10 Things to do in Rome
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After enjoying the amazing things Florence has to offer, particularly the incredible Piazzale Michelangelo sunset— we hopped on a train to Rome with our friends and traveling companions, Jamie and Justin. We arrived at Rome’s Termini train station and took a taxi to our AirBNB.
If you’ve never been to Rome, you should know that it is a geographically large city. It’s sprawling. This means that you could go back to Rome over and over again and have fun new experiences every time. It also means that you have so many options to choose from. If you have limited time in Rome, it’s probably best to list out your top must-see places and must-do things while you’re there. If you find yourself with more time, you can definitely think of ways to fill it! It’s the quintessential example of a city that can be “peeled back” like the layers of an onion. With this understanding, we’ll move on to share some of our favorite things to do in Rome.
1. Stay in Trastevere
When you’re deciding where to stay in Rome, consider the Trastevere neighborhood (pronounced “tras-TEH-ve-ray”). Trastevere is situated along the west bank of the Tiber river (in fact, the name “Trastevere” comes from the Latin “Trasterim,” which literally means “beyond the Tiber”), just south of Vatican City. Once an ancient Etruscan settlement, Trastevere’s narrow cobblestone streets are now home to a vibrant nightlife thanks to an abundance of trendy bars and restaurants. During the daytime, Trastevere is a great home base for a Rome sightseeing adventure, as it is located fairly equidistant from famous places to visit like the Pantheon and the Vatican. We did do quite a bit of walking in Rome, but Ubers and taxis are readily available if you aren’t interested in the extra cardio. So, what’s so awesome about Trastevere? Everything. It’s less expensive because it’s slightly further away from the main tourist attractions. It also has a wonderful local vibe, and the area comes alive at night after all of your sightseeing is done.
Our regular readers might have noticed that we don’t typically recommend specific accommodations, especially when it comes to AirBNBs. That isn’t because we want to keep them secret. To the contrary, we simply don’t want to lead you all astray by recommending places that weren’t necessarily…fantastic. Where we stayed in Rome—“New Charme in the heart of Trastevere & City Center”—is a fantastic place with fantastic hosts in a fantastic location at a fantastic price. Not only were our hosts (Simone, Francesca, and Alessia) incredibly kind in letting us drop off our bags earlier than our scheduled check-in time, but the place was absolutely spotless and, as its name suggests, located just off the Piazza di San Giovanni della Malva in the adorable and fun Trastevere neighborhood.
2. Eat in Trastevere
When we first arrived at our AirBNB, the area seemed very quiet…almost disconcertingly quiet. But we were tired from traveling, so we decided to take advantage of the quiet and rest a bit before dinner. We were absolutely shocked when we woke that afternoon and exited our (apparently soundproof) flat to the once-quiet streets that were now teeming with people. What we originally thought were houses had unfolded into stylish restaurants with outdoor seating that was completely packed. While there is no shortage of places to eat in Trastevere, you should consider making reservations in advance if you’re looking at a specific restaurant. There was a restaurant right outside our front door called Osteria da Zi Umberto—which taunted us for our entire visit with wonderful smells—but it was completely booked for several days! We are definitely staying in Trastevere again the next time we’re in Rome, but next time we’ll be better prepared with reservations. As you think about where to eat during your stay in Rome, here are a few places that we really enjoyed:
This is a relatively inexpensive quick-service pasta restaurant with fun communal seating. Just pick out a fresh pasta type and sauce, then find an open seat at one of the many long communal tables. We met several other travelers here and really enjoyed an evening of mingling. While we like this spot more for the experience than the quality of food, more than 2,200 five-star reviews in 21 languages on TripAdvisor (linked above) can’t be wrong.
This is a little pizza place just down the road from our AirBNB that is great for a quick, cheap lunch. They have several pre-made options of Sicilian deep dish-style pizza that is cut to order. We’re not sure how much they loved tourists, but it was convenient, inexpensive, and tasty!
This is a traditional Italian restaurant tucked into an adorable little cobblestone alley offering a variety of fresh handmade pastas. Order the tonnarelli alla carbonara and ask for a table outside so that you can people watch over a carafe of the house red.
Wherever you decide to eat, go ahead and grab a bottle of wine from the Minimarket da Nidai (or your closest local market) on your way home. After all, you’re in Roma!
3. Visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel (but skip the line!)
The lines at the Vatican can be INSANE. At peak times and during peak season, they can easily wrap around the building. There are two ways to skip the line at the Vatican: You can either reserve tickets in advance for a specific date and time via the Vatican ticket office, or you can sign up for one of the many “Skip the Line” tours available in the area. Since we were there during peak summertime months (and didn’t know that we could purchase tickets in advance) we opted to go with a “Skip the Line” tour to make the most of the short time we were there. There are lots of tour company options available on Viator.
4. Visit the Colosseum (but skip the line!)
Every time we travel, it seems like there is at least one main attraction that we end up missing. For our Rome trip, this was the Colosseum…we never made it inside. However, we did do the research and saw that it, too, can have insanely long lines. As with the Vatican, you can either reserve tickets in advance via the official Colosseum tickets website, or you can book a “Skip the Line” tour. Again, you’ll find several options to choose from on Viator. Whether you decide to go inside or not, you should absolutely make a point of at least seeing the Colosseum. It’s such an incredible structure in its own right, and it’s surreal to see something so ancient surrounded by modern Rome.
5. Visit the Pantheon (but…wait, there’s no line?!)
The Pantheon is a great site to visit, not only for its historical significance, but also because it’s free and typically has no line! We recommend fitting the Pantheon into your schedule whenever you have some free time, since it’s convenient and doesn’t take a lot of advanced planning (unlike the tours mentioned above). The Pantheon itself is awe-inspiring. As with so many ancient buildings in Rome, it almost seems impossible that it could have been constructed so long ago. We weren’t the only people that caught ourselves standing in the middle of the floor, staring up at the huge oculus in the center of the Pantheon’s massive dome and just…spinning. It’s really a marvelous structure. Before you stop in, do be sure to snag some coffee shop wifi long enough to download Rick Steve’s free Pantheon Audio Tour (and the accompanying PDF map)—it’s only 23 minutes, and it makes the whole experience much more informative!
6. Enjoy the Street Performers in Rome’s many Piazzas
Street performers aren’t always our thing, but Rome is different. One of the most memorable moments of our time in Rome was stepping out of the Pantheon to the sound of the most wonderful violin music filling the Piazza della Rotonda. The violinist creating the beautiful music, a young man named Viktor Angelov, had already amassed quite a crowd by the time we found him, and it only continued to grow while we watched him play. We stood there mesmerized for a good 10 or 15 minutes before finally pulling ourselves away. While not every performer you encounter will be worth watching, keep your eyes open…you never know when you will stumble across another hidden gem like Viktor. If you want to hear him play, you can find him on Spotify.
7. Visit the Spanish Steps (but don’t sit on them!)
The Spanish Steps are a set of 135 stairs that lead from the Piazza Trinità dei Monti down to the Piazza di Spagna (“Square of Spain”), so called because the Square’s Monaldeschi Palace has housed the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See since 1647. The Spanish Steps have historically been easily recognizable because, quite frankly, they get CROWDED. It has long been a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike to take a seat and people watch. However, as of July 2019, a new ordinance has gone into effect that makes sitting, eating, or drinking on the Spanish Steps punishable by a fine of up to €400. So, find the steps, look at the steps, and even climb the steps…but for the love of your wallet, don’t sit on the steps!
8. Throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain (early in the morning)
Speaking of busy tourist attractions in Rome…if the Spanish Steps are crowded, then the Trevi Fountain is bursting at the seams. I mean, it is swarmed. When Shannon first visited Rome in November 2004, there were only a few people around the Trevi Fountain. Fast-forward to June 2018, and it was totally packed. We could barely move through the crowd when we stopped by during the middle of the day, and it was still pretty overwhelming when we tried again later that night (see below). If you’re crowd-adverse or hoping to get some quieter photos, we suggest making a beeline for the Trevi Fountain first thing in the morning.
9. Take a night walk
You’ve heard this from us previously, but we maintain that one of our favorite things to do while we’re traveling is to take a night walk to see everything from a different perspective. We spent one evening exploring some of the top sights at night: the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and others during a peaceful evening walk. It was fun to see everything lit up at night. When we started to run out of steam, we called an Uber. Shannon asked the driver in attempted Italian which ultimately turned out to be her best “Spantalian” to swing by the Colosseum for 10 minutes so we could take a few photos before heading back to our AirBNB for the night. Fortunately, she was close enough that he understood, and it made for a fun ending to the day.
10. Take time to appreciate the ancient ruins
Much like Athens, one of the most incredible things about Rome is that there are ruins everywhere. Turn the corner, ancient Roman ruins. Look across the street, Roman ruins. Turn the wrong way, ruins. They can’t even dig a subway tunnel in Rome without uncovering—you guessed it—ruins. The significance of these ruins sadly seems to be overlooked as tourists bustle eagerly to make the most out of their trip. But if you miss the ruins, you’re definitely missing out! Take the time to really appreciate the ruins…to understand what they were, what they represent, and why it’s important.
After all...Rome wasn’t built in a day.