Things to do in Rome: Ultimate 3-day itinerary

Rome, with its vast history and illustrious monuments, makes for an excellent long weekend away. While the touristy sites are well worth the visit, it was simply wandering the beautiful streets that won over our hearts. The number of amazing historical sites we just happened upon, and were deserted of tourists, was astonishing. Granted, we did visit in a rainy off-season of March.

Explore this 3-day itinerary of the top sites and attractions along with a few more hidden gems. Rome is an extremely walkable city, provided you wear appropriate footwear of course, and apart from the train to and from the airport and an early morning trip to the Vatican we didn’t need to take any public transportation. 

Having arrived on Sunday afternoon, there wasn’t much time for scheduled sightseeing. However we have a lovely wander to find the lay of the land. 

Day One: Ancient Rome

Even in the off-season, an early start to your day in the ancient sector is highly recommended. We booked a guided tour with Viator, as only specific tours have access to the Colosseum arena floor. Personally, I tend to prefer self-guided tours, and the extra arena access – while very cool to experience – did not warrant the additional cost of the tour. However, in busier months, the shorter tour queues may have changed my mind. 

Just across the street from the Colosseum, our tour continued at Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. This massive area is well worth a detailed wander, with numerous incredible monuments. Within the site you have free reign of the ancient temples, palaces, and forum. There aren’t many signs with information on what you’re seeing, so this was where the tour guide was able to provide valuable insight into the area and its history.

After a delicious pasta lunch at the nearby al42, we went to the Capitoline Museums. There’s no need to book in advance, you can purchase your ticket onsite. A bit of a maze, the museum spans several floors and you find yourself of all sides of the central square while visiting the various exhibits. Several famous artifacts can be found in the museum, such as the statue of the she-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus and the statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which survived by being mistaken for Constantine for centuries.

Day Two: The Vatican

Again, even in the off-season on a rainy March Tuesday morning, there was a massive line waiting to get into the Vatican Museums ahead of its opening time at 8am. Definitely book this one in advance or you’ll be standing in line even longer. While the queues were intimidating, once the doors opened they were very efficient in guiding the crowds inside. The museums are the only way of accessing the famous Sistine Chapel; however don’t be tempted to rush through to the chapel at the end – the museum is a treasure trove of amazing artifacts from across the centuries. 

Once you’ve had your museum fill, you’ll need to go back around the walls to the square outside St Peter’s Basilica. While free to enter, and there’s a theme here, there was quite the queue. We nearly didn’t bother waiting as the line looped around the square, however it does move quite quickly and we’re very glad we did. The lines are to get you past security checks, and once you’re through you have free reign to explore this massive basilica. I’d definitely recommend descending to the crypt, where many popes are buried.

While the main church is free to enter, there is a small fee to climb the tower to the viewpoint at the top. This ended up being my favourite part of the entire trip – and I hate stairs! There are two options for tickets, one for the elevator and one for the stairs. However, do note that the elevator only takes you up about a third of the way – either ticket will require several hundred steep stairs to climb, so if you’re up for it I do recommend the cheaper stairs only ticket as it skips the elevator queue. A degree of physical fitness is definitely required, but it’s not too strenuous and there’s a lovely outdoor viewpoint a third of the way up where the elevator joins the stairs where you can take a break.

Up the next staircase, which involves some very narrow and winding staircases, you’ll finally reach the top for a spectacular view across Rome.

After a well-earned gelato back on solid ground, we opted to walk back towards the main centre of Rome on our way to Villa Borghese. Up some more stairs to this hilltop park, this is a lovely spot to rest and enjoy the scenery.

Walking back towards the ancient sector, you’ll pass both the Spanish Steps, featured in many a classic film, and the iconic Trevi Fountain. Follow the crowds and you can’t miss them.

Day Three: Pantheon District

As our check-out day, we had a bit of a later start to the day. We’d pre-booked our Pantheon tickets, which I do recommend as it helps to skip the lines. Do note that you need to pick up your paper tickets several blocks away from the Pantheon. The instruction are provided when you book your ticket, but you’ll need to build in a fair bit of extra time for this detour. I do recommend the audio guide, which gives a great overview of the history and important features of this incredibly intact ancient building.

Not far from the Pantheon, you’ll find one of Rome’s most picturesque squares, Piazza Navona. Down a backstreet you’ll find a delicious gelato shop to enjoy while taking in the sights of the square.

With some extra time on our hands, rather than taking the bus to the train station on our way back to the airport, we opted to walk as we were traveling light. This was another highlight of the trip as our journey along the Tiber took us past many amazing historic buildings and sites that were completely devoid of the tourist crowds. Don’t miss Ponte Fabricio, the oldest bridge in Rome still in use, built in 62BC, and the ruin of the oldest stone bridge in Rome, circa 2nd century BC. Across the street you’ll also see Roman temples from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. Just before you reach the train station, you’ll find a preserved 3rd century city gate and part of the Aurelian wall. Opposite this, you’ll see the magnificent Pyramid of Caius Cestius, a pyramid tomb built for a wealthy Roman magistrate just after Rome’s conquering of Egypt.