Rome in a Day - Catheryn Grivna

Rome in a Day #RomeTravelGuide #ItalyTravel

Rome wasn’t built in a day and it certainly wasn’t seen in a day. Due to a passport issue, we only had 24 hours to spend in the Eternal City. Regardless of time, we managed to see a lot in one day and we walked almost 10 miles!

Disclaimer: We didn’t book any guided tours and didn’t visit some of the main attractions, so if you are looking for tips on The Vatican or something like that, this probably isn’t the travel guide for you.

We landed in Rome around 8:00 AM and made our way through customs pretty quickly. We took a taxi to our hotel, The St. Regis, and freshened up a bit before hitting the town. The St. Regis is a luxury hotel located in the heart of Rome and is within minutes of several popular attractions like the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. I was really happy with where we stayed, and I would definitely recommend this hotel if you are traveling to Rome.

Since we were so close, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain for our first stop of the day. We got there around 10:30 AM, and it was already packed with tourists! I would recommend going before 8 AM if you can. We didn’t spend a ton of time here since there isn’t much to do other than see the fountain. You could definitely knock this out within 20-30 minutes.

Our next stop in Rome was the Colosseum. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from the Trevi Fountain. There are some interesting ruins you will see along the way, so you might want to stop and take a few pictures on the walk over. We didn’t actually go inside the Colosseum since we were short on time, but it was fascinating to see from the outside. It is much larger than I ever imagined it to be. Pro Tip: If you want a nice photo with the Colosseum, head to Via Nicola Salvi, the street directly behind the Colosseum. There will be less people in that area. There is a long brick wall you can stand or sit on to get a nice picture.

Two Weeks in Italy #Italy #ItalyTravelGuide

We were starting to get hungry, so we walked another 20-30 minutes over to the Trastevere neighborhood. From my research, I learned that this was the “foodie” neighborhood and the best place to eat in Rome. Trastevere also has much more charm and boasts more of a small town feel. Needless to say, this sounded like the perfect place to explore.

After walking around Trastevere and taking a few pictures, we started looking around for a good place to eat lunch. We ended up stumbling upon Il Comparone. All we knew was that we wanted pasta and an outdoor patio, and this restaurant checked both of those boxes. We ordered a caprese salad as an appetizer and ordered the gnocchi as our entrée. The portion of gnocchi was ENORMOUS, and it could have split it between two or three people. We thought the portions would be smaller in Italy, but it definitely wasn’t the case for this restaurant! Overall, we enjoyed our lunch and had a relaxing time sitting outside. It wasn’t our favorite meal in Italy, but it hit the spot. Tip: A lot of restaurants in Trastevere didn’t serve lunch until 12:30/1:00 PM, so keep that in mind when planning out your meals.

We walked around Trastevere a little bit more before making our way over to the Pantheon. We were going to go inside the Pantheon, but the line was extremely long to get in. It is a free attraction, but I guess they still like to limit the number of people who can go inside. Regardless, it was still interesting to observe from the outside.

Our next stop was Piazza Navona, as it is just a couple blocks from the Pantheon. If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t too impressed with this area. I didn’t think there was much to it and the restaurants in this area seemed really touristy. We sat down to get a glass of wine (mainly so we could use the restroom), and the waiter was extremely rude. I would definitely skip Piazza Navona if you are visiting Rome. Again, there is nothing interesting to see over here and the food is unauthentic.

We were feeling a little defeated after visiting the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, so we decided to do something we knew we would like. During my research, I found this fancy rooftop cocktail bar at Eitch Borromini. We were planing to visit this bar if we had time, so we ended up making this our next stop.

I’m so glad we went this cocktail bar because the views were incredible and it wasn’t crowded. Granted, the cocktails were over $30 a person, but like I said, “When in Rome?!” To be fair, the cocktails were so delicious and each one was made to order. We sat on the rooftop for an hour or so and soaked in the amazing views of Rome and The Vatican City. If you are looking for a fancy place to drink in Rome, look no further than Eitch Borromini.

After our amazing aperitivo, we walked back to Trastevere to explore a bit more and get dinner. We discovered a few new streets in Trastevere that night, and the area seemed a little more lively at this time of day. I think more people come over to Trastevere at night after a long day of tours in Rome.

We had reservations at Spirito DiVino for dinner, and we ended up going a little bit earlier (7 PM) since we were tired from all our travels. This restaurant served traditional Roman food and had a good selection of Italian wines. The staff were very friendly and lively throughout the meal. They definitely made us feel right at home. We both enjoyed our meal, and the table wine (house wine) was delicious. They even sent us home with a bottle of their house wine!

The best part about Spirito DiVino is the wine cellar in the basement. The wine cellar pre-dates the Colosseum, and I thought it was so unique to see something like that. For me, this was the best experience of the day, mostly because of how much I appreciate wine and its origins. Even if you aren’t a big fan of wine, it’s still a great restaurant to experience.

After dining at Spirito DiVino, we made the trek back to the hotel. It was was a rather long walk back(45+ minutes), but we wanted to burn off some calories from dinner! We probably would have stayed out later, but we were so tired after our long flight the night before.

Overall, we had a successful day in Rome, trying to explore as much as we possibly could. I’m happy with what we did, and I appreciated not having any set plans. If you are visiting Rome for a few days, I would try to make your first day and a little more relaxed like this. Tours are great and all, but the best way to see a city to is to simply walk around and get lost.

If you are need of other travel resources for Italy, check out my other posts linked below.

As always, let me know if you have any questions about our time in Rome (or Italy in general)!