One week in the 'Eternal' city
Fun fact: It's called the Eternal city because they believed that no matter how wild the world got, Rome was indestructible.
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In 14 days, I ate likely my body weight in carbs, caught 30 hours worth of trains or busses, saw 8 cities in Italy & Switzerland & had one of the greatest experiences in years.
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But lets start in Rome.
We spent 4 days in Rome & clocked upwards of 50k steps 😅
I walked around for the first day with the silliest grin on my face because Italy has always been on my bucket list & i was so stoked to have finally made it.
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We stayed in the sweetest little Airbnb right near Roma Termini, so it was the perfect location to avoid dragging heavy suitcases over cobblestones. If you are looking for a cute, quirky place to stay follow the link below to book it!
Carmen the host was the sweetest & made sure that we had all of the key locations on our agenda. The one thing we missed was the Aventine keyhole but we really did just run out of hours in the day.
'The Dream' Apartment
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We did a 24 hour hop on - hop off tour & definitely don't regret it. They have 8 stops throughout the city & run about every 15 minutes. One full loop takes 2 hours (traffic dependent). We booked one that included Vatican entry but I would suggest one with Colosseum entry as well. As of now in May they require FFP2 masks & you will be denied entry on board without one.
Book your bus here
The cliche Roman sights that were 100% worth it IMO.
The Vatican
A city, within a city (I am getting Inception vibes) the three main 'must sees' are Sistine Chapel, St Peters & the Vatican museum/gardens. ​If you get Vatican entry as part of your ticket it does not include St Peters 🤪
*yes this comes from personal experience.
We first went to St Peters because that was where the queues were, they have two entry options to the top of the dome to see the detailed ceiling mosaics, you can either take an elevator part of the way up & then stairs or stairs the whole way. I was concerned about my injury so we did the ground level entry to St Peters & the tombs in the basement. It was still so incredibly beautiful & I could walk for the rest of the day #bigwin.
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The sistine chapel is inside the Vatican museum which is about a ten minute walk from St Peter’s. Once you head inside the museum it’s a one-way system to see all of the exhibits & the sistine chapel is second to last on the tour.
Inside there are no photos allowed & no talking although this wasn’t really that strictly followed. For the Vatican I would allow at a minimum a half day, longer if you have the time, there's lots of eateries & gelato stands to keep you going. Entry is €27.50.
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One thing that I will make sure I have time to visit next time I'm in Rome is the Vatican gardens. Sun lizard Chels loves nothing more than a lazy sun soaked afternoon on lush green grass, but when you have so many things to see & places to be, sometimes things have to get added to the next time list.
The Colosseum
​We almost didn't get there because of ticketing issues but so happy we got to go! Don't be like us & think you can book tickets on the day because it's a Wednesday & should be 'quiet'. There is no cover next to the main arena so if it's hot, cold or rainy you will need to dress accordingly.
We decided to go for the tour that included a downloadable guide & it was really interesting to learn all about it. There is also a mini museum that highlights the structure & how things used to be. I would allow for 2 hours so that it's not rushed & you can really appreciate how awesome the architecture is. Entry on the day is €24.
The Pantheon
Pantheon ​
I had no idea what I was in for when we headed through the Piazza towards the 40ft tall columns but I was blown away. The floors are just as impressive as the ceiling which is just as impressive as the granite columns, it was an overload on the senses.
The name Pantheon translates to all of the Gods & it is the best preserved monument in Rome. It also features in movies like Angels & Demons but I guess I missed that watch recommendation. €free.
The Trevi Fountains
If you don’t toss a coin did you even go? I absolutely cannot confirm if it actually made it all the way to the water but let’s just give me the benefit of the doubt. Definitely go early, by the time we finally took the scenic route & found the damn thing it was close to 8.30am & was already quite busy.
An hour later & you would definitely have to queue to get close to it. If you are like me & want a ‘gram pic, I would say get your photos then go get the mandatory sugary breakfast then pop back to take a moment & soak up the incredible monument that it is.
Piazza Venezia
The size & scale of this building takes a minute to adjust too. We went on our last day in Rome, mainly for something to do to kill time but now it will be one of my top suggestions. It's one of those places that gets more impressive the closer to it that you get.
A lot of the focus is on the statues & exterior of the building but once inside there is a free museum that you can look around or you can pay to go to the top duomo which is the exact same as the tourist level but higher & much less crowded. It would also be a cute spot to take a slice of pizza for lunch & chill on the stairs whilst looking out at the view.
