Get the full city of Rome experience! From stuffing your face with pizza and as much gelato as humanly possible, see sculptures and paintings by Michelangelo, or walk in the footprints of gladiators and kings, here is a list of things I did in Rome within the first 72 hours. Enjoy!
COLOSSEUM/ ROMAN FORUM
Named one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Roman Colosseum was on the top of our list of Italy excursions. If it is your first time to this ancient city, I would recommend taking an audio tour of the Colosseum and purchasing your tickets online and ahead of time to avoid lines as much as possible.
Wear your gladiators and sunscreen. This amphitheater was built by emperors between 72 to 80 AD. With a capacity of around 75,000 spectators it served as battle field for gladiator fights, animal hunts and executions. They also used to fill it with water and have ship fights… yep.
Entrance Fee: € 12
Purchase Here
VISIT THE VATICAN / STATIN CHAPEL
The Vatican sits just outside of Rome, as its own little country. From paintings to sculptures, the Vatican Museums have some of the world’s most incredible art collections including housing the Sistine Chapel. I believe something like 1/3 of the art is actually shown within the Vatican. The rest is underground and on rotation to appear in the museum.
Seeing the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michaelangelo was personally a life changing experience. Unfortunately visitors are prohibited from taking pictures inside. So, I suppose you’ll just have to go there to see it yourself.
I’d also note, the early bird gets the worm. This is definitely an activity to wake up early for. Avoid the massive lines and buy your entree ticket ahead of time. Also ladies and gents, cover up. No shorts, or sundresses exposing the knees or shoulders. You will not be let in. However, vendors line the streets outside selling scarves to those who forgot the strict rules of the Chapel.
Entrance Fee: Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel: € 16
TOSS A EURO IN THE TREVI FOUNTAIN
Looking for your very own Hillary Duff moment? Stop by the Trevi Fountain. This masterpiece of a fountain was my favorite site to see. Each panel tells the story of the creation of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. The fountain was a celebration piece of the aqueducts finally being finished in 1762.
Throw a coin in and make a wish. I was told coins should be euros and should be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder. Curious to where the euros go? The coins are collected and donated back to Rome to feed the needy. Something like 1.5 million USD a year!
Pro Tip: When you are looking at the fountain, to your right you will see a somewhat hidden water fountain. They say, drinking water from the fountain will make you a virgin again. Refresh yourself and fill up your water bottle here. What’s the worst thing that can happen?
Entrance Fee: Free
Address: Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
CATCH A TRAIN TO SATA MARINELLA
You’d be surprised on how many beaches that are within reach of the city. We went in mid summer and couldn’t wait to hop into the Mediterranean, so we made it happen day 1. We caught a train out of Roma Termini, it was about 40 ish min ride. We ended up in a super cute costal town where Santa Marinella’s main beach is located. Conveniently really close to the train station. Our group rented sun beds and umbrellas for the afternoon and sat waterside drinking Long Island Ice Teas. The rental was kind of pricey, but in my opinion worth it.
If you're planning on taking a trip to Rome, I hope you take as much advantage of your time there as we did. It was an awesome experience that simply left us wanting more.
Travel safe! Salute!
Have you explored Rome? Tell me your favorite places and hidden gems in the comments below!
Writing this has me wanting to go back, ASAP.
As always, thanks for reading!