Fall In Love With Rome With This 5 Day Rome Itinerary (Tried & Tested)

If you are in search of an itinerary it’s likely because you are going to Rome for the first time, or maybe it’s been a while, and want to see it all again with someone new.

Either way, Rome is one of those cities that never gets old, because it’s so intricate and has a lot to offer, it’s huge, and you’ll always find something new to see.

Speaking of huge, did you know that Rome’s center spreads across 14 thousand km² as opposed to just 5km² for the center of Florence?

That gives you a scope for how much there’s to see and do in this city.

The question is can you fit it all in 5 days? Of course, you can’t, and neither should you try to. 

You can, however, see the key attractions and get a really good feel for the city if you’ve got a great itinerary that has been tried and tested, it’s easy to follow, and won’t have you waste any precious time.

If that sounds good, I’d love for you to use my 5 Day Rome Itinerary. You can grab it all, or just use the parts that inspire you the most.

Let’s see it together.

PS: For your reference, I tested this itinerary during my latest trip to Rome, in mid-April. The weather was sunny most of the time, and there were very hot days as well as normal Spring days.

Day 1 In Rome – A Special Start To The Itinerary

This first day in Rome on this itinerary will let you tick off many of the wonderful key attractions, including the Trevi Fountain. In the afternoon, we’ll focus on soaking in the remains of Ancient Rome.

But first, if you happen to be in Rome on a Friday or Saturday, I’d suggest taking the time to visit an attraction that’s lesser-known but wonderful.

9:00 am – Breakfast at Roscioli Cafe

10.am – Visit Galleria Colonna

You likely never heard of this one as it’s not in Google’s top attractions for Rome, and it slips off most Rome itineraries. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to explore it. 

Look at the pictures and ask yourself whether all this beauty is not worth visiting?

This was my favorite museum in Rome because it’s stunning but not overwhelming.

The Colonna family has a history that is nearly 1000 years old. Their palace in the center of Rome is a beautiful example of true Baroque architecture, designed by architect Antonio Grande. 

Their collection of paintings, sculptures, and furniture is impressive, and in my opinion worth a visit. It also has a serene garden with a terrace that gives you a gorgeous view over Rome’s rooftops.

If you are intrigued, you can get your ticket here.

Noon – Trevi Fountain

I am sure you are worried this will be too busy for you to get close and take a picture. Don’t!

You have that impression because everyone is telling you that. 

April happens to be a relatively busy period for visiting Rome, and we went on a Saturday, but there was still plenty of room to get close, admire the structure, and take that picture. You just have to be patient, and wait politely for your turn, but don’t be too nice and get in there.

Once you are ready from the Fountain, I suggest you head to Antico Forno di Fontana di Trevi. Here’s where the crowd will surprise you. But is that crowd worth it? I share the full experience, including the food and prices in my Rome breakfast article. They also serve lunch, in case you are wondering!

Since you’ve been walking all morning, I suggest you take a second breakfast break or lunch break either at this cafe or another one of your choice. There’s a lot more walking on the agenda for the day, so rest up.

14:00 pm – Ancient Rome Walk

After our break at Antico Forno di Trevi, we felt re-energized and ready for the remainder of the itinerary, and the 2 hrs walk that awaited us.

This part of the day was as exciting as the first part. This was one of my favorite walks in Rome, minus the strong sun shining on my head (it actually burnt my scalp, so I suggest wearing a hat if you are fair-skinned like me).

It’s also a fairly easy one to do. It’s long but the street is nice and flat, and the path is straight.

Every step you take you can see something wonderful on each side of the street, hence why I suggest doing one side, and then crossing and doing the other side, before you start your walk towards the Colosseum.

These are the attractions I suggest you include in this 2-hour walk, in this exact order, starting from Fontana di Trevi.

You don’t need to enter all of them, in fact many of these are open attractions, and even the ones you have to pay for they are still somewhat visible from outside (like Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum).

• Piazza Venezia
• Piazza di S. Marco
• Altar of the Fatherland
• Monument to Victor Emannuel II
• Campidoglio (you’ll have to go up the steps to see it)
• Trajan’s Column
• Via dei Fori Imperiali (this is where the straight path starts)
• Statue of Julius Caesar
• Mercati di Traiano
• Foro di Augusto
• Foro Romano (Roman Forum)
• Palatine Hill
• Colosseum

15:00 pm – Palatine Hill & Colosseum

Unlike the other attractions so far, to see Palatine Hill you’ll need a ticket. If you are planning to visit the Colosseum, I suggest this ticket that includes both for just €18 (it’s the official Colosseum ticket shop). It will also give you access to the Roman Forum. Book as early as you can so you are sure to find the spot you want. 

You don’t have to visit these during the walk, but if you can’t fit Palazzo Colonna in the morning, then you’ll have the extra time to visit these on this day.

We didn’t visit the Colosseum on that day. We just admired it from outside and took a few pictures. If that’s your plan too, the next attraction will give you a wonderful view of the Colosseum, so make sure not to skip it. There are a few stairs up, but they are so worth the view.

I am referring to Parco del Colle Oppio. To access that, just cross the road opposite the Colosseum entrance (at the front of the structure), and walk up the steps you clearly see.

As soon as you walk up the last step, turn fully to your right (360), and admire that view. If there are too many people taking pictures, no worries, just keep walking up in that direction, and there will be more spots to take your pictures. 

15.30 pm Regoli Pasticceria

If you are not feeling hungry, or don’t want something sweet, you can skip this one.

If you decide to go, just keep in mind that this has no seating options. You can grab one of the many delicious pastries to go, and enjoy it on your way to the Basilica. Look at the selection of pastries below.

16.00 pm – Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore

Unlike the Duomo in Florence, this central church doesn’t have a long line. While different in style, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Just walk through security, on the left side, and go straight in. Stay as much as you want inside, sit down and rest up, and when you are ready you can come out the other side.

This is one of the 7 Pilgrim Churches of Rome and is built with a mixture of these 4 styles – Baroque, Roman, Medieval, and Romanesque. 

The other 6 churches are these:

• San Giovanni in Laterano
• Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano
• San Paolo Outside the Walls
• Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls
• Santa Croce di Gerusalemme
• San Sebastiano Outside the Walls

16:30 pm – Monti

You can choose to end your walk & head to dinner now, or you can walk 10 minutes and start exploring the Monti neighborhood.

Day 2 In Rome – Spanish Steps & Pantheon

Our second day in Rome was equally gorgeous. It still involved a lot of walking, just a little less than the previous day, at 25k steps.

We got to see amazing sights like Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, and the Pantheon. And there was a lot of great food, of course. We even went up to one of the 7 Roman Hills, Janiculum. Here’s how we did all of that.

9:00 am – Ponte del Risorgimento & Piazza del Popolo

From our accommodation on the upper edges of the Prati neighborhood, we made our way to Ponte del Risorgimento. You can skip this one if it’s not close to where you are staying.

The main attraction is Piazza del Popolo and its 36 metre high Egyptian obelisk. The latter apparently dates back to 1300 B.C. and was brought from Egypt by Emperor Augustus to be placed in the Circo Massimo.

Before you start admiring the architecture and fountains in Piazza del Popolo, I suggest you take a look at Porta del Popolo, the huge door that leads to the square.

When we visited, there was a police exhibition with beautiful old cars, so the square was really busy. 

At the end of the square, there’s a beautiful church called Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto (not one of the 7 churches but still gorgeous). 

9.30 am Antico Caffè Greco & Piazza di Spagna

We took a right onto Via di Ripetta and proceeded towards Piazza Navona, but in your case, I am suggesting Piazza di Spagna first, as it’s closer. That way you’ll get to enjoy breakfast, if you didn’t already.

Both the cafe and the Spanish steps are just a 10 minutes walk from Piazza del Popolo.

If you don’t want to have a pricy breakfast (you can find out about that experience in my Rome breakfast post), you can admire Antico Caffe Greco from outside, while you walk through Via dei Condotti with that magnificent view of Piazza di Spagna and the blooming azaleas. 

Walk up the steps di Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti or not, that’s your decision to make.

10.30 am Piazza Navona, Fountain Of The 4 Rivers & Neptune Fountain

The walk so far was gorgeous, especially as it was a Sunday morning, and the streets were relatively quiet.

When you are done admiring and exploring the Spanish Steps, enter Piazza Navona on your Google maps, and follow the directions. It’s a 17 minute walk.

Don’t worry, you’ll have more time to explore the shops in Via Condotti, on another day.

Piazza Navona was my favorite square in Rome. How about you, do you like it? That’s of course an answer you’ll be able to give me once you are there, following this itinerary.

Noon – Pantheon

If your booking is at noon I suggest you head at least 15 minutes in advance, and wait in line. Wait in the central queue, which is the one for those who have a ticket and a time slot booked. You can do all of that online here. You need to sign in to purchase the tickets, but it’s quick and straightforward.

Our booking was at noon, but we ended up waiting 30 minutes, from 11.50 to 12.20 pm. Once the queue starts moving, usually after several people inside have come out, you’ll proceed through ticket control (they simply scan the barcode on your ticket, so make sure to print it out to be quicker), and then you can go in.

We only spent 20 minutes inside admiring all angles and taking pictures. If you can find an empty seat, you can also sit down and admire it while resting.

A few fun facts about the Pantheon:

1. It can be considered a Christian church.
2. Its dome is the largest unsupported one in the world.
3. The purpose of the Pantheon was to serve as a temple and house statues of Roman gods.
4. It’s the best ancient Roman preserved building.
5. Its dome has an oculus, and a skylight in the middle to let the light in, and that’s why it’s said to have an eye towards the sky.

Explore the Pantheon Area

Once we left the Pantheon we continued admiring its surroundings. I suggest you take a walk around its perimeters if you haven’t already.

Personally, I love the Pantheon’s outside architecture even more than the inside. That’s where its temple function reveals itself. I am also fascinated by the dark color of the building. I am usually a lover of lighter stone but the dark look adds to its charm. What are your thoughts?

Next, we proceeded to admire each of these streets and squares in the area.

• Piazza Borghese
• Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina
• Piazza di Firenze
• Piazza del Parlamento
• Piazza in Campo Marzio
• Piazza Capranica
• Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
• Piazza della Pigna
• Piazza di Santa Chiara
• Piazza di Sant Eustachio

All of these are very close to the Pantheon, so it should only take you 30 minutes to see them all. As you walk to each, you can also find a spot for lunch, or take my suggestion below.

Lunch near the Pantheon

Stop to have a tasty Roman sandwich like the famous pizza with mortadella. There are two options close by; these are Antica Salumeria al Pantheon and Godo dal 1961.

The first is the closest of the two but also the most expensive. If you’d like to know which is the best one, read this comparison article where I reviewed both – Best Sandwich in Rome.

2pm-5pm – Break & Free Time

You can take this time to sit down with an aperitivo, enjoy an ice cream, and walk without a specific direction through the streets of Rome, or head back to your accommodation to rest and refresh.

Of course, you can head to Janiculum Hill now, but it’s much nicer after 5pm, especially just before sunset.

You can also take the time to explore one of the museums on your list.

We walked again to Piazza di Spagna, explored the area, and then took a long break in Starbucks. If you do the same, I suggest the refreshing Sicilian dark orange drink.

5 pm – Janiculum Hill

After a well-deserved break,  we walked to the Paola bus stop, near the Vittorio Emanuele Bridge.

From there you can take either bus 970 or 115. Both of them will take you straight to the hill, and you don’t have to walk at all to admire the views.

Once we stepped down the bus stop, we admired the trees around us for a few minutes. Then, we crossed the road towards the viewpoint and found a spot to admire it. Of course, we took lots of pictures too, but the light was still too bright.

If you are wondering whether Janiculum Hill has the best view of Rome, read this article next.

To get down the hill, you can walk down just a few steps, and you’ll find a bus stop at the other end of the viewpoint, but on the same side. You can take one of those two bus numbers again to go down to the Paola bus stop. Alternatively, you can check whether there’s a better option to get to your next destination.

Day 3 in Rome – Vatican City & Trastevere

For us, it was a Monday, and our initial plan was to wake up early and visit the St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican. After that, we would have grabbed a quick breakfast in the area and headed to the Vatican Museums.

Alas, that plan had to be changed when I went to book the Vatican Museum tickets and found none for the day.

The only one left was a private tour in Italian (fine for me but a little less so for my Scottish hubby) on Thursday at 12:15 pm. Luckily, that worked for us as we would still be in Rome. I just needed to change the itinerary for Thursday.

I am sharing that to urge you to book the tickets for the Vatican museums as as early as possible. However, how early you book them doesn’t depend on you. I checked the week before I booked them and the tickets were still not available to book. My tip is to check daily at least a month before and see when the luck strikes for you.

Later on, we found out that April is the busiest period for the Vatican Museums, hence why I had trouble finding the tickets.

As I am writing this, I checked to see when the tickets are available next, and that’s ten days from when I am writing this. So if you start thinking about booking 1 month to two months in advance, you might find a regular ticket.

If you don’t find a regular ticket, the guided tours are usually available since they cost double the price. You have to see which times are available and whether your preferred language is available that day.

You can do all of that on the Vatican’s official tickets website here.

Visiting San Pietro Basilica

St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican opens from 7 am to 7pm every day all year round, except on Wednesdays. 

We went to have a look outside just before Noon on a Thursday, before our booking for the Vatican Museums, and the queue was the longest I have ever seen in my life. It was as long as half the length of St. Peter’s Square, you can see the images below.

All those people were waiting in the sun to enter the Basilica. This is why you want to go as early as possible, ideally by 8 am.

Because we changed plans, which I explained earlier, we didn’t enter the Basilica this time.

If you choose not to enter, you can still admire it from the outside, walk in the beautiful square, see the obelisk and fountain, and walk down Via della Conciliazione. That’s what we did.

Visiting the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

I will be slotting the visit to the Vatican museums here, as it makes more sense, and hopefully, you can book your tickets in time.

I have a full article about Vatican facts. In that one, I share interesting facts we learned from our guided tour as well as many other ones that will enrich your Vatican experience.

What to expect:

Although online you read that the visit takes about 3 hours, in reality, if you don’t count the visit to the Basilica, which has nothing to do with the Vatican Museums ticket, it really takes 4 hrs or longer. Keep that in mind especially if you opt for a guided tour, so you can eat before and not starve like we did.

Is the guided tour worth it?

It depends on what you want from your visit. I really enjoyed all the information that was shared with us. Plus, our group was a really small and good one.

Everyone was so interested that the guide said that was the best tour she had in years. The only downside is that she chose what to focus on, in some cases skipping certain areas and rooms. It also took at least an hour longer than it would have taken on our own.

My husband loved it and said he would have felt lost without a guide since it’s so big. He also managed to understand a lot of what she told us in Italian.

My favorite part of the visit:

I loved standing on the Terrace overlooking the portion of the garden included in the Vatican Museums Ticket. We were told that to access the rest of the gardens you need a special guided visit.

The reason why I loved it so much, I really couldn’t stop staring and taking pictures, is the view of St Peter’s Basilica Dome. It reminded me of the Berlin Cathedral dome but this was much more special.

It felt like we had reached heaven, to be honest. The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful blue color, and the surrounding gardens and trees made me speechless. I liked it so much I went again at the end.

The second best part of the museum in my opinion was the gardens that we got to enjoy alone after the Sistine Chapel visit.

The galleries were amazing, but I was so busy soaking in all the information and writing notes to share with you.

My favorite part of the Galleries was the Gallery of Maps, which houses painted topographical maps of Italy in old times. In fact, you can find the maps of the duchies before the unification.

Raphael’s Rooms are also spectacular but equally busy and overwhelming since they are smaller and crowded.

Exploring Trastevere

Once you are out of the galleries and have had time to decompress in the gardens, let’s switch things up. No more museums for the day. We’ll focus on visiting a lovely neighborhood and enjoying great food.

Walk down to Piazza del Risorgimento and take a bus to Trastevere. We took bus number 23 from the bus stop named Piazza Risorgimento/Porta Angelica. We stopped in Sanzio/Filipperi and walked for a few minutes.

You can read all about our Trastevere adventures here. That includes the best foodie spots, from breakfast to restaurants, ice cream, cookies, and tiramisu.

Day 4 in Rome – Day Trip Or Shopping

We spent 6 full days in Rome. We used the extra day, our fourth day, to visit the nearby coastal city of Gaeta. Was it worth it? I share the full day experience in that Gaeta post.

If you want to skip that day trip, I suggest you do what we did on the next day, which happened on a Wednesday. We took a break from museums and spent the entire day walking the shopping streets of Rome.

First, we had breakfast at Forno Monteforte (read my review here).

You can get the full shopping itinerary and tips on which streets are best for different types of shopping, in this Shopping In Rome post.

Day 5 in Rome – Best Views & Villa Borghese

We spent our last day in Rome exploring Castel Sant’Angelo. I also suggest you fit in Villa Borghese in the afternoon.

Since we had to do our Vatican Museums tour on the last day (for you it’s on day 3 of this itinerary), we postponed the Borghese Gardens visit to the next morning, as we were flying late in the afternoon.

8 am – Breakfast at Sciascia

9 am – Castel Sant’ Angelo 

After a lovely breakfast, we took a bus from Piazza Mazzini in Della Vittoria, the neighborhood we were staying in, and arrived at the castle just in time for the opening at 9 am.

There were 2 queues, one for those without a ticket and one for those with a ticket. The funny thing is that the queue with tickets was actually longer, but as soon as they opened, you could go straight in, which works out super fast and convenient.

Book your ticket in advance here.

I wasn’t sure what to expect about this attraction; I just knew I wanted to visit it. And I am so glad I did because the views are spectacular. In my Janiculum Hill article, I talk about the best views in Rome and compare Castel Sant’Angelo to Janiculum Hill and Palazzo Colonna. 

We were lucky to be joined by a friend on the beautiful terrace. It stayed with us for the entire time (how adorable).

Did you know that Castel Sant’Angelo was for a long time the longest building in Rome? It also served as a Papal Fortress for many years.

If you visit it, make sure to read about the angel at the top. The story is as fascinating as it is hilarious. 

Either before or after your visit, make sure to walk around the Castello, and also walk over the bridge in front of it, called Ponte Sant’Angelo. It’s really a gorgeous spot in Rome, which you’ll also get to admire from the top of the castle.

11 am – Villa Borghese

When we visited the Museums of Villa Borghese were under refurbishment, so we chose not to enter them. If you do the same, I still urge you to visit the beautiful gardens.

I personally like to end my trips with a visit to a park. It calms me down after all the excitement and puts the entire trip into perspective. Try it and let me know whether you like that too.

Rest of the day – Roam across Rome

For the rest of the, I suggest you visit those spots you missed during the previous days, or any museums which were not included in this itinerary.

Since I tried to include the most important attractions in Rome, you’ll likely want to revisit those that you liked the most.

Transportation in Rome

Before we end this long but hopefully exciting 5 Day Rome Itinerary, let me give you the most important information of all – how to move around Rome.

Rome is a big city, so it’s very unlikely you’ll walk everywhere. That’s where these tips will come in handy.

If you didn’t know already, you can buy tickets for public transportation in Rome at most tobacco shops. They are called “Tabaccheria” in Italian.

You can use the same ticket on buses, trams, and metro lines within Rome.

For trams and buses, you can take as many lines as you need, in any direction, within the first 100 minutes of stamping your ticket.

You need to stamp your ticket at the beginning of your journey. Most buses have a yellow box for stamping your ticket.

Alternatively, you can buy a day pass that will allow you free traveling within Rome for the entire day. That pass needs to be tapped every time you hop on a bus, tram, or metro, using a different touchscreen machine (it’s maroon and gray).

The 100 minutes ticket costs €1.50 per person and the 24-hour card costs €7.

I only used the single tickets as we never took more than 5 buses/trams a day.

In some cases, you’ll come across buses without a yellow machine or with a faulty one, which means you can’t stamp your ticket. We were lucky no controller came up, but if it had come up, it wouldn’t have been our fault.

How to find your bus/tram stop?

The easiest way is to go on Google Maps and type its name, then ask for the walking directions to reach it, and head there.

For us, it worked every time, except maybe two times when there wasn’t the name of the stop on Google. In that case, we found the name of the street with the bus stop name, and the bus stop was always located in that street. Alternatively, you could find the next stop or take a different bus.

More Rome Travel Info.

I hope you found this article useful. I have more resources for your Rome trip.

If you are planning to go to Rome, you might need answers to these common questions. Below, you can find the articles where I answer each of them.

How many days in Rome is enough? > Find out all the options and choose the best one for you.

Where to stay in Rome? > I share the best Rome neighborhoods and the areas to avoid.

Rome vs Florence > Find out which you are likely to enjoy the most.

And if you want to get more tips on the best breakfast, restaurants, and other traditional food, you’ll find all my Rome articles here.