Planning a weekend away? Well here is your ultimate guide to a weekend in Rome.
Rome is such a wonderful city and definitely a place you’re able to do in a weekend’s visit.
Not only will this guide tell you the must see’s and do’s, but you will also find out where to get the best gelato in Rome!
Here you can find a list of attractions to visit in the order of must-see – not necessarily the most time-efficient – but more so our favourite to least favourite attractions.
Colosseum
Trevi Fountain
St. Peters Square/Basilica
Vatican Museums
Sistine Chapel
Piazza Venezia
Giardino di Palazzo Venezia
Piazza di Spagna & Spanish Steps
The Pantheon
Castel Sant’Angelo
Roman Forum
4 key tips for taking on Rome:
Wake up early to see the key attractions you’d rather see without 100’s of other people around.
Keep your belongings in sight at all times – especially around the Colosseum, it’s a busy area with people everywhere.
If you’re planning to visit any attractions, book ahead and online.
Eat all the pizza, pasta and gelato. Did we mention pizza.
Below you can find the map for the most time-efficient way to see Rome and everything it has to offer. It has the exact same attractions as mentioned above, but instead of a must-see order, this is from one side of Rome to the other.
If it’s showing the same map as above, click on the top left icon to change the view of the maps
1. Colosseum
The Colosseum is such an iconic landmark that it is a little surreal to see it in person.
If you’re planning to go inside the Colosseum, be sure to get there very early in the morning to beat the lines. Anytime after 10 am and the line will be at least two hours long to buy the tickets, so either book ahead, or get there early.
The colosseum will obviously be a touristy place but we found the experience walking around the area to be quite overwhelming at times. There are plenty of ‘workers’ walking around offering tickets to go inside, along with people trying to sell you selfie sticks/portable chargers, etc. It was very full-on, with people stopping us probably every 5 meters – just mention you’ve already bought tickets or you’re not interested.
A top tip would be to get there early, spend time taking it all in but once you’ve seen it, steer clear of that area.
2. Trevi Fountain
Another iconic Rome attraction that Nicola was beyond excited to see to live out her Lizze McGuire dreams.
3. St. Peter's Square/Basilica
There is so much to see in Vatican City so allow roughly a half-day to see everything on this side of the city.
St. Peter’s Square is a beautiful open area with huge fountains in the middle of the square and the front of the Basilica.
Unfortunately, the line to get inside the Basilica was far too long when we arrived in Vatican City so we just took in the views of the Square and the beautiful Basilica building. Whilst you’re in Vatican City you must visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
4. Vatican Museums
The main reason we visited the Vatican Museums was to see the iconic Sistine Chapel but we found it a really cool experience to see everything else the museums had to offer. This entire tour (you can either buy the self-guided tour or join a tour) took about two hours.
If museums aren’t usually your thing we probably wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re up in the air about it or have time to fill in, we would for sure recommend it.
Tip: Buy your tickets online and buy the ‘skip the line’ tour, this should also include the self-guided tour within this ticket. Otherwise, the lines are ridiculously long.
5. Sistine Chapel
This is such a beautiful part of the Vatican Museum. It took Michaelangelo 4 years to paint this entire building which is just unbelievable when you’re standing there looking at the fine detail all over.
There is so much to look at and take in so if you’re able to find a seat surrounding the edge, do so as it gets very busy within the chapel. It’s also nice to have a sit-down and soak it all in after wandering through the museum. Such an unreal attraction to visit, highly recommend.
It obviously is a religious building so when you’re in there please respect the non-photography and silence request.
6. Piazza Venezia
The Piazza Venezia such a grand and beautiful building! It’s an attraction that wasn’t on our list but when we came across it, it genuinely made us go ‘wow’.
Not only do we recommend walking up the stairs to the top of the building, but also make sure to also get across the road to the middle of the round-a-bout to get a full view of the building in all its glory.
7. Giardino di Palazzo Venezia
We accidentally stumbled upon this beauty hidden in the city. Even though it’s not a key attraction, we highly recommend coming here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for some peace and quiet.
Set aside 15-30 minutes to just sit near the fountain under the palm trees and birds take the tranquility in.
8. Piazza di Spagna & Spanish Steps
Above the Spanish Steps is where you’ll see stunning views of this area. Once you’ve taken in the views, make your way down and once mid-way down or at the bottom the views are just as pretty.
Also, the street at the bottom of the stairs is known as Piazza di Spagna – here is the shopping central of Rome and a nice area with fountains to stroll along the streets.
Hot tip: don’t sit on the steps or you’ll get yelled at…
9. The Pantheon
The Pantheon was a former Roman Temple but is now a church. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a glimpse inside as there was a service going on but this is a lovely side of town to grab a bite to eat and drink as it’s not as touristy in the smaller streets.
10. Castel Sant'Angelo
You’ll come across the Castel on the way to Vatican City if you’re walking. This one also wasn’t on the original list but on the way to St Peters Basicilia we passed Castel Sant’Angelo.
Apparently, on the first Sunday of every month, some of the most famous landmarks in Rome open their doors to all visitors for free. This is an excellent chance to see Castel Sant‘Angelo without having to pay any money. In saying that, you can obviously expect the attractions to be a lot busier than usual.
Walking across the bridge to the Castel
Looking out from the bridge
11. Roman Forum
This is one attraction that you can view from the outside if you’re on a budget and would rather not pay to walk around to view the site.
In saying that, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill are located in the same archaeological area and buying an admission ticket to one will get you into both – so it might be worth paying for entry if you’d like to see this attraction in its entirety and walk around.
Remember to just spend time strolling the beautiful Italian streets to find hidden gems like these.
If you have any queries or questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment and we’ll get back to you ASAP! Or, just simply let us know if this information came in handy :)
Happy travelling!
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