It’s historic, it’s tasty, and it’s walkable. Rome is the largest city in Italy, populated with almost 3 million people. You’d never know this without checking the internet. We walked 30 miles of Rome in two days and it never felt crowded, outside of the main tourist sites like the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Vatican City (I know this isn’t technically Rome), and the Colosseum. You probably already noticed I compartmentalized that thought. I’ll further explain as I guide you through our favorite sites on a two day walking tour of Rome.
Day 1:
Vatican City is one of those places that everyone should see. There are lines, but if you’re a planner (or reading this blog), I’m going to tell you how to avoid them. The trick to maximizing your days in Rome is avoiding long tourist lines like those in The Vatican. So, what you’re going to do is pre-book a tour through a company like City Wonders and go first thing in the morning around 7am. There is a coffee shop on the corner across the street from the Vatican gate. Make sure to get your espresso before your group convenes. You’ll want to be awake for this.
When the doors open for The Vatican Museum, they let the tour groups in first for quite a bit of time before the general public has access. You’ll go through the museum with your tour guide who will explain the beauty, art, and architecture of The Vatican. By the time you reach the Sistine Chapel, you’ll be able to look at all the walls and the historically famous ceiling without a crowd swinging their arms at your face. Once the general public gets into the museum, the Sistine Chapel becomes claustrophobic and hardly bearable. Since your tour allows you access to the entire museum, once you’ve spent some time in the chapel, you can circle back through the rest of the exhibits. You can spend all day in the Vatican Museum. There’s just so much detail. We don’t recommend that unless you have lots of days in Rome. There’s all too much to see outside of the Vatican walls.
Because you have a tour badge, you will also be able to avoid the line to St. Peter’s Basilica once you leave the museum (it’s right next door). Be sure to notice the line and bask in the glory of your intelligence, because you were clearly smart enough to heed my advice. I’ll let you in on a secret…we also received the same advice. St. Peter’s is just incredible. From the floor to the ceiling, the detail is enamoring.
Once you leave St. Peter’s, it will probably be around lunch time. You can eat around Vatican City or head towards your next destination, which is what we recommend. Find the closest train station, which is either Cipro or Ottaviano. Take it towards Battastini and get off at the Spagna station. Leaving the Spagna station, you’ll be in Piazza di Spagna. Find a place to eat amongst the many restaurants around the plaza. After lunch, you can check out all the designer fashion stores along the plaza. We spent some time in the Ray Ban store here, since we’re sunglasses obsessed (you can’t have too many). Then stroll on over to the Spanish Steps. Hang out for a little while, because the people watching is incredible.
Once you’ve had enough, pull out your phone and use a maps app to navigate over to the Trevi Fountain. It will probably be crowded, but don’t let that deter you. It’s always crowded. Once you’ve tossed your coins over your shoulder into the fountain, stroll on over to the Pantheon. You’ll have to be there before 7:15pm (5:45pm Sunday) for admission before it closes. Like the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps before it, you won’t have to pay for admission.
It’s probably close to dinner time at this point. Fear not, you’re just a 5 minute walk to Piazza Navona, where there are restaurants lining the plaza so you can grab your second to last meal. Sit outside if you can get a table to enjoy the scenery and more people watching. Don’t end your day without gelato from one of the several shops in the surrounding streets.
Day 2:
Remember just yesterday you had taken that pre-booked tour of the Vatican? Now you’re going to instead, head over to Coleseo Metro station first thing in the morning with your pre-booked Colosseum tour. Just like The Vatican, this will allow you to skip the general admission line for early entrance. Leaving the Colosseum, you’ll walk directly past the Arch of Constantine and Temple of Venus.
Then you’ll walk over to the Arch of Titus and then to Palatino. Then to Basilica of Maxentius. Don’t worry, you can’t miss any of these sites. They are all in the same direction leaving the Colosseum. Next you’ll walk over to the Forums—the Roman Forum, Augustus Forum, and the Trajan Forum.
I hope you enjoyed all the historical ruins. Head over to Piazza Venezia. You won’t miss Altar of the Fatherland. It’s enormous and just breathtaking. It’s also free entrance during business hours.
At this point, your feet are probably tired and it’s probably getting close to the evening, so head on back to the Colosseum to watch the sunset. It’s unforgettable. Now, grab a bite to eat nearby. Rome day 2 is in the books.
Bonus:
If you can manage to rally after 2 long days, and you’re really going to want to rally, this bonus is going to be really nice for you. Following your meal, go back to the Colosseum. Yes, again. Because there are 3 looks to the Colosseum (daytime, sunset, and nighttime) and you’ll be upset if you see them all on the internet and you failed to do so in person. After you’re done, head on back on the Metro and get off at Spagna so you can see the Spanish Steps at night. Then the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. If there’s one thing about Rome I’m certain of it’s that the beauty of Rome has to be experienced during both day and night.
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