5 Days in Rome: Our Itinerary, Day Trips and Travel Tips

Rome is one of those cities that almost feels too significant to be real. Ancient ruins sit beside busy roads, churches contain masterpieces you may have only ever seen in books, and ordinary neighbourhood restaurants serve meals that become some of your strongest memories of the trip.

This is the five-day itinerary we followed, what we particularly enjoyed and how we would adapt it for a future family trip.

Rome at a glance

Contents

• Where we stayed in Rome

• Our five-day Rome itinerary

  • Day 1: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

  • Day 2: Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps

  • Day 3: Vatican City

  • Day 4: Pompeii day trip from Rome

  • Day 5: Tuscany day trip from Rome

• Three memorable places to eat in Rome

• Would we return to Rome with children?

Where we stayed in Rome

Booking Rome Armony Suites was genuinely one of the best decisions we made for our time in Rome. The accommodation itself was comfortable and well located, but what made our stay so memorable was our host, Luca.

Luca helped us plan our days and guided us towards the places where Romans actually eat. Each morning, we would talk through what we were doing and where we wanted to eat that evening, and he would recommend somewhere that suited us, often calling ahead or giving us his business card to take with us.

That kind of personal service is incredibly difficult to find. Luca didn’t simply give us somewhere to sleep, his advice, local knowledge and generosity shaped our entire experience of Rome.

If we returned to Rome, we wouldn’t hesitate to stay at Rome Armony Suites again.

Our 5-Day Rome Itinerary

Day 1: The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Our first major sightseeing day was dedicated to ancient Rome.

Visiting the Colosseum

Standing inside the Colosseum is extraordinary. Its scale is difficult to appreciate fully until you are there, looking down into the arena and imagining the enormous crowds that once filled it.

We joined a guided tour that combined the Colosseum with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. For us, the guide added enormous value.

Exploring the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

The Roman Forum was once the political, commercial and religious centre of ancient Rome. Today, its temples, arches and fragmented buildings create an enormous open-air archaeological site.

Palatine Hill overlooks both the Forum and the Circus Maximus and is traditionally associated with the founding of Rome. Its elevated position also provides wonderful views across the ruins.

Day 2: The Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps

We used our second day to explore some of central Rome’s most recognisable landmarks. These sights work well together because the walk between them becomes part of the experience.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is remarkable both for its age and for the extraordinary engineering of its dome. Unlike many ancient Roman structures, it remains remarkably intact because it has been continuously used throughout its history.

Piazza Navona

From the Pantheon, we continued to Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s grandest public spaces.

The piazza is known for its fountains, particularly Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, as well as the cafés and historic buildings surrounding it. It is an enjoyable area to wander through rather than simply photograph and leave.

Trevi Fountain

We also visited the Trevi Fountain, one of Rome’s busiest but most spectacular sights.

No matter how many photographs you have seen, the fountain feels surprisingly dramatic in person.

Spanish Steps

We also stopped at the Spanish Steps, one of Rome’s best-known landmarks. The sweeping staircase connects Piazza di Spagna with the Trinità dei Monti church above and is an easy addition to a walking route that includes the Trevi Fountain.

Day 3: Vatican City

We dedicated a full day to Vatican City, including the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel,  and the Vatican Scavi.

Vatican City is an extraordinary place to visit. Its history, architecture, archaeology and art make it significant well beyond its religious role.

Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums contain an almost overwhelming collection of artwork, sculpture, tapestries and historic objects.

The journey through the museums eventually leads to the Sistine Chapel. Seeing Michelangelo’s ceiling in person is completely different from seeing it reproduced in photographs. The room is crowded and carefully managed, but it remains one of those places that feels almost surreal to enter.

St Peter’s Basilica and St Peter’s Square

Walking into St Peter’s Square for the first time was another surreal moment. The immense colonnades, open space and façade of the basilica create a sense of scale that photographs struggle to convey.

Inside St Peter’s Basilica, the scale becomes even more astonishing. The artwork and architecture are beautiful, but it is the sheer size of the building that stays with you.

The Vatican Scavi

One of the most fascinating experiences of our trip was the Vatican Scavi tour beneath St Peter’s Basilica.

The tour explores the ancient necropolis buried below the basilica, including Roman-era tombs and pagan burial sites. Descending beneath St Peter’s and moving through layers of Roman history was an extraordinary archaeological experience.

Vatican Scavi tour details

Tours are conducted in small groups, and only a limited number of visitors are admitted each day, so booking well in advance is essential. Children under 10 are not permitted.

The necropolis is underground and can be warm, humid and confined. It may not be suitable for anyone with claustrophobia or a health condition affected by these conditions.

Tour prices, availability and visitor requirements may change, so check the official Vatican Scavi website before booking.

We booked the first tour of the morning. When it finished, we were able to enter St Peter’s Basilica directly without exiting and joining the main security line.

Day 4: Day trip from Rome to Pompeii

We travelled to Pompeii by train for one of our day trips from Rome.

Pompeii is not especially close to Rome, so this was a long day. However, Italy’s train network made it possible to reach the Naples area and continue to Pompeii without hiring a car.

The archaeological site is enormous. Streets, houses, shops, public buildings and mosaics provide an extraordinarily detailed picture of everyday Roman life before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

As with the Roman Forum, having some historical context makes a significant difference. A guide, audio guide or well-planned route can help visitors understand what they are seeing rather than simply walking through a large collection of ruins.

Would we do Pompeii as a family day trip from Rome?

Possibly, but we would think carefully about the age and interests of the child.

For an older child fascinated by history, Pompeii could be unforgettable. However, the train travel combined with several hours walking around a large archaeological site creates a demanding day.

Day 5: Tuscany day trip from Rome

One of the highlights of our time in Rome was escaping the city for a full-day trip through the Tuscan countryside.

We visited beautiful hilltop towns, wandered streets lined with small shops and local pottery, stopped at panoramic viewpoints overlooking the valleys, and enjoyed a relaxed winery lunch with traditional Tuscan food and wine.

For fellow Twilight fans, Montepulciano may look familiar: it stood in for Volterra in New Moon, with several memorable scenes filmed around Piazza Grande. It added an unexpected touch of nostalgia to exploring an already beautiful town.

There are plenty of Tuscany day tours from Rome, with itineraries varying between hill towns, wineries and lunch stops. We recommend choosing one that includes at least two towns and a winery lunch, the combination we enjoyed most.

Our highlights

• Exploring Montepulciano

• Wandering through Pienza, with its beautiful valley views, pottery shops and local food stores

• Tasting regional wines, cheeses and other Tuscan produce

• Driving through the rolling Tuscan countryside

• Enjoying a leisurely winery lunch with traditional regional food and wine.

Is this day trip suitable for children? It is a long, structured day with considerable time spent travelling, walking through villages and visiting a winery. There is little opportunity for younger children to run around or play freely, so we think this particular style of tour is better suited to teenagers. Families with younger children may prefer a shorter or more flexible private tour.

Three memorable places to eat in Rome

Rome gave us several memorable meals, but three restaurants stand out for different reasons.

Naumachia Ristorante Pizzeria

We ate at Naumachia after visiting the Colosseum and had excellent pizza.

Its location made it an easy addition to our sightseeing day, but we remember it because we genuinely enjoyed the food, not simply because it was nearby.

Ristorante da Enzo in Prati

Our host, Luca, recommended Ristorante da Enzo for traditional Roman carbonara.

Rory enjoyed the carbonara so much that he ordered a second bowl, only for it to arrive at roughly twice the size of the first. We’re still not entirely sure whether they misunderstood him or simply decided that anyone ordering seconds deserved to be properly fed.

Ponte Vittorio

We ate at Ponte Vittorio on a separate evening.

The servings were wonderfully generous, including an enormous bowl of pasta that required a restaurant bib. It was an uncomplicated, satisfying dinner and another meal we still remember years later.

Would we return to Rome with Children?

Yes, absolutely.

Although our original visit was as a couple, Rome is somewhere we would happily return to with Henry. We would want him to stand inside the Colosseum, walk through the Roman Forum, see the Pantheon and experience the immense scale of Vatican City.

We would not repeat our itinerary at exactly the same pace. We would build in more downtime, use transport more often and probably choose only one of the two major day trips.

Our week gave us an unforgettable introduction to Rome and central Italy and plenty of reasons to return one day as a family.

Continue planning your European family adventure

Planning a longer European holiday? See how Rome fits into our Classic Three-Week Europe Itinerary for Australian Families, including our route and the destinations we combined.

Or continue exploring Italy with our guide to Venice with Kids: Things to Do, Where to Stay and Family Tips.