A Ramble Through Rome. 2nd Italian City Day Trip

Rome, the capital city of Italy is situated in the Lazio region. It is about half way down the leg of Italy. Rome has a population of 2.8m residents, making it the 3rd most populated city in the EU. It is also the only city in the World, which has another country within its boundary – Vatican City.

Rome is known as the “City of the Seven Hills” and it is indeed quite hilly when walking around. It is also known as the “Eternal City”. Due to the Roman Empire and the Vatican – it is considered the center of western culture. 

I first visited Rome on a school tour when I was fifteen. I absolutely fell in love with the city. I credit that trip with instilling in me a love for travel and especially a love for Italy. However, I never dreamed someday I would live in Italy !

I travelled to Rome on the train from Milan which takes 3 hours and 10 minutes. Rome has two airports. Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo da Vinci) is the largest of the two. It has great transport links to the city center. Usually transatlantic flights will land here. Campino is a little closer to the city and has services to and from other European cities. Several of the lower cost European airlines operate services to and from Campino (Ryanair and Wizz Air).

If you are only in Rome for a short time, I highly recommend walking around. I have the prefect itinerary for you. I would start my day at the Parliament Building in Piazza Nationale. It’s always great to see where a government sits and the changing of the guards is worth seeing. My photograph below was taken at night as the building is often illuminated with themed colours. There are lots of lovely cafes in the small streets around this, so do stop and have breakfast before or after visiting here.

In a short walk, you can be at the Trevi Fountain. Now the fountain is always busy so don’t be surprised by the crowds. As it’s nestled in a small piazza with lots of adjoining streets, it can feel cramped and it can be hard to get the ideal photograph. However, you can’t leave Rome without seeing the Trevi Fountain as it’s extremely impressive. Legend has it that when you throw a coin over your left shoulder – you are guaranteed to return to Rome. I have done this on numerous occasions so I think it works ! 

As I struggled on a recent visit, to get a decent photograph without lots of tourists in it, I am sharing the ones below. The detail in the sculptures are amazing and I think this is evident in these.

My next suggested destination is the amazing Monument of Vittorio Emmanuel – also known as the Wedding Cake (Altar della Patria). It’s about a 15 minute walk from the Trevi Fountain. This spectacular building is right at the corner of a busy intersection on Piazza Venezia. You can get the whole building in a photograph if you stand in the middle of the third cross street facing it. I have stood there several times and think it’s the best location. The building is huge and between the giant columns and the statues it is extremely detailed. You really need to take some time to admire it. There are always several Italian flags flying in front of it. You can walk around part of the exterior and I suggest you do that, if time permits. It was a gloomy day on my last visit so next time I want the same photograph with a blue sky.

Continuing on, to the left side of the monument a short walk (18 minutes) will take you to the famous Roman Colosseum. I have seen it several times now but I still get that moment of awe when it starts appearing between the buildings (middle photograph). You can go on a tour of the interior but it’s best to book it in advance. If you can’t get a ticket, spend as much time as you can walking around the exterior. This also is an extremely difficult building to photograph. If you walk across the road up to the railing, where you will undoubtedly see other people, this is the best place to get a decent photograph. Again I am sharing partial photographs so you can see the detail.

The Roman Forum is right beside the Colosseum. You can go on an organised tour of this and you certainly learn a lot but if you don’t have time, just wander around at your own pace. You can walk down into it and explore it on your own. The detail of the buildings is just amazing given its age. I am glad, they never tried to restore it as it’s quite a unique feeling walking through such ornate ruins as they are.

If you haven’t had lunch by now, I suggest you have a meal in a nearby cafe. You have certainly earned it. In a short few hours you have seen five of Rome’s iconic sites and had a lovely ramble through the city !