While “The Eternal City” might refer to another thing, I believe it means that you can spend an inordinate amount of time in Rome and not see all the things on your bucket list. It is home to many world-famous attractions, amazing art, amazing history, delicious food, and designer boutiques. What are the top things to do in Rome You could say “Everything” and be flippant, and you wouldn’t be wrong.
We don’t always have the time or ability to do everything when we are on vacation. Most people aren’t as interested in all attractions equally. While Rome is still a great place to visit, you will have to make tough decisions when it comes time for your vacation. It’s easy to see it as this: the next time you visit Rome, you will pick up where you left off.
Although this list doesn’t cover all of the things you can do in Rome, it will give you some ideas to help plan your trip. Mixing your sightseeing is my favorite way to see Rome. I love seeing the main sights, but then adding a few off-the-wall attractions to make it more interesting. But this is your trip. My top tip is to create a prioritize list of what you want to see. Start at the top and move down.
Remember that Rome is huge. Learn before setting out. You can take a tram or bus every now and again to get your feet moving.
My Rome travel guide will help you plan your trip.
Rome’s Top Attractions
- Colosseum– The Colosseum, an ancient Roman amphitheater is one of Italy’s most famous sights.
- Forum The Roman Forum was at the heart of the once-mighty ancient Roman Empire – it was, in essence, the main street of the Roman empire.
- Pantheon The majority of ancient Rome’s ruins are now gone, but the Pantheon was in continuous use for over 2,000 years.
- Spanish Steps This grand staircase is topped with a beautiful church, making it a romantic spot in the evenings.
- Trevi Fountain– To ensure a trip back to Rome, you need to throw a coin into the Trevi fountain. So goes the legend.
- Palatine hill – The Palatine hill is the central of Rome’s seven hills. It is where legend has it that the she-wolf looked after Romulus (later the founder of Rome), and Remus.
- Capitoline Hill– This is another of Rome’s seven hills. It today boasts museums and a gorgeous piazza by Michelangelo.
- Borghese villa – This former private residence is now an art gallery with two Bernini sculptures. It is surrounded by a large and well-known garden.
- Piazza Navona This oblong piazza was once home to an ancient Roman circus.
- Trastevere neighborhood – This area retains a greater amount of its historical look than other modern areas.
- Vatican City – The world’s smallest independent country is home to some the most famous artwork in the city.
Guided Tours of Rome
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Context Travel Walking Tours to Rome -
Viator Tours to Rome -
Select Italy Tours of Rome
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Select Italy Tours of the Vatican
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Walks of Italy Tours
Rome’s Most Strange Attractions
- Cappuchin Crypt This attraction has become so popular that it’s almost considered a “top attraction”. However, I believe this series of small chapels under a church (decorated almost entirely using the bones of over 4,000 Cappuchin monks), still qualifies for “weird.”
- Largo di Torre Argentina cat sanctuary The Largo di Torre Argentina ruins are located in central Rome. Although the site was once a complex of ancient Roman temples and includes the location where Caesar is believed to have been murdered, many people today visit the no-kill shelter for cats that operates from the site.
- Museum of Purgatory This museum is dedicated only to objects that are alleged to have been marked by people beyond the grave. This is referring to Bible pages that have had hand marks carved into them.
- Criminology Museum This collection of torture devices, criminial artifacts and other criminial items was previously only available to the government. Anyone can now visit.
- Museum of the Sanitary Arts– This museum is located in a hospital and focuses on the history of healing. There are also wax models that were used in medical school instruction, and anatomical anomalies.
- Vatican Post Office It is well-known that Italy’s postal system can be slow. You can send your postcards to the Vatican post office for faster service and special Vatican-only stamps.
- Museo del Presepio Christmas is celebrated all year at Rome’s Presepio Museum. Here you can see the history of Italian craft for nativity scenes.
