RASHMI: Family Traveler
Follow all my travels on Instagram @live.bymyeyes
Travel Dates In 2nd Week of MAY 2024
In this post, I’m sharing our perfect 2-day Rome itinerary.
The Eternal City holds a special place in our hearts. Its My 1st time to Rome and I have Already fallen in love with the city. Rome can be polarizing! It is teeming with history and life. It is also teeming with selfie sticks and seemingly deranged Vespa drivers. Between the crowds of sweaty tourists and busy streets, pickpocket warning everywhere first-time visitors can become easily flustered. But do not let the hustle and bustle stop you from experiencing the best Rome has to offer.
In this guide, I’ll Walk through exactly how to maximize your time in Rome.
Rome has very friendly public transport system. After arriving Rome we bought Rome Transport card, The 48-hour ticket allows unlimited use of Rome's public transport for 48 hours from the time it is first used. The price is € 12.50 ( US$ 13.70) INR 1150 approx.
We arrived in Rome by bus and took another bus to get transferred to apartment, which was little far from city centre, but it never bothered us because of public transport. If you are arriving at Fiumicino airport, take Leonardo Express, which is very fast train costs 14€ and shuttles passengers straight from FCO to Termini station, the main train station in central Rome. From there, you can hop onto the city’s refreshingly simple metro system or grab a cab outside (the white ones only!) to take you to your hotel.
TIP: Watch your Belongings at Rome Termini and keep your backpack in front all the time lots of pickpocketing happens here. Don’t Carry cash in bags, Secure your cash & Passports in waist pouch.
Day 1
1. Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel
2. St. Peter’s Basilica
Home of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, the official HQ of the Catholic church will take at least half day to conquer. Buy “skip the line” tickets to the Vatican museums in advance to avoid the queue to get into the museum,–plan on dressing modestly the day you visit (cover those shoulders and legs). Clicking pictures is not allowed at Sistine Chapel, just absorb the marvellous artwork with your eyes.
If you plan to do all the Rooms of Vatican Museum Its around 14.5 Km (9 Miles) approx. Wear comfortable shoe and do it in the evening. Any Room any side you choose to enter from, you will always exit to Sistine Chapel, and do not miss those instaworthy spiral staircase.
Just on 5-10 min walk is St. Peter’s Square, we dint take a tour inside Basilica, there is no entry fee for Basilica, but queue is very long, if planning to do the Basilica don’t miss Dome Climb and book in advance.
Vatican City has many beautiful Café and we just sat in one for our dinner.
Most Instaworthy Spot of Vatican Museum.
St. Peters Basilica Square.
Day 2
Next Day we Visited Eternal city of Rome. We tried to cover most important sites of Rome in that one day, but left few for next visit.
Here is a list of all the most popular tourist attractions in the city that you should cover:
· Colosseum and the Roman Forum –
· At least one of the Popular Piazzas of Rome
· Altar of Fatherhood
The biggest advice I can give you if you want to visit all the monuments in the list above is to start your day early. Especially if you are visiting the city in the summer, autumn or spring months. The main reason I say this is because the scores of tourists Rome sees daily can hamper your experience in the eternal city. The later you start, the longer the lines and more crowded the spots will be. Which will mean 1000’s of people photo-bombing your pictures and having to wait hours in lines. And I’m sure you don’t want that.
Another useful advice would be to find a hotel or an airbnb near the Trevi Fountain as that is the first stop of the day. It is also centrally located and makes it easy for you to walk around the city center. You can also choose to stay in the other central areas of Rome that are well connected.
7.00 am: Start your day early and visit the Trevi Fountain. This is the best time to visit this monument as it is the quietest time of the day here. With very few people around, it is the perfect opportunity to get the best pictures. Besides that, you can sit and marvel at the beauty of the fountain without the crazy crowds around.
7:30 am: Grab a quick breakfast at L’Antico Forno Di Fontana Di Trevi with a view of the Trevi fountain. This little bakery has a range of fresh pastries for you to choose from.
7:45 am: Start walking towards the Spanish Steps. It is just a pleasant 8-minute walk from the Trevi Fountain. Besides, at that time of the day, you will only see Romans around preparing for the day ahead.
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
Later we had breakfast at McDonalds nearby, which is again insta worthy and entrance gives the feel of a museum.
I would advice to walk down till Colosseum as it’s a very interesting walk with lots of activities on streets and streets dotted with ruins of Roman architecture. Bus is another convenient option, but most of the time buses runs late. If you want to explore colosseum from inside then I would recommend book your tickets in advance online. Ticket to colosseum incudes visit to Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We found there are lots of tour guide, who offers direct entry to Colosseum on site also, but in my opinion, they are not that trustworthy. So, if you plan to explore it from inside take a guided tour and keep half day aside for this architectural marvel to discover. Just one day in hand for Rome we saw it from outside. And try to see it in the evening as well, as it looks amazing with the lights on.
Pro Tip: Don’t waste time in line for bus, as in Rome buses runs delayed.
Colosseum
Roman Architecture Ruins Behind
Exit from the Roman Forum and head to Piazza Venezia which is right next to the Forum. Walk up the stairs and see the view of the city. The monument Named Altar of Fatherhood is free to visit unless you would like to visit the rooftop. I recommend skipping that since any place that requires a ticket is bound to take time. Besides that, there are many other places you can head to later for the best views of Rome.
Around 1.00 we sat down for lunch near Piazza Venezia in one of the roadside cafés.
Piazza Venezia (Altar Of Fatherland)
Post lunch we walked to Pantheon, which is 850 metre a good 15 minutes’ walks, but it was afternoon and Pantheon was very crowded. We explored it from outside. In Rome monuments tickets Queue is always very long, to book in advance is the best way to save time and energy.
Pantheon
After so much walk its Gelato time, Venchi is one of my most favourite Gelato place, which is just 500 metre walk from Pantheon.
Pistachio is there bestselling, but you can try Fragola (strawberry) also, which is my favourite. Do not miss their Chocolate fall at the reception counter. The Q to buy ice-cream is always long, but it’s totally worth it.
Pro Tip: Check their Chocolate tasting also, and if buy a chocolate from Venchi, you get to order gelato with a Skip the Line Offer.
Gelato @Venchi
Roamed in the streets of Rome for some more time and went back to apartment.
Streets of Rome @6.45 AM
Rome is abundant with dining options catering to various tastes and dietary needs. If you encounter a fully booked restaurant or have specific dietary restrictions, consider exploring nearby areas or asking locals for recommendations. Many restaurants in Rome are accommodating and offer a range of options to suit different dietary requirements. In Italy most of the restaurant has Cover charge of Euro 1.5-2.0 ask them before you sit for your meal.
In my opinion its worth paying these charge as you get to use washrooms and sometimes, they give bread and Drinks on complimentary basis. And you are getting service on table.
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PS: My Happy Memories of Rome, This my first blog, I am just a beginner, Pls feel free to drop your suggestions as what you want me to cover in my next blog.
Very nicely explained... I wish you would have written this before I went to Rome....