Favorites of Rome

In just a few short days, I will be leaving Rome after a six-week stay in the Eternal City. Last summer, I spent just as long here. Between the two summers combined, I’ve had quite a bit of time to explore all of the best things that this beautiful city has to offer. Between amazing restaurants, interesting sights, lively nightlife, and more, I’ve experienced so much of this city and still feel like there’s so much left unseen. That said, as I prepare to leave, I have been thinking about all of my favorite things in this city – that’s what this two-part post will be dedicated to.

Disclaimer: I no longer have access to the USB cord for my camera, so until I can update it later, this will just be text.

Sightseeing

The more obvious ones

St. Peter’s Basilica/Sistine Chapel/Vatican Museums

Especially if you’ve never been before, it’s best to set an entire day aside to see these. The wait to enter the museums and Basilica when I went was over three hours long. The skip-the-line pass I bought for 20€ that let me in within 15 minutes (for a security screening) was well worth it.

Roman Forum & Collosseum

I actually didn’t go inside either of these places, because like other major tourist sites in Rome, the lines are crazy long. Both this summer and last, my program coordinators organized a guided tour around the area to learn the history of these sites. Going inside the Collosseum is definitely still on my bucket list, as is the underground tour.

Trevi Fountain

It’s finally no longer under construction! For over a year, restorations were being done to this beautiful, larger than life fountain. It pained me when in summer 2015, I had to throw my coin over a clear construction wall instead of directly into the fountain. But hey, my wish still worked because I returned to Rome this year - and my wish came true! ;)

Piazza Navona & Pantheon

I didn’t spend too much time here – I walked around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon for no more than ten minutes on both occasions that I visited. Luckily, I still have a free day and a half in Rome, so Piazza Navona may just get another visit from me.

Spanish Steps

Although the Trevi Fountain is accessible to the public once again, the Spanish Steps unfortunately have replaced them as Rome’s latest construction project. As of now, the Steps are closed for restoration and cleaning and hidden behind a clear construction panel. The area is still beautiful, plus busy and bustling as ever, and worth a visit. There’s also great shopping near here!

Hidden Gems

Baths of Caracalla

This ones just a short walk from the Circo Massimo metro station. The ruins of an ancient Roman bath, you can visit where Romans used to hang out and socialize back in the day. It’s incredible to see just how large some of these structures were. Plus, there aren’t too many tourists here, so it’s an extremely tranquil way to spend an afternoon. The underground displays were some of my favorite here.

Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli

Although it’s by no means a small church, this one definitely doesn’t pop up on any top-ten things to do in Rome lists. I found this one while wandering around Piazza Repubblica with my boyfriend and his mom, just across the street from where our hotel was located. It’s very plain on the outside, but the inside is absolutely gorgeous (pictures coming soon!)

Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio

Another small and beautiful church, Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio has an interesting story and feature to it. I’ll be posting photos soon that will show exactly what I’m talking about, but the dome of this church is actually an optical illusion created by the paint. I never would have known if someone hadn’t pointed it out to me!

Villa Borghese

This one is less hidden – it’s one of the largest parks in Rome and located very close to Piazza del Popolo. Despite this being a large, beautiful attraction, there was hardly anyone there! I would recommend going on a warm day in the early morning or late afternoon, as it’s extremely overwhelming at high noon on a Roman summer day.

Nightlife

I’ll admit that for the most part, I tended to stray towards more American bars and clubs during my time in Rome.

Anywhere in Campo dei Fiori you can find a place to sit down and grab a drink, and English speakers can be found all over this area. Most nights here started at The Drunken Ship, where you can buy cocktails by the pitcher and there’s a beer pong table in the back. At one point in 2015, I found a little caffe that served delicious frozen drinks like banana daquiris and strawberry margaritas, but was unable to find it again when I tried again this year.

While these were popular with the rest of my group, my personal favorites include: Scholar’s Lounge (not too far from Campo dei Fiori), which is an Irish Pub style bar with a separate room for a DJ and dancing meaning that you have the choice between sitting down to enjoy a drink or getting on the dancefloor; Coyote Bar in Testaccio, a multi-room bar and club that plays amazing music and has an extensive drink list; and Highlander Pub, not too far from the Spanish Steps – it’s the perfect place to have a casual drink, or on busier nice, take advantage of the cover charge that allows you to gain drink specials for an hour and then gain free entry to another club that they take you shortly after happy hour ends.

This is just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to Rome – there are so many things to do and see in this beautiful city, and I’m sure I even missed naming a few of the things that I enjoyed seeing and doing here. In a few days, I’ll post a part two dedicated to all of my favorite eats in this city, plus a reflection on the experience overall. Photos from my Canon will be posted as soon as I get access to a USB cord again (which I was silly and forgot to pack, oops).