Rome—eternally beautiful. This is one of the first quotes I saw about Rome in a Brandy Melville store during my trip. But I feel like it perfectly sums up this magnificent city. I have never visited a place with such transcendent history, natural beauty and vibrant culture.
Rome is eternally beautiful—every avenue has something new to offer. Rounding a corner and stumbling across the Pantheon at sunrise only to find that you’re the only person in the shadow of a monument with two thousand years of history to its name. Taking in a pink sunset turned purple over the city from Rome’s “Central Park” only to find yourself stopped by a film crew that’s making a movie about it. Dining on spaghetti bolognese in a sunlit square in Trastevere with bells tolling gently in the background, punctuating every bite with its warm, rolling tones. Rome is all of these magnetic feelings and more.
The Eternal City was the first and last place I visited on my European Summer tour. A nightmare travel day ended up granting me another 3 days in Rome. That cancelled flight was the greatest silver lining in letting me explore even deeper into Rome’s heart and history. I feel like as I’m sharing this Rome travel guide with you, I’m also sharing a little bit of my soul. Rome is a place that everyone should visit in their lifetime if given the opportunity. I hope it leaves as big of an impression on your heart as it did on mine.
Here is my Rome travel guide: covering all of my
Rome Travel Guide Tips
Weather
The seasons can have a huge impact on your Roman adventure. Spring is cool and rainy, making it a good offseason time to visit for a better deal. My summer visit in August was very humid, but luckily without rain. Fall is the ideal season to visit Italy. Temperatures in Rome hover around the seventies during the day and fifties at night in September and October. Winters get quite chilly even in southern Italy, so keep that mind if you’re planning a holiday trip to the Eternal City.
What to Wear
You can find the details for every outfit I wore in Italy linked in this blog post, but here are a few additional style tips for your Italian vacay:
Rome Travel Guide Style Tips
- Layers are key—cardigans will save you even if you’re visiting during the summer months. Plenty of hotels and famous sites have absolutely frigid AC.
- A capsule wardrobe is your best friend. Pack basics that you can wear and
rewear with different pieces for a new look. You’ll most likely be carrying your luggage between trains and up plenty of stairs. It pays to pack lightly. - Choose tailored pieces in neutral tones to channel the Italian woman’s sense of style. You’ll stand out in a good way instead of rocking the obvious American tourist look 😉
- Buy walking sandals specifically for your trip; don’t bring shoes that you love! They’ll probably be toast by the end of the trip. Those cobblestones can really wear out the soles quickly. I highly recommend this pair—less than $30 on Amazon and paired perfectly with all my outfits!
- Pack at least one outfit that covers your shoulders and knees—many churches and religious sites in Italy require modest dress. There are plenty of cute ways to dress for churches. Pair a cute tee with a midi skirt or a lightweight cardigan with a flowy maxi dress for an effortlessly chic look. I like to call this look “dressing for the Sistine Chapel, but make it fashion” 🤗
Shop my looks for every season in Rome below:
Spring Style
Summer Style
Fall Style
Winter Style
Practical Rome Travel Guide Tips
- Buy tickets to major attractions like the Colosseum and Vatican Museum in advance.
- Don’t buy an international data plan—they’re expensive and unnecessary. Either buy an Italian SIM card with a new number at the airport or take advantage of free Wi-Fi at your hotel and around the city (plenty of restaurants offer Wi-Fi to their customers).
- Download
the Maps .Me app so you can navigate around the city even when your phone is onairplane mode. Just download the Rome map when connected to Wi-Fi to use it offline! - Bring a water bottle instead of buying water—there are aqueducts all over the city with fresh water.
- If you see a waiter trying to pull people in from the street to eat at a restaurant or if you see laminated pictures of food outside the entrance, DO NOT EAT THERE. The food will be terrible and overpriced. Pretty much any restaurant recommended in a Rick Steves guidebook is a good bet instead. Save yourself the trouble 🙂
Where to Stay in Rome
Trastevere
If you’re looking to get an authentic taste of Roman life with gorgeous pink buildings and amazing food, Trastevere is for you. This is one of my favorite corners of Rome and offers some of the best value for your money in the accommodations department. Trastevere is full of hidden gem places to stay, so I recommend finding a cute AirBnB rental in this neighborhood. You can get
Pantheon Neighborhood
Rome’s historic area near the Pantheon is my
I highly recommend staying here—it’s centrally located but quiet, the staff is so kind, the free breakfast is delicious, and the rooms are small but nicely done! This hotel is a great value for the neighborhood—a single room came in under $100/night during my stay.
Things to do in Rome
Things to do in Ancient Rome
Colosseum
Hey now, hey now this is what dreams are made of! This wouldn’t be a true Rome travel guide without mentioning the symbol of Rome. The Colosseum is iconic Rome—enveloped in history, tradition and Lizzie McGuire Movie references. Golden hour is the best time to visit and photograph the Colosseum in all of its glory. Rome travel guide tip: I recommend touring the Colosseum later in the day—it’ll be significantly less crowded and hot. You can buy advance tickets from the official ticket office here.
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is another beautiful ruins site in the Ancient Rome district. There’s so much to see here. You could honestly spend hours just exploring. The Forum is conveniently located between the Colosseum and Capitoline Hill. Rome travel guide tip: a ticket to the Colosseum also grants you admission to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I enjoyed visiting the Roman Forum at sunrise and having the views all to myself!
Capitoline Hill
I stumbled across Capitoline Hill while exploring the Roman Forum, and it quickly became one of my favorite spots in Rome. It’s easy to believe that this was once the heart of Ancient Rome given the panoramic views. The architecture is stunning and you just can’t beat people watching during golden hour here. Rome travel guide tip: Check out the Capitoline Museum if you have time to see one of the best ancient Roman artwork collections in the city.
Victor Emmanuel II Monument (Altar of the Fatherland)
Located adjacent to Capitoline Hill, this is one of the most striking buildings you’ll encounter on a trip to Rome. It makes a beautiful backdrop for photos any time of day.
Mouth of Truth
Roman Holiday is one of my favorite films, and it made the Mouth of Truth famous with it’s iconic scene featuring Princess Anne reluctantly reaching her hand in and Joe scaring her half to death. The legend goes that if you stick your hand in the Mouth of Truth and tell a lie, your hand will be bitten off (TBD on the truth of that one 😉). Despite the truth of the legend, it makes for a cute photo-op that is so quintessentially Roma. The Mouth of Truth is free to visit and located near the entrance to the Ancient Rome neighborhood.
Things to Do in Downtown Rome
Pantheon
One of the
Trevi Fountain
Oh, Trevi. My
Spanish Steps
Visiting the Spanish Steps is a Roman tradition—it’ll make for the perfect Audrey Hepburn moment. Like the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, I recommend visiting early in the morning for a more serene experience and better photo ops (although the Spanish Steps are a delight at any time of day). The view from the top of the steps is one of the best Rome has to offer. Sunset is especially spectacular since you can see as far as St. Peter’s Basilica. Rome travel guide tip: Consider stopping at the Keats-Shelley Museum to the right of the steps for a pleasant mid-afternoon break from the Roman heat.
Keats-Shelley House
One of my favorite places I visited in Rome. If you have any interest in the Romantics or English literature, I highly recommend visiting. The Keats-Shelley House is where Keats spent his final days in Rome while recovering from tuberculosis. The house has since been converted into a museum honoring Keats’ legacy and that of his two dear friends, Percy and Mary Shelley.
The rooms are filled with the work of these Romantic writers, art depicting their poetry and artifacts of their lives. It’s rare to actually be able to visit a place where one of history’s most famous writers died and created his last work, and the house left a deep impression on me. It’s so powerful to visit Keats’ room overlooking the Spanish Steps and to get a rare, intimate glimpse into the life of a writer.
The entire museum is run by people who truly care about the work of these poets, and you can definitely feel the love poured into this place. Take a
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese is affectionately referred to as Rome’s “Central Park,” and it’s easy to see why. The sweeping boulevards and dramatic buildings nestled under soaring trees makes this park about as majestic as can be. The view of Rome from the entrance makes this my favorite sunset spot in Rome, stretching past St. Peter’s Basilica and beyond. When the picture above was taken, I thought to myself “This is too beautiful to be real. I feel like I’m in a movie right now.” And a moment later, a woman paused me from entering the park because a crew was quite actually filming a movie. Truly, the magic of Rome at it’s finest.
Villa Borghese is also home to one of the finest art collections in the western world. Rome travel guide tip: Advance reservations are required to visit the gallery, which you can book through the official website here.
Vatican City
Vatican City—the world’s smallest country and the home of the Catholic Church. You’ll find some of the most stunning art and architecture imaginable here, and you could easily spend an entire day exploring all that Vatican City has to offer. This tiny but mighty city-state is composed of three key areas: St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum. Entrance to the square and basilica is free, but you have to buy a separate entrance ticket to the museum on the Vatican’s official website here. You don’t want to miss the museum—it’s filled with beautiful artwork and is home to the world-famous Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo during the Renaissance.
St. Peter’s Square
St. Peter’s Square is my
St. Peter’s Basilica
It’s no wonder that St. Peter’s Basilica is regarded as the most beautiful church in the world. Pretty sure my jaw hit the floor when I first stepped into the church. Far and away one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life—this is a must-see on your trip to Rome. Plus, it’s free!
Vatican Museum
On my first visit to Rome, I was super bummed to miss visiting the Vatican Museum due to a religious holiday. So I was super excited when my extended stay in Rome allowed me time to check out the museum! Rome travel guide tip: the Vatican Museum is actually home to a huge art collection. This was by far my
The Gallery of Maps Room is incredible and I could have spent hours in there. Just look at the detail!
Out of respect, you can’t take photos in the Sistine Chapel. But I’ll leave you with this: I spent a solid 30 minutes just taking it all in. There’s a reason why it’s one of the most famous art pieces in the world. The Creation of Adam was the first section my eyes were drawn to. Trying to comprehend that humans are capable of that level of genius and creativity is hard to fathom. I can’t emphasize this enough: if you do one thing in Rome, go see the Sistine Chapel. I can’t even describe how incredible it is, go see it in person!
Things to do in Rome: Where to Eat
Trastevere
Honestly, you should be eating all your meals in Trastevere. The food is delicious, reasonably priced, and every street with sidewalk cafes is utterly charming and seems like something out of a fairytale. You really can’t go wrong dining anywhere here. Full details on the specific restaurants I dined at in Rome coming soon in my dining in Rome travel guide! Stay tuned for that post 😊
Tiber Riverfront
The Tiber River is one of the most gorgeous areas in Rome and has some of the most scenic cafes. I recommend dining down by the riverbank once the sun has gone down. It’s so magical! There are plenty of cute sidewalk cafes and restaurants to find here that are still relatively affordable.
Things to Do in Rome: Shopping
Spanish Steps Neighborhood
It’s not a trip to Rome without a little shopping! All of the designer stores and cute but affordable fashion brands are located near the Spanish Steps. I recommend window shopping in some high-end stores like Miu Miu and Tiffany’s and spending your money at some chic but on-budget brands like Brandy Melville and Zara (which is just next-level in Europe 😍). You can easily spend an afternoon exploring all that this neighborhood has to offer.
Rome is a treasure and one of the most devastatingly beautiful places I’ve ever been. I hope that this Rome travel guide has been helpful in planning your perfect trip to the eternal city. For more photos and travel tips from my European Summer, visit my Instagram here.
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