THREE-DAY BASIC ITINERARY

If I had only three days in Rome I would organize my visit as follows:

Day 1: Colosseo, Fori Romani and Colle Palatino and Altare della Patria

For the first three places, I recommend booking the tickets and going inside. There are passes that include the entrance to all of them. I recommend booking the tickets in advance to partially avoid the queue and to secure the entrance.

Day 2: Vatican City and the Trastevere District

I recommend starting from Castel Sant’Angelo and walking along Via della Conciliazione in the direction of Basilica di San Pietro. Entering the Basilica is an absolute must. You have to go through security checks to enter but it’s free. Being there very early in the morning when it’s mostly empty is an amazing experience. There are parts of the Basilica which require a ticket. I personally did not try it so I cannot tell if it’s worth it.

If you also want to get a chance to see the Pope you have to be there on Sunday @12.00 or on Wednesday @9.00 when he has the public mass and speeches. Even if you are there at the scheduled time he might still not come out depending on his other duty or health. During these times, actually visiting the Basilica might be restricted or difficult due to the amount of people.

Trastevere is the district located south of Vatican City. It has the iconic narrow cobblestone streets, there is a nice energy and there are many nice places to have lunch or dinner.

Day 3: Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna and Terrazza del Pincio

The third day is just a walk in the center of Rome. Make sure to read the story of each of these places while you are there :).

MORE PLACES TO VISIT

Besides the most famous landmarks (which you should absolutely visit), Rome is packed with history, culture and art. These are some of my favourite places. Some of them are mainstream, some of them are not. Depending on how much time you have at your disposal and how interesting they sound to you, you might decide to include them in your visit of Rome.

Close to Vatican

  • Vatican Museum These are the museums of Vatican City. They display art that the Catholic Church has brought from all over the world. They have multiple sections for different themes and historical periods. The most famous piece is the Sistine Chapel.

    If you decide to go here, reserve at the very least half a day for this museum. It is also quite expensive. From my perspective, it is worth the price and time investment.

  • Castel Sant’Angelo This is close to Vatican City and is a stronghold that historically served as a shelter for the Pope in times of danger. The lower floors are very military; as you move up, you can visit the Pope’s residence, which is sort of a house museum with cool frescoes on the ceiling. There is an underground tunnel leading to Vatican City that remained secret for centuries.

    Visiting the tunnel is not included in the standard ticket and is only possible on specific dates. It is worth checking the website to see if it is available while you are there.

Close to Trastevere

  • Fontanone The fountain is very beautiful and is embedded in Italian pop culture. It appears in several historical and recent movies.

    Besides the fountain itself, it is worth visiting because the view from the terrace in front of it is one of the most beautiful you can find in Rome.

  • Gianicolo Within walking distance of the Fontanone. Also worth visiting for the view of Rome.

  • Botanic Garden

Other areas

  • Cimitero Monumentale del Verano This is a cemetery, but not a typical one. It is the monumental cemetery where many important Italian historical figures are either buried or commemorated. Most of the tombs of notable figures are decorated with stone sculptures in styles that vary depending on the historical period. The cemetery itself is divided into sections, and each one follows different architectural and sculptural styles. The sections worth visiting are the monumental ones which is the one you will find yourself in if you enter from Piazzale del Verano.

    It is definitely off the beaten path and personally one of my favourite places.

  • Coppedè These are a few buildings that follow a completely different architectural style from almost anything else in Rome. They were created by an architect called Gino Coppedè. It is a bit like Gaudí, but from Rome.

Egyptian Obelisks

This is a bit of a hidden gem. It is easy to overlook them among all the other incredible things in Rome, but Rome is scattered with original Egyptian obelisks. It is the city in the world with the most standing Egyptian obelisks (13), and it even has more Egyptian obelisks than Egypt itself.

The largest standing Egyptian obelisk in the world is the Obelisco Laterano. When you visit Rome, you will find some of them in the middle of squares or in front of cathedrals and churches. Obelisks that you will definitely encounter are Obelisco Vaticano and Obelisco Flaminio. Not all the obelisks you will encounter are actually original, some of them are imitations of Egyptian obelisks like the Obelisco Agonale. For most of the obelisks, it is possible to trace where they came from and which Roman emperor brought them to Rome. This alone is a very deep rabbit hole.

CUISINE

Italy was unified relatively recently (1861). Before that, it was divided into many small states. Before the unification, these states developed different cuisines independently. Because of the geography and climate differences and because of the separation, Italian cuisine is very regional: each region has its own dishes and typical ingredients. Obviously, you will have no problem finding all the Italian signature dishes in Rome, but you should definitely try the dishes that are original from Rome and from the Lazio region.

Pasta

The typical pasta dishes in the Rome region are “Amatriciana”, “Carbonara”, “Gricia”, and “Cacio e Pepe”. They come from the historical shepherd tradition of the region. Shepherds would go up into the mountains for many days, and the only ingredients they could bring with them without spoiling were Pecorino (dried sheep cheese), Guanciale (cured pork). All these pasta recipes build on these traditional ingredients.

The places where you can try these recipes are:

  • La Fraschetta di Castel Sant’Angelo
  • Angelina a Testaccio This is one of my favourites. It has an amazing terrace on the upper floor, and it is the perfect place to have lunch on a sunny spring day. Unfortunately the location is not very central, and it is a bit more expensive than the others in the list.
  • Tonnarello It is a bit more touristic, but it has a nice atmosphere.

Pizza and Suppli

Originally, pizza is from Naples, and most of the pizza you eat around the world takes inspiration from Neapolitan pizza. But Rome has a different tradition of making pizza: instead of the soft, thick Neapolitan pizza, the typical Roman pizza is thin and crispy. Besides the round pizzas, there are also rectangular ones that are cooked in a tray. Usually the tray-baked ones are street food and are sold by the slice to take away.

Another typical food is “Supplì”. The classic ones are balls of rice and meat, breaded and fried.

The places to try both pizza romana and supplì are:

  • Forno da Milvio This is for the rectangular pizza baked in the tray. It is mainly takeaway but has a few seats. People from Rome often get pizza and supplì here and then sit on the steps of the fountain in Piazza della Madonna dei Monti.
  • Ai Marmi The fried starters are very good here.

Porchetta

Porchetta is originally from Ariccia, a town south of Rome. It’s a cold cut pork meat. Instead of being dry-cured like ham, it’s heavily seasoned and then slowly roasted over wood fire. It can be served warm or cold.

  • Antica Salumeria This is right in front of the Pantheon. It’s the perfect place to stop for a takeaway snack when visiting it! Ask for “Pizza bianca con la porchetta” (Roman pizza filled with porchetta). It’s a good place in general to try many typical products.

  • Antico Vinaio This is also around the corner from the Pantheon. It’s less traditional than the one above, it’s a chain that has other shops around Italy and abroad. Still top notch for Porchetta and for typical ingredients.

Coda alla Vaccinara

This is a dish originating from the Testaccio District. In the past, in Testaccio there was a Mattatoio (where the cows were butchered) and the workers were paid partly with money and partly with less premium cuts. The workers would then resell these less premium cuts to the restaurants in the area. These restaurants then became very good at processing these cuts and came up with many creative recipes to use them. The Coda alla Vaccinara is one of the recipes that emerged. It is a stew made with the ox tail.

 

I don’t know many places for this specific dish but if you happen to find it on the menu of any place you go, I highly recommend trying it.

Gelato (Ice Cream)1

Tiramisù

Places that did not fit into the previous categories but are still worth trying

  • Ai Tre Scalini It is within walking distance of the Colosseum, on a very nice street with a great atmosphere. If you catch a sunny day, it is another good place to eat outside. It has a small terrace. It is usually crowded, so if you want to visit this one, try going earlier or later than the usual lunch time.
  • Trapizzino This is yet another version of pizza. It is not a traditional pizza, but it is still very good and perfect to take away. There are multiple locations. There is one close to Ponte Sisto and Piazza Trilussa.


  1. Gelato and Tiramisù are not originally from Rome. ↩