Rome is a popular starting point for a trip to Italy for two very good reasons.
Firstly, on a practical note, Rome has the most direct international flight arrivals making it a logical first point of call.
Secondly, Rome is seen by many, rightly so, as being the cultural capital of Europe. The Roman Empire is arguably what put Europe at the centre of the world stage where it has remained ever since.
Rome is full of history, not just from the Roman Empire, but also from the rise of the Catholic Church, and from the Renaissance era which put Rome in the spotlight once more. It is so full of artifacts and museums and ruins and churches that it would be impossible to do everything in a month, let alone 3 days. So is 3 days in Rome enough?
What does enough time mean? It will be different for everyone. Enough might mean the right amount of time to see the top sights. Enough might mean the right amount of time to eat the meals or gelato you have been dreaming of. Or you might want to really get to know the city and understand it.
Three days in Rome will perhaps give you enough time to do the first two, but it won’t even scratch the surface of the latter. But it might give you enough of a taste of Rome to want to come back and explore further.
This is how I would spend 3 days in Rome if it were my first time visiting.
I will be covering where to stay and where to eat on your trip to Italy in a separate article so for now these are just the things to do in three days in Rome. This itinerary assumes that you are fit and have no trouble walking. There is a lot of walking involved so this is not suitable for anyone with any mobility problems. If you get in touch we can work out a Rome itinerary that suits your abilities.
Day one: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
This is arrival day so most of the morning will probably be taken up with getting to the city and finding your Hotel. My suggestion is to pre-book Full experience tickets from the official Colosseum site (tickets go on sale 30 days before and sell out fast – 32€) to the Colosseum for your first day, but with a late time slot for an underground tour. The ticket includes entrance to the Forum and Palatine hill which don’t have a time requirement. That way you can head over there as soon as you have dropped your bags, but without the stress of a time constraint.
Start at the Palatine Hill entrance to the complex (Via di San Gregorio). Of the three ticket gates this is by far the one with the least queues (often no queue at all) and you do not want to start your Rome itinerary by queuing.
The walk up the hill is more gentle in this direction than it is from the Forum, and it has more shade which is appreciated in the summer months.
Palatine Hill is the legendary birthplace of Rome, so seems a fitting first destination. This is where legend says that Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of Rome, were raised by a wolf. Emperor Augustus built his home here and the series of rulers that followed turned the hill into a complex of palaces (even the word palace comes from the latin Palatium after Palatine hill).
Today you can see the ancient frescos on the preserved house of Augustus, ruins of the Palace of Domitian and the remains of the Farnese Gardens that were built over ancient ruins in the 16th century. You will also get panoramic views of Rome.
From the hill you can walk down into the Forum without going through another ticket office.
Whilst the Colosseum is undoubtedly the most famous place in Rome, I think the Forum gives a better feel for ancient Rome. You can feel the history just standing in this ancient site. Emperor Augustus walked these streets 2000 years ago. Julius Caesar was cremated here. For centuries it was the centre of day to day life in Rome. Now it is a ruin, with many of the wonders having been pillaged and scavenged over the years to build a more modern Rome. Some of the materials went in to building the many churches in Rome (which you will see in day 2).
It is an incredible place, and whilst I hate the expression “must see” it would be hard to imagine a first trip to Rome that didn’t include the Forum.
The Forum Romanum is a large site and really needs guidance to understand it. You can hire a guide to show you around, but I recommend having a guide for the Colosseum part of the day. A great, and some say better, alternative is the Rick Steves audio tour. You can download it for free from his site, or my recommendation it to get the app Rick Steves Audio Europe. Here you will find Audio tours from all over Europe, and it covers several of the main sites in Rome. (I’m not affiliated in any way, just appreciate good work when I see it).
If you didn’t eat before going to Palatine Hill and the Forum then I suggest going now before visiting the Colosseum. There is no point pretending that you can find hidden gem restaurants anywhere near the Colosseum in Rome. Evidently the restaurants in this part of the city are catering to tourists. But that doesn’t mean you have to eat badly.
Just behind the Colosseum is one of Rome’s best seafood restaurants Risorante Crab. Particularly known for its crab pasta, they also do a very good tiramisu. Expect to pay around 26€ for a plate of pasta.
For the Colosseum your pre-booked ticket allows you to skip the ticket queue, but you will still have to queue to get through the security checks so make sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before your allotted time.
I think there has been enough written about the Colosseum that I need not go into any further detail here. But I will say I believe the underground tickets to be worth it. If you can’t get them it is of course still worth visiting on the normal tickets, but I found the underground tour to give more context. Especially the reminder that this was a place that people fought to the death. It was a place of blood and gore and not just entertainment. Roman history isn’t always pretty.
For dinner I suggest somewhere classically Roman. Da Gino al Parlamento is an old world trattoria. The ceiling inside is a beautiful painted fresco or they have a terrace outside. Expect to pay 15€ for a plate of pasta (I’m using a plate of pasta for example prices to be consistent, not because it is all they offer).
After dinner take a walk along the River Tiber. If you walk along the river bank to the Ponte Umberto I (just 10 minutes from my suggested restaurant) then look back towards the Ponte Sant’Angelo you get the most perfect picture spot (I love this photograph so much I have it hanging on the wall of my office!).
Day 2 : Walking Tour of 13 churches
My recommendation for your second day in Rome is to do my 8.5km walking tour which takes in 13 of the best churches in Rome, as well as the Trevi fountain. Full details can be found on the dedicated walking tour article, which includes the link for a free map.
If you are in Rome for only three days then I think it is important to have at least one truly special meal. For that I recommend the Ineo Restaurant. You will have walked past this on the walking tour, it is opposite the Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, the church inside the ancient roman baths. There is a temptation to think that you should go somewhere else to discover other streets in Rome, but I think there is something rather special about being in a strange city and thinking, wait I recognise that, I know where I am. Take a taxi or an Uber, you’ve done enough walking for one day.
Chef Heros de Agostinis (isn’t that a great name!) is from Rome, but has travelled extensively and brings a mix of cultures to his refined food. The bread trolley alone is worth the visit to this Michelin starred restaurant. Ineo is inside the Palazzo Naidi hotel which is a neoclassical building built on top of some of the ruins of the Roman Baths. You can still see some of the ruins in the basement level of the hotel.
Day 3 : The Vatican and Trastevere
To really make the most of the day you will need an early start. The Vatican museums are one of the most visited museums in the world and get extraordinarily busy. An early start is the best way to avoid at least some of the crowds.
It is possible to buy a private tour that starts at 6:45am before the museum opens, but this is very expensive at around 390€ per person. If you are a real art lover and the museums are the highlight for you then this is the way to go. You are still in a small group, and other small groups have access at the same time so don’t expect to be totally alone.
A more accessible way to book is to book a tour through the Vatican museum official website. When you book the tour you get tickets to the museum so don’t book those first. Taking the earliest time slot at 8am is the best way to ensure you experience the museums with less crowds. These time slots book up early, at the time of writing it is possible to book for 2 months ahead, but the morning slots for one month ahead were all sold out. This tour will cost 40€ per person.
If you are leaving Rome the next day you could alternatively chose the last slot of the afternoon, but I think the morning one is best.
A tour means you skip the line for tickets, but does not skip the line for security. This is the same for any tour, so you need to allow time (30 minutes) to get through.
The Vatican museums really are remarkable. 54 galleries, 9 km of corridors, 20,000 works of art on display. They are call the Vatican Museums pural because there are 12 separate museums within the complex. There is the Etruscan museum, the Egyptian museum and my favourite, the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, or Map gallery. The tours end at the Sistine chapel with the famous ceiling by Michelangelo. It takes about 2 hours, but at the end of the tour you are free to revisit anything you would like to see in more detail.
Once you have finished in the museums you should visit St Peter’s Basilica. This involves walking around the Vatican to another security check (and another queue). Do not be tempted to stop at the restaurants along this walk, even if just for a coffee or an ice-cream, it is the only time I have been scammed in Rome.
St Peter’s Basilica is free to enter, but you have to buy a ticket to climb the Dome. The steps to the dome are narrow, and the elevator doesn’t take you all the way. You do get a good view, but I’m not sure if it is really worth it.
The Basilica is more impressive than you can imagine, it is enormous. Even after all the churches you visited on day 2 you will be awestruck.
Once you are finished at St Peter’s walk down towards Trastevere which takes about 30 minutes.
There are a huge number of restaurants catering to tourists in Trastevere, but you can still get traditional Roman fare. Hostaria Da Corrado would be my recommendation. It’s not fancy, but it is authentic as well as being convenient if you are walking from St Peter’s.
Trastevere has a different feel to it from the main central areas of Rome across the river. Whilst it was very much part of the city during the time of the Roman Empire, Gothic invasions in the 400s destroyed the bridges and left the area cut off from the rest of Rome. It had long been a diverse area, with many Jews and immigrants from the East. The isolation from the rest of Rome meant that the medieval working-class character of the area remained whilst the rest of Rome developed the grand palazzos.
Today the narrow streets and cobblestones attract tourists, and over the last ten years or so some of the authentic charm of Trastevere has been lost to the influx of Airbnb properties as locals are pushed out in favour of tourists. It remains a charming area to visit, and a nice place to wander after being bombarded with art at the Vatican museums. It is less polished than the areas over the river and somehow feels more Italian.
If you have time and do not have a flight to catch in the evening, then linger as the sun goes down and the streets become alive.
Is this the right Rome itinerary for you?
I do not claim this itinerary to be the ultimate itinerary, nor the best itinerary. Everyone will have different priorities as to what they want to see, as well as differing opinions on how far they want to walk. This is how I would choose to spend my first time in Rome, in fact it is very similar to how I did spend my first time in Rome.
Our travel planning services give guidance on how to spend your time based on your wishes and requirements and are catered to you, so if you are planning a trip to Rome then get in touch for a personalised itinerary.
If you are planning your first trip to Europe then make sure your read How to plan a trip to Europe: the 3 essential first steps
If you need help with planning your trip then check out our services
If you have any questions about travel itineraries in Europe then drop us a line. We are happy to help.
If you want more tips and ideas for visiting Europe then FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM