Holiday in Rome - What to See and Do
Scott and Constantine The Great at Musei Capitolini
Deciding what to see and do in Rome depends on two things: 1) how much time you have and 2) your interests. As I mentioned in my previous post, many of Rome's top attractions are FREE, but there are several that you'll want to see that do require entrance fees. Here are my favorite things to see and do in Rome:
Inside the Pantheon - @turbophotos ~ Instagram
1. The Pantheon - FREE
Mindblowing, and it doesn't really matter when you go, day or night. The first time I visited (2007) there was a church service underway, which was super cool to see and experience, but you should also see it when there are no services. The Pantheon was built nearly 2,000 years ago by Marcus Agrippa as a Roman temple. It's an engineering marvel, as the dome is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The oculus is open, so when it rains, you'll get wet inside. Raphael, the artist, is said to be buried here, but today that is questioned by many.
Map Room in The Vatican Museum
2. Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica - Recommend Guided Tour
There are 54 galleries in The Vatican Museum. Our guide told us that if we just spent 30 seconds on each piece in the museum, it would take 6 months to see it all. I did not use a guided tour on my first visit, and that was a mistake. This time we did it the right way. We booked with Private Tours of Rome 3-4 weeks prior to our visit. You have to book in advance, and you should always purchase tickets through the site's official website. "Skip the Line" operators are not reliable. You'll pay a little extra for the private tour, but it's worth it if you really want to understand what you're seeing. We spent about 4 hours on this tour and felt that was adequate. Guides do an excellent job of boiling down a tremendous amount of information into bite sized pieces. You can take pictures in the Vatican Museum, but you are not allowed to take photos or talk in The Sistine Chapel (people break these rules all the time). Our guide then walked us over to St. Peter's Basilica, where there are even more precious works of art such as The Pieta.
Michelangelo's Pieta inside St. Peter's Basilica
Coins in the Trevi Fountain
3. Fontana di Trevi / Trevi Fountain - FREE
One of the most recognizable sites in Rome, and one of the most famous fountains in the world, the Trevi Fountain is beautiful during the day and night. The fountain was built by Nicola Salvi between 1732-1762. The movie "Three Coins in the Fountain" was filmed in 1954 and was a romantic comedy about 3 women trying to find love in Rome. The saying is that you throw 3 coins in the Trevi Fountain: the first coin guarantees your return to Rome, the second ensures a new romance and the third ensures marriage. Protocol is to toss the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder.
4. The Colosseum - 12 EU / $15 USD
We purchased our tickets two days in advance and printed them at our hotel's business center. It was a very short, fast moving line to enter. You can pay more and get an audio guide or one of the underground tours, but we didn't feel like that was necessary. It just depends on what your interested in, how much time you want to spend there and how much money you want to spend. We were here for just under 2 hours and felt like we got the gist of it. The Colosseum is another iconic structure in Rome, built between 70-80 AD as a venue for gladiator battles. What's amazing is that the very same plan is still used by football stadiums today. I can smell the corndogs and peanuts from here, can't you?
You'll find that entrance to the Colosseum comes with an option to include the Roman Forum. Do that if you can, but if you miss it, you can also a great overview of it from the grounds of the Musei Capitolini (see below for more info and pics).
Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona by Bernini
5. Piazza Navona - FREE
Piazza Navona is one of Rome's most beautiful public spaces. Hundreds of years ago this fountain provided water to Romans before the days of indoor plumbing, but fountains also served as monuments to papal patrons. Today you'll find cafes surrounding the perimeter of the piazza, musicians, artists and craft makers. We had lunch here on Christmas Day, and the food was *very* average. The people watching, however, was excellent! Most of the cafes won't let you sit at a table unless you order food. We saw more Americans here than anywhere else in Rome.
Christmas Day lunch at a cafe in Piazza Navona
6. Musei Capitolini - 15 EU / $18 USD
The crowds are much thinner here, especially if you go first thing in the morning. It's a massive complex with several different buildings. You do not need to purchase tickets in advance, and there was no waiting line to enter. Go to the building on the right to purchase tickets. You'll use their underground tunnel to move from the building on the right to the building on the left. There is a cafe, Terrazza, in the main building that has amazing, unobstructed views of the Rome skyline. We had lunch here, and it was good despite *very* slow service.
Skyline view of Rome from Terrazza, the museum's cafe
View of the Roman Forum from Musei Capitolini
The museum has a number of notable works of art, including a massive bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus, Boy with Thorn, Bernini sculptures, and fragments from the Colossus Constantine (first photo in this post). This is one of my all time favorite museums.
7. Borghese Gardens (FREE) and Gallery ( 28.50 EU / $34 USD)
If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, there's no place more serene and beautiful than Villa Borghese Gardens. It's the 3rd largest park in Rome so you have plenty of space to enjoy lush green landscapes, rent a bike for two, visit their zoo or just sit and people watch. But the highlight of the area is their amazing gallery/museum.
Galleria Borghese
As you can see in my photos, the crowds are even thinner here. Several reasons for that: 1) advance ticket purchase is mandatory 2) you are limited to a 2-hour visit 3) it's pricier than other museums 4) it's far from the city center. I missed Borghese Gallery last time I was in Rome because I simply ran out of time. When you only have a few days in Rome, it's hard to squeeze in everything, and that's why a lot of people never make it to Borghese. We intentionally planned a lengthy visit to Rome so we could be sure we saw it all. This was my favorite museum that we visited during our two weeks.
See the lady on the right side of the photo? She was our English speaking guide. You can purchase a regular admission for 22 EU or you can spend a few more dollars and go with a guide who speaks English. Definitely worth the few extra bucks. There are two floors of art, and right now they're featuring the sculptures of Bernini. Stunning. At the end of the two hour window, you'll hear an announcement that says your time is up, and the next group of 200 guests roll in. It's quite civilized and very controlled. I hope more museums go this route in the future.
Selfies on the Spanish Steps
8. Spanish Steps - FREE
The Spanish Steps were made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the movie, Roman Holiday. If you haven't seen this movie, by all means, watch it! It's so cute, so sweet and will make you fall in love with Rome. The Spanish Steps are another great spot for people watching. Grab a gelato, have a seat on the steps and watch the world go by. Afterwards, take a stroll down Via dei Condotti, one of the most famous streets in Rome where you can find all of the high end luxury brands - Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo and more.
Via dei Condotti ~ Rome
9. Walk Via Del Corso and Via Condotti - FREE
The streets of Rome don't always look like the photo above. This picture was taken on December 30, which is an incredibly busy time of year for tourists. As you can see, sidewalks are skinny, so crowds often spill into the streets. You have to be careful because drivers in Rome are nuts! But it's really fun to walk the main streets of Rome, enjoy a gelato and dip in and out of shops.
Gelato in Rome
10. Day Trip
If you find yourself with a little extra time on your hands, or if you just want to see something different, you might opt for a day trip. There are several good options, depending on your interests. If you're feeling adventurous, you can always head over to Rome's Termini Train Station and take the train to Florence or Naples. Or, you can spend a little extra and have a structured, organized tour and leave the driving to someone else. Friends of ours took a day trip to Pompeii and Vesuvius. You could also see the Amalfi Coast or spend a few hours in Tuscany. You should know that these trips are usually all day junkets, so you'll most likely leave very early in the morning and return late. Again, all of this depends on what/how much you want to see.
COMING UP NEXT ----> FOOD and DRINKS in ROME!
Florence is about 90 minutes away by train
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