Most of the tourists spend a few days in Rome before moving onto other Italian cities and the most common question they ask themselves is ‘How many days in Rome?”. There is no standard answer to this question, it totally depends on how many days you can spare solely for Rome. 1 day & 2 day trips in Rome are among the most popular, though more ambitious travelers even spend 7 or 14 days in Rome. In this post we are providing a detailed itinerary for spending a day in Rome that you can use to see the best of Eternal City in just 48 hours.
A car rental is a good way to move about the city with flexibility; not only it saves time, it also allows you to enjoy your vacation fully (free from schedules). Rome Airport and Rome Termini Station are two of the most popular car hire locations in the city.
Start your day with breakfast near Colosseum
For all the sightseeing lined up for the day, you will need a good breakfast to kick start your day. Colosseum RistoBar is located near Rome’s iconic attraction Colosseum. There are many other restaurants or cafes near the Colosseum that you can visit for breakfast like Oppio Caffè; most of these places allow you to sit there and have a bite while enjoying the views of the marvel.
Colosseum is the symbol of Rome which deserves to be the first attraction on your to do list. Since it is Rome’s most visited attraction, we suggest you reach early and have you fill (before all the crowds and the tours arrive).
Oval in shape, this ancient amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome was built in 70-80 AD by the King Vespasian. This is the biggest such structure ever built in the ancient times and exploring it is like walking back in time. We are sure you have seen the Gladiator movie, in the bygone time, it was the very place where such gladiator fights used to take place.
We suggest you buy the ‘skip the lines tickets’; not only it saves time, it also covers the next two attractions on the list – Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
Next stop is Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill is the next stop on the historic sightseeing list. Peaceful and serene, it is one of the Seven Hills of Rome & is located in the oldest parts of the city. While walking through this historic gem you will be able to understand why it was the most desirable place to live in ancient Rome. All the imperial palaces were built here and the very first was for Augustus; before the imperial palaces, it was still a posh area with houses of the rih.
It is now an open air museum and if you want to see the findings of the excavations and insights or details, you can visit Palatine Museum. Note that Palatine Museum is also home to excavation findings from other ancient Italian sites (in addition to Palatine Hill).
The Palace of Domitian, Houses of Livia and Augustus, House of Tiberius, Temple of Cybele and Temple of Apollo Palatinus are some of its most popular monuments.
Make your way to Roman Forum
Roman Forum was the heart of the ancient city of Rome and it is located in close proximity to the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It is home to some of the most iconic ancient temples and ruins of several important government buildings of the ancient city. Back then, Roman Forum was known as Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.
For centuries, it was the area where the majority of important things used to happen from elections to public speeches, gladiator fights and criminal trials. Even today, it is one of the busiest places in the city and is known to receive 4.5 million tourists yearly.
Roman Forum is home to a lot of monuments including temples, arches, Basilicas and ancient government buildings. In Temples, Temple of Castor and Pollux (494 BC), Temple of Saturn (501 BC) and Temple of Vesta (7th century BC) are quite popular. Other than that also do visit Basilica Aemilia, Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Arch of Septimius Severus, Regia, Curia Julia, Tabularium, Atrium Vestae, and Tullianum.
Take a lunch break and head towards the Vatican
Have lunch in one of the restaurants located near the Roman Forum like Ristorante Pizzeria Imperiale & La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali and make your way towards the Vatican.
You need at least half a day or at least 2 to 3.5 hours to cover the Vatican. A lot of tourists and religious people visit the Vatican daily, so it is better to buy ‘skip the que’ tickets in advance and see the best of the Vatican – St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel – in under 4 hours. To make things easy you can also join a tour group; if you are upto look up online and get yourself a booking for 2 or 2:30 PM.
Spend the evening at Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a public open space in Rome, which is also the Eternal City’s much loved Baroque Squares. It is a great place to spend the evening. This square has 3 fountains and the one at the center is called Fontana dei Quattro and is noted for four giants which represent the Ganges,the Danube, Nile and the River Plate. There are street side cafes in case you want to have a coffee break.
Visit Castel Sant’ Angelo for a beautiful sunset
It closes around 7:30 PM so plan your visit accordingly. The Mausoleum of Hadrian, constructed for the emperor and his family, at one time was used by popes and today is a museum.
Besides that it is also a great place to enjoy the views of the city. Explore the museum and after that visits its top and enjoy the lovely sunset and panoramic views of Eternal City.
Visit Trevi Fountain and throw a coin
This is Rome’s largest fountain on Piazza di Trevi and has been gracing the square since 1762. It is also quite famous because of a legend. They say that people who throw a coin over their shoulder into the fountain always return to Rome.
Before dinner visit Trastevere
People of Trastevere called them the authentic Romans. We don’t know about people, but if you want to see the authentic Rome, this side is the best there is. Walking through this centuries old quarter is like stepping back in time. If you don’t have time for wandering about, make sure you make time for it in the morning before saying goodbye to Rome.
There are a lot of restaurants, clubs and boutiques in this area. So if not walking around, you can sure shop before dinner.
Where to stay the night in Rome?
- Napoleon Hotel Roma
- Residenza Mia Suites
- La Vite Vaticana