The summer holidays are over in Italy and I'm back in the office but I came home with many beautiful memories. Living in another country means spending a big part of your yearly holidays to go home and see your family. Fortunately Germany isn't too far and we could go by car to spend the first week at my parents. The second week instead I wanted to use to explore a bit more of my new "home country" and we decided to visit Rome for a few days and I have to say it is as beautiful as everybody had told me before! So how do you make the most of the eternal city if you only have 4 days?
Four days isn't much but enough to see the highlights and even a bit more. Here is our itinerary and some hopefully helpful advice to plan your trip:
Day 1: Arrival by train. We booked a hotel close to the Spanish steps which turned out to be a great area as it is only two metro stations from the train station and close to many of the sights. So in the afternoon we just went for a walk to see the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain (which is unfortunately under construction at the moment), the Pantheon and for a nice aperitivo. Dinner was a bit of a disaster as we were around the corner of the Trevi fountain around dinner time and apparently it's the worst area to eat well. Despite having my Italian boyfriend with me, it was kind of a rip of....
Day 2: On our second day we spend the day in Trastevere (the beautiful quarter across the river Tevere) and the Jewish Ghetto. In Trastevere we walked along the river, had a coffee and finally lunch at a little restaurant at the Piazza della Scala. My boyfriend heard people talking with a Roman accent. Turns out to be the best way to find a great place to eat, if you can!
So we indulged in tagliolini al cacio e pepe, bucatini all'amatriciana and a bottle of wine. Afterwards we walked across the bridge to the Jewish Ghetto. It was nice to see but I think it's best to get at least a good audio-guide. Without it is interesting to look at the synagogue and see all the typical restaurants and places but I wish we had informed ourselves better to understand more about the history.
In the evening we went to the Piazza del Popolo, which is especially nice at night.
Day 1: Arrival by train. We booked a hotel close to the Spanish steps which turned out to be a great area as it is only two metro stations from the train station and close to many of the sights. So in the afternoon we just went for a walk to see the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain (which is unfortunately under construction at the moment), the Pantheon and for a nice aperitivo. Dinner was a bit of a disaster as we were around the corner of the Trevi fountain around dinner time and apparently it's the worst area to eat well. Despite having my Italian boyfriend with me, it was kind of a rip of....
Day 2: On our second day we spend the day in Trastevere (the beautiful quarter across the river Tevere) and the Jewish Ghetto. In Trastevere we walked along the river, had a coffee and finally lunch at a little restaurant at the Piazza della Scala. My boyfriend heard people talking with a Roman accent. Turns out to be the best way to find a great place to eat, if you can!
So we indulged in tagliolini al cacio e pepe, bucatini all'amatriciana and a bottle of wine. Afterwards we walked across the bridge to the Jewish Ghetto. It was nice to see but I think it's best to get at least a good audio-guide. Without it is interesting to look at the synagogue and see all the typical restaurants and places but I wish we had informed ourselves better to understand more about the history.
In the evening we went to the Piazza del Popolo, which is especially nice at night.
Day 3: We got up early to pick up my brother from the airport. Being up so early gave us a somewhat unusual look at the Spanish steps: Completely empty! Worth getting up early! Together with my brother we visited then the Colosseum, Palestine Hills, Circus Maximus and pretty much everything in the area. Take your time! It's crazy! Like someone stuffed all the sights in one corner!
Day 4: Vatican Museum and St Peter's basilica: Book your tickets before you go! Not kidding, if you don't want to spend two hours minimum standing in the Roman heat buy them online! The museum is incredible and well worth spending at least half a day there. You also get to see the Sistine Chapel. All in all very impressive even if you are not catholic! St. Peter's we only saw from outside. Unfortunately we didn't have more time. Next we'll sure check it out!
Day 4: Vatican Museum and St Peter's basilica: Book your tickets before you go! Not kidding, if you don't want to spend two hours minimum standing in the Roman heat buy them online! The museum is incredible and well worth spending at least half a day there. You also get to see the Sistine Chapel. All in all very impressive even if you are not catholic! St. Peter's we only saw from outside. Unfortunately we didn't have more time. Next we'll sure check it out!
Looking at this list I have to say that we actually saw much more. Rome is full of fascinating, beautiful sights. You could walk for hours and hours in one area and still discover another beautiful church, fountain, restaurant, shop. It is hard to resist the urge to look at everything but your feet are problem going to tell you when it's time to stop and call it a day :-)
Must Sees:
Must Sees:
- Colosseum
- Spanish Steps
- Trevi Fountain
- Piazza Navona and the Flower Market
- Vatican
- Trastevere
- Pantheon
Must Eats:
Feel free to leave a comment and add things I didn't mention!
- Tagliolini al Cacio e Pepe
- Bucatini all'amatriciana
- Spaghetti alla Carbonara
- Caprese with buffallo mozzarella
- ice cream! (try Gelateria Giolitti)
- get a bottle you can refill at the hundreds of "Nasoni", drinking fountains you'll find everywhere in the city
- buy your tickets in advance!!!!
- Colosseum: http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
- Vatican Museum: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/index.html
- Colosseum: http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
- Book a hotel in the centre
- Get a 3-day pass for all public transports, if you spend more than 2 days
- Leave some time to "get lost" and see some things that are not necessarily on your list
Feel free to leave a comment and add things I didn't mention!