Four days in Rome—If you are arriving by air

What to see and do if you arrive in Rome and have only 4 days to spend seeing the sights

Note: This is the itinerary to follow if you are arriving in Rome in the morning of "Day 1," either by air or by train. In other words, this is the "thre-eand-a-half-days" version of a four-day itinerary because you don't actually have four full days to spend here. Much of that first morning will be spent arriving, clearing customs and passport control, getting into town, and checking into your hotel.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but trust me: it all adds up to you not being ready to hit the streets until about 11am or noon. I've arrived in Rome dozens of times, and it always works out this way. Essentially, you only have lunch and the afternoon free on that first day.

With that in mind, here is a four-day itinerary for those arriving in Rome by plane or train on "Day 1." (On this separate page is the itinerary if Rome is just another stop on your journey and you genuinely have four full days to spend.)

Day 1 in Rome

MORNING: Most transatlantic flights land in Rome in the early morning (around 8am), and by the time you collect your bags, get downtown, and check into your hotel, it'll by 11am at best.

Even still, you still have plenty of time to splash your face and head out to the first postcard sight of your trip: the Roman Forum. Spend an hour or so wandering the ruins where orators once held forth, senators debated, and Julius Caesar strode the streets.

Unfortunately, there's little of the Forum left to see save some standing columns and paved pathways—it takes a lot of imagination to conjure up the city of the Caesars—but so much the better.

You can be out by 1pm and on your way past the Imperial Forums to lunch at the old-school wine bar Cavour 313.

(If the timing works out, afterwards you can pop into the nearby church of San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michelangelo's Moses, but it doesn't reopen for the afternoon until 3:30pm, or 3pm in winter. If you do work it in, tit means you are running a bit late, so don't spend more than 15 minutes in here.)

AFTERNOON: Next, pay a visit to the Colosseum. You just kind of look at it, take a peek inside at the floor plan, and you're done (save time in the often long lines by booking your entry ahead).

If you manage to get out of the Colosseum by 4pm, you're in good shape and have time for both of the next sights. If it's closer to 5pm, you only have time for one, so pick.

1. Walk around the back of the Colosseum and a few long blocks southeast along Via San Giovanni in Laterano to tour the church of San Clemente, with medieval mosaics glittering in the apse, Renaissance frescoes in the chapels, and a door off the gift shop leading down to the first of several basements that provide an unparalleled tour through Rome's layer cake of history: below the current, medieval church is a 4th century church, and below that is a pagan temple to Mithras and the remains of several ancient Roman buildings, streets, and the splashing waters of a still-functioning aqueduct (go ahead and fill your water bottle; the water is clean, cold, and delicious).
   
   
2. Catch bus 60 to head back up Via dei Fori Imperiali to Piazza Venezia (2 stops), at the north end of the Forum. Nearby is the elevated square Piazza del Campidoglio, where the Capitoline Museums will entertain you with ancient sculptures and Renaissance and baroque paintings until 7pm.

EVENING: Make sure that before sunset you nip around the back of the right side of the central building on Piazza del Campidoglio where you're treated to a surprise panorama of the Forum from above, with the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum as a backdrop.

Have dinner in the Old City tonight.

Day 2 in Rome

MORNING: Yesterday was all about ancient Rome; today it's time for Christian Rome. Be up bright and early so that you beat the legions of tour buses to the grandiose church of St. Peter's Basilica, which opens at 7am.

See Michelangelo's Pietà and the other amazing sights inside, and tour the tombs of popes under the basilica before climbing its dome (opens at 8am) for a panoramic sweep of the city across the river.

By 9am, have exited the church, turned left under the start of the colonnade surrounding St. Peter's Square out front, and be walking around the Vatican walls to get to the entrance to the world-famous Vatican Museums, which open at 9am.

Spend the rest of the morning amid its artistic wonders: the Pinacoteca painting gallery with Raphael's Transfiguration and Caravaggio's Deposition; the Raphael Rooms; the famous antiquities of the Pio Clementino Museum; and Michelangelo's incomparable Sistine Chapel ceiling.

AFTERNOON: By early afternoon, start making your way south toward the the medieval Trastevere district (I suggest walking, and pausing at Da Giovanni for lunch along the way).

As you get into Trastevere on Via della Lungara, you'll pass the Galleria d'Arte Antica-Palazzo Corsini on the right (fine Old Masters paintings... though if you're all art-ed out after the Vatican, I won't tell anyone you skipped it), and the amazing Villa Farnesina on the left (well worth 30 minutes of your time).

In Trastevere proper, make the rounds of its famous churches, including Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and Santa Maria in Trastevere.

EVENING: Otherwise, just wander the tangle of cobblestone alleyways before finding a trattoria for dinner—shouldn't be hard; Trastevere has the highest concentrations of restaurants in Rome.

Day 3 in Rome

MORNING: Spend the day exploring the heart of the city, the Tiber Bend area, the Tridente/Spanish Steps, and Villa Borghese park.

Just north of the gracious, fountain-studded Piazza Navona, sits the frescoed Renaissance villa of the Palazzo Altemps, now housing a gaggle of fabulous antiquities as a branch of the Museo Nazionale Romano.

Heading south past the church of Sant'Agostino (works by Caravaggio and Raphael inside) and San Luigi de Francesi (more great Caravaggios) you come to the courtyard hiding the curly-cue dome atop Sant'Ivo.

Walk through the courtyard, past the church, and out the east side of the building to Piazza Sant'Eustachio, home to the most famous cappuccino in Rome at the Caffé Sant'Eustachio.

Just a bit farther east is the noble Pantheon, the only ancient Roman temple to survive the millennia virtually intact and one of the best sights in all of Rome (if you skip everything else on this day, at least see the Pantheon).

The area around the Pantheon is the best spot in Rome for ice cream fans, so don't forget to try some gelato (Italian ice cream) in between the sights (gotta keep your strength up, after all).

Just south of the Pantheon, on the piazza with the Bernini statue of an elephant carrying a tiny obelisk on its back, rises Santa Maria sopra Minerva, a gothic church decorated by Michelangelo and Filippino Lippi.

This is a good time—and a good area—for some lunch—perhaps at Enoteca Corsi.

AFTERNOON: After lunch, perhaps pop into the formerly private art collection in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj before heading north, past the baroque optical illusions in the church of Sant'Ignazio and the ancient Roman Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Across Via del Corso to the left is Largo Chigi, where you can grab bus 52 or 53 to the Pinciana/Museo Borghese stop (8 stops; you'll see a park across the street called the Villa Borghese).

Enter the park and take the first path on your right (Viale di Museo Borghese) to get to the Galleria Borghese by 3pm (TIP: you will need to purchase tickets in advance for this; see the "Before You Leave" sidebar at the end of this itinerary). Tour its collections of amazing early Bernini sculptures and Raphael and Caravaggio paintings until the museum closes at 5pm.

Make your way through the Villa Borghese park to the top of the lively Spanish Steps. Mingle for a while, then window shop down fashionable Via dei Condotti and the surrounding streets.

If you make it all the way north to Piazza del Popolo before the fabulous church of Santa Maria del Popolo at the far end of the square closes (works by Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bernini inside), so much the better.

EVENING: By the time you get to the Corso, one of Rome's main drags, the evening passeggiata see-and-be-seen stroll will be in full swing and you can strut your stuff with the Romans until it's time for a hearty and well-deserved dinner in the Old City.

Day 4 in Rome

Actually, spend Day 4 out of Rome. Pick whichever Rome sidetrip most appeals to you, and get out of the big city for the day.

My suggestion? I would go for Ostia Antica, the ghost town–like ruins of Rome's ancient seaport city—a bit like Pompeii, but without nearly the crowds (or travel time; it's only a 50-minute ride away on a local light rail line; you get there on a single Metro ticket).

A close second would be Tivoli, with its amazing ruins of Emperor Hadrian's villa paired with Renaissance-era villas and their spectacular gardens.

Then there is Frascati and the Castelli Romani wine villages south of the city. Or the Lazio Lakes to the north.

Or, if you are really hot to see Pompeii and don't have a lot of vacation time, you can actually do that in a single (long) day from Rome—though don't try to do it on your own.

Take a shuttle service at least (faster, less confusing, and actually cheaper than the trains), and seriously consider an escorted minvan tour, which will pack in much more than you could possibly see on your own (including not just Pompeii, but Mt. Vesuvius and the Archaeological Museum in Naples where they keep much of the best stuff from Pompeii) and—once you factor in admission prices and all—costs roughly the same as it would cost to do it yourself, plus you get a professional guide and lunch. Sweet.

After you return to Rome, have a nice, late, celebratory dinner.

Before you turn in for the night, be sure you stroll to the famous Trevi Fountain, into which it is tradition to toss a few coins in order to ensure that, one day, you'll return to the Eternal City.

Before you leave home:
 Book plane tickets
 Book hotels
 Check train times
 Book entry tickets:
  Definitely: Galleria Borghese
  Recommended: Colosseum, Vatican
 Practice your Italian

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