Rome is a busy, bustling city. It can feel rough and tumble at times. Full of tourists, street vendors, and Vespas. On the other hand, Rome is such an iconic city. The Colosseum. Piazzas. The Vatican. Sistine Chapel. Pizza. Pasta. Gelato. Sculptures. Oh, where to begin??
Three days is the perfect amount of time to explore the Eternal City.
The location of your hotel or apartment is critical to your experience. You want something close to the sights, metro, and shops and restaurants but still a little out of the way. When traveling with kids, I cannot stress the importance of staying in apartments, flats or condos. The extra space is welcome, as are multiple bathrooms. You can buy groceries and snacks. We usually have breakfast in the flat, lunch out, and dinners out most nights. However, sometimes after a full day of sightseeing, you may be too tired to go out. Here you can go to the store to pick up some pasta and sauce and fixings for a salad and call it dinner. Go ahead. Get fancy noodles and sauce.
If you visit during the high tourist season (aka summer), you will need to book or at least reserve visits to the major sights in advance. This is a must. And this is the way to see what you need to see.
There is so much to see and do in Rome.
Rome’s tourist office offers tourist passes to museums. There are 2 options: The Roma Pass which offers free entrance to 2 of 7 sites, reduced entrance fees for the others, metro pass, hop-on /hop-off bus tours; and the Omnia pass which covers the Vatican Museums plus all the features of the Roma pass. In summer it’s hot, and Rome is very busy. You do not want to sit in a long line in the heat. Look into the Skip the Line passes, they are worth paying for if needed. Be sure to check out the websites for the most up to date information. When we went, the Roma pass did not include the Borghese Gallery. For more information on these passes, check out these websites:
https://www.romeandvaticanpass.com
Day 1: Colosseum and Roman Forum
I would start with the Colosseum. Nothing quite says Rome like the Colosseum. Be sure to reserve tickets for the Colosseum. One ticket to the Colosseum also grants you access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Depending on where you are staying and time of day, you can split these up into separate days or do them the same day. The Colosseum only allows 3,000 visitors in at a time. When I was planning our visit, reservations are required if using the Roma Pass, but all the reservations were sold out. But I found a tour for only a few Euros more than the combo ticket price. It was only a 45-minute tour, but worth it. You can also get 2-3 hour tours, some include the Forum and some do not. Since our tour was in the afternoon, we opted to do the Forum the next morning. Get there before 10 am. Tours start swarming the Forum then and it gets so busy.
Roman Forum
Tip: download Rick Steve’s Audio Europe App (we don’t get a commission on this, we are just fans of his books and PBS series, and found his audio guides useful). The guide on the Forum was really informative and explained the different buildings and their importance. We found it helpful for the frame of reference. You can also rent audio guides at the ticket desk.
Day 2: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s.
This is a full-day excursion. Go to the Vatican website and book your tour directly. You can see the schedule, whether the Pope is delivering an audience or not. It’s your preference if you want to see that. For us, all Papal audiences were canceled for July so it wasn’t a consideration. I grabbed an open slot. You cannot reserve entry to St Peter’s but there are many options to “skip the line”. Hint: Go early!
St Peter’s Square
Be prepared with appropriate attire. No joke here. They will not let you in if you have inappropriate clothing. By this, they mean – no bare shoulders and no bare knees. This applies to everyone. This is an important religious site and crop tops just are not appropriate. Even in the heat, legs must be covered. Truly, I think girls and women have the better deal here. We can simply wear a midi or maxi dress with wrap or cardigan if the dress is sleeveless. Cropped pants for men are actually a thing now. Younger kids can probably get away with knee-length dresses/rompers or cargo shorts. But really, it’s up to the guards that let you in. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to risk getting turned away. We actually saw a couple of men not allowed in since they had muscle tees on (bare shoulders).
In the Museums, you can probably let the wrap slide a bit. The museums are warm. really warm. But in the Sistine chapel, be prepared to cover up. And Silence. No Photos are allowed in the Sistine. Guards constantly yell “NO FOTO!” to people snapping pics with their phones. We even witnessed who ladies who were taking a selfie get kicked out. No joke. It may feel like standing room only. Be patient, a seat will open up. It is much easier on your neck with you are sitting down. I can’t imagine Michelangelo painting this.
We also used Rick Steve’s guides for St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums. I felt the one on the Vatican museum was really helpful. Also, you follow a path in the Museum, and it’s pretty easy to follow along. I thought his description of The School of Athens was great.
Day 3: Pick your museums. Visit the Piazzas. Slow down the frenzied pace of Rome.
Go to the Spanish steps and window shop all the high-rent shops. Have gelato. We love to visit the Galleria Borghese for the Bernini sculptures. The museum is kind of out of the way, but so worth it. If you want to visit the Galleria Borghese, reservations are absolutely required. At the time, we went they were no longer part of the Roma Pass, but do check that out before your trip. But people were being turned away with no reservations.
We enjoyed our three lovely days in Rome and hope you do too!