A walk with the best things to see in Rome in 4 days. A very complete visit

There is a lot to see in Rome and you need a lot of time to get to know the whole city in depth. But if you have 4 days to visit Rome, you will be able to know practically the most important of it.

Visiting Rome in 4 days is possible. You will have enough days to get to know its streets and squares, its basilicas, its churches, its ruins and all the wonders that you can only find in this beautiful city that has so much history throughout its length and breadth.

Here is our 4-day tour of Rome.

What to see in Rome in 4 days

First day in Rome

The first of our 4 days in Rome begins. We are going to start our tour at Termini Station since it is the usual point of entry to the city whether you arrive by train or if you travel from the airport. It is also an area full of hotels and it is very likely that you will find yourself staying here.

We start walking along Via Cavour until we reach the first great monument that we will see, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the basilicas of Rome, built in the 5th century. Nearby is the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, where we can admire Michelangelo’s famous Moses, one of the most impressive sculptures in the world.

At the end of the street is the main monument to see in Rome in 4 days. We are talking about the Colosseum, an essential visit that will leave you speechless. There are usually quite a few queues, so we recommend that you buy your ticket in advance or book an excursion. You can also buy a tourist card.

Next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum and the Palatine, a must see and the cradle of the Roman Empire. There you can learn about its origins and tour the ruins of what was the largest city on the planet 2000 years ago. Don’t miss out on Trajan’s Forum either, which is just a few meters away.

We arrive at the most modern area of ​​Rome, that of the exceptional squares. And the first of them is the Piazza de Venezia, where the Monument to Victor Manuel II stands out, whose white color stands out against the buildings that surround the square. From there starts the Via del Corso, the main shopping street in Rome and the next destination.

Walking along the Via del Corso and turning a little to the right, we arrive at the Fontana di Trevi, the most beautiful fountain in Rome and possibly the busiest. Its charm will surprise you and you will not want to leave, but there is still much to see in Rome.

We return to the Vía del Corso and we will wander around until we find the Basilica of Santa María Sopra Minerva as an appetizer before visiting the Pantheon of Agrippa, another of the great wonders of this city and whose visit is essential. It is a circular temple built almost 2000 years ago, being the best preserved building from Roman times and where the tomb of Raphael, among others, is located.

We finally arrive at Piazza Navona. For us it is the most beautiful square in Rome thanks to the 3 baroque fountains that we can find in it and the buildings that surround them, especially the Church of Sant Agnese in Agone. Without a doubt, a very special place to visit in Rome in 4 days.

The walk of our first day is coming to an end. The Church of the Gesu is our next destination. It is the main church of the Society of Jesus with a truly spectacular baroque interior that makes it one of the most beautiful churches in Rome.

What to see in Rome on the second day

The second day in Rome will be just as intense as the previous one, with many interesting places to visit. And to start we go to the Vatican to see the cradle of Catholicism and the greatest works of art you can imagine.

The Vatican Museums are the first place we recommend visiting here since there are usually quite a few people and if you get up early and enter the first ones, you may not find too many crowds. That is why we recommend bringing the ticket already purchased and thus you will save the queues.

In the Vatican Museums there are many things to see and they are several very different museums. As we have limited time, it is best that you visit only the most important or what interests you the most. We recommend the Raphael Rooms, where the School of Athens is located, the Vatican Pinacoteca or the Pío Clementino Museum, where the sculpture of Laocoon and his Children are, among others.

And of course, the Sistine Chapel, the great jewel of world art, and the main point of interest in the Vatican Museums and the best thing to see in Rome in four days.

After visiting the museums we will go to the Plaza de San Pedro. Another spectacular square with its colonnades and the main façade of the Basilica of San Pedro, the main Catholic temple in the world and which we will go to enter. Must visit.

Inside the Basilica of Saint Peter we must highlight the Pietà by Michelangelo, the Vatican Grottoes where the tombs of the Popes are located, the Tomb of Saint Peter, the Baldachin of Saint Peter and the Dome, to which we can climb and have wonderful views of St. Peter’s Square and Rome.

After visiting the basilica, we can walk along the Via della Conciliazione to Castel San’t Angelo, whose interior we also recommend visiting. From its terrace we have very good views of the Basilica of San Pedro and the Tiber River.

Along the banks of the Tiber River is where we recommend continuing to the Cavour Bridge, which we will cross and enter the center of Rome again. The first thing we will find will be the Mausoleum of Augustus and very close to Piazza del Popolo, one of the main squares to visit in Rome.

In the Piazza del Popolo we can admire its fountains, as well as the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo and the two churches that are at one of its ends and that start the Via del Corso. On one side, the Pincio Terrace and the Villa Borghese.

Nearby is the Spanish Steps, another of the great wonders of Rome, where the Fontana della Barcaccia is located and the famous stairs that lead to the Church of Trinita dei Monti, which we also recommend visiting. From there starts the Via Sistina that takes you to Piazza Barberini, with the famous Fontana del Tritone.

The last destination of our tour will be Piazza della Republica, one of the main squares in Rome, where the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is located. If it is still open, it is essential to visit its interior as it is impressive. If not, we recommend you go to her another day and meet her.

Third day in Rome

Our third day in Rome is going to be a lot of walking. But it will be worth it with everything you are going to visit and enjoy. And we will also know very different places from distant times.

We are going to start today’s tour in Piazza de Venezia, which we will have to go around until we reach the staircase that takes you to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, another wonder to enjoy in Rome. Next to it, the Piazza del Campidoglio.

The Piazza del Campidoglio is also a must-see. In it are the Capitoline Museums, which you must enter to see the Capitoline Wolf and a large collection of very interesting paintings and sculptures. From the square you also have an interesting view of the Roman Forum.

We will go down the stairs to the Via del Teatro de Marcello, the next street we will go through. The first destination, precisely the Theater of Marcello, built in the year 13 BC, being the first permanent stone theater to be built in Rome.

We continue walking to the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, a very interesting small church whose main attraction is the Mouth of Truth, located on one side of the main façade. Long queues form in front of it to put their hands in, emulating Gregory Peck in the movie Roman Holiday, which made this beautiful place famous.

From there we continue our walk around the Palatine and leaving aside the Circo Massimo, where impressive chariot races were held 2000 years ago and of which today only an esplanade remains where you can make out the grass-covered race track.

Thus we arrive at the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum, already visited on the first day. We go around it and take the Via de San Giovanni in Laterano that will take us to the basilica of the same name. But first, you must visit the Basilica of San Clemente, which is actually 3 superimposed churches, each one from a different era and which will surprise you.

At the end of the street, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, which is considered the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It was built in the 4th century and some Popes are buried there. Its interior is simply spectacular and next to it is the Holy Stairs, brought from Jerusalem and said to have been the stairs that Jesus climbed to Pilate.

After this long walk, it’s time to return to the center of Rome and stroll through its streets and squares enjoying its atmosphere and its charms before facing our last day in Rome.

What to visit on the fourth day in Rome

Unfortunately everything ends. And so the last day in Rome arrives. There is still so much to see and by the end of the day you will most likely be left with the feeling that you have left something out. And so it will be, because in Rome there is much to visit. On this last day we will visit very remote places, so we will spend a lot of time in transportation. That’s why we recommend getting up early.

First of all, we will go to one of the 4 major basilicas in Rome and the least visited because it is far from the city center and few tourists have enough time to go there. We are talking about the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, as interesting as the other three.

The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls dates from the 4th century, although the one we can see today is not the same as it was destroyed in a fire in 1823 and had to be rebuilt. In it is the tomb of Saint Paul the Apostle.

The next destination is also far from the center of Rome, but it is no less interesting for that. This is another important point of Christianity. We are talking about the Catacombs of Rome, an underground network of about 150km in length where the first Christians were buried. The main ones are located on the Via Appia Antica, such as those of San Callisto, San Sebastián and Domitilla.

From there we can go, walking or by bus, to another of the great monuments bequeathed to us by the Roman Empire. The Baths of Caracalla, the best preserved in Rome and where we will learn about the life of the Roman baths and their operation.

The day will be ending but we still have the last place we are going to visit in Rome in four days. This is Trastevere, one of the liveliest neighborhoods in the city and where we can have dinner for the last time on our trip. Touring Trastevere is a unique experience thanks to its charm as a neighborhood where we can also find monuments such as the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and other spectacular churches.

In this way ends the trip of four days in Rome, very intense but that will have left a great taste in your mouth.

You can find more information about what to see in Rome on the official Rome tourism page.