Two thousand years, one good day.
The Colosseum underground, the Vatican before the crowds, a Trastevere food crawl, the long road out to Pompeii. Which to lock in first, the price up front, and the real feel of each.
Arena sand, chapel ceilings, pasta by hand.
Walk out on the floor of the Colosseum most visitors only look down on, stand under the Sistine ceiling before the doors open to the public, then end a day rolling tonnarelli with the wine already poured. Readers keep calling these the best hours of the trip.
Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s Basilica Tour
Fast-track guided walk through Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica with expert storytelling and skip-the-line entry.
From $72 per person
Read the review →
★ 4.5Safe betVatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St Peter’s Basilica Guided TourFrom $2239,149 reviews
★ 4.7Books out fastGuided Tour of Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine HillFrom $5527,897 reviews
★ 4.2Crowd favouriteColosseum & Forum with Audio Guide App -Optional ArenaFrom $4124,770 reviews
★ 4.5Worth the eurosColosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Guided TourFrom $5923,903 reviews
★ 4.5Easy winColosseum Arena Floor, Palatine & Forum Guided TourFrom $4120,180 reviews
★ 4.0Traveller favouriteHop-On Hop-Off Panoramic Bus Ticket – Access 3 RoutesFrom $1918,145 reviews
Stand where Rome began.
The arena floor where the gladiators fought, the broken temples of the Forum, the Palatine looking down on all of it, and the tunnels of the underground below. One ticket, and half of ancient Rome in a morning. This is the day the whole trip is built around, and it books out first.
Which Rome first?
Everyone wants all of it, and the trick is what you do on day one. Three ways to spend a Roman day, routes and prices set out, ready to book from the card.
Ancient Rome
The ruins day
2.5 hours · from $52 · 32,814 reviews
The Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine in one loop, with the arena floor or the underground added if you book ahead. This is Rome at its oldest and its most famous, and it fills up first. Go early, before the stone starts to bake.
See the ancient Rome tours →
Papal Rome
The Vatican day
1 day · from $38 · 144,003 reviews
Miles of galleries, the Raphael Rooms, and the Sistine ceiling at the end of it, with St. Peter’s next door under the biggest dome in the world. A guide and an early slot are what stand between you and a four-hour queue.
See the Vatican tours →
Living Rome
The dolce vita day
4 hours (approx.) · from $125 · 5,157 reviews
No ruins, no museums. Trastevere’s lanes, a long lunch, a Vespa or an e-bike between the piazzas, and aperitivo as the light turns gold. The Rome people fall for and come back for, once the sightseeing is done.
See Trastevere and the rest →
Rome doesn’t clock off at sunset.
The Colosseum lit gold and empty of coaches, aperitivo in a Trastevere alley, a walk past fountains with nobody crowding them. The city looks better after dark, and it books up quieter than you would think.
Eat the way Rome eats.
Cacio e pepe done right, a carbonara with no cream in sight, a market graze through Testaccio, or a pasta class you take home in your hands. If you book three food hours in Rome, make them these.
Cover more than your feet can.
A Vespa through the cobbles with a driver who knows them, an e-bike out along the Appian Way, a golf cart for anyone who would rather not walk it. Rome is wider than a walking tour, and these are the ways across it.
The Rome under Rome.
Miles of catacomb tunnels along the Appian Way, a bone-lined crypt beneath a quiet church, the old road the legions marched out on, still paved. A second city runs below the streets, and it stays cool and calm on the hottest afternoon.
Pick your corner of Rome.
Rome comes in pockets, and each one is a morning. Ancient Rome for the ruins. The Vatican for the art. Trastevere for dinner. The Pantheon and the piazzas for the wander in between.
Got a day in mind?
Twelve kinds of Roman day, ruins to rooftops. Open one and the reviews are waiting.
The best days are out of town.
The fast train reaches further than you think. Pompeii frozen mid-eruption, the Amalfi cliffs, Tuscan hills and vineyards, Tivoli’s fountains, all close enough to be back in Rome for dinner.
Three days, the Roman order.
You will not empty Rome in three days, though the right ones reach its heart. The ancient core first, the Vatican and centre next, one day past the walls to finish.
Day 1
Start with the ancients
The Colosseum at opening, the Forum and Palatine while the light is still low, then a slow evening among the ruins lit up. The oldest Rome first, before the crowds and the heat build.
Plan day one →
Day 2
The Vatican and the centre
The Sistine Chapel before the doors get busy, St. Peter’s dome, then a walk through the Pantheon, Trevi and Piazza Navona to a Trastevere dinner. The greatest hits in one long day.
Plan day two →
Day 3
A day out of the city
The fast train south to Pompeii, a morning in the buried streets, and back to Rome in time for one last long dinner. Swap in the Amalfi Coast if the weather is kind.
Plan the day out →
Just off the cobbles.
★ 5.0Trastevere TourFrom $17247 reviews
★ 4.7City Highlights Private Golf Cart TourFrom $49249 reviews
★ 5.0Rome at Night: Small Group Guided City Walking TourFrom $29249 reviews
★ 4.92-in-1 Family-Friendly Pasta & Tiramisu Cooking ClassFrom $93249 reviews
★ 5.0Rome City, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain Walking TourFrom $24249 reviews
★ 5.0Hands-On Pasta & Gelato Cooking Class in the City’s HeartFrom $63250 reviews
★ 4.2Skip the line Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel TourFrom $71251 reviews
★ 4.5Transfer Rome center – Ciampino AirportFrom $8251 reviews