5 days in Rome
Rome is a city you walk through 2,000 years at a time. The trick is pairing one heavyweight sight per day with a neighborhood that knows how to eat — and booking the Colosseum and Vatican before you land.
Day 1
Colosseum, Forum and the Palatine
Book the first Colosseum slot, then take the Forum and Palatine Hill slowly — the view from the Palatine over the Forum is the postcard. Dinner in Monti, the village hiding beside the ruins.
View on mapDay 2
Vatican — early or not at all
Vatican Museums at opening (Sistine Chapel before the wave), St. Peter's Basilica after, and climb the dome if your legs agree. Recover with a long lunch in Prati, where Romans actually live.
View on mapDay 3
The center on foot — fountains and piazzas
Pantheon at opening, coffee at Sant'Eustachio, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain (go before 8am or after 11pm), and the Spanish Steps. Aperitivo hour at a wine bar near Campo de' Fiori.
View on mapDay 4
Trastevere and the Janiculum
Cross the Tiber: Santa Maria in Trastevere, lunch at a classic trattoria (cacio e pepe is the test), sunset from the Janiculum terrace, and the evening in Trastevere's alleys as they light up.
View on mapDay 5
Testaccio and hidden Rome
Testaccio Market for breakfast and supplì, the Aventine Keyhole and the Orange Garden's view, then the Baths of Caracalla — the most underrated ruin in the city. Farewell dinner: carbonara where it was born.
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