Two Days in Rome—If you are arriving by air

What to see and do if you arrive in Rome and have only two days to spend seeing the sights

Tourist info:
www.turismoroma.it
City museums:
www.museiincomuneroma.it
Ancient sites:
archeoroma.beniculturali.it

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Note: This is the itinerary to follow if you are arriving in Rome in the morning of "Day 1," either by air or by train. In other words, this is the "day-and a-half" version of a two-day itinerary because you don't actually have two full days to spend here. Much of that first morning will be spent arriving, clearing customs and passport control, getting into town, and checking into your hotel.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but trust me: it all adds up to you not being ready to hit the streets until about 11am or noon. I've arrived in Rome dozens of times, and it always works out this way. Essentially, you only have lunch and the afternoon free on that first day.

With that in mind, here is a two-day itinerary for those arriving in Rome by plane or train on "Day 1." (On this separate page is the itinerary if Rome is just another stop on your journey and you genuinely have two full days to spend.)

Day 1 in Rome

Most transatlantic flights land in Rome in the early morning (around 8am), and by the time you collect your bags, get downtown, and check into your hotel, it'll by 11am at best.

The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum.Take a tour
If you prefer an expert guide for your sightseeing, here are some walking tours from our partners at Viator.com that cover many of the sights featured on Day 1:

• Private Tour: Imperial Rome Art History Walking Tour
• Skip the Line: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour
• Private Tour: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Art History Walking Tour
• Ancient Rome Half-Day Walking Tour
• Capitoline Museums and Origins of Rome Walking Tour
• Private Tour: Ancient Roman Art History Walking Tour
• Imperial Rome Afternoon Tour
Even still, you still have plenty of time to splash your face and head out to the first postcard sight of your trip: the Roman Forum. Spend an hour or so wandering the ruins where orators once held forth, senators debated, and Julius Caesar strode the streets.

Unfortunately, there's little of the Forum left to see save some standing columns and paved pathways—it takes a lot of imagination to conjure up the city of the Caesars—but so much the better. You can be out by 1pm and on your way past the Imperial Forums to lunch at the old-school wine bar Cavour 313.

(If the timing works out, afterwards you can continue continue up Via Cavour a few blocks and climb up the steps of a tunnel-like street on the right to the tiny piazza hiding the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, home to Michelangelo's Moses, but it doesn't reopen for the afternoon until 3:30pm, or 3pm in winter. If you do work it in, it means you are running a bit late, so don't spend more than 15 minutes in here.)

Next, pay a visit to the Colosseum. You just kind of look at it, take a peek inside at the floor plan, and you're done (save time in the often long lines by booking your entry ahead).

If you manage to get out of the Colosseum by 4pm, you're in good shape and have time for both of the next sights. If it's closer to 5pm, you only have time for one, so pick.

  1. Walk around the back of the Colosseum and a few long blocks southeast along Via San Giovanni in Laterano to tour the church of San Clemente, with medieval mosaics glittering in the apse, Renaissance frescoes in the chapels, and a door off the gift shop leading down to the first of several basements that provide an unparalleled tour through Rome's layer cake of history: below the current, medieval church is a 4th century church, and below that is a pagan temple to Mithras and the remains of several ancient Roman buildings, streets, and the splashing waters of a still-functioning aqueduct (go ahead and fill your water bottle; the water is clean, cold, and delicious).

  2. Catch bus 60 to head back up Via dei Fori Imperiali to Piazza Venezia (2 stops), at the north end of the Forum. Nearby is the elevated square Piazza del Campidoglio, where the Capitoline Museums will entertain you with ancient sculptures and Renaissance and baroque paintings until 7pm.

Make sure that before sunset you nip around the back of the right side of the central building on Piazza del Campidoglio where you're treated to a surprise panorama of the Forum from above, with the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum as a backdrop. Have dinner in the Old City tonight.

Day 2 in Rome

The Sistine Chapel cieling
The Sistine Chapel cieling.Take a tour
If you prefer an expert guide for your sightseeing, here are some walking tours from our partners at Viator.com that cover many of the sights featured on Day 2:

Morning at the Vatican/St. Peters:
• Skip the Line: Vatican in One Day
• Private Tour: Vatican Museums and St Peter's Art History Walking Tour
• Skip the Line: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, & St Peter's Half-Day Tour
• Skip the Line: Vatican Museums Walking Tour including Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms and St Peter's
• Skip the Line: Vatican Museums Tickets
• Private Viewing of the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums
• Private Tour: Vatican Museums Tour
• Skip the Line: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Tour

Afternoon in the Tiber Bend:
• Best of Rome Afternoon Walking Tour
• Rome Photography Walking Tour: Learn How to Take Professional Photos
• Baroque Rome Small Group Day Tour
This morning we spend on the other side of the river from the bulk of old Rome. Be up bright and early so that you beat the legions of tour buses to the grandiose church of St. Peter's Basilica, which opens at 7am.

See Michelangelo's Pietà and the other amazing sights inside, and tour the tombs of popes under the basilica before climbing its dome (opens at 8am) for a panoramic sweep of the city across the river.

By 8:45am, have exited the church, turned left under the start of the colonnade surrounding St. Peter's Square out front, and be walking around the Vatican walls to get to the entrance to the world-famous Vatican Museums, which open at 9am.

You'll have time only for the highlights of its artistic wonders: the Pinacoteca painting gallery with Raphael's Transfiguration and Caravaggio's Deposition, the Raphael Rooms, and Michelangelo's incomparable Sistine Chapel ceiling.

The Pantheon
The Pantheon.By 11am, head out of the galleries and back across the River to spend the afternoon in the Tiber Bend area of the old city. After a quick bite, pay homage to the ancient Pantheon—the only ancient Roman temple to have survived the centuries intact—and the nearby church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, with its Michelangelo Risen Christ statue and Filippo Lippi frescoes.

Head to Rome's prettiest square, Piazza Navona. Station yourself at Tre Scalini's outdoor cafe tables to enjoy their famous tartufo dessert while watching children play soccer under the shadow of Bernini's fountains. If you have the energy or interest, you might squeeze in a visit to San Luigi dei Francesi (just off the piazza's east side) for its Caravaggio paintings, and/or the ancient Roman collections in the gorgeous Palazzo Altemps just off the north end of Piazza Navona.

Make your way over to the lively Spanish Steps. Mingle for a while, then window shop down fashionable Via dei Condotti and the surrounding streets. By the time you get to the Corso, one of Rome's main drags, the evening passeggiata stroll will be in full swing and you can strut your stuff with the Romans until it's time for a hearty and well-deserved dinner.

Before you turn in for the night, be sure you stroll to the famous Trevi Fountain, into which it is tradition to toss a few coins in order to ensure that, one day, you'll return to the Eternal City.

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This material was last updated December 2010. All information was accurate at the time.

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