Rome: Feedback on my 7-day itinerary

Hello, We’re heading to Rome from 21/09, arriving in the early afternoon, and returning on 28/09, leaving in the morning. We’ve already booked our flight tickets and our accommodation in the city center: Via Ezio. I’d love to get your feedback on our itinerary and if there are any visits we should book right now: Monday 21 afternoon: Largo di Torre Argentina: a sacred spot for cats. Tuesday 22: The Vatican: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in the morning. Afternoon: St. Peter’s Basilica, the dome, and if possible, the necropolis. Wednesday 23: Morning: Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Afternoon: Trastevere neighborhood and the Monumento a Garibaldi. Thursday 24: Piazza Navona, Church of St. Louis of the French, the Pantheon, Campo de’ Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, Trevi Fountain. Friday 25: Villa Borghese, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Quirinale, Piazza della Repubblica, and Santa Maria degli Angeli. Saturday 26: Aventine and Testaccio neighborhoods, the Capuchin Crypt. Sunday 27: Ostia. Monday 28: Departure. Are any days too packed, or should we add more visits? Thanks for your input and help! Cheers! Anne

Hi there,

Ahhh Rome 😎🙂. I'm heading back again for the April holidays to show my teens the wonders of this city😉

The itinerary is pretty logical, nicely broken down by neighborhood... But Rome is a city that invites you to wander. Don’t get too caught up following a plan—just let your feet guide you from one square to the next...

Before you know it, you’ll find yourself going from the Pantheon to the Forum, or from Navona to the Vatican, and back again 😉

I *highly* recommend getting lost in Trastevere.

For bookings, you *must* reserve for the Vatican and the Colosseum. Vatican: tickets available on the official site; for the Colosseum, tickets go on sale 2 months in advance, but they’re impossible to snag—your only option is to turn to GetyourGuide or similar.

Enjoy your visit to the Eternal City 🙂

Hi,

- On Friday the 25th, book the Galleria Borghese a month in advance to get your choice of day AND time! It’s gorgeous (no photos allowed), stroll through the park, see the fountains...

See you soon!

PS: Be careful, access to the Vatican Museums (including the chapel...) isn’t "right at the end of St. Peter’s Square" but actually about 800m to the east—check Google/Maps.

Hi, Thanks for your advice. It's really rare for me to go on an adventure—I need a plan and everything scheduled in advance to feel at ease. That said, once I'm there, we adapt... And long live Voyage Forum, where there are genuinely nice people—shout-out to everyone who replied! Kénavo. Anne

Hi, thanks so much! So, I’m wondering if it’s really worth visiting Villa Borghese. I’ll think about it. Have a great day. Anne

Hello,

For me = Yes! But it really depends on your interests... check out the descriptions on their own website and judge for yourself.

Beforehand, if you're coming from Piazza di Spagna, you’ll see the Barcaccia Fountain, the steps up to the church Trinità dei Monti (worth visiting), then about 1 km north (on foot, of course) to cross the wall through Porta Pinciana, enter Villa Borghese park (cross it—about 800 m), and reach the gallery.

Plan your route using Google Maps with the "walking" option, passing through your planned sites. Check the "public transport" route to get back to your starting point (bus/metro lines will appear if you select your date AND time...).

See you!

One more thing:

When you're at the Trevi Fountain (small fee of 2 €), you'll need to walk 170m to "La Galleria Sciarra" to see (for free) the palace courtyard with a glass roof/Art Deco style***.

It's near Piazza di Pietra (where you'll find the 11 columns of the Temple of Hadrian, built in 128 AD...), the former Rome stock exchange.

See you!

Hi there, I second envallis’s message: getting lost in Rome at night, letting yourself be drawn into a little trattoria in Trastevere, listening to the street musicians in Piazza Navona—that’s the Rome I love best.

Hi, I’m re-asking my question. Do you have the official website address for Vatican museum ticket sales? There are several sites that claim to be official, and the prices vary a lot. Thanks.

My first Google result for "Vatican museums" is www.museivaticani.va and it’s the official site.

Hello, I’m re-asking my question. Do you have the official website address for Vatican museum ticket sales? There are several sites claiming that title, and the prices vary a lot. Thanks.

The basic skip-the-line ticket is 20 € per person (plus 8 € for the audio guide and 5 € in fees). You’ll have to go through several sections/museums before finally reaching the Sistine Chapel at the very end!

Check the time slot that works for you right away (for example, I just simulated September 10, 2026, and quite a few slots are already taken):

https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html#lnav_shop

See you,

Thanks. On that site, it's 74 €. Through the Petit Futé site, they redirected me to Get Your Guide, and it's 33 €!!! St. Peter’s Basilica and Dome: 86 €, even though the basilica is free and the Dome is only 15 €? Where’s the scam? I’m losing my mind. Visiting places is so complicated now—everything has to be done in advance, everything booked!

Hi everyone,

An interesting article from today, worth reading with a translator:

https://www.romatoday.it/politica/nomi-falsi-biglietti-colosseo-non-si-trovano.html

Thanks. On that site, it's 74 €. Through the Petit Futé site, they redirected me to Get Your Guide, and it's 33 €!!! St. Peter's Basilica and Dome: 86 €, while the basilica is free and the Dome is only 15 €? Where's the scam? I'm losing my mind. Visiting places is so complicated now—everything has to be done in advance, everything booked!

I had the same headache-inducing issue...🤪

The basilica is free, but the line can be long. The dome ticket also includes skip-the-line access... We booked the dome for 4 people at 72 euros on the site basilicasanpietro.va, which seems to be the official one.

For the Colosseum, we couldn’t find tickets on the official site, so we ended up using GetYourGuide—160 euros for 4 people, including the arena visit.

For the Vatican Museums, you have to go through museivaticani.va, the official site. I’ve done it before—the museum isn’t amazing (but I’m not a museum fan😉)—and it takes a while to finally reach the Sistine Chapel at the end. We decided to skip it this year to avoid the teenagers dragging their feet through the museum.😏

Thanks. On that site, it's 74 €. Through the Petit Futé site, they redirected me to Get Your Guide, and it's 33 €!!! St. Peter's Basilica and Dome: 86 €, while the basilica is free and the Dome is 15 €? Where's the scam? I'm overthinking this. Visiting places is so complicated now—everything has to be done in advance, everything booked!

I gave you (me too...) the right one above—the BASE PRICE is indeed 20 €, but there are other versions with a guide, etc...

Hi everyone, After much deliberation, we booked the Vatican museums entry at 9:00 AM (8:00 AM wasn’t possible) on the official Vatican website with skip-the-line access for 25 € per person, and on Tiquets, a reserved entry with an audioguide for St. Peter’s Basilica at 2:00 PM for 14.50 € per person. Even though access is free, I think there’s a maximum capacity inside the basilica. After that, we plan to climb the Dome—is it a good idea to pay on-site in cash? Thanks again for all your valuable tips.

Hi,

For the basilica and its terrace/dome, I found this for my family for next October:

- Entry to the Basilica is free (long line...). BUT... - Access to the terrace/dome (stunning) is 17 € via the 230-step staircase, or 22 € via the elevator. Add the 320 steps to the lantern, a must-do*. In this case, the reserved and printed time slot is for access to the terrace (11:00 AM in our case), which lets you visit the Basilica (skip-the-line) starting 90 minutes BEFORE, so from 9:30 AM.

Digital audio guide (scan the QR codes you receive): 450 statues, 50 altars, Michelangelo’s Pietà, the 29m Baldachin, etc. And the Papal Tombs (7:30 AM/5:00 PM), access near the altar. Climb the 320 steps to the Lantern/top of the Dome*.

That’s what I noted. See you, Jean.

Hello everyone, After much deliberation, we booked the Vatican museums entry at 9:00 AM (8:00 AM wasn’t possible) on the official Vatican website with skip-the-line access for 25 € per person, and on Tiquets, a reserved entry with an audioguide for St. Peter’s Basilica at 2:00 PM for 14.50 € per person. Even though access is free, I think there’s a maximum capacity inside the basilica. After that, we plan to climb the Dome—is it a good idea to pay on-site in cash? Thanks again for all your valuable tips.

Hey there,

I just got back from Rome. About St. Peter’s, it’s really a shame to skip the Dome, especially climbing all the way to the top. Just a heads-up—claustrophobes should avoid it because it’s 300 very narrow steps in single file, and it takes about 20 minutes to climb from the dome to the top (the descent is much faster ;)). When you enter the basilica through the online tickets access, you’ll find the counter to buy dome tickets right after climbing a staircase at the entrance.

I’m not sure if there’s a capacity limit for entering St. Peter’s, but what’s certain is that the line is much shorter than the free entrance, where the queue goes all around the square in the blazing sun :pirate:.

Don’t hesitate if you have any other questions—I’ve still got it all fresh in my mind ;)

PS: I found the queue for the Pantheon absolutely crazy, but if you time it right (early in the morning), there’s no line. Same for the Trevi Fountain—I went twice yesterday: it’s almost calm at 9 AM, but a total crowd at 2 PM (and honestly, charging to get closer to the basin is a great idea compared to what I experienced on my previous visits).

Hi,

Great to hear the news!

See you +