Touring A Bucket List City

There are typically two kinds of kinds of people; those that travel and those that do not. Regardless of which travel camp you fall into, certain destinations will pass through the lips and land on some cosmic list of places worth seeing. It’s not that these places are necessarily better or more significant than other places it’s just simply that some places adopt an aura of importance in the minds of those who aren’t from those places, but I digress.

Rome is a “bucket list” city that (like many others) made its way onto my list. Serving as a pivotal place in human history, Rome (and Roman cultural history) is still commonly referenced in our modern society by way of sports teams, pizza restaurants, and feature films. It stands to reason that visiting Rome is akin to a right of passage for those who consider themselves as “travelers.”

How Many Days Should Be Spent in Rome?

If you’ve been here long, you’ll probably know that I’m the queen of cramming places into our trips, repacking our bags every 2-3 days to move on to another location. I would like to say that the pace of travel is linked to your energy level (in some respects, it is), but the more I travel, the more I realize that to see anything, you must SLOW DOWN. What I mean by that is not do less, but move less. As I travel more, I am beginning to embrace the merits of doing day trips or a single organized activity per day. After all, it’s not the quantity of plans that makes for a good trip; it’s the quality of the experience that makes for a great trip.

Spending six days in any city may sound like enough, but days and cities are not all created equal. Having just returned from spending New Year in Rome, I almost have to laugh when I try to conceptualize “seeing Rome in 3 days,” which is a roughly average allotment of time for us in the past. Do yourself a favor and follow a general rule of thumb, I recommend that you make a list of what you want to see and if the number of places matches the number of days (assuming one per day) you plan to be there, you’ll be on the right track, if not, good luck.

When in Rome…

To say that Rome is a “big city” is an understatement, it may be nicknamed the Eternal City for more lofty reasons, but it also feels appropriate for its sheer size. Like a bowl of spaghetti, the streets twist and tangle in a seemingly endless maze that eventually runs you into a church, historical monument, or piazza. I can’t stress enough the importance of wearing supportive shoes.

During of six-day stay in Rome, we toured the following sites which I’m ranking from Most Enjoyable to Least. My score is a combination of my enjoyment of the site itself and the experience of the tour itself (getting tickets, the crowds, etc.):

1. Castel Sant'Angelo (Also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian)

• Inexpensive “skip the line” tickets, low crowds, fascinating architecture, rewarding views of Rome from the top.

1. The Pantheon

• Inexpensive timed entry tickets, impressive architecture, and the quick nature of which it can be visited and seen in the entirety.

1. The Vatican Museums

• Regardless of how you might feel about religion or the Pope, the Vatican museums are a breathtaking 'Must-see.' However, do yourself a favor and book a skip-the-line tour (make sure it includes access to St. Peter’s Basilica) either first thing when they open or late at night, when the crowds will take your breath away for a different reason.

1. Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus, & The Roman Forum

• All three of these sites are close together and are outside, so you’ll enjoy the park-like setting where you can reach out and touch history. The crowds are also minimal, so it’s someplace where you can take your time and enjoy some personal space.

1. The Colosseum

• Probably the most iconic ruin in the world, no trip to Rome would be complete without seeing the Colosseum. However, seeing it and touring it are very different beats. We purchased Skip the Line tickets for touring both the basement and upper decks. One would like to believe that skip-the-line tickets mean that you skip the line, but the sheer number of tourists at this time meant that our skip-the-line tour was twenty minutes late by the time we navigated the line for such groups. The trouble with our delay is that groups entering the basement of the Colosseum have set times and are only sent down one group at a time. Fortunately, we were still allowed in, but we were rushed through every stage of our tour to get back on track, a reality which my husband can attest that I was NOT a fan of. Not to put too fine a point on it, but our tour guide told us that 80 million tourists visited the Colosseum that year (2023). As a reminder, we were there during the low season.

Other Activities and Places

As with any big city, there is much more than just museums and tours. While not exhaustive, here are a few things I enjoyed (in no particular order):

• Visit the Jewish Quarter

  • The history here is heartbreaking but the resilience of the community that lives here is beautiful. There are charming shops, bakeries, and restaurants that serve Jewish Style Artichoke Hearts (trying one these should be on your “Not To Miss” list.

• Take a break from the city and visit one of the many outlying vineyards, neighboring cities, or historical sites. Thanks to the speedy trains, there’s no shortage of reachable destinations within a day. We took a day trip to a family owned winery located just outside of Rome.

  • Minardi Frascati Winery

  • Pompeii

  • Florence

In Summary

Rome belongs on the bucket lists, but it’s a place to see thoroughly once and then not again. I feel privileged to have seen the sites, but in the way that certain places touch a places in your heart or capture your imagination, Rome did not yield this result for me. Glad I went but equally glad to cross it off the list.

To see some video footage of our time in Rome, please click HERE.