When in Rome- the do’s and dont’s

(Image taken inside the Vatican Museum)

I’m sure we’ve all heard it- “Rome wasn’t built in a day…” but did that phrase ever make you question if it TRULY was built in a day!? The only way to find out- would be to go to Rome!

These are the dos and donts I’d recommend when planning your visit to Roma

DO- The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica

If you’re a history buff- you’ll definitely want to check out these iconic sites! Planning is key when it comes to this- as last minute tickets and reservations are hard to come by. I HIGHLY recommend booking five months to a year in advance if you can to avoid the long lines and waits, or tickets being sold out.

We booked a semi private, early morning tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica (7:30am to be precise) through LivTours. At the time, for us three it cost roughly $340 Euros in total costing about $113 Euros/ each. The price was ONE HUNDRED percent worth it! Being able to take in all the sights, art and historical explanation for things, with no crowds, made the experience more memorable and enjoyable. Another great feature was being supplied headphones on the tour so we could move about freely as we listened to our tour guide speak in English about each piece.

DO- Trevi Fountain

Due to an overwhelming amount of tourists over the years crowding and congesting this wonderful piece of art and history, Roma has now officially begun to charge a fee to access this site as of 2/2/26. It now costs $2 Euros a person to visit the up close, lower section of the Trevi Fountain; however, if you’d like to view it from the Piazza di Trevi, this area remains free. This fee is charged between the hours of 9am till about 10pm at night.

Payment- you can pay online in advance to avoid the congestion, or you can use mobile or contactless payments at the fountain. To avoid paying, view Trevi before 9am, or after 10pm and also avoid the crowds!

Exemptions- The only exemptions that apply are to Rome citizens, children (minors), and people with disabilities do not pay.

DO- The Rome Zoo

I don’t know about the rest of my fellow readers, but I’m OBSESSED with animals and love seeing the different types of animals in zoos around the world! When there, we saw monkeys roaming freely, not even caged and it was amazing! This was an easy attraction to walk to, or take public transit. We also paid for the tickets at the kiosk, as it’s not necessary to book in advance.

(Image taken at the Zoo in Rome)

DO- The Colosseum

This has to be hands down, my absolute favorite thing I saw when I was in Rome. There’s something to be said, when a piece of history speaks to you so loudly. We booked a tour on a separate day for this, because we were so exhausted the day before touring the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We again, booked through LivTour and did an early morning tour of the Colosseum with underground access, as well as the Arena, Gladiator Gate and the Roman Forum. In total for us three it was roughly $390 Euros splitting it three ways at about $132 Euro/each.

It’s a long, half of your day type tour, so be prepared for a lot of walking. You start out at the Colosseum, make your way through the arena, and then end going through the Roman Forum and Gladiator Gate.

Below are some pictures of my tour experience!

DONT- Rush, Plan TOO MUCH, or spend all your time on tours!

One thing I wish I would’ve done, was spend LESS time on tours and done more exploring on foot. A lot of our time was taken up by leaving our airbnb every morning to walk to an extremely early tour experience that would last for hours, or half the day. This didn’t leave much time to take in the sights as we saw them because we were rushing from one thing to the next! But to be fair, we had never seen some of these sites before, where as one of the girls in my group did, and she wanted to make sure we saw all the “necessary things” because who knows when you’ll be in Italy again!

If you’re not that much into history, you could easily spend less time than we did here in Rome. Don’t get me wrong, Rome is a great place, but spending five days there was way too much time for me, and I wish I would’ve dedicated less time here, and more time in Tuscany or Florence.

So- was Rome built in a day? Who knows- but Rome clearly is a place where time, patience and dedication are key to enjoying this remarcable place.

Arrevderdci <3

-Lori