There is absolutely no better place for a city break than Italy. No matter which city you choose, you won’t regret it. In the rain, in the full sun, in the summer, in the winter, you can’t choose badly. Because when it rains, you can make a gastro trip, when the sun is burning the town and melting you as well, you can make a gastro trip plus see a bit of the city. In other words, whatever weather you find, whatever city you choose, you won’t be bored in Italy. Let’s start with my favourite: Rome!
I flew in March for a few days, the flights cost an arm and a leg because … something about 15EUR. Return ticket, from Balice to Ciampino! Here’s my first tip: if possible, choose Ciampino as your arrival airport, not Fiumicino. Ciampino is much closer to the center and access from it is super simple and cheap, isn’t it the best combo? :d For less than 3 euros a bus with a driver who goes as if his grandma was calling him for dinner will take you straight to the main train station in Rome: Termini.
Option 1: bus, you’ll find it faster than you can say “aperol”. They are standing in front of the exit from the airport terminal. Such a pleasure costs 7 euros (if you buy return ticket, it is cheaper – 11 euros) and lasts about 50 minutes.
Option 2: city bus (no. 520) + metro (MEA Battistini), I chose this one and I recommend it even though it sounds so tiring… But should I change trains? Ohmydayssss… I leave the decision to you, but I’ll just say that such a combo is turbo cheap (2/3 euros) and it comes out in the same time!
In both cases you end up at Termini Stazione.
What about accomodation in Rome? Well, I stayed, as usual, in the hostel. And since I am so glad with it that I leave you the contact information for it <3 A big plus for the location (20 minutes and the Trevi Fountain impresses you with the blue of the water and the intricacy of the sculptures) I slept in a 4-person room (although the room was never fully occupied) and I never had problems with a dirty room, it was always clean and very pleasant to stay in. There was also a breakfast included, but I can’t say anything about it because I’ve never tried it- I love getting up early and eating breakfast in a city that’s just waking up <3 And nice staff! I could leave my things earlier and on the last day store them in the hostel as long as I needed. That’s why the hostel gets a full ten from me!
My immersing in Rome (the word “sightseeing” doesn’t really suit the way I spend my time in a given place, and this is what I want to inspire you to do! Immersing in the place!
All right, without further redo, Aleksandra. Well, I started immersing very literally – from a double portion of ice cream sitting on the Spanish Steps looking at the sunset (I arrived quite late) and ohboy, my Roman vacation could not have started better! To enable you to experience an equally wonderful, truly cinematic experience, like Audrey in Roman Holidays, I have prepared a 3-day itinerary for you to visit Rome!
Why 3 days? Because I’m aware that the weekend is a fragile and short thing and sometimes it’s hard to steal more days from work schedule to have a longer one.
YOUR OWN ROMAN HOLIDAYS DAY 1
Very exciting! I prepared in such a way so Rome would stun you with its beauty and … food. Must see: Di Trevi Fountain. It will be the beginning of our Roman Holiday! Why? Oh, because you just can’t NOT see it. It is a baroque work of art : the god of the ocean, Oceanus, accompanied by tritons, hippocampus (no, these are not some archaic hippos, but a hybrid of a horse and a fish :d), graceful muses and … you can go on like this for a long time because there is a lot happening in there :d So get an eyeful of it , take a photo – it may happen that you will get hit twice in the head with a selfie stick or an elbow in the ribs,the place is loaded with tourists but don’t lose the spirit of adventure :d We’re going from here right now :d
Our next stop is the already mentioned Spanish Steps. One of my favorite places in Rome! It’s all thanks to the view from their top – Rome is at your feet, you can see the dome of the Vatican and the labyrinth of Roman streets.
For the bravest ones! Come here for the sunrise!
Not only will you avoid the crowds, but you will see something that can never be forgotten – I swear, Rome waking up is a unique view! The fresh cornetto in your hand and a cup of coffee would not also be a miss (you can buy a cornetto in the cafe at the foot of the stairs, great place: Don Nino, and you will also find great coffee there. Unless, like me, you are a believer that coffee has to be a size of a bucket, then the famous Golden Arches are located right next to the stairs – you’re very welcome).
It’s worth sitting here for a while (carabinieri don’t allow it on the lower steps, but on the top, go ahead :d), enjoy the view and feel like Audrey eating ice cream in the company of Gregory Peck.
I have a feeling that I fed you culturally, therefore, we can loose a bit of the morality of the trip and walk …. along the shopping street! Via dei Condotti is a historic street with luxury shops. Gucci, Prada, Dior … their shop windows are like art galleries! They are always so incredibly refined, so rich in details, it’s like paintings transferred to the 3D dimension. Things are getting more affordable on Via del Corso. What I encourage you to do is walk through these two streets and soak up the atmosphere of Rome! But also the style of the people here! It’s colorful, it’s bold, it’s loud – that’s how we imagine the Italian style 😀
Here comes that moment of the day when the smells of food start to affect us suggestively, I have two gems for you here! Sweet and savory! We will start with sweets and something that is a showcase of Rome, apart from ice cream, i.e. TIRAMISU. And the best one is right here: Pompii.
Ohdearrr, how creamy, how perfect, how wonderfully balanced in taste… There are a lot of variations of tiramisu, but I suggest you start with the classics. Relishing tiramisu and strolling around the Spanish Steps, through the narrow streets of Rome, mio Dio, this is what a perfect Italian holiday looks like, and you feel just like the name of this dessert promises: lifted spirits (tira mi sù ‘make me feel better’ lit. lift me up).
The second option is something I really, really like: pizza a taglio, which is nothing more than a pizza, portioned into squares – so that you can easily (as if eating pizza ever gave anyone any difficulty :D) catch it and eat it on the street. After all, we are talking about the most typical Italian street food! And again, there will be loads of variations here! What’s great about this type of serving is that you can try many different flavors and ask for, for example, one slice with burrata (highly recommended), one with mozzarella, etc. I don’t think that there is any risk of bummer choosing random place for pizza a taglio, but I recommend one particularly: Via delle Mercede 46 with the extremely nice chef!
Once the level of gluten in the blood is balanced, you can move on. Slowly (the key word! seriously, do not rush through the streets of Rome, allow yourself to enjoy this wandering and the bustle around. The only place where I recommend speeding up your pace is the street, even if you use a pedestrian crossing and have a green light, it is not a guarantee of safety and it is more than certain that some Italian will come joyfully trumpeting at you) so we slowly head towards the Tiber.
On the way we pass the beautiful Palazzo Borghese, the main seat of the famous Borghese family. We will return to them during our Roman Holidays, but today we are heading to the coast of the Tiber River and walking along it we reach the Umberto I Bridge. Why are we going here at all? For two reasons:
1) A walk along the Tiber is a super good idea at any time of the day, and in the afternoon it is not even a super good idea anymore and a truly brilliant one! This route is so stunning, at every step you can admire another architectural gems of Rome and in front of you appears…
2) … Castel Sant’Angelo! This is where fans of Dan Brown take the air into their lungs with excitement, and those who somehow haven’t seen Angels and Demons are invited to a mandatory screening before leaving to Rome! But setting aside my love for Brown’s book, the Castle itself is – yes, I’ll repeat it ad nauseam in Rome – beautiful. Impressive building to which the Sant’Angelo bridge leads, on which Bernini’s twelve angels show the way to the fortress*
Therefore, we walk towards the Umberto I Bridge and from there we can admire the Castel Sant’Angelo, and when we approach the Castle itself, the smallest country in the world, the Vatican, emerges before our eyes. But he is not our goal today! Today we enjoy the Castle, the Tiber and wrap ourselves towards the Spanish Steps. Of course, not right away! I forbid it 😀 Time for what the Italians are experts at: dolce far niente, that is the sweetness of doing nothing. Sit on the wall or in the park near the Castle and just stare at the river, at the people, at the Castle – this is the art of staying that I encourage you to do – a bit of acting in a movie where you are the main characters and I only whisper to you next lines :d Now you know the route so like the locals you can delve into the discussion of what you will eat for dinner or where you will drink aperol.
Rome in the evening is bustling with a completely different life than during the day. This is the atmosphere in which I recommend to fully immerse yourself!
If you feel up to it, go back to Piazza Colonna, which in the evening, in the warm light of the lanterns, is what it is considered to be: the heart of Rome. For encouragement, I will add that there are plenty of pubs around that serve pleasantly cheap aperol (3 euros!) You can grab it to go and enjoy it while walking towards… Pane e Salame! I haven’t forgotten about dinner, anywhere, but in Italy you don’t forget to eat! Pane e Salame on Via Santa Maria 19. There you will eat the BEST sandwiches in all of Rome! And although it sounds unimpressive, believe me that you will fall in love with them and you will come back for more! What’s the best thing about it: the ingredients are always fresh, you can feel it in every bite: fresh bread, meats and cheeses – plus local wines and cheese board and cold meats and voila, we have an Italian dinner! It’s a very popular place, also among the locals, and it happens that the queues for the tables are like cheese on a pizza, but believe me, it’s worth it!
*although initially it served as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, but as it often happened in the Middle Ages, in Rome they fought like there is no tomorrow and one ruler said that hey, let’s make a fortress out of it. And when times of peace came, one of the popes said hey, doesn’t it sound weird that popes stay in the fortress, how about calling it a castle? And the name of the castle was adopted.Well, at least, this is how I imagined their conversations :d
ROMAN HOLIDAYS DAY 2
You already know the rules: coffee and cornetto :d This is how a day should start in Italy! Now that the gluten level is correct, let’s go. Destination (spoiler alert): Colosseum.
Whatever cliché it may seem, I, the biggest opponent of “ticking off mandatory points”, consider this one worth seeing. And your money because the ticket to the Colosseum is not the cheapest … 16 euros, although fun fact, from April 2022 free entrances were introduced on the first Sunday of the month – but here I would recommend caution, it is a red-hot object, even paid! In the case of “regular” entry, it is the best to buy tickets online!
Protip! If you are going to the Eternal City in the summer, then book your stay at the Colosseum before 12 or later in the afternoon, walking around the arena by noon carries the risk of burning alive :d Seriously. And you’re welcome 😀
What you will see after entering the Colosseum can overwhelm. After all, you are looking at one of the seven wonders of the new world, it can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, what today is an undeniable miracle – architecturally and culturally a pearl in human achievements – is nothing more than … a cemetery. And that thought is truly spine-tingling. The arena was drenched with the blood of a thousand gladiators and animals, was the place of applauded slaughter and witnessed the invasion of barbarians. Its walls were first shrouded in fire in the 2nd AD, then they were shaken by earthquakes, and after the fall of the Empire, they became the object of interest of thieves… It’s as if the place was punished for what it was intended for.
It is all the more paradoxical that the Colosseum has become … a botanical garden! More than 350 species of exotic plants have grown in its area, it is amazing that the cemetery has become a place where new life has appeared.
Being aware of this, a walk around the Colosseum becomes something quite magical. But this is not the end of the experience, because it’s time for the oldest city square in Rome, the Roman Forum, the heart of the Eternal City, surrounded by six hills, where there are more temples and basilicas than Deanerys Targaryen has names! Decide for yourself whether you will spend more time in the temple of Venus or Romulus, or maybe you will climb the Palatine Hill to admire the Roman Forum from it? There is no wrong route here, the only thing you can do wrong here is … not come at all!
Today is a truly scenic day because after the Colosseum we head to Circus Maximus. I would like to say with delight that this is the oldest and largest circus of ancient Rome, that Julius Caesar used to come here to hunt, although it’s all true, for me it’s just a big green square where Roman dogs ran around with joy :d Well, it’s a nice view but it is enough, in my humble opinion, that you pass by :d Because it just so happens that Circo Massimo is on the way to one of the most beautiful places in Rome: the Aventine Hill.
It is such a beautiful place! We are deliberately directing our steps now because the afternoon sun gilding Rome is a view you can admire from the top of the Aventine. In the shadow of orange trees, with the Tiber under your feet… the perfect place for dolce far niente! There is also a Rose Garden on the Aventine Hill, I haven’t been able to see it myself (the Rosarium is open only when the flowers bloom – makes sense) but those who were there (my mother, for example!) left delighted!
What else we can see on the Aventine is the famous keyhole through which we can see the Vatican – sometimes, oh sometimes, there are queues of tourists here, so if like me you think that without it you will be able to sleep peacefully, skip this attraction. You will be able to admire the Vatican more than once, moreover, there was an opportunity to do so on the first day 🙂
You think I forgot to eat? Let me burn in gastrohell, I wouldn’t dare! I purposely built the tension (and I hope your appetite!) because now that we are on the Aventine Hill, my dears, we are going to my LOVED PLACE!
TRASTAVERE! Trastevere, beautiful, atmospheric, smelling of fresh pizza and tempting with pasta and aperol on every corner, where ice cream is served to you by a real Italian nonna in the intervals between hanging the laundry and talking to the neighbor. It is there that Rome is waiting for you, the real, not touristy one, and it is there that its absorption happens with doubled strength, with every possible sense. I’m not exaggerating, I swear on cheap flights, Trastavere is a place that I would gladly bottle and take with me.
I know you’re hungry, so I’m taking you to a restaurant where smiling Elio, the next owner of La Canonica – because this is where we go for dinner – greets you from the doorstep – a restaurant that has been passed down from generation to generation. Elio’s grandfather founded it, then his son ran it, and Elio’s father, and then he took care of La Canonica and it works out great here! After a glass of prosecco, which you get while waiting for the dish, it’s time for a feast of flavors!
My choice: ravioli with spinach and parmesan cheese and dio mio… 100/10. If Elio wasn’t married, I’d marry him just for that dish :d Oh, and one more thing! When you’re there, be sure to whisper a word that you’ve heard that Elio has the best limoncello in all of Trastavere! His family produces this lemon liqueur themselves and although it originally comes from Campania, Elio’s family has mastered the art of its production to perfection <3
After such an excellent dinner, it’s time for a lazy stroll through the streets of Trastavere. After dark, its atmosphere is even more unique! The one that is reserved for places where time is spent talking, eating and, well, eating :d Drop in for a scoop of ice cream or two in one of the gelaterias (the smaller, the better) and try pistachio or fiori di late and slowly discover the next corners of Trastavere.
Interestingly, Trastavere, by order of Nero, burned down in 64 CE, but the Romans made an incerdible effort to bring it back to life- hence so many murals, colorful houses and pubs in Trastevere.To this day, there are relics of its, once upon a time stunning architecture such as the Basilica di Santa Maria.
Honestly, if you couldn’t make more time for Rome, you can end your tour there – it’s not that there’s nothing to do in Rome, quite the opposite! but these two days alone allow you to feel the Italian atmosphere!
Nevertheless, I hope you have one more day at least because…
ROMAN HOLIDAYS DAY 3
… we start the day in another country! Literally, my dears, because it’s time for the Vatican!
A country within a country, occupying a modest area of 44 hectares and 60 minutes is enough to circumvent its borders. The number of inhabitants is about 1000 people, mainly people working in the Vatican (priests, monks, guardsmen and their families) and what’s interesting, there are as many crimes here every year as there are inhabitants :d It’s also the only country where there is no illiteracy and such a high… consumption of wine (which is related to the ceremony of the Mass). The Vatican is a wildly interesting phenomenon!
Why do we start with it? Hmm, you’re right. Tourists. And that’s a whole lot. The queue to enter the basilica (which is free) can go on and on, so the sooner we get here, the better. Besides, I don’t think it makes much sense to go to a place just to tick it off the list – it’s worth feeling its atmosphere, and the Vatican is full of it in the early morning: bakeries opening (in one of them I ate delicious cantucci, still warm and smelling of almonds ! ), shopkeepers just setting up stands, Swiss Guard changing the guard, priests preparing for Mass in, still, secluded aisles. It’s worth getting up early and being here.
I leave the issue of entering the Sistine Chapel to you 🙂 I didn’t go myself – I didn’t want to pay 16 euros (my travels are always on a budget, and during this stay my choice fell on the Colosseum) but if you feel like it, go ahead, let me know how you feel enjoyed it! 🙂
After seeing the Basilica, walking around St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican itself, you can go to Pompi, if you haven’t been there yet, it’s very close to the Vatican (Piazza del Risorgimento 43) or go to Trastavere for lunch 🙂 Choose the option that suits you but leave some space in the belly shhh :d Anyway, the next point is Piazza Navona and then Pantheon.
Pantheon is the best-preserved building from modern times, founded by Emperor Hadrian after the previous one standing in this place burned down (thanks, Nero – at least that’s one of the theories). The Pantheon was a place dedicated to all the gods, and today it is a Catholic church.
The streets around Pantheoun and Piazza Navona tempt more and more to get lost in them in search of a place for dinner, so it’s time to find … Pantha Rei! Restaurants with delicious pizza and pasta, with very affordable prices, and a Polish chef! Mr. Leszek has been living in Rome for a good dozen or so years and always greets his countrymen with great cordiality 🙂 I recommend it with all my gluten-loving heart! *there are also many gluten-free options if anyone wants to 😉
Address: Via della Minerva 19
Now that the batteries are recharged, it’s time for my next BELOVED PLACE IN ROME! A place where you can rest after a morning walk, calm down, get away from the hustle and bustle of the city – Villa Borghese <3 Yes, this is the Borghese family I mentioned to you earlier.
The gardens were created at the request of Cardinal Scipio Borghese and as he was an art lover, especially Bernini’s sculptures so you can find his works in the Gallery in the Palace that was built there. There is an entrance fee, but not to the Gardens 🙂 And listen, they are huge! Okay, it’s not Central Park, but there are plenty of paths, a pond and pigeons, so the Central Park startet pack is :d And certainly, like the aforementioned New York park, it is a getaway for locals from the hustle and bustle.
In the gardens you will find peace, quiet and beautiful alleys that are just asking to get lost in them! From it you can admire Piazza Del Popolo with two identical churches standing on it, and on the other side you can see the Basilica in the Vatican. My favorite place in it is the pond right next to it Temple of Aesculapius.
For a ridiculously cheap price 3/4 euro (30min) you can rent a boat and sail on the lake, even by yourself! Which I also did with a great joy 😀 Since I lack sailing skills, before I left the shore, I was going round and round, until finally the guy working in the boat rental mercifully pushed me away from the shore 😀 It was such an epic experience that I totally recommend it to anyone! It doesn’t matter if you are with someone or alone – go for a romantic lake cruise in Rome !
Villa Borghese Park is beautiful and I strongly encourage you to stay there longer! Going there, do some shopping in Carrefour (one is very close, right next to the Spanish Steps), buy strawberries, focaccia (I love the one with tomatoes), prosciutto, pesto (Barilla is so delicious that it threatens to become addictive!) and fresh bread and if you feel like it: wine (I love pink and white, and the fact that even the cheapest one is great! Here, the statement that it is good because it is cheap is not very justified because one goes hand in hand with the other :d). A picnic at Villa Borghese to end the day sounds more than good, doesn’t it? Thus, we also end the tour of Rome and the Roman holiday. I leave you, I hope, satisfied but with some unsatisfactory! My plan was to make you fall in love with Rome and … make you want to come back here just like me 🙂
Be sure to let me know if you liked the Roman Holidays that I took with you and whether you will use my little plan 🙂 If so, be sure to send me photos! I’m on Instagram, you can easily find me there. Tag on tiramisu, ice cream and sandwiches, or the boat :d I’ll be molto felice!
Ciao!
