Things to do in Rome, splurging
The Pantheon, Borghese and Capitoline, lunch at Roscioli, dinner at Moma and Antico Arco.
This is Rome for people who eat and drink with intent: counter dining at lunch, a star most evenings, and cocktail bars that earn their prices. The days move between the ancient centre, the Trevi quarter, and Trastevere, so the walking is easy and the rooms should be close to Campo Marzio to anchor it all.
Day 1: Campo Marzio, Navona, and night one
The Pantheon at mid-morning, Retrobottega for a sharp lunch, and Ad Hoc to set the tone for what the rest of the trip is about.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Pantheon
Stand under the world's greatest unreinforced concrete dome and look up through the oculus, still jaw-dropping after 2,000 years.
Map - 12:30 PM
Retrobottega
Counter seats facing an open kitchen near the Pantheon; let the chefs send out the day's pasta and vegetable plates.
Map - 2:30 PM
Piazza Navona
Stroll the baroque oval, take in Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, and soak up the scene at Rome's grandest open-air living room.
Map - 7:30 PM
Ristorante Ad Hoc
Truffle-led Roman cooking near Piazza del Popolo, with a big wine cellar; go for the truffle tasting menu.
Map - 9:30 PM
L’ANTIDOTO
Natural-wine bar in a Trastevere side street: ask what's open by the glass and pair it with a cheese plate.
Map
Day 2: Spanish Steps to the Borghese
Elegant boutique streets around the Spanish Steps in the morning, Bernini at the Borghese in the afternoon, and dinner at Moma before a Bellini at Harry's Bar.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Piazza di Spagna
Stroll the Spanish Steps and the elegant boutique streets radiating off Piazza di Spagna.
Map - 12:30 PM
Ristorante Tullio
Tuscan-Roman old guard off Via Barberini: bistecca, porcini in season and white-jacket service.
Map - 2:30 PM
Galleria Borghese
Rome's best museum: Bernini's Apollo and Daphne and the Caravaggio rooms, timed entry, limited crowd.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Harry's Bar
Dolce vita bar on Via Veneto with piano music and white-jacketed barmen; order a Bellini at the counter.
Map
Day 3: Trastevere and the Janiculum
Roscioli from caffè to salumeria, gold mosaics in a medieval basilica, and Antico Arco up on the hill for the best dinner of the trip.
- 9:30 AM
Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria
Start with a proper Roman espresso and pastry at Roscioli's acclaimed caffè, same family as the famous salumeria.
Map - 10:15 AM
Capitoline Museums
The Capitoline Museums hold the world's oldest public collection, catch the original Marcus Aurelius and the sweeping Forum terrace view.
Map - 12:30 PM
Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina
Deli counter by day, packed restaurant by lunch: order the carbonara and a plate of burrata with anchovies.
Map - 2:30 PM
Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere
Stand beneath the stunning 12th-century gold mosaics in Trastevere's medieval basilica, the neighbourhood's spiritual centrepiece.
Map - 7:30 PM
Antico Arco
Refined Roman cooking up on the Janiculum: the cacio e pepe and the chocolate soufflé, with a deep wine list.
Map - 9:30 PM
Prosciutteria Cantina dei Papi - Trastevere
Wooden boards of prosciutto and pecorino with cheap house wine, a casual last glass among Trastevere's lanes.
Map
Where to stay
Orient Express La Minerva
Orient Express property a short walk from the Pantheon: the rooms and the address both match the budget of these three days.
Six Senses Rome
Six Senses Rome sits right between the Day 1 and Day 2 routes and brings the spa to offset the late-night bar tabs.
Make Rome your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Colosseum: weeks ahead
- Roman Forum: weeks ahead
- Palatine Hill: weeks ahead
- Vatican Museums: weeks ahead
- Sistine Chapel: weeks ahead
- Pantheon: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Restaurants facing Trevi, Piazza Navona or the Pantheon with touts and photo menus: have a drink there if you must, eat two streets away.
- Costumed gladiators at the Colosseum demand 20 to 50 euros after a photo and can turn aggressive. Never pose.
- Neon gelato mounds by monuments are the tourist version. Real gelato sits in covered metal tins in muted natural colours.
- Skip the line tickets sold on the street and Colosseum tickets from non official sellers at multiples of face value.
The full Rome travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around