Rome-ing the Eternal City

I recently changed job, midway through planning a trade mission to Hong Kong, so in essence I did all the hard work and then left before getting to go on the trip. Self-inflicted, I know, but I was pretty gutted (I loooove HongKong) and so we decided to plan a Winter getaway as a consolation, and the choice was between Prague, Warsaw and Rome. Little did I know, this was going to be the place I got engaged… so Rome was the perfect choice!

An app which I discovered during my trip to Athens last year is Rick Steves Audio Tours Europe app – it is fantastic, it’s like having a tour guide in your pocket. I used it for all my Athens tours (city walking tour, Acropolis, Roman Agora), and the Rome selection was extensive and really excellent quality (Rome city walking tour, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel – all worth a listen). For the Colosseum we booked a tour, and in earnest the Rick Steves Audio guide was 100 times better – the audio tours are full of interesting, relevant information, with history and humour rolled in, and again – they’re free! You can also subscribe through the podcast app or download the Mp3’s as an alternative (link to the Italy audio tours here).

In preparation for our trip, we purchased the Roma Pass – which gives you skip the line access to all attractions and museums, the first two of which are free, and the remainder are then discounted with the pass, in addition you get free public transport. Being honest, we debated whether we got value for our money, the pass is €52 for a 72 hour pass (or €32 for 48 hours), which is activated from when you first use it, we used it for the Colosseum and Roman Forum (one attraction) and the Castel Sant Angelo and got the metro once (yes, we walked 76km in 4 days!!). Many of the main attractions are free, and we didn’t go to any museums, however I think it’s worth it for skipping the queues for sure – it was nice breezing past everyone straight up to security in the Colosseum, par example! The other thing worth mentioning (which might be obvious to some, but wasn’t to me) is that the Roma pass (and hence the skip-the-line benefit) DOES NOT include St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums (where you 100% should buy your ticket ahead of time on the official website and not get ripped off on the street or have to queue for 2 hours).

SO, with the help of these two wonderful apps, here’s what we saw in Rome:

Day 1

We arrived at Roma Ciampino, transfered by bus (two options from airport, around €9 return to Termini station) which took around 40minutes.

We grabbed a bubble tea in China town and checked in at our B&B, 5 mins from the Colosseum, and easy to get to from Ciampino airport.

As we had got up early, we just roamed around the city on day one and stumbled across things like the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, it was nice and chill, this would have been a good opportunity to do the Rick Steves city walking audio tour, but we preferred getting lost/ orientated instead.

Our B&B host recommended Vecchia Roma for authentic Italian food which did not disappoint.

Day 2

🌟Colosseum, Imperial Forums, Roman Forum (worth booking catacombs underground tour of Colosseum ahead of time)

🌟Venice Square

🌟Campidoglio Square

Then we started the audio tour and did:

🌟Field of Flowers Square (a bustling market during the day)

🌟Piazza Farnese

🌟Piazza Navona (LOVE LOVE LOVE): Fontana del Moro, Fountain of the Four Rivers

🌟Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

🌟Watched the Ireland-France rugby game in Trinity College Irish Pub

🌟Grab a GOOD coffee in Tazza D’Oro near the Pantheon

🌟Dinner in Tacos & Beer in Monti (atmospheric area, good spot if you don’t feel like Italian food!!)

💍Then we walked home passed the Colosseum (which is where the surprise engagement happened🙃)

Day 3

Day 3 was supposed to involve a trip to the Villa & Gallery Borghese, but I didn’t have the foresight to pre-book tickets, so please learn from my mistake and book in advance here.

Instead, we rome’d (😛) a bit more, and went back to Piazza Navona to have gelato and coffee (prosecco!!) in Tre Scalini, with a beautiful view of the square. Allegedly the best gelato in town (order the Tartufo, it’s amazing), it’s pricey but worth the view.

🌟Pantheon

🌟People’s Square (make sure to climb up the steps to the viewing terrace above the People’s square and watch the sunset over the city, it was just perfect) (FAV)

🌟Spanish Steps

🌟Trevi Fountain (best place for people-watching😬)

🌟Book dinner or have a cocktail at Ambrosia Restaurant for a treat with a view

Day Four

Monday was our Vatican day, and although I could have planned it better, buying the tickets on the Vatican Museum website while standing in a queue 500+ people deep which enabled us to skip the line is the best stroke of genius I’ve ever had (do yourself a favour and buy ahead of time). We got the metro down because our wee legs were falling off at this stage (bring good walking shoes to Rome!!).

We did the Vatican Museum first, and the Sistine Chapel half way through (I can’t begin to describe how beautiful both are), we then went to St. Peter’s Square, but skipped the Basilica, owing to the fact the queue was enormous and we had a flight to catch, and we know we’ll be back.

Next up was Castel Sant Angelo, which is well worth it for the views of the city.

Finally, we hit up Venchi for another most-amazing-gelato-I’ve-ever-had (it’s a chain but YUM) and we sat by the Pantheon eating happily before heading back to pick up our bags and catch the evening flight.

Obviously Rome now holds a special place in my heart, but I wholeheartedly recommend it for a weekend break – it’s so compact and walkable (and by george, did we walk!), and also beautiful, historic and majestic. Perfect for a weekend getaway 🛫

If you want a closer look at our itinerary, you can download the here or view it online here.

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