3 days Rome. Regardless of whether you are in Rome for one, two, three days or longer, choose from our suggestions for your short vacation in Rome. Each suggestion is meant for half a day and can be combined with the others.
Hello, I’m Janna from Tourist in Rome. With our information and insider tips you will save a lot of time and your trip to Rome will be a great experience.
A modular program
Are you a museum muffle or do you want to visit as many attractions as possible? Here you will find program suggestions for every taste.
Choose from the program modules and quickly become an experienced visitor to Rome. Find out about the best times to visit the attractions, waiting times, travel times and how you can optimize your program according to your interests.
Read what’s going on each day of the week and our insider tips on interesting combinations.
You can combine the morning and afternoon suggestions with each other to create your own individual plan.
Program of the days of the week
Many museums in Rome are closed on Monday, and the papal audience is on Wednesday. Find out what’s going on in Rome on each weekday here.
3 days Rome · arrival day
Vom Flughafen nach Rom
Early arrival
Don’t waste time and drop off your luggage. Book your luggage storage online safely and inexpensively.
Get a quick and easy overview of the sights with a trip on the hop on hop off bus. An alternative could be to combine the transfer from the airport with a tour of Rome.
Location of the hotel
The location of your accommodation is essential for your time management during your stay in Rome.
Depending on where your accommodation is, you are either right in the middle of it or you need half an hour or more each time to get to the center and the sights.
Good locations for your accommodation are the surroundings of the Colosseum for ancient Rome, the city center for romantic walks in the center between the Spanish Steps and the Tiber and the area around the Vatican if you want to be among the first in St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums.
With Booking you can book conveniently and cheaply. You will find a very clear search with city map and real hotel reviews.
You can find more information on our hotel page.
Dinner in Rome
If you still have time until dinner, you can rest on one of the magnificent Roman squares and try a homemade ice cream.
Even though the Romans usually only go out to eat after 9 p.m., many restaurants open at 7 p.m. In Rome there is a good selection of restaurants with Roman cuisine or with offers from other Italian regions, pizzerias, pasta kitchens, wine shops, fish restaurants and grill restaurants. Rome also has numerous kebabs, Japanese and Chinese restaurants. Other countries are less represented. Browse our category Food in Rome.
After dinner, you may still want to go for a walk to enjoy life in the city.
Remember that the metro runs until 11:30 p.m. on weekdays and until 1:30 a.m. on weekends. The buses usually run until midnight. After that there is a network of night bus routes, which however does not cover the whole city.
Active in Rome
Rome is a liveable and very green city. Rome is criss-crossed by green spaces and parks, and there are many opportunities to do sports.
Read Jogging in Rome and Rome on foot. The center of Rome is not that big and if you are good on foot you can walk around the center and the archaeological area around the Colosseum.
There are also beautiful routes for cycling in Rome.
Combine our suggestions
In principle, of course, it also depends on the time for which you can get a reservation or a tour, especially at the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum.
The suggestions also include information on how to get from the end point to the start points of the other program suggestions.
Morning in Rome
Vatican
Find out how to visit the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica and the dome, or Castel Sant’Angelo in one morning and where to go for lunch afterwards. This Vatican City program in 3 hours is good for Monday, Tuesday and from Thursday to Saturday, on Wednesday only if there is no papal audience on St. Peter’s Square.
Ancient Rome
Remains of antiquity can be found everywhere in Rome. The area around the Colosseum with Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Nero’s Palace, the Domus Aurea, is combined into an archaeological park. The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill can be visited all day, but it is cooler in the morning, especially in summer. I explain the differences between the different tickets and tours. Visit the archaeological area in 3 hours.
Aventine and Testaccio
This walk is a bit off the beaten track and offers you a mix of beautiful churches, viewpoints and culinary specialties over a 4 miles distance. This proposal is better for the morning because the Testaccio market is closed in the afternoon.
It starts at Piazza Venezia and passes the Bocca della Verità to the viewpoints and the wedding churches on the Aventine. The Testaccio has a large culinary offer. A small attraction is the foreigners’ cemetery. Read the city walk through Aventine and Testaccio
Sunday morning in Castel Sant'Angelo and Angelus
On Sundays, the Vatican Museums are closed, with the exception of the last Sunday of the month. If the Pope is in Rome, he keeps the Angelus prayer on St. Peter’s Square at noon. All dates of the Angelus and the general audiences
This is a good opportunity to stroll around St. Peter’s and visit the Castel Sant’Angelo on Sunday morning>
Afternoon in Rome
City Centre - shopping, monuments and parks
Combining shopping and sightseeing is very easy in Rome. Especially when it is very hot, it is very pleasant if you can take a break in an air-conditioned shop or in a bar. How to see the center of Rome in 3 hours
Papal basilicas, pilgrimage route and catacombs of the Appia Antica
In addition to St. Peter, there are three papal basilicas in Rome. St. Paul outside the walls, in particular, is very beautiful, but little visited. How to see three Papal basilicas and the catacombs in half a day
Celian and Oppian Hill
In Italian, the two hills are called Celio and Oppio and they are among the seven hills on which Rome was founded. You should have seen the Celio and Oppio hills
Sunday afternoon Appia Antica and catacombs
When the weather is nice, the Via Appia Antica is a classic destination for a Sunday walk. Here’s how to get there, what to see, and where to eat.
3 days Rome · day of departure
If you have a late departure, you can still really enjoy Rome on the day of departure. To avoid having to carry your luggage everywhere, see Rome’s # 1 luggage storage.
Hi, I’m planning a trip from the 2nd Dec until the 6th Dec for a surprise trip for my sisters birthday, what are the queues like at this time of year??? Would I get away without purchasing skip the que tickets, thanks in advance Carol.