Congratulations, if you’re reading this article, it means that you have booked a 3-day trip to the amazing and ancient city of Rome! even though there are tons of things to see, I tried to combine the city’s most unique and ancient spots that must do and must see in 3 days. Put on your comfy shoes and take a walk with me!
3 days in Rome – day 1
What better way to start your trip than with the piece the resistance: the Colosseum!
This oval amphitheatre is situated in the centre of Rome, just east of the Roman Forum. The gigantic building could hold between 50.000 and 80.000 spectators who would come here and watch executions, gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, dramas,… .
address: Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Roma
Opening hours: 08:30 – 19:00
Walk 6 minutes towards Palatine Hill
This is the centremost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city.
Walk 5 minutes until Roman Forum
This rectangular forum is surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. This used to be the center of the day-to-day Roman life: triumphal processions, elections, public speeches, criminal trials, it all took place here.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 19:00
Drive 9 minutes until Pantheon
The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 18:00
Walk 4 minutes until Piazza Navona
This square in Italy is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.
Drive 10 minutes until the Vatican Museums
The Vatican museums are situated within the city boundaries of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by Popes throughout the centuries.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 16:00
Walk 11 minutes until St. Peter’s Basilica
This Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City and the papal enclave within the city of Rome.
Walk 8 minutes until Castel Sant’Angelo
This building was initially commissioned by the emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family and was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle. Nowadays it is a museum.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 19:30
3 days in Rome – day 2
The second day or your trip, how exciting! Today we start at the Borghese Gallery and Museum.
The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery housed in the former Villa Borhese Pinciana which houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings.
Take the public transportation until Villa Borgese (+/- 13 minutes)
Villa Borghese is a landscape garden containing many museums, attractions and beautiful buildings. The gardens were designed by the architect Flamino Ponzio.
Walk 12 minutes until Convento dei Frati Cappuccini
This is a crypt decorated with the skulls and bones of thousands of capuchin monks. There is also a museum that hosts tours.
Walk 8 minutes until the Spanish Steps
These Spanish Steps are a set of steps (135 steps to be precise) in Rome, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti.
Walk 7 minutes until the Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain was designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. This is the largest baroque fountain in the city with its 26,3 metres high and 49,45 metres wide.
Walk 13 minutes until the altar of the Fatherland
This monument was built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first kind of a unified Italy.
Opening hours: 09 – 19:00
Walk 5 minutes until Trajan’s Colum and Trajan’s market
This triumphal column in Rome commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars. The market is a large complex of ruins in the city.
Opening hours Trajan’s market: 09:30 – 19:30
Walk 1 minute until Forum of Augustus.
This is one of the imperial forums of Rome, built by, who else, Augustus. It includes the temple of Mars Ultor.
Drive 6 minutes until St. Clement Basilica
This Roman Catholic minor basilica was dedicated to pope Clement.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 12:30
3 days in Rome – Day 3
The 3rd and final day of your Rome trip has unfortunately already arrived. However today we have 7 more sights foreseen which will not leave you disappointed. Let’s start at the Catacombs of St. Callixtus
Opening hours: 09:00 – 12:00
Now drive 6 minutes until Baths of Carcalla
These were the city’s second largest Roman public baths.
Opening hours: 09:00 – 18:15
Walk 12 minutes until Circus Maximus
This is an ancient Rome chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue. It was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome.
Walk 12 minutes until Bocca della Verità
This is a marble masks in Rome which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in the Cosmedin church.
Opening hours: 9:30 – 17:50
Walk 12 minutes until Tiber Island
This is the only island in the party of the Tiber river which runs through Rome.
Drive 3 minutes until Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
This 5th-century churcu was devoted to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia.
Walk 8 minutes until Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere
This is a titular minor basicila in the Travestere disctrict of Rome.
Opening hours: 07:30-21:00
That concludes our 3-day Roman trip together. I hope you have enjoyed this wonderfuld city and its ancient glory as much as I have.