5 Day Rome Itinerary: Colosseum, Vatican & Borghese

Stop 18:00 AM~ 2 hours

Arrive in Rome

We came into Rome by train from Florence which was about 1 hour 35 minutes. We bought Italo tickets online. Finding stations and finding your train platform is especially simple with Italo. You can use the link below to find all sorts of different ways to arrive in Rome based on where you're coming from and compare prices easily!

Stop 311:00 AM~ 2 hours

Colosseum

The Colosseum is Rome's enormous ancient amphitheater, and a standard visit includes the 1st and 2nd levels and the Colosseum Museum. You can upgrade to see the arena floor or the underground hypogeum as well. I really think the arena is a NON-NEGOTIABLE. Standing down on the arena floor and looking up at the seats, you can feel the energy and history of the gladiator battles and the roaring crowds. 🤺

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Stop 54:00 PM~ 1 hour

Altar of the Fatherland

The Altar of the Fatherland is an ENORMOUS white marble monument in the center of Rome, built for Italy's first king, Vittorio Emanuele II. It has held the country's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since 1921, and the guard there changes every hour. This was honestly one of my favorite monuments in the city, and it's free — a quick security line and we walked right in. It's ginormous, with room to wander, and from the top there's a beautiful view across Rome all the way to the Colosseum and the ruins. 🤍

Stop 76:30 PM~ 1 hour

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are a grand Baroque staircase that climbs from Piazza di Spagna toward the Pincio, with a lovely view waiting at the top. I walked all the way up, and the view over the piazza was well worth pausing for once I got there. You can also visit the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. If you’re in Rome between mid-April and mid-May, around 450 white and lilac azaleas decorate the steps 🌸.

Stop 18:00 AM

Barnum

Barnum is a coffee and breakfast spot on Via del Pellegrino, a block off Campo de' Fiori. The coffee comes from selected plantations, and the counter beside it carries house-made sweets and fresh juice. The cornetti are what I'd go back for. We took a bag to go, and I loved them 🥐 The lemon was my favorite, perfectly flaky, and the pistachio one came filled with pistachio cream. My boyfriend loved the almond one.

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Stop 31:30 PM~ 1 hour

St. Peter Square

St. Peter's Square is the huge oval plaza in front of St. Peter's Basilica, wrapped by two semicircular colonnades built from 284 columns that carry 140 statues over three meters tall. Bernini laid it out this way for Pope Alexander VII so it would open like an embrace. It's also where the Pope gives his Wednesday general audience, and we caught him waving from his Popemobile as he left. I still can't believe we saw the Pope himself! 🤯

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Stop 55:00 PM~ 2 hours

Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant’Angelo is the massive round fortress overlooking the Tiber, and today it’s a national museum that you explore as you climb. The route follows the Dromos, an ancient spiral ramp, up to the Terrazza dell’Angelo, where you’ll get sweeping views of the river and St. Peter’s Basilica. Hadrian built it in the second century as a tomb for himself and his family, but it was later used as a papal fortress and political prison. You can also book a guided tour of the Passetto di Borgo, the fortified passage connecting the castle to the Vatican.

Stop 31:30 PM

Tè Amo Del Pantheon Bubble Tea

Tè Amo is a boba spot tucked just behind the Pantheon. It's one of the few places in Rome's historic center where you can find boba, and it honestly hit the spot after almost 2 weeks in Italy🧋! Their fruit teas are made with real fruit, which you can watch them mash up right in front of you!

Stop 54:00 PM~ 1 hour

Beauty shopping at Farmacia Senato Crisera Guglielmo

Farmacia Senato is a large pharmacy just behind Piazza Navona, with an entire wall of skincare and beauty brands like Avène, Filorga, Lierac, Klorane, Phyto, and more. Most of the pharmacies I visited in Italy kept everything behind the counter, so I couldn’t try anything before buying. This was the only one I found with testers galore, plus a huge selection and some great deals. Needless to say, I walked out with way too many Caudalie products 😅

Stop 76:00 PM~ 2 hours

Thrifting at Monti 🛍️

Monti is the neighborhood just north of the Colosseum, a grid of narrow cobbled lanes where Rome's vintage dealers and independent boutiques cluster. Via del Boschetto is the street to walk 👗. Ivy-covered buildings and shops on both sides stacked with 1970s clothing and second-hand designer pieces. I highly recommend checking out Pifebo and King Size Vintage for thrifting - they had the best selection ever.

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Stop 19:30 AM~ 2 hours

Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums are Rome's civic art museums on Capitoline Hill, filled with ancient sculptures you can admire up close. One of the highlights is the Capitoline Venus, displayed in her own room in Palazzo Nuovo so you can walk around and see her from every angle. If you want an incredible art experience without the huge crowds, this is the museum to visit! The collection spans everything from the ancient Roman Empire to the present day.

Stop 34:30 PM~ 2 hours

Leonardo da Vinci Museum

The Leonardo da Vinci Museum is a hands-on collection of full-size, working models based on Leonardo's designs. Instead of simply reading labels through glass, you can turn the cranks and try the mechanisms yourself. His anatomical drawings are displayed alongside the machines, and there are also interactive stations, an art studio, and a VR experience called Fly da Vinci that takes you over Renaissance Florence. In a city filled with art you're usually only allowed to look at, it's such a fun change of pace.

Day trip · Option AAll day

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica gives you an entire ancient town to explore rather than just a handful of ruins. Once Rome's busy port city, its streets lead past the forum and Capitolium, warehouses, guild halls, public baths, and apartment buildings, with original mosaics still tucked along the quieter alleyways. Ostia began as a military post at the mouth of the Tiber and grew to around 50,000 residents at its peak in the second century AD. The Ostiense Museum is also on-site, and the entire archaeological park holds the European Heritage Label.

Stop 3 · Option C2:00 PM~ 1 hour

Catacombs of San Callisto on the Appian Way

The Catacombs of San Callisto are an ancient Christian burial complex hidden beneath the Appian Way, and your visit takes you right down into the underground galleries. Along the way, you'll pass the Crypt of the Popes, the Crypt of St. Cecilia, and the Cubicles of the Sacraments. Around half a million people were buried here 😱.

Stop 5 · Option C8:30 PM~ 1 hour

Airport Train at Roma Termini

The Leonardo Express is Trenitalia’s direct train from Roma Termini, the city’s main station, to Fiumicino Airport. It runs nonstop, so once you board with your bags, you can settle in until you reach the airport. Fiumicino is quite far from central Rome, so leave yourself plenty of time to get there before your flight ✈️.