Rome itinerary: 3 days for a first visit

Three days is the shortest time that does Rome justice. It gives you the ancient city, the Vatican and the old centre with its fountains and piazzas, and it leaves an evening or two to sit at a table and watch the street. Rome is a city to take slowly. It has two and a half thousand years of buildings piled on top of one another, and you can hardly turn a corner without finding a church with a painting by someone famous.

This plan keeps each day in one part of the city, because the sights are spread out and the heat in summer is real. The pavements are cobbled, the distances longer than they look on a map, and the best strategy is to start early, rest in the middle of the day and go out again when the light turns gold.

Before you go: the short version

• How long: three full days, plus a fourth if you want a day trip to Ostia Antica or Tivoli.
• Where to stay: the historic centre around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona for a first visit; Monti for a village feel near the Colosseum; Trastevere for evenings out.
• From the airport: the direct train from Fiumicino to Termini station takes about 30 minutes. From Ciampino, a bus to the centre takes about 40 minutes. Agree the fare or check the meter rules before you get into a taxi.
• Getting around: walk, with the metro and buses for longer hops. More in the Italy travel guide.
• Book ahead: the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and anywhere you want to eat dinner on a Friday or Saturday.

Day 1: ancient Rome

Morning. Start at the Colosseum, the great amphitheatre where gladiators once fought, and book a timed entry in advance. The Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill are next door, so check what your ticket covers when you plan your morning. Walk through the Forum, the ruined centre of the ancient city, and climb the Palatine Hill, where the emperors built their palaces and the views run back over the ruins.

Afternoon. Walk down to the Capitoline Hill, where Michelangelo laid out the square, and look back over the Forum from the terrace. Lunch in Monti, the little neighbourhood of lanes behind the Colosseum, where the cafés and wine bars are quiet and the pizza al taglio, which is sold by weight in rectangular slices, is excellent. In the heat of the day, this is a good moment to rest or to visit a cool church such as San Clemente, which has layers of Roman building stacked beneath it.

Evening. Walk to the Piazza Venezia and the Altar of the Fatherland, a vast white monument, then on to the Largo di Torre Argentina, where stray cats live among Roman ruins. Have dinner in the centre, and order the Roman classics: carbonara, cacio e pepe or amatriciana, then supplì, the fried rice balls with a centre of melting mozzarella.

Day 2: the Vatican and Trastevere

Morning. Go to Vatican City, an independent state inside Rome, and book your visit to the Vatican Museums in advance. They are enormous: miles of galleries that lead eventually to the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo's ceiling. Arrive at opening time to beat the crowds, and wear something that covers your shoulders and knees. After the museums, walk into St Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world, and climb the dome if you have the legs for it.

Afternoon. Walk from St Peter's Square down the wide road to Castel Sant'Angelo, the round fortress by the river, which began as an emperor's tomb. Cross the Ponte Sant'Angelo, lined with sculpted angels, and wander the lanes on the other bank. Then cross to Trastevere, the old working-class neighbourhood across the river, with ivy-covered houses, narrow alleys and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, its façade covered in mosaics.

Evening. Trastevere is the best place in Rome for an evening out. The streets fill with people at tables outside, and you can browse the small trattorias until you find one with a menu you like. Order a plate of artichokes cooked the Roman way, and a glass of local white wine. After dinner, climb the Janiculum Hill for the view over the city at night.

Day 3: the centre, fountains and gardens

Morning. Begin at the Pantheon, the best-preserved building of ancient Rome, with a dome that was the largest in the world for centuries and an open hole in the roof. Then walk to Piazza Navona, the oval square built on a Roman stadium, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers. Have a coffee standing at a bar counter in the Roman way, as the locals do.

Afternoon. Walk through the market at Campo de' Fiori, then on past the small streets with their artisans, towards the Trevi Fountain. The fountain is crowded at all times, so go early or late, and toss a coin over your shoulder if you want to return to Rome. From there, walk up to the Spanish Steps, and on to the Villa Borghese gardens, the big park north of the centre, for a rest under the umbrella pines. In the park, the Galleria Borghese has Bernini sculptures and a few masterpieces of painting; it's small and you need to book a timed slot.

Evening. Watch the sunset from the Pincio terrace, at the edge of the gardens, which looks over Piazza del Popolo and the domes of the city. For your last dinner, walk back into the centre and try a place off the main squares, where the menu is short and in Italian. Finish with gelato, the thick and creamy kind that holds its shape, from a shop where the flavours are kept in covered tubs rather than piled high in bright mounds.

With more time

• Ostia Antica: the ancient port of Rome, about 40 minutes away by train, with streets and shops that are better preserved than parts of the Forum.
• Tivoli: a hill town east of the city with the gardens of the Villa d'Este and the ruins of Hadrian's Villa.
• The Appian Way: the ancient road south of the centre, with catacombs, best seen on foot or by bicycle.
• The Aventine Hill: a quiet hill with an orange garden and a keyhole in a door that frames the dome of St Peter's.
• Further on: Florence and Naples are each about an hour and a half by fast train. The Italy travel guide has a longer route, and the train travel in Europe guide explains the rail network.

Where to stay

• Around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona: the historic heart, walkable to nearly everything, with cobbled streets and plenty of restaurants. Noisy on summer nights.
• Monti: a small, friendly neighbourhood close to the Colosseum, with independent shops and bars.
• Trastevere: romantic and lively in the evening, and a bit further from the ancient sights.
• Near Termini station: convenient for trains and the airport link, but the streets around the station are rougher than the centre. Choose carefully.

For a group, an apartment in the centre often works better than several hotel rooms. See where to stay with a group.

Getting around

The historic centre is compact, and walking is the best way to see it, but the sights are spread across both banks of the river and between several hills, so distances add up. The metro is limited, with only a few lines, and it is quick for hops such as Termini to the Colosseum or the Vatican area. Buses fill in the gaps, though they can be slow in traffic. Taxis are useful for the end of a long day, and ride-hailing works in Rome too. Be careful of pickpockets on crowded buses and in the main tourist areas.

Planning Rome as a group

Rome is a good city for a group, provided you book the few things that need it. The Colosseum and the Vatican Museums sell out in busy months, so buy timed tickets for everyone at once. Decide in advance who wants to climb the dome of St Peter's, as it is a separate queue. And book a table for the whole group on weekend evenings, since the best trattorias are small. Keep the shared costs, like the dinners, the taxis and the tickets, in one place, so nobody has to remember who paid for what.

What to pack

Comfortable shoes with good grip are the one thing you can't skip: the cobbles are uneven and polished by centuries of feet. Bring clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for churches, a refillable bottle for the drinking fountains that run all over the city, and a hat and sunscreen in summer. The packing list for a city break covers the rest.