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Things To Do in Rome in 3 Days & Detailed Itinerary

August 16, 2020

Things to do in Rome in 3 days

• Colosseum
• Vatican
• St Peter’s Basilica
• Pantheon
• Piazza Navona
• Trevi Fountain
• Spanish Steps
• Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
• Campidigolio
• Via del corso
• Trastevere
• Venchi Gelato & Chocolates
• Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo

Detailed Rome itinerary (Our Story)

Rome – a romantic blend of culture and history spiced up with a vibrant street and nightlife.

Roma, as its popularly called is one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities of the world, which offers the window to the world of history, which is unparalleled and at the same time some of the most modern lifestyle and enthralling night life, was our 1st destination in Italy. We travelled to Rome, via Alitalia flight and landed in morning (as I generally prefer). I had pre booked the cab for my airport transfer an the driver was waiting for us just outside the gate. Link….. is from where I booked and they were professional and not stress in coordinating and the driver was also very friendly. After a 40min drive from the airport we reached our Bnb at Corso Vittorio, it was very central and waling distance to all the main places. This was our 1st Bnb experience and to be honest we were a bit sceptic, but all our doubts were put to rest by the 2 hosts ladies as they were really warm and welcoming. They even helped us out in modifying our itinerary which would be comfortable. (Read more in : Our 1st Bnb experience)



Day 1 – Pantheon, Navona, Trevi, Spanish Steps: After resting for sometime we just headed out to explore the city. Map was provide by the hosts, and we started walking towards the street (cobblestone street) opposite our apartment and after a fascinating walk for 8-10 minutes in the by lanes we reached Piazza Navona which is one of the most charming and popular squares (piazzas) in Rome.

This is where we 1st witnessed the grandeur of Italian architecture at its full bloom. With 3 beautiful fountains, colourful street hawkers, painters, chic restaurants on both sides. There was lively and delightful atmosphere which makes you immerse in the beautiful fountains, there sound, chilly water and the stadium like enormity (this square was erstwhile athletic stadium).


After looking around a bit, drinking water from the fountains we moved on towards Pantheon which was hardly 300m walk from here. And here it is, The Pantheon, one of the influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple turned into a church. The most fascinating part of this is its giant dome, with its famous hole. You can see the glimpses of ancient Rome and there architectural achievement. The hole is the only source of light. A lighting effect can be viewed on April 21 when the midday sun strikes a metal grille above the doorway, saturating the courtyard outside with light. The Romans celebrated April 21 as the founding date of the city. Within 2-3 min walk from here is a cute little boutique shop called Bartolucci (https://www.bartolucci.com/en/) which makes gift items and collector’s pieces, furnishing accessories and toys, all made out of wood and all made in Italy only. One should check this place out.


By now we were already awestruck by the brilliant architecture and fascinating history of the city. But this was just the beginning, as its just going to get better from here, as within 7-8 min of walk from Pantheon is the most famous fountain of Rome, The Trevi Fountain. Once you reach Piazza di Trevi you are just blown away by the grandeur of this fountain and magnificent architecture. You can go here at any time of the day/night, the place is always crowded, such is the beauty of Trevi. The Trevi Fountain stands a massive 85 feet tall and is almost 65 feet wide. With water pumping out of multiple sources and the large pool in front. Tossing a coin over your shoulder is a tradition and ensure a return to Rome. So, we were not far away from this tradition. After spending some time we headed for lunch towards pizzeria in the next lane.


If you are in Italy, how can you miss out on the famous “Gelato”, and one of the most famous in Italy is Venchi, which is also just a street across Trevi. This place is always crowded and if you have to wait in a que, it is totally worth it. Important thing to note is google map is really helpful in taking you from one place to another with perfect directions.



After relaxing a bit we headed towards Trinita dei Monti, which is a church on the top of Spanish Steps and is an ideal way to admire this place and have a complete view of Spanish Steps and the street. This is a slightly elevated walk. It’s a Gothic church with a Renaissance façade and from the gallery you can have a good view of the city. From there you can move down these iconic and historical 138 Steps, which is among the widest stairway in Europe. There is crowd which gathers around or sit on the Stairs and chill. So did we. Post that we moved down and there is Fountain Of Old Boat, another fascinating fountain of Rome.


By now you would be thinking that we were rushing between places and not soaking up the cities culture, but that’s not the case. We spent enough time at each place, enjoyed our lunch and relished our Venchi Gelato. Its just that all these places are within 5-10min and our Bnb location helped us a great deal. From Spanish steps we planned to head back to our room, but while on our way we stopped by at Piazza del Popolo, which is also another big square. After just sitting there for a while and post having some snacks, we headed back along the banks of River Tiber. We came back with some lovely pictures and with a thought that this was only 1 part of the history and there was Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican yet to be seen.

In the night we moved towards Vatican which was just across the river to have dinner at a pizzeria, post which we took a stroll around Vatican and moved back to the room, on our way back on the bridge there were lot of musicians performing, which was quiet satisfying to enjoy after a satisfying start to Italian trip.



Day 2 – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill : We had our breakfast at the Bnb and then headed out for the day’s exploration and it was the Campidoglio, Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We took the bus from outside our Bnb and headed towards Campidoglio. Piazza del Campidoglio was the result of Michelangelo’s plan for the revival of the Capitoline Hill, a site of great importance since antiquity. It’s a huge square accessible through a stairway. After spending a while there, we now started for the main destination of the day, The Colosseum.

From the nearby bus stop we took the bus and reached Colosseum in 10min. And then on our arrival just outside it, we were 1st awestruck by the magnanimity of this great historical structure, and then by seeing the crowd we were reaffirmed why this is a part of the 7 wonders of the world. Thankfully we had already pre booked our jump the que tickets which helped us save time there through Coopculture.com. Even after this there is another que for the security and entrance, but it doesn’t take long here. And once you enter this iconic monument you feel the magic of this place. It is huge, it is historical, it is iconic and much more.


We reached the 1st floor and moved around to the designated places and I kept listening to the audio guide transmitter which I rented before entering. Its better that you take this, as it will make you understand relevance of various places and there significance in history. This place is so fascinating and so legendary that you would want to spend more time there and know more stories aligned to it.


Colosseum was opened in 80 AD and was in active use for 400 years. The place has been witness to gladiator fights, battle re-enactments, mock sea battles, drama plays, public executions of prisoners, and exotic animal hunts. It takes 45-60 min to see the entire place and understand the history of the place. Post this we walked towards the Roman Forum.



This place can be accessed using the same ticket which was used for Colosseum. Forum was once the beating heart of ancient Rome, is now in ruins. This was once filled with imposing civic buildings, bustling marketplace, public meetings and became the social, political and commercial hub of the Roman empire. This was built thanks to one of the world’s earliest sewage systems. There are many iconic structures within the forum, but none more than The Temple of Saturn recognized by eight surviving columns. After roaming around the forum for a bit an soaking up the history related to the place we moved ahead towards the Palatine Hill.


Palatine Hill can be accessed using the same ticket and is connected through Roman Forum. It is just above the Roman Forum and offers you a sweeping view of the ruins and the modern city. Its history dates even further back than the Roman Emperors and the legend says that the first people to ever live in Rome lived on Palatine Hill. There is a lot of history to be seen here along with towering pine trees and majestic ruins. During your visit don’t miss out on looking for the stadium, the ruins of imperial Palace (Domus Flavia) and grand views of the Forum from the Orti Farnesiani. While moving around this place you just keep getting amazed on how well the Romans have preserved the history and how majestic was it.

Via Del Corso, Trastevere : After spending the time till noon soaking up the history we stepped out toward the main street of Rome, Via Del Corso for lunch. There are innumerable pizzerias here, and you can confidently stop by at any of them and still the quality of pizzas remain good. After having our meal it was time for the mandatory stop at the Venchi for another round of mouth watering gelato. We spent the rest of the chilling along the streets and hoping in and out of the stores and doing some shopping. By late evening we were back the room, where we relaxed for a while.


Around 9Pm again stepped out to the most famous neighbourhood of Rome, Trastevere, which means across the river Tiber. This was 15min walk from our Bnb and is surely one of the beautiful and colourful places around Rome, with cobblestone streets and narrow lanes. If you really want to enjoy the nightlife of Rome, this is a must visit. This place varies from the fine dine with Michelin Star restaurants to small bars, you can have it all. The bars, pubs, lounges across the narrow lanes gives this place its own lively character. 1st we stopped by at a local bar to have couple of drinks and enjoy with the locals. It indeed was a fun experience. Post this we stepped out and headed to another pub and were there till midnight. One the way back we reached a big piazza where lot of youngsters were chilling, having there drinks and singing the night away. There is enough police around every corner of the streets to control any unruly behavior. It was indeed an enjoyable experience here and we planned to return next night as well to have our dinner at one of there fine din restaurant.

Day 3 – Vatican : Day 3 was for the visit to Vatican and Castle Sant Angelo. We had pre booked our guided tour to the St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums. After having our breakfast we moved toward the Vatican which was 5-7min walk from our Bnb across the river.


Vatican is considered to be the smallest country in the world and is an independent city state. It is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and home to the Pope. Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope at its head.


Though it is advisable to pre book your tour through official website of Vatican and well in advance to get a good deal, else you would have to wait for private operators which are slightly expensive. Even though, you didn’t pre book, nothing to worry, you can hop into any of these operators and can get your selves booked basis the availability. 1 guide have a group of 12-20 people, but you have your headphones through which you can hear the instructions and about places being visited. It is important that you take a guided tour or else you would spend your entire day there, 1st spending time in the ques and then figuring out places to visit. We reached the office of our guided tour operator and after waiting for everyone who enrolled for it, we moved towards the Museums through the long the ques and people waiting to get inside. Another important thing to note is that there is a dress code to visit, wherein you should cover your shoulders and avoid shorts and short dresses and skirts.

After a quick security check we headed inside the Museum and its here we were amazed by the beauty of architecture and paintings. You can see the history and artistry at its full bloom. A walk though the galleries, gardens and the path to Sistine Chapel, every corner have brilliance of artistry. The entire tour ends at the St Peter’s Basilica is a large church and is considered the greatest church in Christendom. Even with a guided tour and jump the que, it still takes 2-3 hours. At the exit of the church you can see the colorfully dressed guards of the Pope and at the top of the hour and is a worthwhile experience.








This entire tour was slightly tiring, hence we headed to have lunch at a near by restaurant. A thing which we started loving in Italy was there “Fanta”, which had a unique flavour (orange) and was really refreshing. This has been a part of all our meals. After a refreshing break we headed towards the castle which was barely 5minute walk from here.


Castel Sant’Angelo is one which holds stories which are worth knowing about and which give an insight on the Eternal City that other monuments may not give. With its chunky round keep, this castle is an instantly recognisable landmark. It houses the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo and its grand collection of paintings, sculpture, military memorabilia and medieval firearms.

After spending some time at the castle we headed towards a café around the river and relaxed there for a while with some snacks and coffee, post which we headed back to our Bnb where we freshened up, did our packing since this was our last night in Rome and then stepped out again for dinner.


1st we went to Roscioli which is a very famous wine bar and wine tasting place and then to Trevi taking a bus, to have a view of the place by the night and it was truly worth a visit. Post that we headed towards Trastevere to pick from where we left last night. Today we wanted to relax a bit and hence went to one of restaurants and a glass of wine along with spaghetti and pizza. Post this we called it the night and ended our Rome sojourn.