Rome isn't built in 1 day 

Everyone should visit 'The Eternal City' at least once in their life. Rome is truly a special place. It is a city steeped in layers and layers of history and is popularly referred to as 'The Eternal City'. We love these kinds of places. Rome is simply a large open-air museum with beautiful architecture on every corner, breathtaking cathedrals, fountains, squares and nice terraces. It is certainly also a child-friendly city; because Rome is a gentle city and treats tourists and, in particular, children with kindness and respect. Everyone should visit ancient Rome at least once in their life. We could easily wander around Rome for days, but we had only 3 full days. So, we had to make some choices. 

Here is our itinerary ⬇️

Day 1: Napels-Rome; traveling by train is very easy in Italy, we used this platform for comparing and buying tickets for train and bus. From Termini Train Station Rome, we took a  taxi to Travestere. 

We checked in at IFlat for 3 nights; a very lovely apartment in Travestere. 

Today we visited: Colosseum, Via dei Fort Imperiali, Roman Forum, Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, Piazza Venezia & Trevi Fountain. 

Day 2: Rome Sightseeing

Today we visited: Vatican City, by citybus to Spanish Stairs,  and the Pantheon. Walking route back, via Ponte Garibaldi to Travestere.

Tickets: skip the (enormous) line for Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums. 

Or whole Vatican package: The Vatican City Pass (included: Skip The Line, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, Dome climb, guided tour, headset, Rome audio tour and 10% discount on the next attraction of your choice).

From here we hopped on a city bus, Rome City Tour, and toured the city. 

The 'Go City' Rome Explorer pass is also very recommended, especially because you can purchase it in advance and you don't have to think about it anymore once you have arrived at your destination (stress release ;-) .... And the Go City Rome Explorer pass saves you up to 50% on top attractions, tours and activities! Very easy, pick the pass that suits your trip, download the pass to you phone with the app, and just show your pass at each attraction and you're in! 

Day 3: Rome sightseeing

We visited: the Colosseum (inside), Circus Maximus, Aventine Hill, Giardino Degli Aranci, and Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. 

Day 1

We traveled from Napels to Rome by train which took less than one hour. We checked in at IFlat for 3 nights; beautiful apartment in the Trastevere neighbourhood (very lovely area with good restaurants). We went by taxi to the city center and visited Colosseum (we didn't go inside yet, read below why *budgettip!). We had dinner in a restaurant in one of the narrow streets around the colosseum and walked from there via Piazza Venezia to the Trevi Fountain and visited along the way Via dei Fort Imperiali, Roman Forum and Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. Call it a first day. 

Day 2

We started the day with a healthy breakfast and then we went to Vatican City. It was very busy on the square and there was already a long queue at the ticket office of the chapel and the museums. 

NB: Vatican City is free to enter, allowing you to stroll across St. Peter's Square and inside St. Peter's Basilica. However, if you want to see the Vatican's hotspots: the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums, you will have to pay around 15 Euros. Make sure you make a prebooking for this, so you can skip the (enormous) line! 

We visited the St. Peters' Basilica and from here, we hopped on a city bus, Rome City Tour, and toured the city. We got off at the Spanish Stairs and walked further to the Pantheon. From there we walked all the way back over Ponte Garibaldi (crossing the Tiber River) to our apartment, eating at Travestere along the way.

Day 3

Today is Sunday and that means you can visit the Colosseum for free. So that's what we did. There was quite a long line at the box office (you have to queue to get the free tickets), but it went quite quickly. The inside of the Colosseum is simply beautiful and you can hardly believe it was built so long ago. After a long visit (we couldn't get enough) we started walking towards the highest point in Rome, the 'Aventine Hill'. Since we got tired on the way, we decided to get an electric scooter, which was a lot of fun.

Budget tip: visit the Colosseum on Sunday as it is free on that day.

The exact route from Colosseum is: start at the Arch of Constantine, walk around the Circus Maximus and up past Romez rose garden. Once arrived on the Aventine Hill, we first walked through the Giardino Degli Aranci, a beautiful garden full of orange trees with a beautiful view of Rome. Really an enchanting view!

From here, we walked a little further up the hill and we arrived at the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, a square named after the Grand Priory of the Maltese Knightly Order. These knights form one of the oldest existing chivalric orders with sovereign status, without significant territory of their own, except for small plots of land such as here in Rome.

And there, on the north side of the square, we saw it (and the que lined up ;) "The door of that priory with the famous keyhole of the Aventine Hill". We stood in line and saw the people in front of us looking through the keyhole one by one... exciting and so curious about what we were going to see... 

Finally, it's our turn, and we squeeze one eye and take turns sliding the other eye through the keyhole. What we are seeing now is the point where three countries are coming at once: Rome, Vatican City and the territory of the Maltese Knights of the Order of Malta. But what we mainly see is the most beautiful view of St. Peter's in a miniature version. Brilliantly done!

We had a fantastic stay in Rome, enjoyed all the sights, the food, the terraces, the delicious ice cream and our apartment in Travestere.