout to Trastravere.

And lastly the bus system. There is a system of buses that go simply about everywhere, however can be an actual hassle.

The routes don’t always make sense and, in our experience, drivers rarely know even basic info about their route, however when you know the route, they’re often actually handy.

Since they don’t usually announce upcoming stops, take note of the bus cease indicators alongside the way and know which cease comes earlier than the one you want.

Buy tickets forward of time in tobacco shops or information stands. The buses usually don’t have ticket machines.

What if you have four days in Rome, or perhaps a week?

You can certainly see a lot in three days. Even if you solely have 2 days in Rome, you could make a few compromises and have a good time on this amazing city.

But if you occur to have four days or longer, you’ll discover greater than sufficient to fill your time!

There are loads of museums in Rome to explore, particularly if you have greater than three days in Rome. Try a tour of the Borghese Gallery and Gardens or a tour of Rome’s catacombs.

Take each meals excursions listed above. Seriously, they’re each distinctive of their very personal way. Search for all of the best gelato in town.

Or do some day journeys from Rome. It sits roughly inside the center of the nation and a lot of stuff is reachable as a day trip.

You could go to vineyards and style wine from the surrounding region or take a bicycle tour of the Ancient Appian Way.

If you’re willing to deal with a few hours on transportation, consider a day tour to Pompeii or a day tour to the Amalfi Coast.

Or merely enjoy a extra leisurely pace. Relax and soak up the traditional metropolis of Rome from a cafe or by wandering the streets with no particular vacation spot in mind. Your journey in Rome can be a mixture of actions and relaxation.

Planning and Inspiration for your Rome Itinerary

There are so many different things to do in Rome. What I’ve listed right here will give you a thorough introduction to the historical past and tradition of this good city.

But don’t simply see the sights. Take a whereas to simply wander the streets and uncover items of every day life in Rome. Sit in a piazza with a book and watch the world go by. Do because the locals do, and simply enjoy!

Remember “dolce far niente”, Italian for “the sweetness of doing nothing.”

Read extra about Italy:

• Italy itinerary with ideas for one or two weeks in Italy
• 8 Random Things About Eating in Italy
• Ultimate Italy Guidebook which is filled with interviews with 100 locals sharing their insider tips
• Underground Colosseum and Roman Forum Tour Review