Rome travel guide
Rome is built in layers, and the layers sit right on top of each other: a baroque fountain stands thirty metres from a temple of the emperors. Book the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums before you fly, then spend the other days on foot, because the best of Rome lies in the streets between the tickets.
The lie of the land
The historic centre is smaller than its fame. From the Colosseum to St Peter's it is about five kilometres in a straight line, and almost everything you will want to see sits in the bend of the Tiber on the left bank, an area you can cross on foot in under an hour. The river itself plays a minor part. Rome turned its back on the water for centuries because of floods, and the high stone embankments date from the decades after the great flood of 1870.
What catches people out is the ground. Rome stands on hills, the cobbles called sampietrini tilt an ankle without effort, and a short distance on the map can hide a steep climb to the Capitoline or the Janiculum. The metro touches only part of the centre, because the diggers keep running into antiquity, so plan to walk and use a bus or tram for the long legs.
Days you need
- Two days give you the Colosseum with the Forum, the Vatican and one long walk through the centre; you will see names rather than districts.
- Three days are the least that feels fair: ancient Rome, the Vatican, and a day for squares, fountains and a slow dinner.
- Four or five days leave room for Tivoli or Orvieto by train, the Borghese park and an evening in Trastevere without a plan.
A three-day route
Day 1: ancient Rome and the old centre
Enter the Colosseum at your booked time first thing, then walk through the Forum and up the Palatine on the same ticket, which stays valid for 24 hours. Lunch is better in Monti than on the avenue beside the ruins. In the afternoon pass the Vittoriano on Piazza Venezia on your way to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, and keep the Trevi Fountain for after ten at night, when the crowd thins out and the barriers are open.
Day 2: the Vatican and the river
The Vatican Museums open at 8 am, so be in the queue before then with a booked slot and head straight for the Sistine Chapel. After lunch in Prati, go through the security check at St Peter's, then walk down Via della Conciliazione to Castel Sant'Angelo and cross the bridge as the light fades.
Day 3: gardens, steps and Trastevere
Start in the Villa Borghese park, reach the Pincio terrace for the view over Piazza del Popolo, then follow Via del Babuino down to the Spanish Steps. After lunch take tram 8 across the river to Trastevere, wander without a map until the aperitivo hour, and climb the Janiculum at sunset if your legs agree.
Wet-weather plan
Rain in Rome comes in steady spells rather than short showers, mostly between October and December, and the cobbles turn slick. The city has more roofs than most visitors think, though, and the biggest are worth a wet day.
- Morning: the Vatican Museums, with a booked slot so that you do not queue outdoors, then the basilica next door if the rain eases.
- Afternoon: the Pantheon, where the oculus lets the rain fall onto a floor with drains hidden in it, then Castel Sant'Angelo, which is closed on Mondays.
- Evening: the Trevi Fountain after dark with an umbrella; the wet stone and the floodlights make it look better than on a dry day.
- Any time: a bar. Romans drink their espresso standing at the counter in a minute, and the price at the counter is far lower than at a table.
Which district to sleep in
- Centro Storico, around the Pantheon and Navona
- The best base for walking and the most expensive. Most sights lie within fifteen minutes, rooms are small, and the squares stay noisy late at night.
- Monti, between the Colosseum and Termini
- A hillside district of small streets, wine bars and workshops, ten minutes from the Forum. Good value for a central address, with a few steep lanes to climb with luggage.
- Trastevere, across the river
- Medieval lanes and the liveliest evenings in town. Weekends are loud until the small hours, and the metro is far, so you rely on tram 8 and buses.
- Prati, by the Vatican
- Wide, orderly streets north of St Peter's, with a daily food market and metro A at Ottaviano. A short walk to the museums, and quiet when the day trippers have gone.
- Termini and Esquilino
- The cheapest hotels, plus the airport train, metro A and B and the long-distance trains at your door. The blocks right around the station are rough after dark, so stay a few streets toward Santa Maria Maggiore.
- Testaccio and Ostiense
- Where Romans go for oxtail and carbonara in old trattorie. Metro B stops at Piramide, the Fiumicino train too, and the sights are a bus or tram ride away.