Weekend itinerary in Rome

If you plan on spending a few days in Rome and want to make the most of it, here’s the best weekend itinerary in Rome.

From the Trevi Fountain, to the Vatican, passing by the Colosseo, I’ll show you the ultimate circuit around the city. If you need a 3 or 4 days itinerary, I’ll also indicate which activities and sightseeing can be added or extended when coming for longer.

I also made an article about visiting Rome by night as well as one about what to expect from the Vatican City.

Moving on to this itinerary !

• Day One : The Vatican : the museums, the gardens, Piazza San Pietro and Trastevere
• Day Two : Trevi Fountain, Altare della patria, Foro Romano, Colosseo, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Spanish steps, Gardens of the Villa Borghese, Piazza del Popolo, Basilica papale di Santa Maria maggiore

Day One

Dedicate a full day day to the Vatican, because even though it is small, there’s a lot to see there !

Start out with the museums where thousands of works of art are displayed in amazing galleries.

The tour of the museum will eventually lead you to the Sistine Chapel inside the Apostolic Palace, with the astonishing painted ceiling by Michelangelo.

You can also book a tour of the gardens (only in the mornings so we didn’t get to do it).

Everything you need to know about the Vatican is detailed on my previous article here.

It took us at least two hours to do the tour without the gardens, so I’d plan minimum 4 if you want to book the outside tour as well.

After this, you can head to Bonci Pizzarium for lunch (or a snack). I talk more about the best places to eat in Rome here.

Pursuing the tour towards the Piazza San Pietro where you can visit the largest church in the world, the Basilica San Pietro.

The square in itself is also very beautiful to see.

Leaving the Vatican, you will walk by the Castle Sant’ Angelo (a rounded castle from the II century).

In front, you can see the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II (a roman bridge with 3 arches) and the Ponte Umberto I (the bridge with 4 arches), that crosses the river and leads you to the Centre of Rome.

Along the Tevere river you’ll see some bookstands like the second picture below.

To head to the Trastevere neighbourhood, walk along the Tevere river down south.

Trastevere is a vibrant small neighbourhood that’s worth wandering in at night, when you are searching for a place to drink a glass of wine or two !

There’s also a lot of trattorias and pizzerias there but it’s quite touristy so be sure to book a table in advance.

Don’t miss Piazza di Santa Maria where you can see the basilica di Santa Maria di Trastevere.

Walking the little old streets of Trastevere with a gelato is the perfect way to end a first day in Rome !

If you are someone that prefer to take the time, take things slow, you can totally divise this circuit into two days : Day one the Vatican, Day two Trastevere.

Day Two

For the second day, I’d recommend starting with the Trevi Fountain early in the morning as it gets crowded really fast.

We went there for sunrise and we were almost alone. 30 minutes later it was already getting busy.

Then, head toward the Altare della Patria. It’s a majestic neoclassical temple in marble dedicated to the first king of Italy and the soldiers of the First World War. You can visit it, the entrance is free and there was a great photography exposition at the time of our visit.

The view from upstairs is also very beautiful.

After that, you are near the Foro Romano. It’s a large area with temples, squares and Roman government buildings, some of which are 2,000 years old. The entrance ticket is the same one as the Colosseo and Palatine Hill. This combined ticket is 22€ and 6€ for students but you had to book in advance as it was already full when we wanted to visit it.

However, you can have great views of the ruins from above (behind the Altare).

Walking along the ruins, you’ll end up in front of the Colosseo. For this monument as well, you get better views from above and a great spot for photographs !

For lunch you can try a panino (best ones in Al’Antico) and enjoy a break in Piazza Navona. This square has lots of cafés and a wonderful fountain.

This area is really nice to walk in, there are colourful houses, and you are not that far from the Spanish steps.

For a chill afternoon walk, you can head to the Villa Borghese park. It is a huge park with gardens, fountains, a zoo, it has everything !

You can easily spend hours there because there is a lot to see.

To end the day, you can check out the Piazza del popolo, wander in the streets nearby and found some gems such as this passageway :

If you want to visit at a slower pace, you can do the antique district (with the Foro Romano, the Colosseo…) for a day, and the city centre (Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo…) with the Villa Borghese park on the next day.

On the last morning before the flight, we went to see the Trevi Fountain a last time and headed towards the Basilica papale di Santa Maria maggiore, which is really grandiose.

That’s it for my itinerary, as you can see there’s tons of things to see in Rome so you can either see the main monuments in a weekend or take more time and see a bit more in 4 days or more.

Don’t forget to read my post about the Vatican to get more details on what to see.

I have also wrote an article about the best food to try in Rome here.

Finally, I cannot recommend enough visiting Rome by night. It is one of those cities that is as beautiful when the sun sets. I have made an itinerary on what to see at night in Rome here.

Enjoy your time in Rome !