A 7-Day Rome Itinerary: Your Guide To A Perfect Trip

This is your complete guide to Rome. Enjoy the best restaurants, sites and more with this 7-day Rome itinerary.

If you are planning your first trip to Rome, then these recommendations are for you. There are a lot of beautiful historical sites, neighborhoods, shops and restaurants around Rome and it is easy to get overwhelmed. You could work with a tour company, but if you are like us and you like to plan your own adventures, you might consider using this as a starting framework that you can update as you see fit.

Is 7 Days In Rome Too Long?

Rome is a city that can take you a lifetime to fully consume, but that isn’t an option for most people coming for a visit. A week-long visit to Rome is a great opportunity to enjoy the city beyond the Colosseum and Trevi fountain.

This itinerary assumes you will only be in Rome for 1 full week, not including arrival and departure times. It also assumes you aren’t on a religious pilgrimage so your focus isn’t solely on basilicas and other holy sites. The expectation is that it isn’t too hot and you are able to walk around for the entire day. I know the summer months can be difficult for that, so if it is too hot, you should definitely add in more water and shade breaks.

Since we would have no way to know your starting point, i.e. which hotel, AirBnB, hostel, cruise ship, etc. you are staying in, we will assume a starting point that is fairly central, like Piazza Venezia.

Rome Travel Planning Prior To Day-1

There will be some work you will need to do prior to arriving in Rome. Certainly all your air travel and lodging  plans need to be completed, but also the reservations and tickets for meals and sites should be handled before you arrive. You might also consider downloading some apps, like: MooneyGo, ATAC, TrenItalia and even Rick Steves Audio Europe.

Here are some reservations youìll want to make:

• Make reservations for the Colosseum tour you are interested in. I recommend the Underground Tour.
• Call to make Day 1 reservations for lunch at Trattoria Morgana, and Aperitivo at the Hotel Forum and dinner at Vecchia Roma.
• Call to make Day 2 reservations at Pizzeria da Michele for lunch and Cacio e Pepe for dinner.
• Call to make Day 3 reservations for lunch at Tony and Dino’s and dinner at Roscioli.
• Make reservations for the Capitoline Museums highlights tour that you are interested in. Consider the length of time you will want to walk around the museum and select the appropriate tour.
• Determine if you want a more than 4 hour tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, or having a self-guided tour is more appropriate. If you want the guided tour, make reservations.
• Make reservations for the Roman Forum tour.
• Make travel arrangements on TrenItalia for your daytrip to Naples on Day 4.
• Call to make Day 5 lunch reservations at Ristorante Rosso and dinner reservations at Checchino Dal 1887.
• Call to make Day 6 reservations at Taverna Trilussa in Trastevere for dinner.
• Call to make Day 7 reservations for dinner at ReBasilico.

Rome Itinerary Day-1

• Start with a cornetto and an espresso after walking down to a bar near The Colosseum. I would recommend: Ciuri Ciuri.
• Visit The Colosseum for your Underground Tour.
• After the tour, walk over to lunch at Trattoria Morgana.
• To work off your lunch, walk along via Di San Gregorio to the Circus Maximus, continue on and visit Bocca della Verità.
• Continue to Piazza Venezia and on to Roman Forum.
• Walk over to the Pantheon, but on your way you should stop for a coffee at Tazza d’Oro
• Head out for an aperitivo at a rooftop bar like the Hotel Forum.
• Enjoy a long dinner at Vecchia Roma in either of the Esquilino or Monti neighborhoods.
• Return to your lodgings, rest up and prepare for more full days of touring around the city (and beyond).

Rome Itinerary Day-2

• When you wake up early, excited to start the day, head towards Trevi Fountain and get there before the crowds. Stay and enjoy the peace while you review your plans for the day.
• When you have gotten your fill of this amazing fountain, you can stop into nearby Gourmet Café Bistro for a delicious cappuccino and pastry, then continue on to the Spanish Steps.
• While you walk down Via del Corso and Via del Babuino, take notice of the Talking Statues.
• Enjoy the Spanish Steps and continue your walk down to the Borghese Gardens.
• Stop at the amazing Neapolitan Pizzeria da Michele for lunch.
• After lunch, return to Piazza del Popolo and stop for coffee at Rosati or Canova.
• Take a leisurely stroll to Cacio e Pepe for dinner. If you are early, don’t forget to stop into a local bar for an aperitivo.

Rome Itinerary Day-3

• Wake up and get an espresso, a cornetto or another pastry at a local coffee bar.
• Take the #64 bus to Vatican City, visit the Basilica di San Pietro and climb the Cupola di San Pietro. Don’t forget to validate your bus tickets and watch your belongings. This bus is notorious for pickpockets!
• Stop for lunch at Tony and Dino’s and enjoy an amazing experience by asking them to choose your meal.
• Walk around the Prati neighborhood for some casual shopping.
• Visit the outside of Castel Sant’Angelo, cross the Ponte Sant’Angelo and walk over to Piazza Navona, taking notice of another Talking Statue.
• Stop and have a coffee in Piazza Sant’ Eustachio at Il Caffè.
• Head towards Roscioli for dinner and top off the night with gelato at Fatamorgana.

That was a full three days. Now is the time to relax and reflect on all the great sites you saw, all the delicious food you ate and how great Italian coffee is. If you missed any of the recommendations, you should consider trying to add them later in your itinerary, once you return from tomorrow’s daytrip!

Rome Itinerary Day-4

What Is The Best City To Combine With Rome?

We are taking a little break from our normal sightseeing today and heading south to Naples. We believe that if you are going to be in Rome for an entire week, fitting in a daytrip is definitely worthwhile, and what would be better than the place where pizza was born.

For a deeper dive, please take a few minutes to review the sites and restaurants in our guide for taking a day trip from Rome to Naples. This will give you a deeper understanding of this 1-day adventure so that we can just focus on the itinerary here. Please just use this as a guide and make any substitutes that you see fit. On one of my day trips to Naples, this was a schedule that I built:

Time	Task
07:00	Depart From Rome
08:15	Arrive in Naples And Travel To Piazza del Plebescito
09:00-10:00	Have Breakfast At Gran Caffè Gambrinus
10:00–12:00	Walk Around Spaccanapoli and just enjoy the sites and sounds
12:00–14:00	Queue up at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and have a pizza lunch
14:30-16:00	Visit Castel dell’Ovo.
16:00-18:00	Lungomare stroll – walk as far as you can while enjoying the sea.
18:00–20:00	Walk to the Sorbillo Pizzeria on the Lungomare.
20:00-21:00	Get to the train station (Taxi, Subway or walk quickly)
21:00	Return Train To Rome

Rome Itinerary Day-5

• Start with a cornetto and an espresso after walking down to a coffee bar near your hotel, then on to a tour of the Roman Forum.
• After you finish at the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Museums will be a nice air conditioned escape from the heat.
• After the museum, walk toward via Luigi Petroselli, continue on and pass the Ancient Circus Maximus, the Rome Rose Garden and stop for your lunch at Ristorante Rosso.
• After lunch, work it off by walking along Circus Maximus then up to the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden) on Aventine Hill. Enjoy the tranquility.
• If the line isn’t too long, walk a little further to Buco della Serratura dell’Ordine di Malta (The Keyhole) and enjoy the special view.
• Continue in the same direction along Via di Porta Lavernale and it will lead you towards  Checchino Dal 1887 for a very traditional Roman dinner.
• After dinner, be sure to stop into Pasticceria Barberini for a dessert and a coffee. Now you can head back to your hotel to rest up for a big Day 6.

Rome Itinerary Day-6

• You can try a different pastry, but make sure to start your day with another espresso (or cappuccino) and jump on the #64 bus or the Metro and head towards the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel for your tour.
• Depending on how long your tour was, you are going to need some food, so stop by the convenient Cresci Roma for lunch.
• Walk off lunch by going to Castel Sant’Angelo and take a tour or just enjoy it from the outside because you have some climbing coming up.
• Walk along the Passeggiata del Gianicolo and head towards Fontana dell’acqua Paola and the fantastic views of the city. Enjoy more views from the Belvedere del Gianicolo.
• After a long afternoon of climbing, now head to Taverna Trilussa for dinner. Again, if you are early, there are some great bars to get an aperitivo nearby. Pop in, but don’t be late for your reservation! After dinner, head back and get some rest. You deserve it!

Rome Itinerary Day-7

Wrapping Up Your 7-Day Rome Itinerary

I think you will have to admit, that was a pretty full seven days, but if you missed anything because of weather or you couldn’t get tickets, you should plan on adding that to your itinerary for your next trip to Rome. Now is the time to relax and reflect on all the great sites you saw, all the delicious food you ate and how great Rome is. Hopefully you took a lot of pictures!

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