Italy, simply put, is an absolute eye candy! Whether it is nature, culture, art or history, this country has something to offer to everyone. There are 47 UNESCO heritage sites, dozens of world class museums, zillion photographic spots and an un-imaginable number of Gelato and Pizza Outlets. We spent 9 days in Italy and every day was a storehouse of unique experiences and emotions.
Glimpse of Our Trip
- We visited in November and we had a fantastic trip. The tourist season is July-August but this is also the period of long queues, increased tariffs and lot of hustle and bustle. April-June & September-November is the time to beat the crowd and bag the best deals.
- While all tourist destinations were spectacular, for us the show-stealer were the Free Walking Tours. We have mentioned about this tours in our blog post here. These tours showed us the cities through the eyes of the locals. It was enriching and we highly highly highly recommend it!
- Our destinations included Rome (3 Days)> Florence (3 Days)> Venice (2 Days)
Re-living Experiences: Food, Vacationing, Photography & a Lot More
Day 1: Rome
We reached Rome in afternoon so we had time for the Free Walking Tour at 4 PM. This typically lasts for about 2 hours and gives you ample time to rest and relax. There are 2 tours conducted daily and both are different. You can choose to attend both. For more information on the Go Do’s before your Italy trip, click here.
We had dinner at Pizzeria Chicco Di Grano and it seemed very authentic. This is very close to the Colosseum.
Day 2: Rome
We stayed closer to the Trevi Fountain so we could just walk to the Colosseum. There are both bus services and metro services to the Colosseum. If you take the metro, you need to step off at Colosseo Metro Station. If you have the Roma Pass, you’ll have free access into the Colosseum (if it’s the first two attractions you’ll be using the Roma Pass on).
The Roman Forum is located just next to the Colosseum so this is the next logical attraction to see. It is a space surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of ancient Rome. The Palatine Hill on the way provides a great view of the old city of Rome.
Day 3: Rome
We started our day with Vatican Museums Walking Tour which included Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s Rooms and St Peter’s Square. This tour takes about 3 hours and I strongly recommend you to take the 9 AM tour. This will help you to beat the crowd if you are going in peak seasons.
We booked the tour through viator and there are multiple options available based on your preference. We took the one mentioned here. This walking tour group meets OPPOSITE of the Vatican Museum entrance. It took us a while to find them. You need to cross the road and walk down a flight of stairs. You’ll see them at the bottom of the stairs.
Don’t bring backpacks because you can’t take it into the museums (smallish ones are OK). You have to deposit it at a designated place. Problem is you won’t be exiting at the same place you’ll be entering but at St Peter’s Square. It will take you a good 15mins walk back to the museum just to retrieve you bag.
The tour can get quite hectic so if you still have some energy left, you can go to the Appian Way. It is one of the earliest and strategically important roads built by the Roman empire ie. the first highway in the world. Appian Way is about 30 mins away from the city. If you have the time, rent a bicycle from the Visitor Centre and cycle along the Appian Way. You will pass by many ruins. Do note that photography is not allowed in the catacombs.
We wanted to see Saint Peter’s Basilica in the evening too so we took the bus#62 from Tritone Di Fontana for the Vatican City. It was beautiful and serene and felt very different than what we saw in the morning. The Vatican City is well connected by both bus and train. The nearest train station is Ottiviano if you want to attend the tour.
We hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did! Would love to know if was helpful. Please feel free to write back to us should you have any questions/comments.
Also check out our 3 days in Florence here and 3 days in Venice here.