Rome is one of the best locations in Europe to visit: it is rich of culture and history, the sun usually shines, many landmarks can be visited for free and the food & wines are amazing. It therefore is no surprise that I have visited Rome three times already. The first two times that I visited I really focused on visiting all the museums and monuments. Rome is so full of history that you can spend two fulltime weeks doing that. I returned for a third time for my honeymoon. As we preferred to have a relaxed holiday, we did not visit all sights that Rome has to offer, but focused more on la dolce vita!
Where we stayed
We stayed in an Airbnb close to Trastevere. Trastevere is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Rome for dinner, so I loved staying so close. Our B&B was spacious, airy, had all facilities one would want and cost about € 60 per night. We could walk to our B&B from Trastevere train station, which was really easy when we arrived by train from the airport. Several trams stopped close to our B&B, which I think is one of the most important things when finding a location to stay in. With public transport you could visit all the main sights within 30 minutes, which I find doable. What was an added bonus, was that our B&B was located in an urban residential area. Italians like to have their breakfast out of their houses, so there are many breakfast bars located in residential areas, which have cheap breakfast deal. We had a lovely breakfast every day for € 5 per person, including a sandwich, coffee and fresh juice.
Activities
On our first full day we did a walk that connects a lot of the famous Roman sights, I have explained below in which order we visited these sights:
Colosseo viewpoint: The Colosseo is one of Rome’s most iconic sights, that seems to have been preserved well and reminds of the Roman era. Actually only a small part of the Colosseo is still standing today as the Colosseo used to be much bigger. Still it is a really impressive structure. I already visited it twice from the inside, even with skip the line tickets it can take a long time to get in. I heard it helps to enter from a different entry point via the Roman Forum, as the Roman Forum has shorter cues. I found a great viewpoint of the Colosseo opposite the metro station Colosseo. The outside of this metro station is elevated compared to the Colosseo and there is a small wall on which you can climb, which creates unobstructed views of the Colosseo (which is rare, there are always so many people waiting in line down at the entrance). This is one of my favorite viewpoints in Rome, so I visited it twice during my visit as the first time the sun did not want to shine.
Roman Forum: You can actually see a lot from the Roman Forum by just walking around it. You can visit the inside of the Roman Forum by buying combi tickets for the Colosseo. I would advice to book a tourguide if you decide to enter, because the history stories are really good and they help you put everything in perspective. We walked from the Colosseo via the Roman Forum to Musei Capitolini. At the backside of the museum you get great views over the Roman Forum. We were there at around 11AM and it was already quite busy, it would probably be best to be here earlier.
Piazza Venezia: From the Piazza Venezia you get the best overview of the Monument of Victor Emanuel II. This is an enormous white marble building which is supposed to recreate the grandness of the Roman empire and it was built around 1900. While researching for this blogpost I discovered that there is a rooftop terrace on top of the Victor Emanuel monument where you can have drinks, with its location so close to the Roman Forum and Colosseo the views have to be amazing!
Trevi fountains: The Trevi fountains are always really busy, they start to become crowded early in the morning. As it was our honeymoon we did not wake up early to get the Instagram shot, but we visited the Trevi fountains around lunch time. There was quite a bustle once we arrived, but it was nice to sit at the fountains for a few minutes and enjoy the kitsch that is the Trevi fountains.
Spanish steps: Next, we walked through the Spanish steps. Actually you should not go to the Spanish steps later in the day, the steps were not even visible because of the amount of people sitting on them. The Spanish steps are located on the Piazza di Spagna and this is a nice area though. Lots of luxury shops, but that does mean that the streets are clean and the buildings are pretty. You can find many beautiful buildings here, with massive colored doors. So, still nice to walk around the neighborhood, but don’t go for the Spanish steps.
Pantheon: The Pantheon is one of my favorite religious buildings. I love that this used to be a Roman temple and is now used as a Catholic church (so progressive!). The church is in a perfect state. Again, Rome is super busy, so it was really crowded when we visited. However it is free to enter and you can still enjoy the central opening in the roof (oculus) with other people being there. The Pantheon is also located in a really good area of Rome, where you will find a lot of tailors and nice restaurants.
The next day we went to the other side of town in the direction of the Vatican.
Castel Sant’Angelo: I had already admired the Castel Sant’ Angelo from the outside, but never went in. When we walked by we noticed that we could get discounted tickets, because it was not crowded this Wednesday morning in May. Being Dutch I always like discounts, so this seemed like a sign to go in. I did not know what to expect, but really liked the Castel Sant’ Angelo. This castle has a secret hallway by which the pope could escape from the Vatican, if needed. Unfortunately you could not visit the secret hallway on a regular day, but the other parts were interesting as well. From the rooftop you get a perfect view from the Vatican and the Tiber, which could be reason enough to visit the Castel Sant’Angelo. Afterwards we had a short stroll around the Vatican, but we did not enter the Vatican. I just don’t love the Sistine Chapel enough to plan my day around it, even though I admire the craftmanship. For me visiting it twice was enough.
Food
Of course you can have delicious food in Rome. As we stayed in Trastevere and this is an area with good, affordable restaurants, we went here several nights in a row. Trastevere smelt lovely because of all the Tuscan Jasmine which was flourishing in May. It is the perfect place for a romantic, evening stroll, so why not combine that with a delicious dinner? Oh and by the way, the Basilica di Santa Maria is a little church, with a beautifully tiled floor, so you can visit that as well!
Meriodionale: This is a trattoria in Trastevere. On the outside there is an enormous bougainvillea, which drew me to this restaurant. There is only a little balcony where you can eat outside, but it was chilly at night so we preferred to go inside anyway. The restaurant was more trendy than I expected from the outside and the waiters were kind and professional. We both loved our (original) meals and spent € 35 each including wine.
Ditta Trinchetti: I selected this restaurant on basis of the bohemian interior and wooden details. Luckily the food was good as well, simple meals with good ingredients. The personnel was really charming in that Italian way you are looking for! Find below the restaurant during day and night!
Tonarello: This restaurant is really popular and you need reservations to go here. The menu looked absolutely amazing and the reviews were raving.. Unfortunately we did not reserve in time, but I would advise you to not make that same mistake.
