Rome for the First Time: What to Book and What to Skip
Rome punishes improvisation in one narrow way and rewards it everywhere else. A handful of sites need timed tickets bought weeks ahead. Everything else is a matter of walking, looking up and knowing when to eat.
8 min read
Book these, and book them early
Four things need advance reservations in high season: the Colosseum with the Forum and Palatine, the Vatican Museums, the Galleria Borghese and, if you want the dome, St Peter's cupola climb.
The Borghese is the strictest. Entry is in two hour slots with a hard limit on numbers, and it regularly sells out a month ahead. Buy directly from the official site rather than a reseller and you will pay roughly a third less.
- Colosseum, Forum and Palatine: single combined ticket, one entry each
- Vatican Museums: consider the earliest slot or a late Friday opening
- Galleria Borghese: timed two hour visit, book a month ahead
- St Peter's Basilica itself: free, no ticket, but a long security queue
What is free and still worth your morning
The Pantheon now charges a small fee, but the Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori area, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Jewish Ghetto are all free to walk.
So are several churches holding paintings that would headline a museum elsewhere. Santa Maria del Popolo has two Caravaggios. San Luigi dei Francesi has three. Bring a couple of euro coins for the light boxes.
Plan around the heat, not the map
From June to early September, Rome regularly sits above 33 C with very little shade in the archaeological areas. Do outdoor sites between 08:00 and 11:00, then move indoors or under trees.
The street fountains, called nasoni, run constantly and the water is safe and cold. Carrying a refillable bottle saves money and keeps you upright.
Where to eat without the tourist tax
The rule of one street back holds up well in Rome. Restaurants facing a monument pay enormous rent and price accordingly. Walk two minutes away and the same plate costs a third less and tends to be better.
Look for a short handwritten menu, Roman classics (cacio e pepe, gricia, amatriciana, coda alla vaccinara) and a dining room that fills with Italians at 21:00 rather than tourists at 19:00.
Getting around
The historic centre is walkable and mostly cobbled, so bring shoes you can put 10 km a day into. The metro has only three lines and misses much of the centre, but trams and buses fill the gaps.
Taxis are metered and reasonable from ranks. Avoid cars offering rides outside stations, and never accept a fixed price that is not the official airport flat fare.
Three days, roughly
Day one: ancient Rome in the morning, Celio and Aventine in the afternoon, Testaccio for dinner. Day two: Vatican early, then Castel Sant'Angelo and Prati, evening in Trastevere. Day three: the centro storico on foot, the Capitoline Museums, and a last evening wherever you found your favourite bar.
That leaves plenty out, which is correct. Rome is a city to return to, not to complete.
