Rome Itinerary

1. ~8:00aCornetto & cappuccino, standing

   Do it like a Roman — a cornetto and a cappuccino taken al banco, standing at the bar (Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè near the Pantheon pulls the city's most famous espresso). Milky coffee is a before-noon-only rule here.

   
2. 8:30aColosseum, Forum & Palatine

   Book the first timed slot and start at the Colosseum — the arena-floor or underground add-on gives the gladiator's-eye view. Then the Roman Forum, the political heart of the ancient world, and up the Palatine where the city was founded.

   
3. ~12:00pCapitoline Hill & the museums

   Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio and, if time allows, the Capitoline Museums — the she-wolf, the colossal Constantine fragments, and a terrace view over the Forum.

   
4. ~1:00pA Roman pasta in Monti

   In the lanes of Monti, one of the holy trinity: cacio e pepe (just Pecorino Romano and pepper, whipped glossy) or carbonara (guanciale, egg, pecorino, pepper — never cream) at a proper trattoria.

   
5. ~3:00pPantheon, Trevi & Piazza Navona

   The 2,000-year-old Pantheon with its open oculus, a coin thrown into the Trevi Fountain, and Bernini's fountains in Piazza Navona — a gelato from Giolitti or a grattachecca on the walk between.

   
6. 8:00pLa Pergola ★★★Anchor table

   Heinz Beck's rooftop three-star — Rome's only one — with the city and St Peter's dome laid out below. The fagottelli 'carbonara' is the dish. Jacket required; book weeks ahead as the trip's fixed point.

Ancient Rome rewards the early timed ticket — by mid-morning the Colosseum queue is brutal. La Pergola sits up on Monte Mario; budget a taxi each way and keep the evening clear for it.

Day 1 in photos

1. ~8:00aA maritozzo to start

   The Roman breakfast indulgence — a soft bun split and overstuffed with barely-sweet whipped cream (Roscioli Caffè or Regoli do the benchmark), with an espresso.

   
2. 9:00aVatican Museums & the Sistine Chapel

   Book the earliest entry (or a before-hours tour) to reach Michelangelo's ceiling before the crush — it hits hardest in the quiet. The Raphael Rooms and the Gallery of Maps line the route.

   
3. ~12:00pSt Peter's Basilica & the dome

   Into the basilica for Michelangelo's Pietà and Bernini's bronze baldachin, then climb the cupola for the panorama straight down the Via della Conciliazione.

   
4. ~1:30pPizza al taglio, by weight

   Off the tourist strip into Prati — Bonci's Pizzarium, the city's most famous pizza al taglio, sold by the slab and weighed; point at three or four and eat standing.

   
5. ~4:00pCastel Sant'Angelo & a Tiber crossing

   Cross the angel-lined bridge to Hadrian's drum-shaped mausoleum-turned-fortress and its ramparts, then follow the river south as the light goes gold.

   
6. ~7:30pTrastevere after dark

   The cobbled, ivy-hung lanes come alive at night — cacio e pepe or saltimbocca alla romana in a checked-tablecloth trattoria, then a passeggiata and a scoop from Fatamorgana.

   

The Vatican is the one unmissable early booking — Wednesday mornings draw crowds for the papal audience, so aim another day. St Peter's enforces a dress code: shoulders and knees covered.

Day 2 in photos

1. ~8:30aA historic Roman caffè

   Espresso and a pastry at one of the centuries-old coffee houses near the Pantheon — the Roman institution of the standing morning coffee, done where they've done it for generations.

   
2. ~9:30aSpanish Steps & the Trevi at their quietest

   The baroque set-pieces before the crowds bank up — the Spanish Steps down to the Barcaccia fountain, and the Trevi for a daylight look.

   
3. ~10:30aVia dei Condotti & artisan Rome

   The luxury parade below the Steps — the flagship maisons — then duck to the artisans: a made-to-measure leather bag or a pair of gloves at a tiny Roman workshop, and Antica Manifattura Cappelli for hats.

   
4. ~1:00pCarciofi alla giudia in the Ghetto

   Rome's oldest community and one of its great food pockets — the whole artichoke fried twice until the leaves splay into a crisp golden flower, with carciofi alla romana and fried baccalà at a Portico d'Ottavia institution.

   
5. ~3:30pCampo de' Fiori & Tiber Island

   The morning market square (and its food stalls), then across to Tiber Island and toward Trastevere's edge — a grattachecca shaved-ice from the kiosk on the bridge if it's warm.

   
6. 5:00pThe Janiculum terrace at golden hour

   Up the Gianicolo for the best rooftop panorama in the city as the light turns amber — every dome and bell tower below, the noon-cannon ritual if you time it.

   
7. ~8:00pTrastevere supper

   Supplì to start (fried rice croquettes that pull a wire of mozzarella), then bucatini all'amatriciana, and a maritozzo or tiramisù to close.

   

This is the flat, central, shop-and-stroll day. Via dei Condotti is for windows and the artisans are the real finds; time the Janiculum for sunset — it's the terrace Romans themselves climb for the view.

Day 3 in photos