Hey guys, what's up? Janet here with radiant wanderings. Today we are talking
about the top five things to do in Rome. If you're new here thank you so much for
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please please please give me a big thumbs up. Alright, let's get into it. The
top five things to do in Rome.
one of our family favorites in Rome was the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill if you
go here you do get a combination ticket it's good for the Roman Forum, Palatine
Hill, and the Colosseum and it's good for two consecutive days so if you haven't
purchased tickets in advance online usually lines at the Roman Forum are
shorter if you just get to the Roman Forum early and then you won't have to
stand in the ticket line at the Colosseum the Roman Forum was wonderful
it was a beautiful day we actually downloaded the free Rick Steves audio
tour onto our phone do it beforehand because once you're there it's going to be
difficult to download and that kind of walked us through the ruins and
explained it all to us there probably are audio guides there that you could
pay for but why pay for things when you can get them for free? definitely one of the top on our list the next
thing is the Colosseum oh my goodness we loved the Colosseum if you can I highly
recommend waking up early watching the sunrise over the Colosseum before all
the crowds and crowds of people show up we did this and then we still had
time to walk across the street and kind of up these stairs to Cafe opium and we
got a chocolate croissant and cappuccino and then came back out and hopped into line we
did download the Rick Steves guide for that as well
which is great okay another family favorite in Rome was biking the Appian
Way I know it isn't high up on the list of things to
do in the tour guides but we absolutely loved it and it came out between my kids
and my husband and myself as one of the top memories if not the top so I highly
recommend it it's so cool to bike such an old road
I mean 2,000 plus years old right the road is rough know that going into it if
you're expecting this nice smooth bike ride it's not going to be that our kids
we live in Montana so they've done some mountain biking not crazy biking but a
little and that helped actually that came in quite handy if you don't like
all the bumps of the road there is pretty much for the whole way there's a
dirt path that goes right along the side of it that you could ride up but yeah
it was such a fun day we took public transportation out so it wasn't super
expensive we took the bus up out of the city you have to make a few transfers we
wanted to get off and see the catacombs along the way but
unfortunately they were both closed that day but that could be an add-on to your
day out of the city and then where they the bus drops you off there's this cafe
appia antica I think that's what the name was
I'll have it for sure linked down in the blog below anyways that was so fun we
just ate outside at the cafe and then we rented our bikes there okay and the
fourth thing I loved in Rome was walking along the Tiber River at dusk this again
you probably won't see in many tour books but was one of my fondest memories
probably because there are no lines there are no expectations
it's just stroll at your own pace. I am called Radiant Wanderings for a reason. I
love to just wander and explore we had our dog with us in Italy for a month and
so every night I would have to go down the eight flights of stairs and
take him out. It was so great because I just walked across Ponte Sant'Angelo
It's all beautifully lit and then if I turned right there were all these
street vendors. They were in tents along the river very pretty and then
there was this cafe. It wasn't open super late, but yeah you could just sit and have a glass
of wine and just enjoy the sparkling lights. Another very cool thing we did in
Rome that I highly recommend is Easter service at the Pantheon.
Now obviously most of you are not going to be in Rome for Easter, I realize this, so
if you're not there for Easter just go see the Pantheon. It's very cool and doesn't have
huge lines. I mean there are some lines, but you know, it's free. Easter service there
was great, and I know a lot of you are thinking why didn't she go to Vatican City?
I didn't care that much about seeing the Pope, and I really didn't want to be in
crowds yet again. I thought it would be more special to be in a quaint
atmosphere. Still a hugely historic building. And, I thought there'd be less
crowds at the Pantheon and boy were there less crowds. I think there were a
hundred to 150 people in total for the whole service.
It was beautiful listening to the choir singing acappella and then looking at
the big oculus and these birds just fly in and out, and the clouds were just
going by. It was a really special experience.
And, they close the doors once mass begins so any other tourists do not come
in. That's when a line forms outside. Waiting for mass to finish, so if you're
in there for mass, you have it pretty much to
yourself. Loved, loved, loved it. Okay, so those are a top five and I know
you're thinking gosh you left so much out. We did a lot of other things, but
these consistently were at the top of our favorites list as a family. Honorable
mention, there are few. St. Peter's Basilica was amazing.
The only reason that's honorable mention and not further up is just the line and
the crowds again. We didn't have advance tickets, so we actually got up early one
morning and then the line wasn't very bad. So, if you don't have anything
purchased in advance I highly recommend doing that, getting there before they
open, because once we came out the lines were so long. It was madness, just madness out
there. Crazy, crazy, crazy, but the sheer size I did not realize. It's
really cool because when you go inside the whole atrium thing has on the floor markings
where a bunch of other famous churches end size-wise and it's
unbelievable. It's massive. You will love it. Another
honorable mention is Piazza Navona. We actually stayed near this Piazza and
loved walking through it every afternoon when we were heading out. So much
life. The fountains there are gorgeous. It's a huge square because it used to be
a stadium, so there's plenty of space and you'll hear live music and there'll be
different vendors there. A guy roasting chestnuts was there, artists out
and about. So, definitely worth a stroll through. Grom is one of our favorite
gelato shops and they are on the north end so it's a great place to just snag a gelato
and stroll. Another honorable mention is the Trevi Fountain. Obviously,
you can't go to Rome and not see the Trevi Fountain. And, that's an easy one. If
you want to be there without a bunch of crowds you're going to have to get up early.
We did. We got up early a lot in Rome. And, there was nobody there. A couple
hours later ,totally different story. I mean you can make your way down to the
fountain, you can throw your coin in. It doesn't take very long. We actually
paired this with the Spanish Steps which is also on my list. We walked to the
Spanish Steps after seeing the fountain. I actually think we would have
enjoyed the Spanish Steps more later in the day. That is one where I feel like
crowds make it more exciting. just grab a panino and sit on the steps and people
watch while you eat. I think that would have been a lot of fun. We never made
it back, but that would be my recommendation. Okay, and the last
honorable mention for Rome is of course daily stops for a cappuccino, chocolate
croissants, and gelato. And, I know you're thinking that's too many calories, but I
promise you you're gonna walk them off in Rome. And, also their serving sizes
are a lot smaller than in the U.S. That is it. I hope you like these top
five. Leave comments below if you've been. If you disagree, if you agree leave that,
or if you have other suggestions for everybody. I'll see you guys next time!