We visited the ancient capital of Rome, got too hot, explored some ruins, overheated, visited the pope and then cooled down in a cold bath.
We arrived in to the main train station of Rome, Termini, around 8pm at night and took the metro from here to our Airbnb in the suburb of Della Victoria. Termini station is massive! We arrived on platform 28 and what was supposed to be an easy stroll to the metro took about 15 minutes by the time we walked to the entrance. By the way 15 minutes with a 20kg bag on your back in 30+ degree heat is not nice!
Our Airbnb was a lovely rooftop attic with views out over the city skyline. We could see St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City from our rooftop window! Unfortunately, my worst fears were realised with the heat. We really struggled to find a place with aircon in Rome (only rich people really have it) so the apartment, while cooler than outside, was quite warm for the majority of our stay. We did get a lovely breeze in the evening sometimes but that meant we had to keep the windows open and Rome has some very aggressive mosquitos! So aggressive that even after I doused myself in bug repellent I still got bites. Sam luckily only received a couple (I guess I tasted better!). Apart from that the apartment was lovely! Every day there was a cute little market on the street below the apartment selling odds and ends and fresh fruits and vegetables. It was very close to transport options and non touristy restaurants so we enjoyed our stay.
The main and most famous attraction in Rome of course is the Colosseum. So famous, that if you want tickets you really need to book 3+ months in advance or pay for an expensive tour option. We did neither! We chose instead to go straight to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as soon as they both opened. However they are right next to the Colosseum so while we didn’t go inside, we still got to see and admire the scale of it!
While walking past the Colosseum, we came across a mega long line leading up to the Forum which we realised was the ticket line for entry. It’s been a surprise to me how many people don’t look into things before they go! While the Colosseum tickets were sold out, you could buy a ticket just for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill online. We walked straight to the entry gate and were one of the first people in for the day!
We headed up Palatine Hill first because, as suggested by the name, its hilltop offers a great perspective of both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. In the past a variety of ancient palaces, once the homes of emperors and the site of many temples, stood on this hilltop. Today the site is an extensive archaeological site.
Coming down the hill we were greeted with our first sight of the Roman Forum. The Forum was the centre of day to day life in Ancient Rome and therefore the site of many important government buildings and temples. We enjoyed meandering through the ruins reading the various information plaques.
Our entry tickets also included entry into the 6th century church Santa Maria Antiqua. The church was a welcome respite from the heat and itself very interesting as it was decorated in Byzantine frescoes and mosaics.
We also could go into the Curia which was the Senate House built in 44BC. As it was converted to a basilica in the 7th century, not much of the original interior remains so it wasn’t that interesting. So we continued exploring the rest of the Forum.
We exited near the Campidoglio and continued on to the Altar of the Fatherland. It was at this point getting incredibly hot, so we decided to try find a Starbucks for a cold frappe. On the way we walked past by the Temple of Hadrian, which, while dramatic on the outside, was very boring on the inside.
The line to Starbucks was insane so we decided to call it a day and head back to the Airbnb. We had a nice Asian Fusion lunch at a local cafe before heading back. It was so hot and hard to think in the heat that Sam attempted to go in to the wrong Airbnb apartment building twice! (to be fair, all the doors look identical)
After a quiet evening, we headed out early to beat the crowds to see where the pope lives. The queues can be massive but I read most people turn up later in the day. St Peter’s Basilica opens at 7am so we arrived around 7.30am. Even though the Basilica opens at 7am, Vatican City was not yet open! We had to wait for the police to open the barriers into the city. We officially stepped into the worlds smallest country at 7.44am on the 25th of June 2023.
St Peter’s Basilica is the largest Basilica in the world and ostentatiously gilded in gold. It had a completely different feel to the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The La Sagrada Familia felt more spiritual and warm whereas I felt small and insignificant in St Peter’s. It was interesting walking around the Basilica. What did throw me a bit, even though I had read it online, were the mummified remains of previous popes throughout the Basilica on display.
We decided to go up to the viewing point on top of the dome. We partially cheated and took the elevator which eliminated about half of the 551 steps to the top! Even so, it was quite a climb even though we are relatively fit. What’s interesting is that as you get near to the top, the walls start to curve to match the curvature of the dome so you can’t walk standing straight!
Near the top, I helped a woman encourage her daughter the last few steep stairs to the top (she was freaking out and wanted to go back down). We were 99% of the way there so after one last effort we stepped out to the top of the dome and were greeted with an amazing view of St Peter’s Square and the Roman skyline.
What was such an effort up, was very minimal effort down. I did get a bit dizzy going round and round on the way back down. Unfortunately there was something on that day that meant the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel were closed. We instead headed out for breakfast before meandering our way back to the Airbnb along the banks of the Tiber River.
For our last day in Rome, we headed out early to see the second most famous attraction in Rome, the Trevi Fountain. The fountain is the terminus point of one of the aqueducts that supplied Ancient Rome. Unfortunately I can add it to the list of “fountains that don’t work in Europe”.
From the Trevi Fountain, we made our way to the Pantheon, a former Roman temple that is famous for its large unreinforced concrete dome with a hole in it. There was a massive queue even at that time in the morning. It moved quite quickly however and it was apparent why on entering - apart from the hole in the top of the dome, there’s not that much to see! Interesting none the less and worth the visit.
It was so hot again that after breakfast we headed back to the Airbnb. Without air conditioning I resorted to getting into a cold bath to cool down for the afternoon as the heat was almost unbearable!
I enjoyed Rome but don’t think it will be on the revisit list. Apart from the amazing attractions, compared to other parts of Italy it was expensive and too touristy for me. For example it was cheaper to eat out in Venice than Rome and I felt the food in Venice was much nicer! It was also too hot to the point you could really only do any sightseeing in the early morning or evening. I didn’t toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain either so superstition dictates I won’t be back!
Next stop - Kefalonia!