Here we go – part 3 of my Italy travel guide! (see pt. 1 here and my Positano travel guide here). Today I’ll be sharing my Rome travel guide with you: everything from where we stayed, transportation, what to do, and favorite restaurants.
When we booked our trip to Italy, we knew we had to see Rome. Neither of us had ever been and there is so much history to Rome that you just have to see! We were actually both surprised though how much we LOVED the city. If you’re going to Italy, I definitely recommend spending at least a night or two in Rome! We did 3 nights in Rome and I thought that was perfect (you could definitely do it in two nights though if you need to).
Where we stayed
We stayed at an air bnb pretty close to the Colosseum which was a great area. We walked almost everywhere in Rome and this location allowed for that.
Transportation in Rome
Rome has a pretty decent metro system which is much cheaper than getting a taxi. Apparently they have Uber in Rome as well but, it’s not like it is in the states haha. It took forever anytime we needed to get an uber because there’s only a few of them over there. Like I mentioned above, we walked 99% of the time in Rome. Our feet somewhat suffered for this BUT we got to see so much of the city this way (and walk off some of that gelato!).
What to do in Rome
There is SO much you can do in Rome. Here’s some of the sights that we saw that I’d highly recommend:
- Colosseum and ancient Rome tour. I’m not much of a guided tour person but there is so much history behind the Colosseum and ancient Rome, and if you were to just go see it for yourself, you wouldn’t really get to hear the stories behind everything which we thought were super interesting. I think you’d get really overwhelmed if you didn’t schedule a tour for these things. We used City Wonders Tours for this, and they were great. Be prepared though – it’s a long tour! I’d say 2 1/2-3 hours. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes!
- Vatican / St. Peters / Sistine Chapel tour. Again, we used City Wonders for this tour and loved them. This was my favorite tour in Rome for sure. These churches and the artwork here are legitimately unlike anything you will ever see. This tour was also about 2 1/2 – 3 hours. [Advice: we know some people that did both of these tours (Colosseum + Vatican) in the same day. I think that’s doable if you have to do it that way, but it would be SO exhausting in my opinion. We did our tours on two different days and I’m really glad]
- SHOPPING! There is GREAT shopping in Rome – everything from Dior to H&M, Prada and Brandy Melville and more! This is where i got my Dior sunglasses – aka best souvenir EVER! (This blog does a good job telling you where to go for shopping in Rome!)
PIN IT - Other fun things to see in Rome: Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain
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Outfit details: Sweater tank | cropped flare jeans | booties (similar here and here) | denim jacket | dior sunglasses | choker necklace | leather crossbody bag
Favorite restaurants in Rome
Rome had some of my favorite restaurants throughout our whole trip! Here were our favorite spots:
- Osteria 44 – we had dinner here on our first night in Rome and LOVED it. It’s a little off the beaten/tourist path which was nice. We sat outside, talked with the owner, and loved him. The menu was all in Italian so he helped us navigate through it and made great suggestions. We got complimentary prosecco to start, and then for dinner I got the sea bass, and Michael got the chicken. We both loved our meals. Then we split the chocolate lava cake for dessert which was amazing. I think we started with a cheese board as well. It was a nice break from pasta and super fresh. We thought the pricing was reasonable considering the amazing quality of food. We had reservations here but I’m not 100% sure it was necessary.
- Roscioli – we met a couple in Positano who told us about this restaurant, so we went based on their recommendation and it was SO good. We went for lunch after our Colosseum tour, but since we didn’t have a reservation we had to eat at their cafe next door (it’s the same menu, but not as much of a “sit down restaurant” as the other location). So, if you’re going for dinner I’d definitely make a reservation. I had a really yummy sandwich and Michael got pasta. The prices were reasonable and the food was amazing.
- Dar poeta – this was probably our FAVORITE pizza we had on the entire trip! I wish we could’ve gone back here every night but Michael was convinced we needed to try different things every night haha. But the pizza was SO good and the restaurant is adorable. We got a caraffe of wine for like…8 euros, and then we split the bruschetta to start. For our pizza we split the buffala mozzarella pizza, and for dessert…you have to get the nutella calzone! I’d recommend making a reservation or you will have to wait a while.
- Fattoincasa – we had lunch here after our Vatican tours and it was great. It has a small / family-owned feel to it and reasonable prices!PIN IT
Favorite gelato in Rome
Our two favorite gelato spots in Rome were Giolitti and Frigidarium! Both are amazing but Frigidarium was OUT of this world. Probably our favorite on our entire Italy trip!
Other random advice/tips:
1. Wear comfortable shoes! I cannot stress this enough. I love a good heel as much as the next girl but if your feet aren’t comfortable, your whole day could be ruined in Rome. Here are some of the shoes I brought that were perfect for lots of walking (and still cute!):
2. Give yourself more time than you think you need at the train station. We took the train from Naples to Rome (and then from Rome to Florence) and found the train station to be really confusing. Even if you buy your ticket before hand, leave yourself plenty of time at the train station to make sure you get on the right train at the right time!
3. Naps are a good thing. Obviously you have so much to see and probably so little time, but I think two of our days in Rome we came back to our air bnb in the afternoon for a 30-45 minute power nap and it helped SO much!
Hope this Rome travel guide helps you out with an upcoming trip you might have! Let me know if you have any questions or if there’s anything else you’d like to see for future Italy posts. Thank you SO much again to everyone who sent me amazing recommendations! I appreciate y’all so much!
xo Lauren
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