“Okay, let’s find out if 4 days is enough time for our first trip to Rome.” They are the exact words Mark said to Kristen as we boarded our Rome bound fast train in Pisa back in July 2018. We’d done a bit of research, planned out what we wanted to see and do, booked a hotel for 3 nights and felt cautiously optimistic that 4 days would be ample time. It turned out to be more than enough.
What made us unsure was the sheer amount of history, ruins, museums and famous attractions on offer in the Eternal City. But we felt the same about Paris, London and New York City, and 4 days was easily enough time for those places. And at the end as we rolled out of Rome’s Termini station towards Naples, we agreed that 3 days would have been doable but rushed, and we definitely didn’t need 5 days.
This is us taking a quick selfie in the Colosseum
Now, our first trip was great but Italy was just one country we visited on our 18 month honeymoon around the world, so we had to do Rome on the cheap. We didn’t book tours and had to be selective over paid attractions. Plus, it was July so the city was boiling hot and ridiculously busy. Not a great combination, right?
So when we returned to Rome for another 3 nights in May 2022 with a healthier budget and knowledge of the city from our previous trip, we did it properly with excellent tours, lots of attractions and amazing food. In this guide we’re going to show you exactly how we planned our second 4 days in Rome itinerary, with tips and things you can skip to make it even better. Read more about us.
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Route Map
We like to create maps with points of interest and directions when we visit new cities to save time when we get there. So we created a map for our Rome itinerary to help you see what’s included.
Click or touch the map to activate, zoom in and out, and scroll around. If you’d like to see a bigger version, click the “view larger map” icon in the top right, and if you’d like to see all the stops on each day, click the arrow and square icon in the top left.
Map key:
- Red – Day 1 attractions
- Blue – Day 2 attractions
- Orange – Day 3 attractions
- Purple – Day 4 attractions
Each day also has a walking route map you can use (blue lines). Remember, you don’t have to follow our route exactly, but it’s a great starting point for you to build from. Okay, let’s get into the itinerary!
Centro Storico: Day 1
Morning
We took this photo of the Trevi Fountain with no tourists at dawn 
We love this photo we took of the Pantheon and Piazza della Rotonda at dawn
Even though we had a healthy travel budget, we still didn’t want to blow it all on a hotel because there’s much better things to spend money on in Rome – like pizza, wine and gelato. So we booked a cute mid-budget B&B called Residenza Sciarra, which was located on Via del Corso between the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon in the heart of the Centro Storico.
Nothing opens until 9:00am in Rome, so after a relaxing morning we began by walking through Galleria Sciarra on the way to see the Trevi Fountain, which wasn’t as busy as we’d expected – but that would change in the evening! Next, we walked past the Column of Marcus Aurelius and along the narrow cobbled Via dei Pastini (great spot for dinner) to the Pantheon, which was well worth 5 euros to enter.
Afterwards we walked to the enormous Piazza Navona to see the fountains of Neptune and Four Rivers, before taking a quick pitstop in Two Sizes for a delicious tiramisu – you have to try one! (Or you can make your own on this top rated cooking class which also includes fettuccine and ravioli.) After refueling, we walked down to Rome’s most famous market, Campo de’ Fiori.
Afternoon
We found this great photo op of the four horses and angel inside the Monument to Victor Emanuele II 
This was one of the many milky gelatos we devoured!
All the walking worked up an appetite so we grabbed a lovely pasta lunch at Ristorante Pancrazio. After lunch we passed through Largo di Torre Argentina, an old ruin close to where Julius Caesar was killed that now houses a bunch of stray cats, then we continued south through more small but attractive piazzas until we reached the Portico d’Ottavia and Teatro di Marcello.
Next, we paid to go in the Capitoline Museums to see some of the most famous sculptures in Rome including the Dying Gaul, Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and the Capitoline Wolf. Museums are a dime a dozen here, but we thought this one was pretty awesome. Just around the corner we explored the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, which was free and had a great viewpoint, so don’t miss it.
It was getting late and we were tired, so we walked back up Via del Corso and grabbed a relaxing dinner at Achille Al Pantheon. Then we went back to see the Trevi Fountain in all its chaotic glory in the evening, bought a gelato and slowly ambled through random cobbled streets and alleys before calling it a night.
Tip: Our trip was Sunday to Wednesday, but if you’ll be in the Centro Storico on a Friday or Saturday there’s a hidden gem place you must go to called Galleria Colonna. It’s only open in the morning, so do it first before beginning our walkthrough.
Vatican + Trastevere: Day 2
Morning
Taking a special early tour of the Vatican meant we had entire halls to ourselves 
Even the outside area near the Sphere Within A Sphere was quiet because we got in early
We visited the Vatican Museums on our first trip to Rome and it was a pretty awful experience. It was a blazing hot day in July and we turned up at midday, stood in a disgustingly long line for ages only to be packed inside the museum like sardines. So we didn’t make the same mistake again the second time. Instead, we booked this fantastic special early entry guided tour and it was well worth every penny.
Not only did it mean we had a guided tour (which makes a huge difference in a place like the Vatican) but it also got us inside well before anyone else, so we had entire galleries and halls just to our small group, which was really cool. This is one of those top Rome experiences you simply can’t miss, so it’s the place to splurge on a quality guided tour if you have a bit of spare money.
The Sistine Chapel was as amazing as expected but honestly we thought the whole experience from start to finish was equally as fantastic, especially because we weren’t rubbing shoulders with dozens of strangers every time we moved. And aside from enjoying many of the 70,000 pieces of artwork, we also loved taking photos of the stunning snail-like Bramante Staircase.
Afternoon
We love stopping for a quick drink in fun bars around Trastevere 
The narrow cobbled streets in Trastevere are filled with lovely looking places to eat and drink like this
After the tour, we took a slow walk down a lovely street called Borgo Pio to grab lunch at a place we’d flagged by the name of Rione XIV Bistro, and it was excellent. What we should have done next was pay to go in Castel Sant’Angelo to see Hadrians Tomb, but instead we had an extra glass of wine, relaxed and finished with a milky ice cream from L’Arena del Gelato.
Then we crossed the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II and walked down the incredibly photogenic Via Giulia, passing by posh boutiques and trendy art galleries. At the end we arrived onto Ponte Sisto which took us back over the Tiber and into Trastevere, our favorite neighborhood in Rome for food, drinks and atmosphere. There’s a ton of awesome food tours you can take here like this one and this one.
We walked up Vicolo del Cinque and stopped in Mr Brown’s for a quick Aperol Spritz, before continuing to explore the maze-like streets of Trastevere. Next, we stopped in to see the Basilica di Santa Maria, which didn’t look like much from the outside but was lovely inside, then we went to Tonnarello for a superb dinner and found a few more easy going cocktail bars afterwards.
Colosseum + Southeast: Day 3
Morning
We took this awesome photo of the Colosseum at night from a nearby viewing area 
We really like walking around the quieter Roman Forum area
Thanks in a big way to the awesome movie Gladiator, the Colosseum is probably Rome’s most famous tourist attraction, right? Well we’ve done it twice and while we think it’s great, we’re going to go against popular opinion here and say that we actually prefer the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to the Colosseum – when just a basic entry ticket is bought.
Why? Because a basic ticket only includes walking in a loop half way up the Colosseum, which is cool but a bit underwhelming. The best areas to see are underneath, above and in the arena itself, but they cost more (official ticket options). And the Colosseum gets overcrowded, whereas the Roman Forum is bigger, has way more ruins and is considerably less crowded.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s definitely worth doing. But manage your expectations unless you pay more to see extra areas. Both times we did the Colosseum and Roman Forum with basic tickets and an audio guide. And both times we made a mistake. We should have booked a guided walking tour like this one with access to the arena or this one with the same company we took the excellent Vatican tour.
Afternoon
This is all that’s left of the once immense Circus Maximus 
The Caracalla Baths was a surprisingly great stop to make – just look at those floor mosaics!
Exploring the Colosseum and Roman Forum took ages, so we grabbed lunch at Ristoro Della Salute before heading south to see Circus Maximus which unfortunately wasn’t as well preserved. In its heyday, this chariot racing arena once held 250,000 Romans! Then we continued southwest through the picturesque Giardini degli Aranci to gaze upon Rome from Terrazza Aventino.
Next we hopped on a scooter and took it down Via Marmorata because we wanted to see why there was a massive pyramid in a random place in Rome. It was kind of intriguing, but not worth seeing. So after that we scootered to the Caracalla Baths and paid a little extra for 4D goggles to see what the baths would once have looked like as we self toured the ruins. It was quiet, so no need to book in advance.
Had we continued further, the next stop would have been the Aurelian Walls – a well preserved section of Roman walls built in 275 AD that look just like the bar walls where Mark grew up in York, England. And after that we would have rented a bike to cycle a portion of the Appian Way, Rome’s first ancient road. (This top rated guided eBike tour goes to the walls, baths, Appian Way and catacombs.)
Instead of the walls and bike ride, we went back to Piazza Venezia and took a coach to the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian which we booked as one of three attractions included with our Go City Rome Pass. We’d never been in catacombs before so it was a new experience for us. And after the coach dropped us back off at Piazza Venezia, we finished with a delicious dinner at La locanda del tempio.
Borghese + Northeast: Day 4
Morning
Here’s Kristen walking up the Spanish Steps when it was a fairly busy 
Here’s Kristen walking up the popular shopping street Via del Corso
We know it’s unlikely you’ll do this but on our last day we woke up before first light, grabbed our cameras and quickly flashed between the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and finally the Spanish Steps to get photos of Rome’s most famous tourist spots with no people. And it worked well, except at the Spanish Steps when we had to wait ages for someone’s long selfie video shoot to end!
Then we went back to the hotel to wake up properly, before turning back around and heading up Via del Corso, Rome’s most famous shopping area. We grabbed a few tasty pistachio and chocolate croissants with coffees at The Baker of Sardinia on Via della Carrozze near the Spanish Steps, then continued up to the vast Piazza del Popolo and up a hill to the right side to Terrazza del Pincio.
Next, we walked along Via delle Magnolie and Viale Pietro Canonica into Villa Borghese, a massive 200-acre park similar to Central Park in NYC. Rome’s most popular park is home to the Temple of Aesculapius, the National Gallery of Modern Art, a zoo and the reason we’d clocked up a few thousand steps – the Borghese Gallery.
Afternoon
We made it all the way to the Borghese Gallery but couldn’t get in! 
We saw the three tenors perform with the Mandolin Orchestra on our last night
Remember when we said make sure you book the Vatican and Colosseum in advance? Well, we didn’t think it would be an issue turning up to the Borghese Gallery on a Wednesday in May. But we were so wrong! Not only is it extremely popular, but it’s also very small and they limit the amount of people allowed in at once. So of all Rome’s attractions, this is the one you must book ahead of time.
They do sell a tiny amount of last minute tickets for each time slot but you’d have to either be very lucky or time it perfectly to get one. We weren’t so lucky, which was all we deserved for not planning properly. Maybe it was all the pizza and gelato slowing our brains down! If there’s no tickets left, check to see if you can book onto a highly rated guided tour like this one which includes entry.
Anyway, what we should have done next is go to the Baths of Diocletian (National Roman Museum) but we had museum fatigue. So instead we passed through Piazza Barberini to a great Indian restaurant called Gandhi 2 (Mark’s from England and loves a good curry!). Finally, we walked up the lively Via Nazionale and ended with an impressive classical music performance at St Paul’s Within The Walls.
Tip: If you only have 2 or 3 days in Rome, or you don’t want to walk as much as we did, take a look at highly rated tour options like this one and this one that take you to most of the places we’ve covered in this guide but in just a few hours by golf cart.
We hope our 4 days in Rome itinerary helps with planning your trip!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen spent 6 years traveling the world, visiting over 40 countries across 4 continents and more than 30 US states. They created Where Are Those Morgans in 2018 to help others plan the best possible vacations by writing authentic travel and hiking guides based on their real experiences.
Since the arrival of baby Maya in late 2024, Mark and Kristen’s extensive travels have slowed down but they still take plenty of trips. Where Are Those Morgans now helps millions of travelers each year to visit new places and hike new trails through information-packed blog posts and expert travel guidebooks. Read more about Mark and Kristen.
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