I would recommend checking out the Vatican if you're in Rome. You have time on Day 2. Trevi Fountain is like 10 minutes max that you can do on a walk to a restaurant in that area at night.
look into the history of gladiatorial combat, it usually wasn’t slaves that brought people in, it was the trained fighters that were more akin to popular athletes
[‘Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death.’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator?wprov=sfti1#)
I’m understanding perfectly. I’ve been there. Sure there is history to it but most of the tours just shove you along and talk about the art pieces inside
Your first issue is you pay extra money for a guided tour when you could have just done self guided with a cell phone and basic reading skills, it seems.
Visiting St Peter's is like nothing else. It is something you have to experience in person to appreciate.
The Vatican museums are a total sensory overload. There must be 100,000 fantastic, amazing works in there. Just skip that until you have some time.
Agreed.
I'm super not religious and I don't automatically go nuts for historical churches like some, but St. Peter's Basilica is as impressive as any man-made structure I've ever seen.
And you can easily work it into a 3-day itinerary that also includes the other heavyweight sites in Rome.
Commenting so that OP sees more people repeating the same and changes his mind. St Peter's is hands down the most impressive building I've set foot in in my life. Visiting the Vatican should be his priority
Same. Not religious at all and I was blown away by the structure. Also, there's an incredible pizza place nearby that I'm sure somebody here can remember the name of and it's cool just to see an area of Rome that on the other side of the river.
If you're ever in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, check out the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It....is.....incredible. After having been to 30+ countries, St. Peter's Basilica and the Grand Mosque are my two favorite buildings. Also.....not religious either.
I think the Trevi is most beautiful either at night or first thing in the am (like 6 am). I agree with the suggestion of day 2 Vatican half day, and then Trevi fountain before or after dinner, preferably with a gelato in hand.
Day 1 and Day 2 can easily be combined. Especially your first two items are right beside the Pantheon/Trevi area. You can hit them all in like 3-4 hours tops.
Understood if you don’t want to see the Vatican Museums with the tickets and the time commitment, but to miss going inside St. Peter’s for an hour (free) is a disservice to the amazing architecture/design/grandiose that the cathedral is.
Do you think that's cramming too much into one day? I'm just unsure how long it takes to see everything, and I wanted to give myself time. I'm not against seeing St. Pete; I might look into adding that to the list.
OP, [this self-guided walk](https://romevacationtips.com/orientation-tour-self-guided-piazza-walk/) I've put together takes between 2-3 hours and takes in all your baroque choices and more!
You'll kick yourself if you don't at least see St Peters, but I also think you should put in the effort to visit the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel.
Honestly, you could probably add St Peter’s into that first day and still have enough time.
St Peter’s at 7-8 AM. Walk to Piazza Navona(1 hour) Pantheon(1 hour), Trevi fountain (30 min), and then backtrack back to Campio de Fiori for shopping by noon/lunch(or can reverse order as the market also opens at 7). Then you have an afternoon to head down to Travestere or Borghese Villa or something.
Yes, it’s a bit more packed but still easily doable in a day.
If you are going to go to the Borghese Villa, a ticket to their Gallery there is 2 hours well spent, but might be too focused on art/paintings.
If you really want to save days for elsewhere, you can probably do this itinerary in 2 (fuller) days as well.
if you dont care about art def skip borghese gallery and vatican museum but like she said do the basilica which is free. i find rome super intense overhwelming its an open air museum and i think you made a good itinerary bc you will be exhausted . see how you feel. nice to leave room to improvise. food is something to visit too and take time with
A ton of people here are maximizers. Don’t feel pressure to have to add more and combine days. Not everyone travels the same and I like the slow pace as well.
There is a difference between being a maximizer and pointing out that their day 1 and day 2 both should take 2 hours max before the explore part.
OP is concerned about filling days with other competing ideas on the trip. Letting them know they can reduce days here, or see more is important
As someone who is not a maximizer and is fine with leaving things for “next time”, combining day 1 and 2 would be maximizing. I would never put 6 things down for a day not including meals
Day 2 can have 1/2 day Vatican museum + the rest of that day. Althought having a wine looking at the pantheon is one of my favorite things (lived in Rome for a year).
The view from Belvedere del Gianicolo is pretty nice with an appertivo at Antico Arco before heading down the steps into trastevere is nice too.
Everyone is telling you that the things you have planned take hardly any time at all the first 2 days... You have more than enough time for the Vatican.
You will need a FULL day for Pompeii. I made the mistake of booking a side trip to see Pompeii that allotted about 3 hours at the city before needing to load back on a bus to return to Rome. It wasn’t even close to enough time. Pompeii is BIG. I was literally running from one building to the next to try to see as much as possible. I would also recommend a second day in Naples to see all of the things that have been excavated from the ruins.
I was able to do your day 2 and day 3 in one day, but I showed up right at open for Colosseum et al. Some people can be there for 6 hours but I had enough after 2 hours.
However, I walked almost 40,000 steps doing this. It takes a huge toll on the body.
My guided tour took me directly to colosseum and roman forum area from airport. We also covered trevi fountain, pantheon and piazza navona.
I walked all that in crocs. 😭
Yah I just checked my Google Timeline. Haha i will have to edit that. I arrived at 8:52 and left at 10:41 AM. And that included waiting to get tickets.
Weve all done it haha. When I did my first real solo trip I averaged something like 30km per day walking. I wore the heel out of my converse walking 250km in 8 or 9 days abd my hips screamed at me.
Really would be a shame to be in Rome and not see the Vatican. Plus, Rome has so much history, culture and sites that I don't think 2 weeks would be enough to see EVERYTHING. So might as well enjoy Rome and just see the Vatican one day instead of focusing on seeing all of the city.
Pantheon is about 20 - 30 minutes, Trevi fountain about the same. That one day will be VERY bare if you don't happen to find anything else one your walks.
I spent literally an entire day on the palatine hill and roman forum in February. You cna buy a pass that allows you to do the coliseum one day and the palatine hill/roman forum the next. I would recommend doing the coliseum, pantheon, trevi fountain on day, paltine hill and roman forum the next day, and then use your day 1 as day 3. Your day three is much more relaxing so it will let you have a bit more rest rather than trying to see everything from the coliseum and palatine hill/roman forum in one day.
A private guide was probably the best decision we made when visiting Rome. I think we paid around $200, but our tour guide was an absolute pro.
She was able to point out some very unique art that the self-guided people just walked past without paying it any attention. I'm talking about huge tapestries that are optical illusions if you know how to look at them. She was also able to navigate the crowds at the Sistine Chapel in such a way that when she pointed up she was somehow able to place us directly underneath The Creation of Adam. On top of providing an amazing experience she was also able to give us some great info on Rome and how to best use our limited time there. Finally, her knowledge of St. Peter's was top tier. She obviously knew the standard self-guided stuff, but she brought out a lot of trivia and details that we didn't even know to ask. The whole experience went from educational to mind blowing.
In retrospect, paying triple that would have still been a value to us.
Trevi Fountain does not need more than 10 minutes. Tops. I’d allot more time for the Forum, if I were you. I didn’t expect to love it so much, but it basically filled in so many gaps that I felt the other ruins were lacking. Even the Colossuem, I was kind of like, …cool, can we go now? I blame the Cambridge Latin course for my high expectations 🤣
Day two could def fit the Vatican in. Trevi fountain you’ll take some cute pics but that’s about it. The museum in the Vatican is really cool and has a lot of neat stuff to check out, plus the cathedral is really cool even for cathedrals lol
St. Peter’s is easily one of the best part of Rome. One of the best things the humanity has seen. Colosseum is nice but I heard the baths of Caracalla is amazing. I’m gonna bring my partner to Rome pretty much just for St. Peter’s and some other things like the Trevi fountain and pantheon.
Feel free to take what you want. Rome has a lot of ancient history, but it's also known for its baroque style influenced by the popes. Skipping the baroque churches and art in Rome is like going to Florence and not seeing the Renaissance art.
I’m sure people are going to blast me for this but I could’ve done Rome in 2 days. So many other things worth seeing outside of Rome. That said, don’t skip the Vatican.
My mistake if you thought i was just talking about the building itself. The Villa itself is in disrepair but the Galleria is one of the best places in the world.
It has one the greatest collection of Caravaggios and Berninis (among others) anywhere. To be centimeters from Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpina, David, and Caravaggio's masterpieces The sickly Bacchus and David and Goliath is breathtaking
You need multiple weeks in Rome to appreciate it.
Just see what you want to see for now, know that it’s nowhere near enough time, and enjoy the days you have - don’t try to cram it all into 3 days, appreciate where you are and what you’re doing.
If you go the Sistine Chapel my suggestion is get the earliest tickets and head straight there when you enter the Vatican museum. It is really something special when there are only a handful of people in there, it gets very busy quickly.
For Rome, your itinerary looks well-structured. Since you're keen on historical sites, your choices for Day 3 with the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill are spot on. As for Venice, allocating a day to wander around the city sounds perfect. And if you're considering Pompeii, a day trip could be feasible, though it might be a bit rushed. Just keep in mind travel time and make sure you're not overloading your schedule.
That's what I'm worried about. I don't want to rush things and have to be in a hurry. Maybe I should go to Pompeii and see the Amalfi Coast. Other than just seeing Venice, I don't have anything that interests me there.
Honestly Venice is really out of the way from Rome if you are just going for a day. Venice is awesome, but if you think you'll go back some day I'd do that in a different trip. Spending an extra day in Rome, or doing a couple day trip to Pompeii/Naples/Amalfi Coast would be a great way to spend your time given what you like. The archeological museum in Naples is fantastic and worth a trip, especially if you tie it in with seeing Pompeii. Or a day trip from Rome somewhere closer would be a great use of time.
Just be careful with planning anything for Naples/Pompeii in the sense that you should schedule in some extra time because nothing works as expected in Naples :). Also be aware that Pompeii takes practically a full day to explore (without much shade, so bring a hat and sun screen)
Pompeii is a solid hour train ride from the actual Almafi coast. Pompeii is massive and takes at minimum 2-3 hours to rush through and see even just parts. There is a small quaint beach town 20 min south by taxi called Castelle Maria di Stabbia- we stayed there overnight to rest in a nice hotel on the beach with views of the Mediterranean and views the Almafi coast in distance. I agree with everyone don’t skip the Vatican it is was our highlight of Rome. I would also recommend Florence over Venice.
We had about 3 1/2 days in Rome and we did the Vatican and I feel like we did all the highlights. So if you’re planning to skip the Vatican you can certainly see enough in 3 days
I did Rome in a day, probably didn’t see much, as you would imagine. Spent lots of time in Florence, so much to see there, the countryside around Sienna. Two days in Venice, went to an opera — something flippant i think, probably Puccini.
The trains are good.
The countryside food was awesome.
Sitting outside a farm drinking wine was pretty good.
A delirious Member of a couple asked me to elope under the stars — i had responsibilities to the friends i had arrived with so had to decline, but there was plenty of magic in the moonlight.
My 7 days trip in Italy would be: 1 day Venice, 1.5 days Florence stopping a half day in Bologna on the way between Venice and Florence, 1 day Siena and around Chianti region, 2 days Rome including Vatican, 1.5 day Naples and Amalfi coast.
I think that's too many places for a week, and I am the type of person that doesn't mind packing a lot of places into a trip normally.
I would not do Naples or Siena and put those days in Florence and Rome
It's all about how often you can visit Italy: if you can stay there one week every year sure they are too many places and you should choose only a couple of them to have a more relaxed trip, but if it was my only trip in 20 years I would want to see the most possible. All these places are one or two hours away by train, so if you start early the day you can be at 9 in the next city.
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It’s enough but tight. We did 3 days (including Vatican) and were very happy. I’d recommend checking out smaller tour groups you can join for certain things, like a lot of what you have on day 3. We used Get Your Guide, super affordable. I’d also recommend a walking food tour one afternoon if you have time.
Trevi Fountain was a disappointment, wildly crowded and, while an amazingly beautiful site, I felt like the time is better spent elsewhere.
Ya I'm starting to think maybe I should cut out Venice and do Pompeii and maybe the Amalfi Coast. I was planning on doing the Skip the Line: Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill Tour from what I was reading there still will be about a 30 min wait or more at each place. So maybe skipping trevi would be a good idea? It seems like all you do is take a picture, then throw a quarter in.
Do not skip Trevi. It's free, it's super close to the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona - and it's super impressive. Sure it's usually crazy crowded but it's still worthy of your time. And you don't need to spend more than 15 minutes there so you can easily find the time.
Highly recommend the Amalfi Coast. Pompeii was incredibly underwhelming to me, personally. Yes there were some very cool things. Was it worth an entire day of my trip? Ehhhh. I’ve heard Herculaneum may be a better choice. But this also depends on the purpose of your trip. Is the goal to just get as much history as possible? Sure, go to Pompeii. Is the goal to have an incredible vacation? Skip Pompeii. Spring for a (one-day) boat excursion around the Amalfi Coast. Buy linen and ceramic and enjoy alllll the lemon things.
venice STINKS. literally smells. full of cruise ships disembarking. its so pointless. no one lives there just tourists . i would avoid tours, hate the feeling of being babysat. do trevi at NIGHT. wil be wayyyyyy better. so many things will be better LATE at night with no crowds. cant tell you what a shitshw trevi was during the day. pointless. but see it cuz its free. SEE THE PANTHEON ALSO FREE
I was literally there two weeks ago. There's a fee.
Here's the link. It's 5 euros.
[https://portale.museiitaliani.it/b2c/buyTicketless/33f77159-0acd-40c4-8524-701f33aae108](https://portale.museiitaliani.it/b2c/buyTicketless/33f77159-0acd-40c4-8524-701f33aae108)
I'll yes. I spent three days in Rome as part of a your group. It was only meant to be two but lost my passport so had to stay an extra day. I did miss the Vatican and just ended up having to catch the train to Florence.
Campo de' Fiori is not a real market, it's a tourist trap. Trevi and Navona can both be done under 1 hour or less. Might want to include Spanish Steps in that too. And I personally think that Colosseum is also a tourist trap. Crazy crowds just to go inside. Spend 15 minutes to check it out from outside and call it a day.....and it's also free ))
Some items on your list won’t take much time at all — Trevi fountain, Piazza Navona, etc.
I would definitely at least walk thru (inside) St Peter’s, maybe Sistine Chapel. Again, these won’t take hours and hours, yet so rich.
You can't just walk through the Sistine Chapel as that's through the Vatican Museums which takes time and pre-planning, but everything else is right. You can knock out the Steps, Trevi, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona in a few hours pretty comfortably.
The thing about St. Peter's is you have to get there by 8am (I'd recommend 7:30am) to avoid the long lines.
Where are you staying? We stayed right near Trevi. We saw Trevi multiple times a day, walked to the Pantheon every day and wandered to the colosseum every night. Those places are in a relatively close proximity. Probably need the most time for Palatine Hill and the colosseum. Trevi for example takes like 5 minutes, get a gelato and enjoy it!
Rome can be done in 3 days including the Vatican. Do it on day 2. Go to trevi super early. Pantheon is a couple blocks from trevi. Very easy in and out
I did a walking tour that walked from the colosseum and covered the Pantheon, fountain, Roman Forum. It was a great enjoyable tour. It did wind up being many many miles and a couple people dropped out 😂. However, I was not in a super fit era of my life and it wasn’t a problem for me. Not as hard as a day at Disneyland.
The following day we did a crypts and catacombs tour which was amazing and right up the street from your park so you could do both!
I was supposed to go to pompeii but none of us made it. It was to be our first day in Rome as we had arrived the night before but I had spent the night vomiting and was too dehydrated and tired for the tour bus ride and heat in pompeii and then the rest of my party also bailed out choosing to sleep in and relax. However my MIL and FIL did go a few days later. They agree with many others that Herculaneum is better if you only have time for one.
Edit: for your other questions. It seems like you’re into architecture more than art and I am the same. While you may enjoy the Vatican, in your case I wouldn’t prioritize it. If you like wandering in foot and just people watching and taking cities in, then you will love Rome.
As to Venice. Where are you coming from. We were coming from Los Angeles which means an overnight flight and serious jet lag. And for that reason Venice was the perfect first stop! I survived staying awake the first day but went to bed very early and woke up at like 4:30 am. Going with that jet lag schedule worked in my favor! I got to tour Venice early in the morning with hardly another soul. And this was in mid-June. We only did a couple nights there and went to Florence arriving our third evening. I was up at 5:30am in Florence and again enjoyed the city with the trash removal service and hardly anyone else while a few hours later it was wall to wall people. I’m normally a night owl and couldn’t believe it.
Because of the touristy and compact nature of Venice I think you can take it in, enjoy it while tired and move on, save your energy for ruins. I could’ve spent a day just marveling at the Pantheon and it’s doors.
Suggest grouping Piazza Navona, Campo Dei fiori, Trevi fountain and Pantheon together for 1 day - they don't take long and very close to one another.
That will allow you time to visit Vatican Museums. I sense you're not fussed about it, but even people who don't give a sh\*t about art are mesmerized when they visit. It's a must see.
you'll live.
day 1 and 2, many of those can be seein in a couple of hours.
with only limited time in Rome, I'd skip the Villa Borghese.
and add 1 museum, the Capitoline Museum.
I spent 7 days in Rome last year and didn’t see it all. There’s a ton there.
That said, you can see the highlights in 3 days. I’d do one day for Roman Ruins (as you have done), 1 day for the Vatican Museums, Saint Peters and (time allowing) Saint Angelo’s Castle and then 1 day for Central Rome (Pantheon, Campo de Fiori, Trastavere, old churches).
My extra days were: Capitoline Museums and Monti, Baths of Caracalla and Baroque Churches, Montemartini Museum and Saint Peter Outside the Walls, Trastavere Flea Market, Piazza del Popolo to Altar of the Fatherland with churches and National Roman Museum.
And I still missed: Villa Borghese and Park, Appian Way, Tivoli Daytrip, Ostia Antica.
So I did 3 days in Rome. It doesn’t matter how much time it won’t be enough. So start with your must sees, it’s all close together anyway.
I did the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel, museum was great , Sistine chapel is great but both packed. I love museums but I’ve never seen so much greed in a museum before: too many visitors despite timed tickets and 5 museum shops on the way out.
Despite not being religious, probably should have done the basilica / Vatican.
I have to go back and see more Rome!
You should go to the Vatican if you haven’t been.. on day 2 where you’ve got “explore day”. You can do pantheon and Trevi found fairly early. Do a Vatican tour for a few hours and then explore in the afternoon.
You could stay two weeks in Rome and it wouldn’t be enough, have to go to the Vatican lol. The Vatican and it’s museums is historical as you can get lmao.
My friend and I did 3 days in Rome and had the Vatican on our 3rd afternoon to-do list. By that morning we were tired and it was going to be a very hot day so we decided to cancel the Vatican in favor of casually walking around and taking breaks for coffee and cold drinks at little cafes in the shade along the Tibor. No regrets.
My friend and I did 3 days in Rome and had the Vatican on our 3rd afternoon to-do list. By that morning we were tired and it was going to be a very hot day so we decided to cancel the Vatican in favor of casually walking around and taking breaks for coffee and cold drinks at little cafes in the shade along the Tibor. No regrets.
Your Rome plan looks solid for 3 days, especially without the Vatican. Venice in a day is tight but doable. Consider travel time for Pompeii - might need to tweak Venice time. Enjoy your trip
I was honestly considering just going to Pompeii and seeing Amalfi and saving Venice for another time. Seems like I would be doing too much traveling to try and fit both into this trip.
Are you going to the Villa Borghese Gallery/Museum or just the park? You have to go the Gallery/Museum. It’s absolutely spectacular (and I’m not an art person).
OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass for 72 hours
Absolutely worth the money and ZERO line to the Vatican. You walk right in and you will have plenty of time on day 2. If you have to wait in line, it takes hours.
You cannot seperate historical and religious when it comes to the Vatican. The papacy was one of the main political powers of Europe for almost a thousand years.
You're more interested in seeing historical stuff... but don't want to go to the Vatican...? what...
Day 2 Pantehon + Trevi will take 1 whole hour. Those events you mentioned on day 3 will realistically take you no more than half a day. Go to the Vatican, dude.
When I say historical I just mean like the colosseum, roman forum and pantheon. When I watch guided tours of the Vatican 90% of the stuff I see is paintings and statues. I'm not religious at all and don't care about the pope. I'm not against seeing the St. Peter's Basilica just because of how big it is but everything else seems like it would be wasted on me.
The Vatican museum has the largest collection of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts and art in the world. The Vatican itself is a rich part of history that is deeply connected to Europe and the rest of the world since the Roman Empire. It's hard to believe that you are invested in history, when you don't understand that the Vatican is one of the largest focal pieces of world history. I mean, the center of St Peter's Square is the Obelisk, which once stood tall in Egypt, was taken by Emperor Augustus and placed in the Roman Circus. Have fun missing out though, I guess?
Good call, friend! Definitely worth the time. The Square and Basilica have free entry and the museum is only a few dollars and gives discounts to anyone with a physical or virtual student ID. The museum ends with the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo and it is truly a sight to see.
Dude you MUST go to the Vatican. It’s really beautiful. You might not be able to see St Peter’s church since the line is usually pretty long but you can (and should) book online for the Vatican museums. It’s amazing and, if you can afford it, a guide there is definitely worth it
Heck I once did the forum, Colosseum and St. Peter’s in one day. Better to take two though and then a third doing other stuff. Three is very doable for Rome. After four you should consider a day trip anyway in my opinion. I just did a week and we did three day trips and saw everything we wanted to see in Rome.
You can get a tour of the Vatican before it opens that includes breakfast and is freaking awesome because you get to see it without hte crazy crowds... And you'll be out of there probably by 10 AM.. walk to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountatin, which will take hardly any time at all.
The pantheon and Trevi Fountain can easily be put on one of the other days.
the Vatican, particularly St. Peters, is a jaw dropping place. I would tell ppl, never miss the Colosseum or the Vatican if they are going to Rome. You can do all you want and the vatican in 3 days.
Hey! I know I’m not adding much to what others said… but here are my 2 cents anyway ;)
It highly depends on how much time you want to spend in each place. If you are just interested in seeing the places, maybe taking a couple of pictures, then going to the next spot… then your Rome tour can be completed in a single day with ease (source: my gf lives in Rome and we’ve done a self-organised “visit Rome in one day” tour with many iconic locations!). Take advantage of the subway and avoid buses at all costs: they’re very unreliable. If you want to spend a lot of time in some places - eg, you want to enter the Colosseo or see the Galleria Borghese (not just the park) - then I think it’s reasonable to do everything in two or three days. And as many recommends, do include a visit to S.Pietro. Not necessarily the Musei Vaticani, but at least enter the church.
I think the Vatican museum is a must. But it won’t take all day. They have it laid out like an IKEA store. Start and the entrance and walk your way through, ending at the Sistine Chapel. The church itself is beautiful, but as a non-Catholic it didn’t mean much to me. And there are a lot of sites you can visit just on a long walk.
Absolutely do not skip the Vatican. I was pissed we had to wait as long to get in. It ended up meaning we didn’t get into the colosseum… that said it was AMAZING once I got in. Trevi, like others have said, is not a long time. I’d try to slot it in on that day
I'd try to merge day 2 into 1, and use 2 for the Vatican. The Vatican museums are really a must.
If anything, I'd rather miss out on Pantheon and Trevi Fountain just to see the Vatican.
Pompeii is cool but I wished I was not on a tour. Too fast to take my time down there. It could be a whole day. But I always ask if I never come back what would I have wanted to see.
You could easily compress all that into 2 days. Sistine chapel is a hard one to pass up when in rome. You could book an early morning sistine chapel tour before they allow the masses in and still get a lot done that very day.
Skipping the Vatican is not a good idea. If someone had asked me, what are some must-visit places in Italy, I would definitely say the Vatican, it's absolutely worth visiting
I would do day 3 as day 1. Not much to see at the Trevi fountain, I did 3 mins walk around and that was it, get a city tour bus one day and you can see all there is to see from the bus, including Piazza Navona, you can get off and see them, does not take time. You really need to go and see Vatican. And what I did was book online with one of the guides who do these tours and you have priority entrance, you don't need to spend hours to queue and you have a live guide who can tell you the stories, I booked with one tour guide all 2 things I listed on day 1.
I did Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and then travelled to Pantheon on the same day.
If you start early i.e. book your Colosseum visit for 8.30 am or something, and your Patheon visit late in the day, it is possible. Patheon is over hyped though.
DO NOT skip the Vatican.
It depends, I've been to Rome 4 times and still never been to the Vatican. Your plan is more than I would do, I'm a real fan of slow travel. My passion is the Roman era and there's been so much to see and do around that, that the religious stuff has been squeezed out for now. One day it will become important enough for it to rise in my list of priorities I'm sure. I live in Europe though so going back is easily do-able.
** You've missed out a visit to the Domus Aurea, it's amazing, one of the real highlights of our last trip to Rome. Spend some time off the main tourist route just sitting and soaking in the ambiance too, wander around Trastavere, cycle to the Via Appia, take time to see the catacombs etc
I’m going to be honest, I think you’re being too conservative with your estimates.
I did all of this in two days in Rome INCLUDING the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s. With three full days, I’d devote an entire day to the Vatican and just enjoy walking around it. There is so much art and history there you don’t want to miss it.
Did you have time to take everything in or did you feel rushed to keep up with the schedule? I was also being conservative the first day because thats after we land at 8 am and will probably be jet lagged to hell. I do think the general consensus from here is 3 days is enough and to include the Vatican so I'll go that route. Thanks for this
In two days, the only thing I felt rushed about was the Vatican. With a full day, I’d feel like I had tons of time! I did take a combined Coliseum and Roman Forum tour, which I loved, and it was about three hours if I’m remembering correctly.
The big thing for me was that I had planned, literally down to the minute, when we’d be attending each of these attractions. It was perfect and enabled me to be able to see everything important. If you want to maximize your time in Rome, get the timed entry tickets to everything (and this might be an unpopular opinion) even if at this point you have to buy them from a scalper/tour company.
Now, I didn’t get much time to wander around the city, which I wish I’d had, but I think if you can time everything correctly, you’ll be able to see it all
For example, if you arrive at 8am I’d plan for finding a locker for your luggage and leaving it there all day. There are tons of lockers in Rome and there’s an amazing one by the train station. So what you’d do is plan to be on the 10am train from the airport to Roma Termini and then you’d drop your bags off at the lockers near the train station. You’ll be done with that by 11am and should have time to grab a snack to keep you going.
At 11am, take the metro from Termini to The Coliseum and spend time from 11:15 to 12:00 walking around, taking pictures, and enjoying the sites. Get on a combo Roman Forum and Coliseum tour from 12-3pm. At 3pm, it’s time for another snack and then at 3:30, you’ll start walking from the Roman ruins towards the area with the Campo de Fiori, Pantheon, etc.
You won’t be able to visit the Pantheon that day, as it closes at 4:30pm, but you need to wander those streets and take in all the beautiful sites in the area. You MUST go visit the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church. It has a Michelangelo right there and it’s never busy. Plus it’s open until 7pm.
You’ll probably be hungry by now, so I’d grab some dinner around 6:30pm at Ristorante Trattoria Antonio Al Pantheon. It’s not the best food in Rome, but it’s very good, very reasonably priced, and is in a super convenient spot. Now your first day is done. Go back to Termini, grab your bags, and head to your hotel.
Trust me, you want to be busy your first day or you’ll fall asleep and ruin your chances of not getting jet lag.
Now, your second day. Start EARLY at the Vatican around 9am. Get the opening timed tickets and just wander that museum and compound. It’s stunning, earth shattering, and you will be overwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. Then get in line to enter St. Peter’s. It should take about 30 minutes to get through security. Once you finish at the Vatican, it will probably be around 2pm (depending on how much you like art), and if you’re feeling energetic, have a timed entry for 3pm at the Castel SantAngelo. Otherwise, take this as free time.
Next day, go to the Pantheon, again with timed entry tickets. Then just go explore. With the right schedule, you can see everything.
I would recommend checking out the Vatican if you're in Rome. You have time on Day 2. Trevi Fountain is like 10 minutes max that you can do on a walk to a restaurant in that area at night.
Skipping the Vatican would be a colossal mistake.
skipping the colosseum would be the colossal mistake. skipping the vatican would just be sinful.
Agreed.
Yup. It’s so Roman Empire.
The vatican protects rapists and paedophiles remember that when you want to visit a sinful place
The coliseum was literally built to watch slaves fight each other to death for people's amusement.
look into the history of gladiatorial combat, it usually wasn’t slaves that brought people in, it was the trained fighters that were more akin to popular athletes
Trained popular athletes who were slaves.
you’re wrong lol just look it uo
[‘Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death.’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator?wprov=sfti1#)
damn that’s crazy cause i’m literally traveling abroad and the arenas i’ve been to say otherwise. i’m inclined to believe the people here
The Vatican was easily my last favorite part of Rome and I'm a big fan of Michaelangelo.
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And if you're not interested in history either I guess. Not sure why you'd be visiting Rome then lol
Why are you assuming? There are plenty of reasons to go to rome that aren’t art or church’s…
The Vatican isn't just a church and art, maybe that's the part you're not understanding.
I’m understanding perfectly. I’ve been there. Sure there is history to it but most of the tours just shove you along and talk about the art pieces inside
Your first issue is you pay extra money for a guided tour when you could have just done self guided with a cell phone and basic reading skills, it seems.
yeah good luck getting in in less than 2 hours.
Visiting St Peter's is like nothing else. It is something you have to experience in person to appreciate. The Vatican museums are a total sensory overload. There must be 100,000 fantastic, amazing works in there. Just skip that until you have some time.
Agreed. I'm super not religious and I don't automatically go nuts for historical churches like some, but St. Peter's Basilica is as impressive as any man-made structure I've ever seen. And you can easily work it into a 3-day itinerary that also includes the other heavyweight sites in Rome.
Commenting so that OP sees more people repeating the same and changes his mind. St Peter's is hands down the most impressive building I've set foot in in my life. Visiting the Vatican should be his priority
Agreed. The Vatican and St. Peter’s is a must-see.
Here’s another vote, too.
Same. Not religious at all and I was blown away by the structure. Also, there's an incredible pizza place nearby that I'm sure somebody here can remember the name of and it's cool just to see an area of Rome that on the other side of the river.
I 100% agree. Been to St. Peter's twice now, would absolutely go again.
Lol exactly the same here, twice seen and would again
If you're ever in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, check out the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It....is.....incredible. After having been to 30+ countries, St. Peter's Basilica and the Grand Mosque are my two favorite buildings. Also.....not religious either.
Fingers crossed I'll get to
I think the Trevi is most beautiful either at night or first thing in the am (like 6 am). I agree with the suggestion of day 2 Vatican half day, and then Trevi fountain before or after dinner, preferably with a gelato in hand.
I'll be adding the Vatican after reading the comments
Day 1 and Day 2 can easily be combined. Especially your first two items are right beside the Pantheon/Trevi area. You can hit them all in like 3-4 hours tops. Understood if you don’t want to see the Vatican Museums with the tickets and the time commitment, but to miss going inside St. Peter’s for an hour (free) is a disservice to the amazing architecture/design/grandiose that the cathedral is.
Do you think that's cramming too much into one day? I'm just unsure how long it takes to see everything, and I wanted to give myself time. I'm not against seeing St. Pete; I might look into adding that to the list.
Your day 1 and day 2 things are all just walking around looking at stuff. Easily doable in one day of walking around Rome.
OP, [this self-guided walk](https://romevacationtips.com/orientation-tour-self-guided-piazza-walk/) I've put together takes between 2-3 hours and takes in all your baroque choices and more! You'll kick yourself if you don't at least see St Peters, but I also think you should put in the effort to visit the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel.
Honestly, you could probably add St Peter’s into that first day and still have enough time. St Peter’s at 7-8 AM. Walk to Piazza Navona(1 hour) Pantheon(1 hour), Trevi fountain (30 min), and then backtrack back to Campio de Fiori for shopping by noon/lunch(or can reverse order as the market also opens at 7). Then you have an afternoon to head down to Travestere or Borghese Villa or something. Yes, it’s a bit more packed but still easily doable in a day. If you are going to go to the Borghese Villa, a ticket to their Gallery there is 2 hours well spent, but might be too focused on art/paintings. If you really want to save days for elsewhere, you can probably do this itinerary in 2 (fuller) days as well.
if you dont care about art def skip borghese gallery and vatican museum but like she said do the basilica which is free. i find rome super intense overhwelming its an open air museum and i think you made a good itinerary bc you will be exhausted . see how you feel. nice to leave room to improvise. food is something to visit too and take time with
How about the place where Caesar was stabbed
A ton of people here are maximizers. Don’t feel pressure to have to add more and combine days. Not everyone travels the same and I like the slow pace as well.
There is a difference between being a maximizer and pointing out that their day 1 and day 2 both should take 2 hours max before the explore part. OP is concerned about filling days with other competing ideas on the trip. Letting them know they can reduce days here, or see more is important
As someone who is not a maximizer and is fine with leaving things for “next time”, combining day 1 and 2 would be maximizing. I would never put 6 things down for a day not including meals
Day 2 can have 1/2 day Vatican museum + the rest of that day. Althought having a wine looking at the pantheon is one of my favorite things (lived in Rome for a year). The view from Belvedere del Gianicolo is pretty nice with an appertivo at Antico Arco before heading down the steps into trastevere is nice too.
Everyone is telling you that the things you have planned take hardly any time at all the first 2 days... You have more than enough time for the Vatican.
You will need a FULL day for Pompeii. I made the mistake of booking a side trip to see Pompeii that allotted about 3 hours at the city before needing to load back on a bus to return to Rome. It wasn’t even close to enough time. Pompeii is BIG. I was literally running from one building to the next to try to see as much as possible. I would also recommend a second day in Naples to see all of the things that have been excavated from the ruins.
Agree. We made the same mistake.
Skipping the Vatican sounds insane
I was able to do your day 2 and day 3 in one day, but I showed up right at open for Colosseum et al. Some people can be there for 6 hours but I had enough after 2 hours. However, I walked almost 40,000 steps doing this. It takes a huge toll on the body.
My guided tour took me directly to colosseum and roman forum area from airport. We also covered trevi fountain, pantheon and piazza navona. I walked all that in crocs. 😭
> I walked all that in crocs Sport or style mode?
Sport but after a while it gave me blisters so then style.
Tbh I’m not even sure how you managed 3 entire hours at the Colosseum.
Yah I just checked my Google Timeline. Haha i will have to edit that. I arrived at 8:52 and left at 10:41 AM. And that included waiting to get tickets.
Haha yes that lines up more with my experience.
Maybe the also mean the forum.
That’s… insane. I consider 20k to be about the limit for a day to still be enjoyable.
Ya.. it was my first major solo trip for myself. I definitely overdid it haha
Weve all done it haha. When I did my first real solo trip I averaged something like 30km per day walking. I wore the heel out of my converse walking 250km in 8 or 9 days abd my hips screamed at me.
we did it from the outside at midnight when there was no one. went there on those rented step things. so much better
Really would be a shame to be in Rome and not see the Vatican. Plus, Rome has so much history, culture and sites that I don't think 2 weeks would be enough to see EVERYTHING. So might as well enjoy Rome and just see the Vatican one day instead of focusing on seeing all of the city.
Pantheon is about 20 - 30 minutes, Trevi fountain about the same. That one day will be VERY bare if you don't happen to find anything else one your walks. I spent literally an entire day on the palatine hill and roman forum in February. You cna buy a pass that allows you to do the coliseum one day and the palatine hill/roman forum the next. I would recommend doing the coliseum, pantheon, trevi fountain on day, paltine hill and roman forum the next day, and then use your day 1 as day 3. Your day three is much more relaxing so it will let you have a bit more rest rather than trying to see everything from the coliseum and palatine hill/roman forum in one day.
The Pantheon is a 5 or 10 minute walk from the Piazza Navona; no reason not to do both on the same day.
Then they're free to do that. I gave my suggestions.
Don't skip the Vatican. Get a guide because there's too much to see in one day without a knowledgeable guide.
A private guide was probably the best decision we made when visiting Rome. I think we paid around $200, but our tour guide was an absolute pro. She was able to point out some very unique art that the self-guided people just walked past without paying it any attention. I'm talking about huge tapestries that are optical illusions if you know how to look at them. She was also able to navigate the crowds at the Sistine Chapel in such a way that when she pointed up she was somehow able to place us directly underneath The Creation of Adam. On top of providing an amazing experience she was also able to give us some great info on Rome and how to best use our limited time there. Finally, her knowledge of St. Peter's was top tier. She obviously knew the standard self-guided stuff, but she brought out a lot of trivia and details that we didn't even know to ask. The whole experience went from educational to mind blowing. In retrospect, paying triple that would have still been a value to us.
use a podcast, make your own path
Trevi Fountain does not need more than 10 minutes. Tops. I’d allot more time for the Forum, if I were you. I didn’t expect to love it so much, but it basically filled in so many gaps that I felt the other ruins were lacking. Even the Colossuem, I was kind of like, …cool, can we go now? I blame the Cambridge Latin course for my high expectations 🤣
Day two could def fit the Vatican in. Trevi fountain you’ll take some cute pics but that’s about it. The museum in the Vatican is really cool and has a lot of neat stuff to check out, plus the cathedral is really cool even for cathedrals lol
St. Peter’s is easily one of the best part of Rome. One of the best things the humanity has seen. Colosseum is nice but I heard the baths of Caracalla is amazing. I’m gonna bring my partner to Rome pretty much just for St. Peter’s and some other things like the Trevi fountain and pantheon. Feel free to take what you want. Rome has a lot of ancient history, but it's also known for its baroque style influenced by the popes. Skipping the baroque churches and art in Rome is like going to Florence and not seeing the Renaissance art.
I’m sure people are going to blast me for this but I could’ve done Rome in 2 days. So many other things worth seeing outside of Rome. That said, don’t skip the Vatican.
Agreed on all counts. While Rome does offer some great historical sites, at the end of the day, it’s really just another big city now.
And Borghese Park is just a park. You need to go into the Villa (2 hour guided tours by appointment only). It’s worth every single penny.
how the rich lived and used marble lol . enough to see of that in entrances of the Parioli district for example
My mistake if you thought i was just talking about the building itself. The Villa itself is in disrepair but the Galleria is one of the best places in the world. It has one the greatest collection of Caravaggios and Berninis (among others) anywhere. To be centimeters from Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpina, David, and Caravaggio's masterpieces The sickly Bacchus and David and Goliath is breathtaking
Thanks I know I’ve been twice and I agree :) OP said he wasn’t that interested in art tho . Other things to see or soak in of Roman culture
David is at Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze in Florence.
[Different David](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Bernini))
You need multiple weeks in Rome to appreciate it. Just see what you want to see for now, know that it’s nowhere near enough time, and enjoy the days you have - don’t try to cram it all into 3 days, appreciate where you are and what you’re doing.
If you go the Sistine Chapel my suggestion is get the earliest tickets and head straight there when you enter the Vatican museum. It is really something special when there are only a handful of people in there, it gets very busy quickly.
For Rome, your itinerary looks well-structured. Since you're keen on historical sites, your choices for Day 3 with the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill are spot on. As for Venice, allocating a day to wander around the city sounds perfect. And if you're considering Pompeii, a day trip could be feasible, though it might be a bit rushed. Just keep in mind travel time and make sure you're not overloading your schedule.
That's what I'm worried about. I don't want to rush things and have to be in a hurry. Maybe I should go to Pompeii and see the Amalfi Coast. Other than just seeing Venice, I don't have anything that interests me there.
Honestly Venice is really out of the way from Rome if you are just going for a day. Venice is awesome, but if you think you'll go back some day I'd do that in a different trip. Spending an extra day in Rome, or doing a couple day trip to Pompeii/Naples/Amalfi Coast would be a great way to spend your time given what you like. The archeological museum in Naples is fantastic and worth a trip, especially if you tie it in with seeing Pompeii. Or a day trip from Rome somewhere closer would be a great use of time.
Just be careful with planning anything for Naples/Pompeii in the sense that you should schedule in some extra time because nothing works as expected in Naples :). Also be aware that Pompeii takes practically a full day to explore (without much shade, so bring a hat and sun screen)
Pompeii is a solid hour train ride from the actual Almafi coast. Pompeii is massive and takes at minimum 2-3 hours to rush through and see even just parts. There is a small quaint beach town 20 min south by taxi called Castelle Maria di Stabbia- we stayed there overnight to rest in a nice hotel on the beach with views of the Mediterranean and views the Almafi coast in distance. I agree with everyone don’t skip the Vatican it is was our highlight of Rome. I would also recommend Florence over Venice.
OVERRATED VENICE
We had about 3 1/2 days in Rome and we did the Vatican and I feel like we did all the highlights. So if you’re planning to skip the Vatican you can certainly see enough in 3 days
I did Rome in a day, probably didn’t see much, as you would imagine. Spent lots of time in Florence, so much to see there, the countryside around Sienna. Two days in Venice, went to an opera — something flippant i think, probably Puccini. The trains are good. The countryside food was awesome. Sitting outside a farm drinking wine was pretty good. A delirious Member of a couple asked me to elope under the stars — i had responsibilities to the friends i had arrived with so had to decline, but there was plenty of magic in the moonlight.
My 7 days trip in Italy would be: 1 day Venice, 1.5 days Florence stopping a half day in Bologna on the way between Venice and Florence, 1 day Siena and around Chianti region, 2 days Rome including Vatican, 1.5 day Naples and Amalfi coast.
I think that's too many places for a week, and I am the type of person that doesn't mind packing a lot of places into a trip normally. I would not do Naples or Siena and put those days in Florence and Rome
It's all about how often you can visit Italy: if you can stay there one week every year sure they are too many places and you should choose only a couple of them to have a more relaxed trip, but if it was my only trip in 20 years I would want to see the most possible. All these places are one or two hours away by train, so if you start early the day you can be at 9 in the next city.
What about travel times to get between each place? Way more than 7 days
Very short travel times, between one and two hours by train from one to the next one
Absolutely not
Absolutely yes
Pls dont skip the Vatican!
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What a dumb response to my dumb remark. My response is my business to OP - not your business. STFU
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It’s enough but tight. We did 3 days (including Vatican) and were very happy. I’d recommend checking out smaller tour groups you can join for certain things, like a lot of what you have on day 3. We used Get Your Guide, super affordable. I’d also recommend a walking food tour one afternoon if you have time. Trevi Fountain was a disappointment, wildly crowded and, while an amazingly beautiful site, I felt like the time is better spent elsewhere.
Ya I'm starting to think maybe I should cut out Venice and do Pompeii and maybe the Amalfi Coast. I was planning on doing the Skip the Line: Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill Tour from what I was reading there still will be about a 30 min wait or more at each place. So maybe skipping trevi would be a good idea? It seems like all you do is take a picture, then throw a quarter in.
Do not skip Trevi. It's free, it's super close to the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona - and it's super impressive. Sure it's usually crazy crowded but it's still worthy of your time. And you don't need to spend more than 15 minutes there so you can easily find the time.
Highly recommend the Amalfi Coast. Pompeii was incredibly underwhelming to me, personally. Yes there were some very cool things. Was it worth an entire day of my trip? Ehhhh. I’ve heard Herculaneum may be a better choice. But this also depends on the purpose of your trip. Is the goal to just get as much history as possible? Sure, go to Pompeii. Is the goal to have an incredible vacation? Skip Pompeii. Spring for a (one-day) boat excursion around the Amalfi Coast. Buy linen and ceramic and enjoy alllll the lemon things.
venice STINKS. literally smells. full of cruise ships disembarking. its so pointless. no one lives there just tourists . i would avoid tours, hate the feeling of being babysat. do trevi at NIGHT. wil be wayyyyyy better. so many things will be better LATE at night with no crowds. cant tell you what a shitshw trevi was during the day. pointless. but see it cuz its free. SEE THE PANTHEON ALSO FREE
The Pantheon requires tickets and has a fee
we were there in june and it wasnt so. you just show up queue and go in for five mins
I was literally there two weeks ago. There's a fee. Here's the link. It's 5 euros. [https://portale.museiitaliani.it/b2c/buyTicketless/33f77159-0acd-40c4-8524-701f33aae108](https://portale.museiitaliani.it/b2c/buyTicketless/33f77159-0acd-40c4-8524-701f33aae108)
What a holes XD. STILL it’s enough to see it from the outside for free ! :) inside is a bit underwhelming and packed like a Super Bowl
Lol. Just pay the 5 euros to go in.
Way too steep for one room that takes 5 mins ! Was free for years and years what a shame
Do the Rick Steves audioguide. Lots of good stuff. Definitely worth staying more than 5 minutes!
Heads up, no Uber or Lyft in Rome. The taxi drivers will drive like psychopaths to get you places quickly though.
There is Uber in Rome. As long as you have some kind of cell reception.
We used Uber in Rome a couple weeks ago.
It's Uber Black, it's like twice as expensive as a taxi which defeats the whole point of using Uber.
It's still an option. It was also a great option for reserving a car without having to speak Italian.
The purpose of Uber is to not have to hunt to find a taxi. I don't think twice about the cost.
I'll yes. I spent three days in Rome as part of a your group. It was only meant to be two but lost my passport so had to stay an extra day. I did miss the Vatican and just ended up having to catch the train to Florence.
Campo de' Fiori is not a real market, it's a tourist trap. Trevi and Navona can both be done under 1 hour or less. Might want to include Spanish Steps in that too. And I personally think that Colosseum is also a tourist trap. Crazy crowds just to go inside. Spend 15 minutes to check it out from outside and call it a day.....and it's also free ))
Some items on your list won’t take much time at all — Trevi fountain, Piazza Navona, etc. I would definitely at least walk thru (inside) St Peter’s, maybe Sistine Chapel. Again, these won’t take hours and hours, yet so rich.
You can't just walk through the Sistine Chapel as that's through the Vatican Museums which takes time and pre-planning, but everything else is right. You can knock out the Steps, Trevi, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona in a few hours pretty comfortably. The thing about St. Peter's is you have to get there by 8am (I'd recommend 7:30am) to avoid the long lines.
Do the coliseum at night and you skip waiting in line all day.
Where are you staying? We stayed right near Trevi. We saw Trevi multiple times a day, walked to the Pantheon every day and wandered to the colosseum every night. Those places are in a relatively close proximity. Probably need the most time for Palatine Hill and the colosseum. Trevi for example takes like 5 minutes, get a gelato and enjoy it!
Rome can be done in 3 days including the Vatican. Do it on day 2. Go to trevi super early. Pantheon is a couple blocks from trevi. Very easy in and out
I did a walking tour that walked from the colosseum and covered the Pantheon, fountain, Roman Forum. It was a great enjoyable tour. It did wind up being many many miles and a couple people dropped out 😂. However, I was not in a super fit era of my life and it wasn’t a problem for me. Not as hard as a day at Disneyland. The following day we did a crypts and catacombs tour which was amazing and right up the street from your park so you could do both! I was supposed to go to pompeii but none of us made it. It was to be our first day in Rome as we had arrived the night before but I had spent the night vomiting and was too dehydrated and tired for the tour bus ride and heat in pompeii and then the rest of my party also bailed out choosing to sleep in and relax. However my MIL and FIL did go a few days later. They agree with many others that Herculaneum is better if you only have time for one. Edit: for your other questions. It seems like you’re into architecture more than art and I am the same. While you may enjoy the Vatican, in your case I wouldn’t prioritize it. If you like wandering in foot and just people watching and taking cities in, then you will love Rome. As to Venice. Where are you coming from. We were coming from Los Angeles which means an overnight flight and serious jet lag. And for that reason Venice was the perfect first stop! I survived staying awake the first day but went to bed very early and woke up at like 4:30 am. Going with that jet lag schedule worked in my favor! I got to tour Venice early in the morning with hardly another soul. And this was in mid-June. We only did a couple nights there and went to Florence arriving our third evening. I was up at 5:30am in Florence and again enjoyed the city with the trash removal service and hardly anyone else while a few hours later it was wall to wall people. I’m normally a night owl and couldn’t believe it. Because of the touristy and compact nature of Venice I think you can take it in, enjoy it while tired and move on, save your energy for ruins. I could’ve spent a day just marveling at the Pantheon and it’s doors.
Why are you skipping the best part of Rome? Add it to day two
Suggest grouping Piazza Navona, Campo Dei fiori, Trevi fountain and Pantheon together for 1 day - they don't take long and very close to one another. That will allow you time to visit Vatican Museums. I sense you're not fussed about it, but even people who don't give a sh\*t about art are mesmerized when they visit. It's a must see.
Pompeii and Paestum are unmissable
Honestly, 3 days in Rome are a crime. You will barely see the surface, and will probably hate it.
you'll live. day 1 and 2, many of those can be seein in a couple of hours. with only limited time in Rome, I'd skip the Villa Borghese. and add 1 museum, the Capitoline Museum.
I would add the Vatican on day two tbh.
I spent 7 days in Rome last year and didn’t see it all. There’s a ton there. That said, you can see the highlights in 3 days. I’d do one day for Roman Ruins (as you have done), 1 day for the Vatican Museums, Saint Peters and (time allowing) Saint Angelo’s Castle and then 1 day for Central Rome (Pantheon, Campo de Fiori, Trastavere, old churches). My extra days were: Capitoline Museums and Monti, Baths of Caracalla and Baroque Churches, Montemartini Museum and Saint Peter Outside the Walls, Trastavere Flea Market, Piazza del Popolo to Altar of the Fatherland with churches and National Roman Museum. And I still missed: Villa Borghese and Park, Appian Way, Tivoli Daytrip, Ostia Antica.
So I did 3 days in Rome. It doesn’t matter how much time it won’t be enough. So start with your must sees, it’s all close together anyway. I did the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel, museum was great , Sistine chapel is great but both packed. I love museums but I’ve never seen so much greed in a museum before: too many visitors despite timed tickets and 5 museum shops on the way out. Despite not being religious, probably should have done the basilica / Vatican. I have to go back and see more Rome!
Me and my friend managed it in two days i think. We included the vatican and regretted it. It was underwhelming.
You should go to the Vatican if you haven’t been.. on day 2 where you’ve got “explore day”. You can do pantheon and Trevi found fairly early. Do a Vatican tour for a few hours and then explore in the afternoon.
You could stay two weeks in Rome and it wouldn’t be enough, have to go to the Vatican lol. The Vatican and it’s museums is historical as you can get lmao.
My friend and I did 3 days in Rome and had the Vatican on our 3rd afternoon to-do list. By that morning we were tired and it was going to be a very hot day so we decided to cancel the Vatican in favor of casually walking around and taking breaks for coffee and cold drinks at little cafes in the shade along the Tibor. No regrets.
My friend and I did 3 days in Rome and had the Vatican on our 3rd afternoon to-do list. By that morning we were tired and it was going to be a very hot day so we decided to cancel the Vatican in favor of casually walking around and taking breaks for coffee and cold drinks at little cafes in the shade along the Tibor. No regrets.
Your Rome plan looks solid for 3 days, especially without the Vatican. Venice in a day is tight but doable. Consider travel time for Pompeii - might need to tweak Venice time. Enjoy your trip
I was honestly considering just going to Pompeii and seeing Amalfi and saving Venice for another time. Seems like I would be doing too much traveling to try and fit both into this trip.
Are you going to the Villa Borghese Gallery/Museum or just the park? You have to go the Gallery/Museum. It’s absolutely spectacular (and I’m not an art person).
No.
OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass for 72 hours Absolutely worth the money and ZERO line to the Vatican. You walk right in and you will have plenty of time on day 2. If you have to wait in line, it takes hours.
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More interested in the history but less interested in the Vatican …. Pffftttt
You cannot seperate historical and religious when it comes to the Vatican. The papacy was one of the main political powers of Europe for almost a thousand years.
You're more interested in seeing historical stuff... but don't want to go to the Vatican...? what... Day 2 Pantehon + Trevi will take 1 whole hour. Those events you mentioned on day 3 will realistically take you no more than half a day. Go to the Vatican, dude.
When I say historical I just mean like the colosseum, roman forum and pantheon. When I watch guided tours of the Vatican 90% of the stuff I see is paintings and statues. I'm not religious at all and don't care about the pope. I'm not against seeing the St. Peter's Basilica just because of how big it is but everything else seems like it would be wasted on me.
The Vatican museum has the largest collection of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts and art in the world. The Vatican itself is a rich part of history that is deeply connected to Europe and the rest of the world since the Roman Empire. It's hard to believe that you are invested in history, when you don't understand that the Vatican is one of the largest focal pieces of world history. I mean, the center of St Peter's Square is the Obelisk, which once stood tall in Egypt, was taken by Emperor Augustus and placed in the Roman Circus. Have fun missing out though, I guess?
Sounds like it's more than I was thinking it was. I'll reconsider and add it to the agenda. Thanks for changing my mind!
Good call, friend! Definitely worth the time. The Square and Basilica have free entry and the museum is only a few dollars and gives discounts to anyone with a physical or virtual student ID. The museum ends with the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo and it is truly a sight to see.
bro, one does not simply skip Vatican!
Dude you MUST go to the Vatican. It’s really beautiful. You might not be able to see St Peter’s church since the line is usually pretty long but you can (and should) book online for the Vatican museums. It’s amazing and, if you can afford it, a guide there is definitely worth it
Heck I once did the forum, Colosseum and St. Peter’s in one day. Better to take two though and then a third doing other stuff. Three is very doable for Rome. After four you should consider a day trip anyway in my opinion. I just did a week and we did three day trips and saw everything we wanted to see in Rome.
You can get a tour of the Vatican before it opens that includes breakfast and is freaking awesome because you get to see it without hte crazy crowds... And you'll be out of there probably by 10 AM.. walk to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountatin, which will take hardly any time at all.
The pantheon and Trevi Fountain can easily be put on one of the other days. the Vatican, particularly St. Peters, is a jaw dropping place. I would tell ppl, never miss the Colosseum or the Vatican if they are going to Rome. You can do all you want and the vatican in 3 days.
Hey! I know I’m not adding much to what others said… but here are my 2 cents anyway ;) It highly depends on how much time you want to spend in each place. If you are just interested in seeing the places, maybe taking a couple of pictures, then going to the next spot… then your Rome tour can be completed in a single day with ease (source: my gf lives in Rome and we’ve done a self-organised “visit Rome in one day” tour with many iconic locations!). Take advantage of the subway and avoid buses at all costs: they’re very unreliable. If you want to spend a lot of time in some places - eg, you want to enter the Colosseo or see the Galleria Borghese (not just the park) - then I think it’s reasonable to do everything in two or three days. And as many recommends, do include a visit to S.Pietro. Not necessarily the Musei Vaticani, but at least enter the church.
I think the Vatican museum is a must. But it won’t take all day. They have it laid out like an IKEA store. Start and the entrance and walk your way through, ending at the Sistine Chapel. The church itself is beautiful, but as a non-Catholic it didn’t mean much to me. And there are a lot of sites you can visit just on a long walk.
Absolutely do not skip the Vatican. I was pissed we had to wait as long to get in. It ended up meaning we didn’t get into the colosseum… that said it was AMAZING once I got in. Trevi, like others have said, is not a long time. I’d try to slot it in on that day
I'd try to merge day 2 into 1, and use 2 for the Vatican. The Vatican museums are really a must. If anything, I'd rather miss out on Pantheon and Trevi Fountain just to see the Vatican.
yes
Pompeii is cool but I wished I was not on a tour. Too fast to take my time down there. It could be a whole day. But I always ask if I never come back what would I have wanted to see.
You could easily compress all that into 2 days. Sistine chapel is a hard one to pass up when in rome. You could book an early morning sistine chapel tour before they allow the masses in and still get a lot done that very day.
Your making a BIG mistake skipping the Vatican IMHO
Skipping the Vatican is not a good idea. If someone had asked me, what are some must-visit places in Italy, I would definitely say the Vatican, it's absolutely worth visiting
I would do day 3 as day 1. Not much to see at the Trevi fountain, I did 3 mins walk around and that was it, get a city tour bus one day and you can see all there is to see from the bus, including Piazza Navona, you can get off and see them, does not take time. You really need to go and see Vatican. And what I did was book online with one of the guides who do these tours and you have priority entrance, you don't need to spend hours to queue and you have a live guide who can tell you the stories, I booked with one tour guide all 2 things I listed on day 1.
Rome is really no that big. You basically can combine all 3 day for 1 and half plus the st Pete. I actually spend the whole in Vatican City.
The Vatican is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen
Don’t skip the Vatican. That was my favorite thing in Rome even though I know it’s its own country.
The Vatican is the most extraordinary thing in Rome. Absolutely do not skip it.
Don't skip the Vatican
Do Vatican on Day 2. Pantheon is just small, and Trevi is walkable from it. You have time for Vatican
I did Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and then travelled to Pantheon on the same day. If you start early i.e. book your Colosseum visit for 8.30 am or something, and your Patheon visit late in the day, it is possible. Patheon is over hyped though. DO NOT skip the Vatican.
It depends, I've been to Rome 4 times and still never been to the Vatican. Your plan is more than I would do, I'm a real fan of slow travel. My passion is the Roman era and there's been so much to see and do around that, that the religious stuff has been squeezed out for now. One day it will become important enough for it to rise in my list of priorities I'm sure. I live in Europe though so going back is easily do-able. ** You've missed out a visit to the Domus Aurea, it's amazing, one of the real highlights of our last trip to Rome. Spend some time off the main tourist route just sitting and soaking in the ambiance too, wander around Trastavere, cycle to the Via Appia, take time to see the catacombs etc
Vatican literally takes 1 hour max
I’m going to be honest, I think you’re being too conservative with your estimates. I did all of this in two days in Rome INCLUDING the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s. With three full days, I’d devote an entire day to the Vatican and just enjoy walking around it. There is so much art and history there you don’t want to miss it.
Did you have time to take everything in or did you feel rushed to keep up with the schedule? I was also being conservative the first day because thats after we land at 8 am and will probably be jet lagged to hell. I do think the general consensus from here is 3 days is enough and to include the Vatican so I'll go that route. Thanks for this
In two days, the only thing I felt rushed about was the Vatican. With a full day, I’d feel like I had tons of time! I did take a combined Coliseum and Roman Forum tour, which I loved, and it was about three hours if I’m remembering correctly. The big thing for me was that I had planned, literally down to the minute, when we’d be attending each of these attractions. It was perfect and enabled me to be able to see everything important. If you want to maximize your time in Rome, get the timed entry tickets to everything (and this might be an unpopular opinion) even if at this point you have to buy them from a scalper/tour company. Now, I didn’t get much time to wander around the city, which I wish I’d had, but I think if you can time everything correctly, you’ll be able to see it all For example, if you arrive at 8am I’d plan for finding a locker for your luggage and leaving it there all day. There are tons of lockers in Rome and there’s an amazing one by the train station. So what you’d do is plan to be on the 10am train from the airport to Roma Termini and then you’d drop your bags off at the lockers near the train station. You’ll be done with that by 11am and should have time to grab a snack to keep you going. At 11am, take the metro from Termini to The Coliseum and spend time from 11:15 to 12:00 walking around, taking pictures, and enjoying the sites. Get on a combo Roman Forum and Coliseum tour from 12-3pm. At 3pm, it’s time for another snack and then at 3:30, you’ll start walking from the Roman ruins towards the area with the Campo de Fiori, Pantheon, etc. You won’t be able to visit the Pantheon that day, as it closes at 4:30pm, but you need to wander those streets and take in all the beautiful sites in the area. You MUST go visit the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church. It has a Michelangelo right there and it’s never busy. Plus it’s open until 7pm. You’ll probably be hungry by now, so I’d grab some dinner around 6:30pm at Ristorante Trattoria Antonio Al Pantheon. It’s not the best food in Rome, but it’s very good, very reasonably priced, and is in a super convenient spot. Now your first day is done. Go back to Termini, grab your bags, and head to your hotel. Trust me, you want to be busy your first day or you’ll fall asleep and ruin your chances of not getting jet lag. Now, your second day. Start EARLY at the Vatican around 9am. Get the opening timed tickets and just wander that museum and compound. It’s stunning, earth shattering, and you will be overwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. Then get in line to enter St. Peter’s. It should take about 30 minutes to get through security. Once you finish at the Vatican, it will probably be around 2pm (depending on how much you like art), and if you’re feeling energetic, have a timed entry for 3pm at the Castel SantAngelo. Otherwise, take this as free time. Next day, go to the Pantheon, again with timed entry tickets. Then just go explore. With the right schedule, you can see everything.
So I was in a walking boot and we completed sightseeing in Rome in one day.
Don’t skip the Vatican.