Day 3: Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trajan's Market, Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon of Agrippa, Piazza Navona, Umberto I Bridge, Spanish Steps
After falling asleep yesterday under a storm as we did not plan to live on this trip to Rome on a weekend, today the alarm sounds at 5:30 in the morning and just look out the window we see that the first rays of sun begin to appear, something that does nothing but encourage us to continue with the itinerary we had prepared for this Rome on foot.
After leaving our bags ready, because today is our last day of Rome a weekend, at 7 in the morning we are already tasting another amazing breakfast in the hall of Una Hotel Roma, accompanied by one of the best espresso we have ever tasted.
While we have breakfast and seeing that the sky is still clear enough to make some change of plans, we decided that today we will do practically the same route that we did yesterday in Rome in one day, to be able to take some photos with the clearest sky and be able to so enjoy the Eternal City again, this time with a sunny day, apart from including some visit more than yesterday we could not do.
Breakfast at UNA Hotel Roma
We leave a hotel when it is practically 7:45 in the morning, which by the way has been a success the choice, both by location and by treatment and is that UNA Hotels is one of our favorite chains of hotels in Italy and one of The ones we always try to find when we start comparing hotels to always stay with the one that meets the maximum conditions we are looking for in an accommodation.
Our first stop is an icon of the Eternal City. We go directly to the Colosseum, the icing on the cake of Rome and one of its symbols, which today looks completely impressive under a blue sky, almost clear if it weren't for a few clouds that give it an impressive air.
Coliseum
Today is the first Sunday of the month and therefore it is the day when the entrance to the Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine is free, so you can imagine the queue at this time in the morning, which practically turns around to the Colosseum.
We make a quick assessment of the situation, telling us that we already know the Colosseum when we were in Rome in 6 days a few years ago, but thinking that we will not have to wait too long, we decided to get in line, until we see that the tail does not Fast forward and we will practically miss the morning on this visit.
Undoubtedly we must say that we believe that the visit to the Colosseum is a totally essential visit, there is the queue there, so it is the first time you are in the city, do not hesitate, it deserves every minute of waiting or every euro of the entrance.
As we mentioned earlier, we see that the queue for the entrance to the Colosseum on the first Sunday of the month It does not advance too much and it is that the organized groups and the people who have previously bought tickets enter first, so that the queue of controls of the individual groups are much longer and we calculate, as it progresses, that up to just over an hour we decided to Abort the mission and we are going directly to travel the Via del Imperial Forum to redo the photos that yesterday were quite dazzled and dark due to bad weather.
Route of the Imperial Forum
Views of the Imperial Forum from the Via del Foro
We go back to the Trajan's Market again and it is that although it may seem a lie, we do not get tired of walking through this area of Rome, which we believe is one of the most beautiful in the city and undoubtedly an essential visit in a Rome on foot. The Trajan's Market has six plants and is estimated to have capacity for more than 150 stores and is also considered the first covered shopping center in history. Reason for more to visit it, don't you think?
Trajan's Market
We are right in the middle of the Via del Imperial Forum when we realize that right on the left is the other access to the Roman Forum. We approach the ticket office when we are surprised, from afar, to see that there is no one and we see that indeed here you can also enter, what happens is that people do not know this access too much, so we take advantage of the occasion and we take a Free entry to the Imperial Forum on the first Sunday of the month and we enter one of the 100 things to do in Rome, this time without stopping too much, looking only to remember again the visit we made six years ago and to visit one of the places we consider most important in Rome, to which all the World should give away a few hours of your trip.
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, together with the Colosseum, are two of the most important examples of the greatness of the Roman Empire, the first being the place where the city's religious and public life developed.
When the Roman Empire ended, the Forum was gradually buried, remaining in oblivion until the 20th century in which the excavations that allow us to see today began, a sample of what the Empire really was at that time .
Roman Forum Details
What to see in the Roman Forum
We recommend you dedicate a minimum of 3 or 4 hours to the Roman Forum, in order to know in addition to the main temples that we can find such as Saturn, Vesta, Romulus or Venus, other of the many points of interest such as:
- Arch of Titus: Arch commemorating the victory of Rome over Jerusalem
- Via Sacra: the main street of Rome that linked the Colosseum with the Campidoglio Square
- Temple of Antoninus and Faustina: the best preserved Temple in the Forum
- Column of Foca: Column of 14 meters high, which still stands today
- La Curia: Building where the Senate met
Of course, the best views and perspectives of the Roman Forum are obtained from outside the premises. We recommend that you climb the Palatine Hill, 40 meters above the Roman Forum, from where the perspectives are impressive.
Another option is the walk along the Via del Imperial Forum, from where you also have unique views of the Imperial Forum.
And finally, although totally recommended, the viewpoint behind the Capital Museums, from where you can discover one of the most beautiful images of Rome, with the Roman Forum and the Colosseum in the background.
A few minutes past 10 in the morning when we left the Roman Forum, one of the essential places to see in Rome, approaching the Via del Imperial Forum, one of our favorite places in the city, to end the walk through the area, something we do accompanied by the music of a couple of boys who have sat in the area to finish doing this morning much more lively if possible.
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Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish in Rome by travelers:The intention now is to return to the viewpoint behind the Capital Museums, located a few meters from here and where we want to climb again, as in the Colosseum, see the views today that the sky is much more determined. To get there we must follow the street that again brings us closer to the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.
Nazionale Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II
We continue a few meters and on the right we find the stairs that give access to the Capitoline Museums, another of the visits we recommend you do, especially if you are several days in the city.
Capitoline Museums
Once we cross the square, we must take the small street on the right, to end at one of the most beautiful views we can find in Rome: the Roman Forum with the Colosseum in the background, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in the City Eternal and one of those corners where there are usually not too many people and can be enjoyed quite peacefully.
Stunning views of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum
What we did not expect is to meet the "Capitoline wolf", a sculpture representing Romulus and Remus breastfed by this animal and also one of the symbols of Rome, that although the original is in the Capitoline Museums, a copy can be found outside, next to the City Hall and that Despite being one of the places most photographed by tourists, we had a great time.
Romulus and Rowing
After this scenic tour of one of the most visited areas of Rome we follow the route of Rome on foot, heading to the Trevi Fountain, another of the essentials in Rome, from which we did not want to say goodbye without looking back at it, trying to find it at this time of the morning something quieter, something that as expected is practically impossible , whatever time it is for the day, so we find it again, as expected, surrounded by tourists who, although we "hinder" the photos we want to take, we also have to say that it is part of this corner of Rome , which we will probably never find alone.
Fontana di Trevi
Overview of the Trevi Fountain
At this point in the course of the Rome on foot, we make a brief stop to decide how we continue and we can not but think about the Pantheon of Agrippa and that despite being a place that we have already seen several times, included yesterday in the tour we did, we can not fail to see again Today before returning home. It does not take more than 15 minutes to face one of the most impressive places in Rome and we cannot forget that the Pantheon is the best preserved building in ancient Rome.
Pantheon of Agrippa
While I enjoy the outside area, Roger, despite the queues can not stop re-entering and is that the Pantheon in Rome, is another of those places that we would not get tired of entering, since it has that "something" Special that seems to hook.
Pantheon of Agrippa
After half an hour we follow our Rome walking tour until you reach Piazza Navona, another one of those places that you cannot miss in a visit to Rome. At this time of day it is very crowded and it is that with the sun we have today it is difficult not to go out to the streets of Rome to enjoy its corners.
Piazza Navona is one of them, with three of the most beautiful fountains in Rome and also with one of the liveliest environments in the city. Remember, do not miss this place and above all do not miss being a few minutes sitting in one of the fountains or in one of its banks, just watching "life pass", that so many times we forget on travel and something that certainly It is one of the things we probably remember most when we returned.
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Although we still have a few hours in the city until our flight leaves, we can not forget much of the clock, so we decided to approach the Umberto I Bridge again to take the photos of yesterday we did from here with views of the dome of San Pedro of the Vatican, another of the places that you can miss in a trip to Rome.
As we also mentioned yesterday, although it seems quite the opposite in Rome the distances are not so great and it took us no more than ten minutes to face another of the most beautiful views of Rome and is that as we have been experiencing throughout the day, it seems incredible how a city or a place changes depending on the weather. Yesterday we found a spectacular city, but under that gray sky it looked sad. Today, however, we are enjoying a different Rome, a joyful city, full of life and where we would stay several more days, just to enjoy its streets.
Views from the Umberto I Bridge
And since we set out this year to return to some European cities that we already knew, but under the concept "X on a weekend", we have to say that we are pleasantly surprised by the experience of returning to these cities and rediscovering them at other times of our views and at another time.
St. Angelo Castle
From this area of Rome, when it is 12:30 in the morning, we decide that it is time to go to eat. As yesterday we were in Trastevere and today unfortunately we have less time, we think that it is best to approach the Plaza de España where we find the Grano Fruta Farina restaurant one of the most recommended places in the area where you eat pizza by weight. This place, without being a restaurant proper, since it is like a shop where you ask for the selection of pieces of pizzas you want, they heat them in the oven, they cut them and you sit at a table with the drink that you take directly from a Fridge, we have to say that it is one of the best pizzas we have ever eaten, so it is more than recommended.
Eating in Farina Fruit Grain
And all for 23 euros, including a couple of expresses that give us energy to continue with the hours we have left in the city.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Rome
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- Vatican Museums - Skip the line tickets and guided tour
- Roman Colosseum - Skip the line tickets and guided tour
- 5 places to visit in the Vatican
But as there can be no food that does not end with a good dessert, being in this area of Rome we can not stop approaching Pompei again, where we were yesterday, and where we were lucky to try one of the best tiramisus in the world . Today we ordered one of nocciola and strawberries and another of banana and chocolate, for eight euros both, which we tasted sitting on a bench in the Plaza de España, with a lovely atmosphere at this time of day.
Spain Square
Tiramisu in Rome
And as there is no table that boasts in which there is no coffee, although in this case we already have a couple, we go in search of a cafeteria to have a couple of espresso to help us finish today in Rome, ending again next to the Trevi Fountain where we had a couple of coffees for 7 euros, with incredible side views of one of the icons of Rome.
No more than 10 minutes pass when the sky, despite being totally clear, begins to turn gray and almost without being able to believe it, it starts to rain just as it happened yesterday, so we decided to finish our coffees in one drink and start the road back to a hotel, to collect our bags and make our way back to the Fiumicino airport, from where in a few hours we have our flight back home.
We arrive at Una Hotel Roma when it is half past three in the afternoon and having more or less targeted Terravision schedules, which are at 16:10 or 16:45, schedules that square us with the flight we go out to tour the few meters that separate us from Termini station, from where buses leave.
As soon as we arrive we see that there is a lot of queue and that it does not keep much sense but we follow it until the bus appears, a plug of people is formed that tries to sneak and leave the luggage in the trunk, without any order and when we arrive at the They tell us that we need a validation of our ticket, the one we had bought the day we arrived in Rome and from which we were told absolutely nothing to validate in Termini for the return journey.
We are lucky that we still have that margin that allows us to take the next bus, if we had not had to take a taxi, so we go to a cafeteria that is right in front of the bus stop, we validate the ticket, with which They give us a kind of cardboard that assigns us a seat on the next bus and we have to get back in line to wait another half hour for the next Terravision bus to arrive.
In the end we arrived at the airport at approximately 5:45 p.m., after enjoy of an intense hailstorm on the road, with half an hour to open the boarding gates, so without entertaining too much we go straight to pass the security checks and in less than 30 minutes we are sitting on a plane that will take us from back home, after a weekend in Rome that we will surely repeat, we hope soon.
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We arrive in Barcelona and late at night, where our friends of Aparca & Vola are already waiting for us with the car to be able to return home and start thinking about the next destination, for which we will only have to wait a few weeks and that is the trip to New York at Easter is just around the corner.
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