Day Two
If your plan includes visiting many local attractions, try to get up early, 8 a.m is fine. Research which landmark from the list opens at the earliest, so that you can organize your sightseeing with the least possible stress.
N.B. Do not miss to start your morning with nice Italian coffee!
Hot Tip: One day could be enough to explore the Old city of Rome, but considering that you have not planned museum tours. If you include museums, I would recommend two full days devoted to the history, culture and architecture of Rome center.
In the following lines find the complete list of places we’ve enjoyed and I recommend you to explore. (Never trust a tour guides, try to create your own sense of the city you’re visiting)
The Colosseum
Opening hours: 8:30am–7pm
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It is one of the most visited sights in Rome. That’s why it’s good to use Roma pass card in order to skip the line. This saves hours of waiting on the unbelievably huge queues of tourists. Prepare yourself for big crowds even if you are not in the active season. Many groups of tourists with guides, lots of noise and curious eyes, staring at every pebble. If you have more time to prepare before the trip, gather some information about the history of the Monumental 3-tiered Roman amphitheater. So you will not just taking photos there, but with a little imagination you will experience some of the gladiatorial stories.
Beware: Around the monument there are many peddlers who offer guided visits, skipping the queue. Often they are not real professional guides.
Spent time: 2 hours
Roman forum
Opening hours: 8.30am to one hour before sunset
As mentioned in my previous article, entering the Roman Forum may be a bit difficult, but it is not impossible. Once you step into, you will enjoy the true birth of Rome, there, besides preserved ruins and beautiful buildings and gardens, you will be able to touch a lot of history. Climbing the well-traveled paths of thousands of tourists, you will reach the highest point – Mount Palatine – one of the seven hills of Rome. For your visit there, you can recall the legend of Romulus, Rem, the Capitoline Wolf. Apart from the legend, it may also impress you how Rome has evolved since its very beginning when it extended only on this hill. For this purpose, you can visit the Palatine Museum (which, fortunately, was a free entrance, only for Roma Pass holders)
Spent time: 2 hours
Capitolini Hill
Opening hours: 9am-8pm Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Mondays, 1st January, 1st May & 25th December. Open 9am-2pm 24th and 31st December.
The next destination is provoked by the logical continuation of the aforementioned legend of Romulus and Remus. Where did the two brothers are bruised by the Capitoline Wolf. The Capitol is the central peak of the seven and is to the west of the Forum. Interesting about the architecture of the Capitol is that it is a Michelangelo’s work. It is a beautiful square (Piazza del Campidoglio), surrounded by the three sides of two existing palaces and a new one. Another attraction is the Michelangelo special ladder which you can climb.
Nowadays, an impressive museum complex – Musei Capitolini is located there. In one of the buildings you can see the huge statue of Mark Aurelius and the most famous sculptor there – the Capitoline Wolf. In the other building you can enjoy the art of Caravaggio, Titian, Rubens and other famous artists.
Spent time: 2 hours
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Streets of Rome and Piazza Navona
Spending hours in tours of the main attractions that we were in our wish list, we decided to take a break and just walk along squares and streets of Rome. Distances between the main piazzas are not big, even for the most tired.
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Hot tip: You can find a sample route here.
Piazza Navona is one of the largest and most beautiful piazza squares in Rome. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium – a flattened ellipse. Navona is famous for its three fountains – Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, 1651), Fontana del Moro and Fountain of Neptune. Fans of Dan Brown will certainly not miss this iconic square.