ROME
Visited: 2-5 June 2024
Preparation time
- Travel documents
EU-citizens: Valid national ID-card
Other countries: Valid passport valid 3 months after stay
(* please check with your own local government or embassy for most recent updates)
- Airports / Public transportation
Fiumicino (FCO): Largest airport of Rome, also known as 'Leonardo da Vinci airport'.
From here, you can easily book the 'Leonardo Express' train, a train with a direct connection to Rome's Termini station. The journey takes you 32 minutes, with a ticket cost of 14 EUR per single way per person. Tickets can be easily bought trough ticket boots or at ticket sales points. Departure: every 15 minutes.
Ciampino G.B. Pastine Airport (CIA): Mainly low costs airlines as Ryanair and Wizzair. Slightly closer to the city center than the other airport, with direct trains and busses going to the city centre.
- Booking accommodation
Whenever possible, book as early as possible. Prices can double or triple in a few weeks time, depending on demand and availability. I've booked numerous hotels and hostels which ended up doubling in price between my booking date and my actual dates of stay, if I would have made a booking later.
Always book the option with free-cancellation if you book ahead. You can always cancel / modify later if needed or if a better deal presents itself.
I stayed at the following hotel, with a metro stop at the front-door and therefor very convenient for me as a solo-traveller:
Hotel Laura
Viale XXI Aprile, 109/int 20, 00162 Roma RM, Italy
Roomtype booked: single room
Very clean and large enough
- Weather check
Although I went in June, it did rain a bit the first day when I arrived. I personally didn't bring a jacket as I had hand luggage only and bought a poncho in Rome itself, which was sufficient for the amount of rain that fell. Bring sunglasses, sun cream and longer clothes as you can't enter any churches or Vatican city with legs, arms or belly showing!
Visit of Rome
DAY 1
After my arrival I immediately went to the Leonardo Express to get to the city center. As expected from a large airport the transfer was well indicated and the purchase of the ticket very easy trough self-service machines. After a good half hour ride I switched to the metro and went straight to my hotel, in order to check-in and leave my luggage there. It was hot as expected for Italy, so after a quick change I went to the city centre of Rome using the metro line in front of my hotel.
I arrived on the 'National holiday' of Italy and therefor access to the Pantheon was exceptionally free, meaning there were massive crowds around the building. I ended up not visiting it due to the large crowds and sold out tickets for the next day, so book ahead if you wish to visit. I strolled a bit in the surrounding streets, bought a Poncho cause yet it rained suddenly, and had lunch at an amazing place I saw online too when preparing my visit.
This place, All Antico Vinaio, serves a fresh style of sandwiches with all the good you can find in Italy. There will always be a queue but the line goes along quite quickly. Please note there is no place to sit in any of the 2 shops they have at this square, but you can easily eat it while walking or find a bench nearby.
All Antico Vinaio
Piazza della Maddalena, 3, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Tip: their menu is available in English on their website, so you can already decide what to order while waiting in line
After a good and fulfilling lunch I transferred to the Colosseum and visited the surroundings. As a solo traveler I love how you can just go wherever your mind/heart tells you to go. You can quickly bypass people or just go back on your steps when you don't feel like you're going in the good direction. It's by strolling around that you can often find smaller streets and be in the 'non-touristic' parts of the city.
DAY 2
I started day 2 with an early visit of Vatican City.
Please visit it as early as possible AND book a guided tour!
I personally booked a visit trough 'Get Your Guide' as due to the last-minute visit, regular tickets were sold out on the official websites. And let me tell you, I am glad I did. The tour guide was amazing and I was able to upgrade from a 'self-guide tour' to a 'guided tour' upon arrival, which made me super happy. I don't think the experience would have been the same guiding myself and well a nice tour visit just lets you see more and know more details, right...
Even at 8 AM (my tour) there was already a 15 min. waiting time to enter Vatican city, it can get easily up to 2 hours (waiting with your tour guide in the line in full heat) during regular hours! The visit of the chapel and surroundings takes easily 2-3 hours so I would designate at least a full morning to this, so you don't feel rushed.
After my visit I strolled direction the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. The building is very tall and impressive, you can't miss it. Please note that all the steps and the inside of the building itself can be visited for free, you only pay if you want to go to another terrace and see some extra rooms. Personally I don't think the extra pay is necessary at all, as you have great views from about anywhere you can walk.
After having a drink and resting a bit, I directed myself to the Trevi fountain. It's obviously a must-visit when you visit Rome, but just realize that you will find yourself at an overcrowded area and you will have to squeeze yourself to the fountain trough large crowds of people. I spend very few time here and just walked to quieter areas that were just as pretty.
DAY 3
I started my day with a visit to Castel San Angelo. This is a small castle with a lovely view over Rome and some lovely art inside as well. Prebooking is possible online so you can skip the line and enter immediately.
Tip: there is a super nice little café on the top floor, perfect for some great pictures too.
I followed up with a visit to the Roman Forum, for which I booked tickets online again. Please note that you can easily spend 4-5 hours here. I personally 'self-guided' myself with an app but guided tours are also offered. If you are very interested into the details of old ancient Rome, this might be a better option than self-guiding, as the self-guide tour showed the most basic information but nothing to detailed.
Tip: As this is a fully outdoor visit, please bring an empty water bottle and protection against the sun. You can refill your bottle at different points withing the forum.
After my visit at the Roman Forum I had my tickets booked for the Colosseum. If you can, maybe do the forum and the Colosseum on another day as both of them include lots of walking, lots of crowds etc. and it might be too much for many of us. The visit itself was again self-toured by myself and as always, guided tours are available too. I mainly wanted to enjoy the views / build so than self-guide can be better as you do all on your own pace...
DAY 4
Last day in Rome and the fatigue was getting to me. I went to the Spanish steps and discovered the surrounding streets with luxury boutiques and some nice parcs, where I ended up spending some time relaxing and reading a book on my Kindle.
The Spanish steps are beautiful by itself and if you go early, you might see several photographers taking wedding pictures too, as it's a famous location for shoots.
Extra tips for foods and drinks:
Gran Caffè La Caffettiera
I sat outside here on their little terrace and had an amazing cocktail for not too much money. They give you the best olives with them, as well as some crisps and some nuts. I stopped here ‘randomly’ but it’s one of the best stops I did during my Rome visit.
P.za di Pietra, 65, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Con mollica o senza
I ordered a sandwich / panini on the go, it had tons of meat and although it wasn’t super cheap, it provided me with an easy dinner that night and I think you can easily share it with 2, if you ask them to cut it in half maybe. I passed there during the next day again and there was a line, so people seem to agree it’s good.
Piazza Armando Diaz 1, Roma, Italy
