Exploring the Eternal City
When pondering a visit to Rome, the eternal city, one might wonder: is three days enough to soak in all the history, culture, and beauty Rome offers? If you have three full days, possibly. So plan on four nights. Let’s dive into the possibilities that await during a short stay in Rome to see if 3 days is enough.
Day 1: Vatican City and Artistic Splendors
Dedicate your first day to the Vatican City, a sovereign state within Rome and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Visit St. Peter’s Basilica, marvel at the intricate beauty of the Sistine Chapel, and meander through the Vatican Museums, home to countless artistic treasures from throughout history.
We arrived at Vatican City early in the morning for our tour. We walked from our hotel, which was located roughly between the Termini train station and the Colosseum. It took us about an hour to walk to St. Peter’s Basilica. What struck us first was the homeless here and the begging. I don’t know why I thought the situation should be better here, but I did.
Once we finally connected with our guide, Nadia, who was spectacular, we learned much about the artwork within St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. Even if you’re not religious, a trip to view the artwork that’s part of these places is worthwhile.
St. Peter’s Basilica Dome
But even with a tour guide, you have to wait for other tours to finish the dome climb; hence there is a line to get on the elevator which takes you to the rooftop. But with the tour guide, you at least learn more while waiting, and the wait isn’t as long. Here’s a picture of the line, which we could skip with our tour guide after some time.
And here’s a member of the Swiss Guard who’s obliged to protect the Pope. If you’re wondering why, you can check out this detailed explanation, but the short answer is that they were considered the best of the best when they were hired to protect the Pope.
Rick took the video below after we got through another line and took the elevator to the roof. It shows the rooftop entrance to the Basilica. There are restrooms here, so we’re waiting for other people to do their business.
Take the dome climb option if you can because the views at the top give you a great perspective on Rome. The climb involves narrow passageways and small steps though. Rick took a video of the climb so you can see what it looks like climbing up the narrow passages with tiny steps. For reference, the video shows me walking up. I’m 5’3″, 112 pounds, and wear a size 6.5 shoe.
And this is what you see inside the Dome.
Here are the images I got walking around the outside of the dome.
St. Peter’s Basilica Ground Floor
Here you will find extraordinary works of art. It’s crowded and hard to get pictures without people walking between your camera and the art. But the lavish works are worth the crowds. Here are some of the images I got. For most of these, I located the page on the St. Peter’s Basilica website that contains more information about the photo. So, if you click on a photo below, if there’s a + at the bottom of the photo, click on it and then click the link. If there’s no +, just click on the caption link. That will open a new page with the detailed info about the photo. If there’s no caption or no link, I couldn’t find detailed information on it.
Regarding St. Peter’s Baldachin (or what looks like a canopy) in bronze above, which was made by Bernini, it is positioned over the grave of St. Peter, the Apostle, whose tomb is underground. Although there is some debate about the validity of whether his body is there, you can nonetheless purchase a separate ticket to see his tomb. But out of respect, you cannot take pictures. I did get the photo below from outside the glass.
You must obtain permission from the Excavations Office (the Scavi). If you get permission, you can then obtain tickets for €13.50, also through the Excavations Office.
St. Peter’s Basilica Papal Sarcophagi (aka Grottoes)
Beyond St. Peter’s Tomb, there are more tombs and statues. There are between 91 and 140+ popes entombed or buried here. Some have been moved; others lost. We didn’t spend much time in the Papal Tombs but here are the photos I got.
Vatican Square
In the Vatican Square statues loom over the crowds. Independent statues decorate each column along the top of the Vatican buildings. I didn’t try to capture all of the statues but these give you an idea of some of the works to appreciate.
Vatican Museums
After St. Peter’s Basilica, we took a quick lunch break. We ate at nearby Caffee Leonina while others chose less Italian options (there’s a McDonald’s a couple blocks over). After lunch, we visited the Vatican Museums. Please note: the Vatican Museums get very crowded. It’s hard to get photos clear of people, but here’s some of the artwork we saw at the Vatican Museums.
Sistine Chapel
It might be odd to embark on a discussion of pick-pockets here, but since this is one of the places that’s highly likely you’ll be subjected to theft, I will mention it. Here, you are crammed into the space with everyone whether they fit or not. It’s tight. Keep your belongings under your clothes, using something like this. Mine is considerably older but still works well. We did not have a problem in the Sistine Chapel, but we did have a theft issue (not pick-pocketing) in Rome, and I will talk about that in the Day 2 Culinary Delights – Be Aware of Your Surroundings sub-section.
Since you can’t take pictures of anything in the Sistine Chapel, I don’t have any personally taken photos to share. But it is an extraordinary place, and you can see it and learn about it on the page provided by the Vatican Museum’s website. You can also take a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. These two resources give you more than you can get in person because you’re not allowed to talk in the Sistine Chapel and hence, the tour guides don’t go with you, and you can zoom in with these tools and get descriptions that you can’t get while you’re there.
Day 2: Neighborhood Vibes and Culinary Delights
On your second day, take a more leisurely approach to exploring Rome. Stroll through charming neighborhoods, where narrow cobblestone streets lead to hidden piazzas filled with local cafes and shops. Indulge in authentic Roman cuisine, from delectable pasta dishes to creamy gelato, savoring each bite as if it were a work of art. Or head to a more natural laid-back environment to observe the locals enjoying a day off.
For this day, we planned to combine some of the typical photo-op places and a more relaxed stroll to find the off-the-beaten-path alleys, piazzas, parks, and squares. Our walking route looked like this, without the first few places. That’s because Google Maps doesn’t allow you to put more than 10 points in a direction layer. Why? I have no idea.
Four Fountains (Quattro Fontane)
We came across the statues on this corner, walking from our hotel to Piazza di Spagna. There are four main statues. I was only able to get two photos.
Piazza Barberini
Going from the Four Fountains, continuing toward Piazza di Spagna, we came to another fountain statue. That being Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century Triton Fountain.
Almost to the Piazza di Spagna, we stopped long enough to take a closer look at the Column of Immaculate Conception.
Column of Immaculate Conception
Trinita dei Monti above the Piazza di Spagna
Eventually, we came to Trinità dei Monti, which is a Roman Catholic church that sits atop the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps is best photographed early in the morning to minimize the number of people sitting on the steps.
Next, we walked to the top of the Spanish Steps to check out the view, but it wasn’t very impressive. So, we continued on our way to Salita del Pincio.
Salita del Pincio
Salita del Pincio contains a lovely park and offers wonderful views of St. Peter’s Basilica and Rome overall. We loved walking through the park seeing the sculptures and checking out this water-propelled clock called Orologio ad acqua del Pincio.
Here are the photos I got in the park and from the Salita del Pincio which sits above Piazza del Popolo.
Piazza del Popolo
One regret I have is that we didn’t go to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum (Museo Leonardo da Vinci), which is in this Piazza. I had been thinking we would surely see more works by da Vinci in the other cities we planned to visit on our grand Italian tour. (Rome was our first mainland Italian city on our six-week Italy visit.) But even Florence let us down in this regard. Not that we went to every art gallery in Florence. We went to the Uffizi Galleries and the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. There just were few works there by da Vinci.
You can get to Piazza del Popolo from Salita del Pincio using the steps down to the Piazza. Here are some of the sights we saw in Piazza del Popolo.
Via Margutta
On the way back from Piazza del Popolo, we wandered down Via Margutta. It’s a very photogenic little passageway and less crowded than the highly impacted tourist spots.
From Via Margutta, we headed to the Pantheon.
Piazza della Rotonda – front of the Pantheon
More about the Pantheon’s architecture can be found here. It’s stunning that no metal rods were used in the concrete dome and that unreinforced concrete dome has lasted for just under two thousand years. What’s interesting to me is this is where Raphael, the Renaissance Master, was entombed after he died at the age of 37. Here are the works I photographed as well as Raphael’s tomb.
Piazza Navona
This is a beautiful, Baroque-style piazza with three lovely fountains. But there’s more here to see than what we saw. This Piazza sits on top of its original site, which was an athletic field commissioned by Emporer Domitian. Pope Innocent organized water games here and had the field flooded during the hot summer months. You can learn more about Piazza Navona and how to see the Stadium of Domitian under the Piazza on this romesite.com page. But here are some photos I got.
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori
This transforms from a flower, fruit and veggie market in the morning to a lively place for eating and drinking in the evening. I will confess we came here to meet our ghost tour host the night we arrived in Rome, so our impressions come from that experience. We received a very detailed history of Rome on the ghost tour. In this Piazza, there is a statue dedicated to Giordano Bruno who was an Italian philosopher that was burnt alive at the stake in 1600 for heresy in this square. But we found his story to be riveting.
We try to go on a ghost tour whenever we visit a new place because they tend to be filled with fun facts. For example, we learned that the Romans were very good at engineering solutions for distributing water. All of the “nasoni” drinking fountains in Rome that you come across, you can safely drink from. However, decorative fountains like Trevi, and any marked “acqua non potabile,” you cannot drink from.
Largo di Torre Argentina
Largo di Torre Argentina is a large open space that contains the ruins of four Roman Republican temples and Pompey’s Theater. In this square, was Curia Pompey, the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated.
Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world. You will find so many people here, it’s hard to breathe. If you go early in the morning, you’ll have better luck getting a good photo.
Culinary Delights
While we don’t eat every meal at restaurants (or ristorantes), we do like to find one meal a day to savor.
The afternoon we arrived in Rome from Palermo, we were tired and hungry. We wanted to check out the surrounding area and find something yummy to eat. We landed at Ai Tre Scalini and had a nice lunch there. After walking around some more, we ate dinner at our hotel’s restaurant and both of us had different salmon options, which were not really what we expected given the price.
The next day was our walk around the city day, where we found ourselves hungry south of Piazza Navona. We stopped at this place called L’Insalata Ricca where we had some yummy shrimp salads. Finding salads in Italy is something of a hunt for a needle in a haystack, so when we found this place, we were very happy.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Finally, the next day, after walking around the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and Colosseum, we were ravenous and in search of something great. On the way back to our hotel, I found Astemio Wine & Food. This place was exceptional. We found a seat outside and ordered some wine, appetizers, and main dishes.
While we were waiting for our food, the server rushed out the door of the restaurant and implored us to secure our belongings. I grabbed my camera and stowed it in its backpack. Rick grabbed the GoPro he had set on the table and stuffed it in his backpack. The server asked us to look out to the street at two boys on bicycles who were sitting at the stoplight. She said she’d seen them before, and they had a scheme where one of them would joke around with the tourists while the other snagged the tourists’ bags. Since we had secured our bags and multiple restaurant employees had joined our server out on the sidewalk with us, the boys decided to find other targets because they didn’t bother us. Many thanks to the server for her attention on the street!
Day 3: Ancient Wonders
Upon arriving in Rome, one cannot miss the iconic Colosseum, a symbol of ancient Roman architecture and engineering. Spend your morning exploring this marvel, imagining the gladiatorial battles that once took place within its walls. Afterward, wander to the nearby Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Here you can walk in the footsteps of emperors and citizens of the past.
If standing in line does not appeal to you, take a tour. We took a Get Your Guide tour that combined the tour of the Colosseum (including the Gladiator entrance on the ground floor), Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. This gave us priority entrance to all three with a guide. When we first arrived at the meeting site, the line snaked around the Colosseum’s exterior. This made us happy to have priority entrance. There were times, though, when it was hard to keep track of our guide. And we had trouble hearing what she had to say.
While we waited for the tour to begin, we were entertained by the constant stream of selfy-takers outside the Colosseum. People brought outfits to change into for this activity, props, and different shoes for each outfit. The funniest point came when they were all involved in taking their selfies and didn’t realize that a sanitation truck had pulled up behind them, the sanitation truck becoming the backdrop to their photos. The woman sitting next to us broke out in hysterics and while she didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak her language, we shared a comical moment. We laughed so hard, that I didn’t get pictures of the scene until after they broke up.
The Colosseum
But concerning the magnitude, architecture, and detail of these places, they’re nothing short of awe-inspiring. Trying to get pictures of things without people in the way was another matter entirely. Here are some of the images I got of the Colosseum.
Palatine Hill & Roman Forum
Palatine Hill seems to be still undergoing some archaeological expeditions and excavations. One of the places that’s been unearthed has recently been opened to the public. That being Domus Tiberiana, which opened to the public in September 2023. Normally, if you have a ticket for the Colosseum, you get into the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. You just need to see all of them within 24 hours. But there are some sites at Palatine Hill/Roman Forum that you need a special ticket to see. Domus Tiberiana is one of them. The ticket must include entry to the SUPER sites of Palatine/Roman Forum. GetYourGuide has a combo ticket, for example, that includes SUPER sites. If you go through the Colosseum ticketing office online, they have a similar option for much less money. But the chances of getting tickets are slim.
Here’s a map of the things to look for at the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. And here are the images I captured. I also found a wonderful video from a guy who went around Palatine Hill with a personal guide. This video is useful to prioritize what you might want to see in Palatine Hill.
The Verdict: Embracing the Essence of Rome
While three days in Rome may not be enough to uncover every hidden gem or delve into every aspect of this vibrant city, it is ample time to grasp the essence of what makes Rome truly special. By immersing yourself in ancient history, artistic splendors, and local culture, you can create lasting memories that will stay with you long after you bid arrivederci to the eternal city. But you might want to take note of things you want to see the next time you go! And, if you’re planning to visit other places in Italy, check out our posts about different cities and attractions we visited.