Flight time
2h 40m
Best season
April–May & October
Budget
Mid-range to splurge
Best for
History, art, food, architecture
Overview
Why Rome for a city break?
Rome is not a city you visit — it's a city that happens to you. Two thousand years of continuous human habitation have layered empire on republic on medieval town on baroque capital on modern metropolis, and at every turn the ancient and the contemporary coexist with a nonchalance that takes the breath away. The Pantheon is a functioning church. The Forum is a short walk from a Michelin-starred restaurant. Cats sleep on Roman ruins while motorini whip past. There is nowhere else on earth like it.
From most UK airports, Rome is two and a half to three hours — well connected from London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and most regional airports. The city is best in April, May and October: warm enough to eat outside, cool enough to walk all day, and free of the summer heat that turns the Centro Storico into a slow-moving tourist jam between July and August. Book the Colosseum, Vatican Museums and Borghese Gallery before you go — all require timed entry and sell out weeks ahead in peak season.
Where to stay & explore
Rome's best neighbourhoods
Trastevere
The most atmospheric neighbourhood in Rome — cobbled lanes, ochre buildings draped in bougainvillea, the beautiful Santa Maria in Trastevere basilica, and some of the city's best trattorias. Touristy in the evening; local and quiet in the morning.
Prati
The residential neighbourhood directly across the Tiber from the Vatican — a grid of elegant 19th-century streets, excellent neighbourhood restaurants, and a much more local feel than the Centro Storico. Ideal base for the Vatican.
Testaccio
Rome's traditional working-class food neighbourhood, built around the old slaughterhouse — the Testaccio Market is the finest food market in the city, and the trattorias here do offal dishes (coda alla vaccinara, trippa alla romana) that define Roman cooking.
Things to do
What to see in Rome
1
The Colosseum & Roman Forum
The most iconic building in the Western world needs no introduction — but the combination ticket that includes the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is essential. The Forum, where Julius Caesar was cremated and Mark Antony gave his speech, is the most historically charged few acres in Europe. Book entry online well in advance — the Colosseum queue without a ticket is hours long in any season.
2
Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
The world's greatest collection of art under one roof — the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps and the Sistine Chapel (Michelangelo's ceiling and The Last Judgement) are the centrepieces. Book timed entry months ahead in summer; even in October, same-day entry is difficult. The skip-the-line early morning tours are worth the premium. St Peter's Basilica is free and separate — visit at opening for the best experience.
3
Borghese Gallery
The finest collection of Baroque sculpture in the world — Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, Pluto and Proserpina and The Rape of Proserpina are among the most extraordinary things human hands have ever made. Entry is strictly timed (2-hour slots) and capped at 360 visitors; book online the moment your dates are fixed. The villa sits in the middle of the beautiful Villa Borghese park.
4
The Pantheon
The best-preserved building from ancient Rome — a temple built in 125 AD with an unreinforced concrete dome that remained the world's largest for 1,300 years. The oculus (open hole at the top) lets rain fall in and light track across the interior. Entry now requires a timed ticket (€5). Go at opening time to experience the space without the crowds.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Rome
Da Enzo al 29
Roman trattoria / Trastevere
The definitive neighbourhood trattoria — cacio e pepe, coda alla vaccinara, artichokes alla giudia, and tiramisu in a small room where the tablecloths are checked and the welcome is genuine. Book well ahead; it's perpetually full. Lunch is slightly easier to book than dinner.
Supplì Roma
Street food / suppli
The best suppli (fried risotto balls) in Rome — a cult street food spot in Trastevere with a queue that moves fast. The classic suppli al telefono (with molten mozzarella that pulls apart in strings, hence the name) is all you need. Open from noon; sell out by early evening.
Roscioli
Deli, bakery & restaurant
One of Rome's most celebrated food institutions — a deli, bakery and restaurant in one, with an extraordinary wine cellar and a menu built around the finest Italian produce. The carbonara is definitive; the cheese selection is one of the best in Italy. Book the restaurant weeks ahead; the deli counter needs no booking.
Itinerary
3 days in Rome — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
The ancient city — Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill
Leonardo da Vinci airport is 45 minutes from Termini by the Leonardo Express train (€14). Book your Colosseum entry for the first morning slot — 9am, arrive 15 minutes early. The combined ticket covers the Forum and Palatine Hill; allow four hours for the whole complex. The Forum at mid-morning, with the light on the temples and the Arch of Titus, is the finest sight in Rome. Lunch in Testaccio: the market (Via Aldo Manuzio) for a suppli and a slice of pizza al taglio. Afternoon: walk through the Circus Maximus to the Aventine Hill — the Knights of Malta keyhole with its perfectly framed view of St Peter's dome is a five-minute detour worth every step. Trastevere for dinner: Da Enzo al 29 if you've booked, or any of the dozen good trattorias on the surrounding streets.
Day 2
Vatican, St Peter's, the Castel Sant'Angelo
Vatican Museums open at 9am — your timed entry is booked. The route through the museum to the Sistine Chapel takes about two hours; the Chapel itself deserves 20 minutes of contemplative looking rather than a photo opportunity. Walk directly through to St Peter's Basilica (free, no booking) — climb the dome (551 steps or take the lift partway) for the finest rooftop view in Rome. The Piazza San Pietro is best seen from above. Lunch in Prati: the neighbourhood restaurants around Via Cola di Rienzo are good value. Afternoon: the Castel Sant'Angelo (the emperor Hadrian's mausoleum, then a papal fortress, now a museum) and the walk along the Tiber. Aperitivo in the Campo de' Fiori before dinner in the Jewish Ghetto — the fried artichokes at Nonna Betta are essential.
Day 3
Borghese, the Pantheon, a final gelato on the Spanish Steps
Borghese Gallery at 9am — your two-hour timed slot is booked. Stand in front of Bernini's Apollo and Daphne for ten minutes: the marble is moving. Walk through the Villa Borghese park to the Pincio terrace for the view over the Piazza del Popolo and the domes of Rome. The Pantheon is open from 9am — go before noon to beat the midday queues. Lunch at Roscioli (book the restaurant) or grab supplì at the counter and eat on the street. The Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori and the Largo di Torre Argentina (where Caesar was assassinated and where cats now sleep on the ruins) fill the afternoon. Spanish Steps for the obligatory photograph; gelato at Giolitti (Via degli Uffici del Vicario 40, near the Pantheon — the finest in the city) for the final act.
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