Rome Travel Guide — Two Visits to the Eternal City | Two for the Row'd
← Italy
🇮🇹 Rome • 2005 & 2019

Rome twice—and still nowhere near finished

Nicola first visited Rome in 2005 and returned in 2019. Across two trips she explored the great landmarks and took the classic tours, from the Colosseum and Roman Forum to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Spanish Steps. Rome is enormous, theatrical and layered with history—and one visit was never going to be enough.

🏟️ Ancient Rome⛲ Famous fountains🍝 Italian food⛪ Vatican connection🚶 Best explored on foot
Explore Rome →Read our Vatican story →
Rome at a glance

Useful things to know before you go

A quick practical guide to the Italian capital before you start planning the sightseeing.

💶
CurrencyEuro (€). Cards are widely accepted, but some cash is handy for smaller purchases.
👥
PopulationApproximately 2.8 million in the city, making Rome Italy's most populous municipality.
🗣️
LanguageItalian. English is commonly understood around the principal tourist areas.
🕐
Time zoneCentral European Time—one hour ahead of Ireland.
✈️
AirportsFiumicino (FCO) is the main airport; Ciampino (CIA) also handles many European flights.
🌤️
When to visitSpring and autumn are comfortable for walking. Summer is busy and can be extremely hot.
🚇
Getting aroundWalk through the historic centre and use the Metro or buses for longer journeys.
🔌
Plug typeTypes C, F and L. Travellers from Ireland need a European plug adaptor.
🏛️
CountryItaly—although Vatican City, enclosed within Rome, is an independent country.

Two visits, fourteen years apart

Rome was part of Nicola's travels long before Two for the Row'd began. Returning in 2019 meant seeing the Eternal City again with older—and probably slightly more appreciative—eyes.

Rome in 2005

Nicola's first encounter with the Italian capital included the major Roman sights, proper tours inside the monuments and an extraordinary visit to Vatican City during the final weeks of Pope John Paul II's life.

Rome in 2019

Fourteen years later, Nicola returned during February and March for another round of Rome's monuments, piazzas and guided visits—and confirmed that this is a city worth seeing more than once.

Rome is one of those places where every ordinary street seems to end at something ridiculous: a two-thousand-year-old ruin, an enormous fountain or a church that would be the headline attraction anywhere else. We did the classic sights properly, went inside rather than merely photographing the façades and walked until our feet had absolutely had enough.

The second visit did not feel like repeating the first. Rome has far too many layers for that. It felt more like picking up a story fourteen years later and noticing all the bits Nicola had been too overwhelmed—or too young—to appreciate the first time around.

The classic Rome sights

Yes, they are the places everyone visits—and there is a reason for that. Rome's headline attractions genuinely live up to their fame.

🏟️

Colosseum

Rome's unmistakable icon and the essential starting point for understanding the scale of the ancient city.

🏛️

Roman Forum

Temples, arches and ruins at what was once the political and social heart of the Roman Empire.

⛲

Trevi Fountain

Crowded, extravagant and completely unmissable. Throwing in a coin supposedly guarantees a return to Rome.

⭕

The Pantheon

An astonishingly preserved Roman building with an extraordinary dome and almost two thousand years of history.

🪜

Spanish Steps

One of Rome's great meeting places, linking Piazza di Spagna with the church of Trinità dei Monti.

🎨

Piazza Navona

A beautiful baroque square built over an ancient stadium and filled with fountains, cafés and street life.

Going inside made all the difference

You can see a surprising amount of Rome while wandering for free, but the tours added the history and context that turned famous structures into real places.

🏟️ Inside the Colosseum

Standing inside gives you a much clearer idea of the arena's scale than any photograph can. A tour also cuts through the myths and explains how the building, underground passages and vast crowds actually worked.

🏛️ Through the Roman Forum

Without context, the Forum can look like a beautiful collection of broken columns. With a guide—or a very good audio guide—the temples, political spaces and triumphal arches begin to form an ancient city again.

🎨 Vatican Museums

The collection is almost overwhelming: galleries, sculpture, decorated ceilings and rooms that would each deserve hours. Then comes the Sistine Chapel, a sight so familiar from books that seeing it in person feels strangely unreal.

⛪ St Peter's Basilica

Its dimensions are difficult to grasp until you are standing inside. It is vast, ornate and deeply impressive, regardless of whether you approach it through faith, history, art or all three.

Our verdict? Rome is not the place to save ten euro by standing outside everything. Choose the sights that matter most to you and go in.

Rome in pictures

Four photographs that sum up the scale of the city—from an extravagant fountain to the remains of an empire.

Trevi Fountain in Rome photographed by Two for the Row'd
Trevi Fountain—never exactly quiet, but still magnificent.
View across the Roman Forum in Rome
Looking across the ruins of the Roman Forum.
St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City during a Rome trip
St Peter's Basilica, just across the border in Vatican City.
Inside the Colosseum during our Rome tour
Inside the Colosseum—the tour was worth doing properly.

What Rome feels like in February and March

The advantage of visiting at the end of winter is that you are not attempting the Forum beneath the full force of a Roman summer sun. The weather can be mixed, but cooler days are much kinder when the plan involves hours of walking and queueing.

Layers are the answer. Mornings and evenings can feel chilly, while a sunny afternoon may be surprisingly pleasant. Bring a light waterproof jacket, genuinely comfortable shoes and something smarter if you want to make an evening meal feel like an occasion.

🎟️
Book the major interiors

Timed entry for the Colosseum and Vatican Museums saves uncertainty and helps structure the busiest days.

👟
Believe the step count

Rome is walkable, but cobbles, museum corridors and enormous archaeological sites make it more tiring than the map suggests.

⛲
Leave room for wandering

The unscheduled walk between two attractions may produce the square, fountain or tiny church you remember most.

☕
Stop for coffee

Rome rewards regular pauses. Stand at the bar like a local, regroup and then head back into the history.

The Vatican belongs to another country—and another story

It is physically surrounded by Rome, but Vatican City is the world's smallest independent state. Nicola's 2005 visit became far more than an ordinary sightseeing stop: she witnessed one of Pope John Paul II's final public appearances shortly before his death.

We have kept that remarkable memory on its own Vatican City page, along with St Peter's Basilica, St Peter's Square and the wider Vatican experience.

Read our Vatican City story →

Map of our essential Rome stops

Use the list or map markers to jump around the main sights. Vatican City is included as the natural companion to a Rome visit, while remaining a separate country on our website.

Rome highlights

Seven essential stops

Explore Rome from home

Take a virtual drive through Rome, or open the interactive version and decide where the journey goes next.

Watch a Rome drive

Settle in and watch the streets of the Eternal City pass by.

Watch the drive →

Drive Rome yourself

Choose your own route through the interactive city experience.

Start driving →

Book your Rome trip

Find a hotel in Rome

Browse Rome accommodation through our Klook partner link.

Search Rome hotels →

Explore all of Italy

Return to our Italy hub for Venice, Verona and Turin.

See all our Italy travels →

Rome tours and experiences

Browse bookable tours, attraction tickets and experiences through GetYourGuide.

Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Rome travel FAQ

Is Rome worth visiting?

Absolutely. Its combination of ancient ruins, huge churches, theatrical fountains, lively piazzas and brilliant food is unlike anywhere else.

How many days do you need in Rome?

Allow at least three to four full days for the major sights. A longer trip makes it easier to slow down and enjoy the neighbourhoods between the monuments.

Can you walk between Rome's main attractions?

Many central sights are walkable, but Rome is larger than it first appears. Comfortable shoes and occasional use of public transport make a considerable difference.

Should you book the Colosseum and Vatican Museums ahead?

Yes. They are among Europe's busiest attractions, so timed tickets or organised tours are well worth arranging in advance.

Is Vatican City part of Rome?

Vatican City is surrounded by Rome but is an independent country. It is easy to combine with a Rome trip, and we cover it on a separate destination page.