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How to do Rome in 48 hours

How to do Rome in 48 hours

You just arrived in Rome with a couple of days to kill. How is it possible to see everything there is to see in such a short time? This is the guide to get the most out of Rome in the shortest amount of time.

19:00

Hopefully check-in at the hotel has been pretty smooth, so now it’s time to venture out in search of a good meal. A meal in Trastevere’s old part of town has several benefits. Firstly, there are a multitude of pizzerias and open-air tourist-type restaurants to choose from, and secondly, they are within walking distance of several major landmarks, including the well-preserved Pantheon.

Rome is as attractive at night as it is during the day, in the heat of the Roman summer, night walks can save a few hours of excessive sweating during the day. Any one of the little alleys between the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps is perfectly situated to allow a generous meal of pasta and a good carafe of wine to slip by quite easily.

21:00

Head to the Spanish steps to sit and hang out with the locals, while the view from the top of the steps in front of the Trinita dei Monti church offers a great view of the city. Take a walk by the Trevi Fountain and buy a dessert in the form of ice cream and try your luck with the change. Throw a coin over your shoulder to go back, two coins to go back and be kissed or three coins to go back and get married.

22:00

Continue walking through the streets until you reach Piazza Venezia, named for the Palace that overlooks the square that resembles the Doge’s Palace in Venice. The second floor balcony may sound familiar, it was the podium from which the dictator ‘il duce’ Mussolini delivered his fascist speeches. The other landmark that dominates the square is the unmistakable monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.

This has earned several nicknames over the years, including the wedding cake and the typewriter. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies here under armed guard along with the eternal flame. If the monument is open, there is a fantastic view over the rooftops of Rome, a glimpse of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum behind it. It is closed at dusk, but many of the ruins are illuminated at night.

23:00.

If the night air has revived you, there is the option of checking out the local nightlife, as there are many bars and clubs open in the central area of ​​the city. There are also some in other squares like Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori that stay open until early morning. Otherwise, head back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow.

08:00

It’s worth starting early, especially in the summer to avoid the crowds and temperatures, but luckily the city isn’t too spread out to get from place to place. The metro system is basic to say the least, there are only two metro lines that run through the city and the buses are clearly marked with destinations. Termini is the central bus and metro terminal. Tickets must be purchased before boarding and validated at the yellow machines, starting at EUR1 for one journey.

No visit to Rome is complete without a trip to the Vatican. San Pietro is on the western side of the Tiber River with the dome of San Pietro visible from most of the city. The halls of the Vatican museum are open from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with last admission just before 3:30 p.m., during the busy summer months. It is open until 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays and low season, while it is closed on Sundays and religious celebrations. You need plenty of time to walk through the 7 km of museum rooms to the Sistine Chapel, where you can admire the details and marvel at Michelangelo’s creation on the ceiling. It pays to have some kind of description of the frescoes on hand to explain what you are seeing. The Pope gives his public address on Wednesday mornings at 11am.

13:00

If you’re still hungry for more, there’s the basilica’s vast interior, the crypt below, and the view from the dome above onto the square. Now is probably a good time to find something for lunch before visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Take plenty of water with you in the summer months, as sneaky vendors will sell small bottles for exorbitant prices. Along with lunch it also gets you out of the hottest part of the day.

15:00

Entrance tickets to the Colosseum can be bought at the gate, but if the line is too long, you can go to the ticket window at the base of the Palatine Hill and buy them there. The line here is usually much shorter as not many tourists walk up the hill. The remains of the Emperor’s palace are located at the top overlooking the forum and, quite strategically, in the Temple of the Vestal Virgins. This hill is also said to be where Romulus founded Rome.

Next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, which was an exercise in recycling ancient monuments by Emperor Constantine to reward himself for beating Maxentius. The Colosseum has been damaged over the last 1,800 years by earthquakes, invaders and marble traders, but recent restoration projects have seen parts restored to give a good idea of ​​its original state.

4:00 p.m.

The Via Sacre leads from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum, the center of the ancient Roman commercial world. Ruins include the original forum, Julius Caesar’s funeral pyre, his Senate building, the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, and the Arch of Septimus Severus. The forum was buried over several hundred years of flooding, each layer has been stripped away to reveal another Roman era, and in some cases two eras have merged, as in the case of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. The door in the middle of the exposed wall shows where the ground level was during the 8th century, when the 2nd century temple was converted to a church.

There are many tour guides available such as history students and licensed guides who offer their services with tours of the forum and colosseum. The stories they tell really help bring the ruins to life. Across the street is the Trajan’s Forum with the very conspicuous Trajan’s Column. This marks the border of ancient Rome and the continuation of the modern city. Unfortunately, most of ancient Rome lies below the Via dei Fiori Imperiali, the road built by Mussolini to parade his troops before going into battle.

five pm

The rest of the day can be spent enjoying people-watching in any of the cafes in Piazza Navona and admiring Bernini’s sculpted Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, or relaxing in the shade in the park of the 17th-century Villa Borghese. Then go back to those clubs you missed last night.

08:00

This really depends on when you decide to leave. An early evening departure can allow you to enjoy one of three options, as long as you start early. The Baths of Caracalla is a 10-hectare space that once housed 1,600 people to take advantage of the bath, the shops, the libraries, the gardens and the public entertainment. These open at 9am and close 1 hour before sunset and on Mondays at 2pm. You would need around 3-4 hours including travel time to see them.

The other option is to visit one of the vast catacombs that are buried under the city. These are miles and miles of tunnels, burial vaults and churches excavated by early Christians to escape persecution by the Romans. The vault burials are countless meters high and the tunnels descend at various levels. The resulting rabbit hole requires a guide to get you from one side to the other safely. You can choose between those of Via Appia Antica, which are the largest, or the Catacombs of San Callisto which are next to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano. They open at 8:30 a.m. and close at noon, reopening in the afternoon from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Again, you would need 3-4 hours to get into a site.

10:00

The third and last option is to leave everything tourist aside and enjoy authentic gastronomic experiences. The food markets north of the Vatican are located just off Viale dele Millizie and those in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele near Termini offer a selection of fresh, locally produced produce.

There you have it, all the main attractions of Rome can be achieved in just 2 days. The choice now is, do I really want to leave yet?

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