Best Things to Do in Rome: 15 Experiences Worth Booking

The shortlist of Rome experiences is long, but the list worth paying for is short. Booking strategy matters more than budget: two or three timed-entry bookings done early beat a dozen half-planned visits.

The big three: book these first

1. Colosseum arena and underground - the skip-the-line tour that turns a queue into an experience
2. Vatican Museums with a timed slot - the Sistine Chapel ends the route, save your legs
3. Pantheon interior - now a 5 EUR timed ticket rather than a walk-through

Ancient and monumental

• Roman Forum and Palatine Hill - the combined ticket with the Colosseum spans two days
• Ostia Antica - an easy train and an often-empty ancient port city
• Capuchin Crypt - bone-decorated chapels, strange and unforgettable
• Baths of Caracalla - vast Roman ruins with far fewer crowds than the Forum

Baroque and cinematic

• Trevi Fountain at breakfast time, when it is still possible to stand at the rail
• Piazza Navona at dusk - fountains, street artists and the late Roman light
• The Spanish Steps, watched from the rooftop cafés on the left at golden hour
• The Pantheon's oculus beam on a clear morning is the show the building designs itself

Food and neighbourhood life

• Trastevere for the city's best trattoria street, after 8pm for the real energy
• The Jewish Ghetto for carciofi alla giudia - the fried artichoke that is pure Rome
• Campo de' Fiori market in the morning, when the stalls take over the piazza
• A proper Roman carbonara - the no-cream version, from one of the famous two or three addresses

Value for money choices

• First Sunday of the month: free entry to state museums, including the Colosseum - arrive early
• Evening tours of the Colosseum and catacombs cost a little more and skip the heat
• The view from St Peter's dome costs about 10 EUR and beats every paid viewpoint in the city

Experiences we feature in Rome

History

Roman Forum and Colosseum Tour

3 hours

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