These are the experiences worth building your trip around, from the city's ancient icons and world-class museums to its food markets and atmospheric neighbourhoods. Save the ones that appeal to you and slot them straight into your own itinerary.
The Best Things to Do in Rome
1Must visit
Memorial4.8
Colosseum
The 2,000-year-old amphitheatre that defines Rome. Book timed entry; the underground and arena floor are worth the upgrade.
Centro Storico
2
Museum4.7
Vatican Museums
One of the world's greatest art collections, ending at Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. Skip-the-line tickets are essential.
Vatican City
3
Memorial4.9
Pantheon
The best-preserved building of ancient Rome, crowned by a vast concrete dome and its open oculus.
Centro Storico
4
Memorial4.7
Roman Forum
The ruined civic heart of the ancient city, a thousand years of temples and arches you walk straight through.
Centro Storico
5
Scenic Spot4.6
Trevi Fountain
Rome's most famous fountain. Toss a coin and come at dawn to have the Baroque masterpiece almost to yourself.
Trevi
6
Museum4.8
Borghese Gallery
An intimate villa museum of Bernini sculptures and Caravaggio paintings. Mandatory timed two-hour slots, book ahead.
Villa Borghese
7
Scenic Spot4.5
Piazza Navona
A Baroque square on a Roman stadium's footprint, anchored by Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Centro Storico
8
Scenic Spot4.6
Trastevere
Rome's most atmospheric neighbourhood, all cobblestones, ivy, and trattorias, best explored before and after dinner.
Trastevere
9
Market4.5
Testaccio Market
Rome's best food market, a covered hall of supplì, trapizzino, fresh pasta, and local produce. A foodie pilgrimage.
Testaccio
10
Landmark
Spanish Steps Morning
The 135 sweeping travertine steps with Bernini's boat fountain below, magical empty at dawn and lined with azaleas in spring.
Trevi/Spagna area, Rome
11
Hidden Gem
Aventine Keyhole
Peer through a bronze keyhole on the Aventine Hill to find St. Peter's dome perfectly framed down a hedge-lined garden path.
Aventine Hill, Rome
12
Outdoor
Appian Way Bike Tour
Cycle Rome's oldest road past ruins, catacombs, and umbrella pines, a peaceful escape from the city centre.
Via Appia Antica3-4 hours
FAQ
- What is the one thing not to miss in Rome?
- The Colosseum and Roman Forum together, ideally on a single early-morning ticket, give you the clearest sense of ancient Rome's scale and are the city's defining experience.
- What can you do in Rome for free?
- A great deal: the Pantheon's exterior (and a small fee inside), the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, countless churches with major artworks, the Aventine viewpoints, and simply walking Trastevere and the centro storico.
Make it your trip
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