A travel guide to Rome
Rome is a city on most people’s bucket-list. Planning a trip to Rome? Where do you start? Rome is old, so be prepared for a some scaffolding and repair work.
How to plan a visit to Rome
When is the best time to go to Rome?
What’s the average weather temperature in Rome?
| Weather | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. max °C | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 13 |
| Avg. min °C | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Hrs of sun | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 73 | 58 | 81 | 53 | 34 | 19 | 37 | 73 | 113 | 115 | 81 |
First, you’ll need to know where the centre is, so you can plan on a good place to stay.
There isn’t a single centre of Rome, it could be split into three areas. The Roman centre (Forum, Colosseum, etc), the Vatican, the modern political centre, and shopping areas. You can’t go wrong staying near the Colossum in my opinion.
There are bars and restaurants everywhere, but nightlife is more concentrated near the Trevi fountain area.
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| FREE | Requires ticket |
|---|---|
| St Peter’s Square | Vatican museums book in advance, guided tour recommended |
| St Peter’s Basilica queue for security | Sistine Chapel requires ticket to Vatican museums |
| Papal audience requires free ticket from official website vatican.va | Cupola (dome of St Peter’s Basilica) not available online. Enter St Peter’s Basilica, join queue for Cupola |
| Trevi Fountain Coin toss optional |
Vatican Necropolis (St Peter’s tomb) book in advance from official website scavi.va |
| Spanish Steps | Colosseum book in advance from official website colosseo.it, guided tour recommended |
10 best places to visit in Rome
Colosseum
You will need tickets. Book online before you go. The queues for tickets outside the Colosseum are very long (2 hours+).
Vatican
You can buy standard entry tickets as well as guided tours direct from the official website.
St Peter’s Basilica
Sistine Chapel
Trevi Fountain
Everyone knows you need o get up early to beat the crowds, which means it’s busy even at 6am. This is the worst time as the sun is below the buildings and not on the fountain.
Spanish Steps
If you cannot manage the 138 steps to the top, there is a lift to the left and around the back of the steps, next to the Piazza di Spagna Metro Station, which will take you to Trinita dei Monti (the church at the top of the Spanish Steps).
Pantheon
Roman Forum
Unforgettable guided tours in Rome
Rome is one of those places that you can’t really go to without swatting up on your history. I would highly recommend a guided tour for most of the big sites. You can also benefit from peace of mind that you’re at the right Colosseum entrance at the right time with very little queueing. The Vatican guided tours bought online also had this queue bypassing benefit. And the queue was massive! Even on low season.
We did the underground Colosseum tour (linked). A bit confussed about the meeting point, we thought it was an office, but it’s not. You meet outside Café Roma, on the cobblestones. The tour worked us around part of the city, through the Roma Forum and into the Colosseum. Underground, beneath the Colosseum arena, then above onto the reconstructed area floor, then finally up to the second level between the seating. Utterly amazing! Our guide Barbara was enthuiastic, full of facts and figures and sympathetic to rest, shade and water stops.
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Must-have apps for Rome
Download these apps before you go, so you’re not wasting precious mobile data. You will definitely need a scooter to get to your tour or timed ticket entry on time, and probably need a taxi transfer if you have a very early flight.
Is Rome family-friendly?
Apart from the naked statues, nudes in paintings, violent history and cobblestones everywhere, Rome is well catered for when it comes to families.
The Vatican Museums are stroller friendly, with lifts and ramps and security will let you in first if they see you with a pushchair.
20 best rooftop bars and restaurants in Rome
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What essentials should I take on a city break to Rome?
Water bottle. There are over 2,000 drinking fountains dotted all over the city.
Cross-body bag for valuables. Although there are some great leather shops with many on sale in the area.
How to get from Rome airport to Rome city centre
Rome has two airports, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino (FCO) and Rome-Ciampino (CIA).
Buses and trains from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino airport and buses from Rome-Ciampino airport, all stop in Rome city centre at the Roma Termini.
Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
Ryanair, ITA Airways, easyJet, Alitalia, AeroItalia, Blu-express,
Rome Ciampino Airport Giovan Battista Pastine International Airport
Ryanair, Poste Air Cargo, Itavia, Skybridge AirOps
