What to see in Rome in 5 days. The most complete visit to the Eternal City

There is so much to see in Rome that the days you are there will never seem enough. If you are lucky enough to have 5 days to visit Rome, we tell you that you will be able to get to know everything that is most important in the city and even take an excursion to nearby places.

Visiting Rome in 5 days will make sure you don’t miss anything, although you will surely do so because this is a city with an infinite historical heritage and in which you need many more days.

Here you have our proposal for a 5-day tour to get to know Rome. A great option to get to know it better is to do one of the free tours in Rome that exist.

What to see in Rome in 5 days

First day in Rome

The tour of the first of the 5 days in Rome can start at Termini Station, the main point of entry into the city whether you arrive from the Airport or by train. And it is also a common accommodation area as it is full of hotels.

We can walk along Via Cavour until we reach the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the basilicas that we can visit in Rome. It was built in the 5th century and is an essential visit, as is the nearby Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, where the famous Moses by Michelangelo is located.

At the end of Via Cavour is the most famous monument and the best thing to see in Rome in 5 days. This is the Colosseum, which is mandatory to visit both inside and out. The queues are usually long but you can avoid them if you buy your ticket in advance, book an excursion or buy a tourist card.

Next to the Colosseum we find the Roman Forum and the Palatine, whose visit will take you back to the origins of the Roman Empire and you will be able to discover what life was like in the city through its ruins. Here we recommend a good guide or a tour to understand what you see. Do not forget to visit the Forum of Trajan which is located a short distance away.

We leave the oldest area of ​​Rome and arrive at the area of ​​the exceptional squares, all with great charm. The first of these is the Plaza de Venecia, where the Monument to Víctor Manuel II is located, very controversial due to its white color that stands out from the rest of the buildings in the square. The Vía del Corso starts from there, which we can go to.

We turn right and arrive at another of the main points of interest to see in Rome in 5 days, the Trevi Fountain. It is one of the most beautiful fountains in Rome, and without a doubt the most famous and crowded. Its special charm will surprise you and you will not want to leave but you still have a lot to visit in Rome.

We return to Via del Corso and begin to wander until we reach the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, a curious church that is located very close to the Pantheon of Agrippa, another of the wonderful visits that we can make in Rome. It is a temple from almost 2000 years ago with a circular shape and a spectacular dome and it is the best preserved building dating from Roman times. In it is, among others, the tomb of Rafael.

Near this area is Piazza Navona, another of the great wonders of Rome. For us it is the most beautiful square in the city, thanks to its three baroque fountains and the Church of Sant Agnese in Agone and the rest of the buildings that surround this spectacular square. It is one of the best places to visit in Rome in 5 days.

The tour of the first day in Rome ends at the Church of the Gesu, the next destination. It is the main church of the Compaía de Jesús, something that you will recognize by its typical facade of the Jesuit churches and inside it hides a baroque masterpiece that makes this building a must-see in Rome.

What to see in Rome on the second day

The second day arrives in the Eternal City and the tour is going to be just as intense as the first day, both because of the number of places that we are going to visit and because of its greatness. This second day we go to the Vatican to see some splendid works of art and the cradle of Catholicism.

In the first place, it is best to go to the Vatican Museums, which will take you a long time due to their extension. First thing in the morning there are usually not so many people and there are fewer queues to buy tickets, although we recommend bringing them already purchased and thus avoid them.

Since you don’t have much time before going to the Vatican Museums, you should choose what you want to see according to your preferences. Of course, the Sistine Chapel is mandatory. You cannot leave without visiting this artistic wonder of Michelangelo and a symbolic place for Catholics.

We also recommend you visit the Vatican Pinacoteca, the Pío Clementino Museum or the Raphael Rooms. So you can enjoy the sculpture of Laoconte and his sons or the painting The School of Athens.

After visiting the Vatican Museums, you should go to Saint Peter’s Square and admire its colonnades and the main façade of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the main Catholic temple on the planet and whose visit is a must.

Inside the Basilica of Saint Peter we can admire the Vatican Grottoes, where the tombs of the Popes, the Tomb of Saint Peter, the Pietà by Michelangelo, the Baldachin, countless other works of art, and the Dome are located. to which we recommend going up and having spectacular views of Rome and St. Peter’s Square.

With these visits, much of the day will be gone, but we still have a lot to visit in Rome. That is why we will walk along Via della Conciliazione to the Castel de San’tAngelo, a very interesting visit due to the views of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Tiber River from its terrace.

After that we can walk along the banks of the Tiber River until we reach the Cavour Bridge, which we must cross and enter the center of Rome again. There we will find the Mausoleum of Augustus and Piazza del Popolo, one of the main squares to see in Rome in 5 days.

In Piazza del Popolo we have several points of interest, such as its fountains, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, the two churches at its southern end that give rise to Via del Corso and the Pincio Terrace on one of its sides, where is the Villa Borghese.

We continue walking through this beautiful area of ​​Rome until we reach the Spanish Steps and enjoy the complex formed by the Fontana della Barcaccia, the staircase and the Church of Trinita dei Monti. Undoubtedly one of the hallmarks of Rome.

We have two places left to visit. The Piazza Barberini, with the famous Fontana del Tritone and the Piazza della Republica, where the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is located, which although its exterior does not call your attention excessively, has a spectacular interior.

What to do on the third day in Rome

A new day arrives in Rome and once again we must be prepared to walk a lot. And it is that Rome must be known on foot to enjoy it in the best way. Piazza Venezia will be the starting point for the third day in Rome.

There is the Basilica of Santa Maria in Arcoeli and the Plaza del Campidogio, also a must-see. In this square are the Capitoline Museums that we must enter to see the Capitaline She-wolf (there is a replica in the square) and the large collection of sculpture and painting that houses its interior.

We retrace our steps and admire the Theater of Marcello, built in 13 BC, being the first permanent theater built in stone in Rome. Not far away is the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, whose main attraction is the Mouth of Truth, on one side and where we will find long queues to emulate the protagonists of the movie “Roman Holiday”.

We continue walking around the Palatine and leaving aside the Circo Massimo of which only a grassy esplanade remains but where 2000 years ago chariot races were held on its race track.

Passing the Circo Massimo we will take the street that leads us to meet the Colosseum again until we take the Via de San Giovanni in Laterano that takes us to the basilica of the same name. But first, the Basilica of San Clemente is an obligatory destination. It is about 3 superimposed churches from different eras and that will make you travel through the architectural history of Rome.

The Basilica of Saint John Lateran will be our last visit of this third day in Rome. It is considered the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and one of the four great basilicas of the city. Some Popes are buried there and its interior is impressive. Next to it is the Holy Staircase, which was brought from Jerusalem and which, according to legend, was the stairway by which Jesus climbed to Pilate.

On this third day, all you have to do is enjoy the center of Rome again and return to one of the places you have already visited to get to know it better.

What to visit on the fourth day in Rome

Again it’s time to walk and there is a lot to see in Rome in 5 days. On this fourth and penultimate day we will visit places further from the center that not everyone usually visits, since on a first visit, tourists focus on the most famous places.

First of all, we will visit one of the four major basilicas in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, the least visited of them because it is far from the city center but just as interesting as the other three. This basilica dates from the 4th century and it contains the tomb of Saint Paul the Apostle. Of course, it had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1823 and it is not the same as it was originally built.

From there we will go to another of the places of interest that are far from the center of Rome. It is the Catacombs of Rome, an underground network of tunnels that reaches 150 km in length and where the first Christians were buried. The Via Appia Antica is where the main ones are found, such as Domitilla, San Calixto and San Sebastián.

By bus or on foot we can go to the Baths of Caracalla, another of the great monuments dating from the Roman Empire and the best thing to visit in Rome in 5 days. They are the best preserved baths in Rome and in it we can learn about its operation and the importance of the baths in the social life of the Romans.

The last place we will visit this fourth day in Rome is Trastevere, one of the liveliest neighborhoods in the city and where you can enjoy the varied and excellent Italian cuisine. In addition there are also interesting monuments such as the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and other beautiful churches.

What to do in Roa on the fifth day

The last of our 5 days in Rome is here and, although you still have a lot to discover, we will have already visited most of the main places to see in Rome. So what we can do on this last day is an excursion to one of the wonderful places near this beautiful city.

One of the typical excursions that are usually made from Rome is to Capri, which is usually combined with a visit to Naples since it is the city from where the ferries depart to go to the island. Strolling through the streets of Naples and enjoying its atmosphere, Neapolitan pizza or its churches is an unforgettable experience, but not as much as going to Capri and being surprised by its beauty and charm.

A variant of this excursion is to go to Pompeii instead of visiting Naples and marvel at a city that was buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Other places you can visit on your fifth day in Rome are Orvieto, where there is a spectacular medieval cathedral, or the site of Ostia Antica, one of the most important cities of Ancient Rome after its capital.

Finally, we also recommend visiting Tivoli, where the 2nd-century Villa Adriana was built by Emperor Hadrian, and Villa del Este, an impressive Renaissance residence with incredible fountains and gardens.

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