When I thought about Rome, good food, culture, wine and historic buildings came to mind. After having spent 3 nights in Rome I could conclude that my expectations were correct although there were still some surprises.
3 nights in Rome in late July / early August
The first thing I noticed when we flew to Rome on July 31st and got out of the airport was the temperature. Okay, we had had a hot summer in Finland as well but it was warmer here and walking 20 000 steps around the city in this heat was a bit of a challenge.
But do not get me wrong, I like hot weather. In fact I am better in warmer than in colder temperatures. So for our 12-day trip I was quite thankful for the heat (okay, okay, a bit uncomfortable at times when it was so hot and we had been walking around all day and then went sweaty to eat at a restaurant).
Staying 3 nights in Rome in early August also meant a lot of other tourists. Needless to say all the main attractions were very busy with people wandering around and people offering a ‘skip the line’ tour. Nevertheless I was happy to finally be one of them! 🙂
Overall we had a good stay at a small B&B near the train station with a great host called Delai. My boyfriend whom I was travelling with noticed all the trophies in the hall and turns out the hotel owner was a former Italian champion in an Unreal Tournament 2003 (e-sports).
Visiting the main attractions in Rome
First when we got to Rome I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of sights to see in Rome – and we had only 3 nights in Rome! Staying a bit longer would definitely not have hurt but we still had a nice three night stay in the capital of Italy.
We ended up taking a tour with Fun Tours of Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Forum Romanum for 30 euros (another company cost 36).
The guides were nice and helpful.
It is also common to visit the Vatican when in Rome but we went there and saw the line that looked that it would never end and decided that it will be for another time. At least for me, my boyfriend had been to Rome before. 🙂
The same goes for the Mouth of Truth that had a long line but as we stayed for such a short while in Rome we saw it but did not have time to see if our hands would get cut off or not.
I always love to visit art museums and exhibitions so it was clear from the beginning that we would do this as well during this trip. So I googled reviews of art museums in Rome and ended up in Galleria Corsini and Barberini. Galleria Corsini was quite small but you bought a combined ticket for the Palazzo Barberini, which was much bigger and more impressive (and with better air con)!
And of course we visited the Spanish Steps and Fontana di Trevi. Both places packed with people trying to get the best pictures and guys selling selfie sticks and various other blinking toys.
Walking around Rome
As I stated earlier we walked around a lot. I believe it is the best way to get the right feeling of a city.
One thing that is great with Rome is that they have water stations around the city. This way you can fill up your water bottle always when you see the running water.
The buildings of Rome are very light coloured and you can almost feel the history of the buildings.
Of course, visiting the ruins is different as the buildings were once grand and beautiful but now due to earthquakes and other historic reasons not as grand anymore.
Eating in Rome
One of the main reasons to go to Italy is the cuisine. Pasta, pizza, gelato – ah, so good!
On Instagram I put a poll on my story to get tips for the places I was going to visit. My friend Niklas tipped me about a place that sold pasta for only 4 euros near the Spanish Steps! Great tip – thanks again!
Even though I could have spent more time in there our 3 nights in Rome were quite enough in the end and we got to see a lot (and I have the blisters on my feet to prove it…). I was impressed with all the buildings and the vibrant capital city. One thing I noticed that there was a lot of trash on the streets…
The next stop on our 11 night and 12 day trip from Rome to Nice was Pisa!
