A detailed itinerary to have to plan one week in Rome, see the best of the city – know and lesser know sites, travel tips and insider recommendations by a local.
Rome is like treasure trove, an incredible collection of gems that keeps rewarding those who take the time to look though its shining depths and look beyond the most shiny items on top.
The city has many wonders.
Some have already been discovered, and make up the dreaded list of ‘top sites‘ mass tourism flocks too; many more are constantly coming up to the surface, both in the form of new discoveries and in that of new opening of attractions ancient and new.
All this means that if you have one week in Rome, you do not need to worry about boredom!
The city has infinite ways to see you busy and actually gives its best to those who don’t rush through it thinking they can ‘do it’ in two days.
I am from Rome and today I want to show you how you can spend one week in Rome, see the most of the city and live a truly roman, authentic experience.
I have paid out this guide as a day by day itinerary so that attractions and ‘fee’ of each day makes the best sense. For each place, I have included links to my free guides on this site and facts, so you have all the info you need to go deeper in enjoying and understanding the city.
I hope you enjoy it! Don’t forget to use the top menu on this page to also find my restaurant (where to eat) and accommodation (where to stay) recommendations.
Good to know! If you have kids, you can easily include fun things for them on each of these days. For the big attractions such as Colosseum and Vatican Museum, I recommend you engage a kids’ tour guide, while for the other days, you can use this website to find local parks close to top attractions and kids’ attractions to break up sightseeing.
Day 1 – Historic Center (Centro Storico)
I like to star a week in Rome with a walk around the most famous and iconic part of the city: the historic center (centro storico) and specifically the area of the Rome Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Campo de’ Fiori.
This area is the part of Rome that feels the most like an open air museum.
Here you have some of Rome’s most famous piazzas, some of Rome’s most beautiful churches, statues, cobbled streets and a large ant of museums, shops and restaurants to suit all tastes and needs.
Rome’s Centro storico is itself and endless wonder so, in reality, you could literally spend a week here and not cover all there is to see.
However, for a first day of a first visit, there are some top sites that make sense as a first encounter with the city.
You can find here >>> my self guided recommended walking tour of Rome city center that covers Rome’s center top sites.
Food recommendations: the city center has restaurants every few steps and you’ll never be short of good food finds here. Places I specifically recommend are:
- Grappolo d’Oro – proper, sit down meal
- Pandali – gluten free, quick sit down lunch place
- Enoteca Corsi – very typical, home made food type of place (lunch especially)
- La Ciambella – upscale yet cozy dinner place
- Alice Pizza – quick take out / sit down pizza by the slice
Good to know! If you love food, I have a self guided food tour of this area you may want to either follow or use as list od recommended addresses to snack on the go!
Day 2 – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Monti
The Colosseum sits at the edge of the so called centro storico, in between three stunning and very roman neighborhoods: Monti, Celio and Esquilino.
Many tourists come to see the Colosseum and leave, so you may think this area is touristy and of scarce interest and , once you are done with the amphitheater, but this is very much not the case.
The Colosseum does indeed get busy, yet there are wonderful places nearby that see a fraction of the crowds or no crowds at all!
My recommended itinerary for this day includes:
A visit to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (the order doesn’t matter) – you can find here my tips about getting tickets >>> how to get tickets to the Colosseum.
Lunch in the Celio neighborhood, close to the Colosseum, where you find many local options, followed by a stroll discovering some of the hidden gems of this area.
Find here >>> where to eat near the Colosseum
I then recommend to spend the afternoon strolling around Monti, enjoying the pretty cobbled streets and piazzas such as Via Urbana, Piazza degli Zingari and peeking into the stunning churches of this area: Santa Prassede, Santa Pudenziana and Santa Maria Maggiore.
You can find here >>> my guide to Rione Monti (with also recommended restaurants)
Day 3 – Vatican City, Borgo, Prati, Castel Sant’Angelo
Vatican City is a unique place.
A State entirely contained inside the geographical borders of the city of Rome, Vatican City is a cluster of buildings of great artistic and religious significance, many of which are open to the public and can easily take a full day to be seen in full.
Here, the most famous sites are Piazza San Pietro (a masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini), St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums, which also include the famous Sistine Chapel.
Visiting Vatican City is easy yet required some planning, mostly around deciding what to see and how much in depth.
If you love art, you will probably want to spend half a day in the museum, and the rest of the time between the basilica and the square – this will take up most of the day.
If you want an idea of what the museums contain, or want to focus on the Sistine Chapel and basilica only, the a few hours will suffice, you can see both in as little as about 3 hours, give or take.
You can find here >>> my guide to planning a visit to Vatican City.
However you decide to see them, once you are done I recommend you take a rest in one of the pretty ares surrounding the Vatican.
Later in the day, I recommend you go to Prati (Piazza Risorgimento, Via Cola di Rienzo) where you will find many shopping opportunities and local restaurants.
You can find here >> my visitors’ guide to Prati and here my guide to good restaurants near the Vatican.
If you are free earlier in the day, I recommend you instead explore Borgo and then also visit Castel Sant’Angelo, especially to check the views from the top.
Day 4 – Borghese Gallery and Park, Spagna, Condotti, Trevi
In the center of Rome lies a wonderful park, once a stunning aristocratic Villa and now open to the public as a free recreation area: Villa Borghese.
Villa Borghese is work visiting on a few accounts: first of all, it is a lovely park, a park many compare with New York Central Park in terms of giving respite from the business of the city.
Here you have lovely running paths, kids’ playgrounds, cafes, a cute pond and a stunning panoramic terrace.
As well as this however, Villa Borghese is also home to several museums one of which stands out for king one of the most beautiful in Italy the world: the Borghese Gallery.
The Gallery has a unique collection os pantinginsand states and it a dlightto visit as it is not overrun, compact in site and extremely well laid out (it also has a nice cafe for lunch!)
Galleria Borghese only takes a handful of hours. After your visit and lunch, I recommend you cross the park to reach the panoramic Pincio terrace for stunning views over Rome.
After this, a short walk will bring your to two of the most famous sites in Rome which all visitors should see: Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.
The Spanish Steps are only a short walk away from the Pincio terrace and by coming this way, you reach them from the top.
As you get there, you will notice the towers of Trinita’ dei Monti, the obelisk, and you will be able to walk all the way down the stairs to the square floor, where you’ll see La Barcaccia, a famous fountain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Now you are in the heart of Rome fashion ad you can treat yourself for shopping or window shopping in the area of Via dei Condotti (mostly designer shops) before heading to the Trevi Fountain nearby.
The area of Trevi is overrun and not the best for food; however, there are some good restaurants I can recommend should you decide to stay for dinner here.
Day 5 – Ostia Antica, Aventino and Testaccio
Most visitors focus on Rome city center but Rome is a large city with stunning areas that go well beyond the Navona / Pantheon / Monti triangle.
A great examples of this different areas is the stretch of Rome that includes Ostia Antica, Ostiense / Testaccio neighborhood and Aventino.
Ostia Antica is a stunning archaeological site within the city of Rome, often compared with Pompeii for its incredible state of conservation.
Ostia Antica is the ancient port city of Rome and here you can still walk along ancient roman streets, see ancient houses, even ancient restaurants, stunning mosaics and a breathtaking theater.
Coming to Ostia Antica doesn’t take long thanks to the local city train and is a great respite from the city as the site feels very much like a park. The visit including transport is likely to occupy you for about half a day.
The Ostia Antica train goes to and from Ostiense station and this means it offers the erect options to also visit two additional areas: Testaccio (a famous food district with also a truly unusual ancient pyramid and stunning cemetery with notable tombs) and the Aventino Hill, famous for a secret keyhole with views of Stan Pietro, a fantastic panoramic garden, some exceptional churches and the pleasant Rome garden.
I recommend you eat in Testaccio as this is one of the best places for casual Roman fare. If you want to book a place and taste the best cacio e pepe in Rome, Felice a Testaccio is the place to go.
Trastevere and Gianicolo
Gianicolo (Janiculum) is a tall hill located on the on the other side of the Tiber from the city center and a great place to visit during a one week stay in Rome as it offers stunning views over the city and a chance to get away from the most beaten track.
The main things to see on Gianicolo are the Fontana dell’Aqua Paola which is stunning and photogenic, the Gianicolo terrace with the view of Rome and, if you have kids, you may find interesting to see the cannon that fires each day at 12!
From the Gianicolo, it is easy to walk down towards Trastevere.
Trastevere is a lovely neighborhood that while in parts overrun by tourism especially at night, it is still very much worth seeing as it has pretty cobbles sheets, artisan shops, beautiful churches and a lovely feel.
Trastevere is often mentioned as a foodie district and indeed, it is lovely to come out here at night in summer for dinner.
However, it gets so busy I actually recommend it more during the day, when you can enjoy the pretty views of its dusty cobbles streets, climbers and secret corners.
My favourite things in Trastevere are the area of Santa Cecilia and the roads around Via Corsini and the Botanical gardens, which are pretty, atmospheric and quiet.
A fun thing to do in the area and that may also solve lunch is taking a cooking class here.
If you are crafty, I recommend you also consider coming here for a mosaic class; the local artisan running them is wonderful and makes for a truly unique, roman experience.
You can find here >>> my recommended itinerary around Trastevere.
Appia Antica, Catacombs, Caracalla
I have thought long and hard on what to plan for you on this last day as, truly, there are infinite options:
You could go back to the city center and follow a ‘themed’ itienrary such as a Caravaggio or Michelangelo trail
You could take a class (cooking, fresco, mosaic)
You could visit one of the infinite museums in the city
You could visit a local neighborhood
You can go back any of the previously mention neighbourhoods to see them again with new eyes, after al you have learn about Rome in the last week
However, I decided to instead suggest The Appian Way, the Catacombs and Caracalla as these are quintessentially Roman yet also appeal to those who may worry a week in one big city may feel too urban and oppressive.
The Appian Way is an ancient Roman road now turned park and which you can visit on foot or, more easy, by bike.
Here you find beautiful nature, interesting archaeological sites and you can also visit the incredible catacombs, underground christian cemeteries from early christian times.
You can plan day day as independently or as structured as you wish; the catacombsms ere by guid our only so I just recommend to plan time for them so yo an secure tickets in advance.
Not far from Via Appia, back towards the Colosseum, you find the Baths of Caracalla, another stunning arcahogical site among the most scenic in Rome.
The site is ancient Roman baths, it us easy to visit in your own time and is one of the most impressive in terms of size and state of conservation.
Only a short walk from the colosseum it is a lovely pace to visit on your last day in Rome, before regaining the city enter for a last dinner before going home.
I hope you enjoyed this one week in Rome itinerary and it helped you plan your stay! Do not forget to search this site for local tips and recommendations on things to see, local curiosities, tipping and packing tips and of course tours and activities!
One week in Rome itinerant – pin this!
