Due to doing a cruise that was sailing from Civitavecchia we decided that we would spend a night at the beginning as well as at the end in Rome. We chose to stay at the Hilton Hotel at Rome Airport. Once we arrived in Rome we spent a couple of hours in Rome before going back to the hotel. At the end of the cruise we spent a full day in Rome where we explored the full city properly. Due to only having a short time to explore Rome and to make sure we got to see as much as possible we opted to get the hop on hop off tour bus to take us around the city so that we could get off where we wished to explore more. For the tour bus there are different types of tickets available to buy so it’s worth looking to see which one is best for you and the length of time you are in the city.
One of the main attractions I wanted to see whilst in Rome was the Colosseum which is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of Rome. At the time of being built it was the largest amphitheatre holding 50,000 spectators. The Colosseum in the medieval era was used for gladiatorial contests as well as public spectacles. You are able to go in to the Colosseum by buying tickets for €12 which I would recommend buying before you travel. We never went in to the Colosseum as we opted to see the rest of the city instead due to only having a short amount of time.
Wandering the narrow streets of Rome you will find the Trevi Fountain which was designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi. This is the largest Baroque fountains in Rome as well as one of the most famous in the world. We chose to get off the tour bus near the Trevi Fountain and take a walk down some of the streets leading to the fountain.
Some of the sights that we were able to see from the tour bus include Castel Sant’Angelo, Roman Forum, Arch of Titus and Trajan’s Column.
Vatican City
Within the city of Rome you will find the Vatican City which is a country that is the headquarters for the Roman Catholic Church. It is the home of the Pope as well as some iconic art and architecture. St Peter’s Basilica is within Vatican City which is a church that is built in a Renaissance style and is the largest church in the world. The Sistine Chapel is located within Apostolic Palace which is the official residence of the pope which has served as a place of both religious and functional papal activity. Apostolic Palace is a building which contains Papal Apartments, offices of the Catholic Church, Vatican Museums as well as Borgia Apartment. Tourists are able to see parts of the palace but some parts remain closed to tourists. Tickets are able to buy to go in to the Vatican but I would recommend buying these before the day and also be prepared for queues. We chose to not go inside as we felt it would take up too much of the day up as we only had a short of amount of time so we opted to just take a walk around the outside within St Peter’s Square.
Food
Whilst in Rome we only ate one meal in the city where we chose to go to a restaurant located near Trevi Fountain called Taberna. This was a restaurant serving handmade pizzas and had a brilliant atmosphere with great service. I chose to get a four cheese pizza as well as a Aperol Spritz. If you are not a big eater I would recommend sharing the pizza, I didn’t manage to eat all of my pizza due to the large size of them. This is a restaurant I would recommend visiting and I would go back to if I was visiting Rome again.
Accommodation
As stated at the beginning of the post we stayed at Hilton Hotel Rome Airport which was a 10-15 minute walk through a tunnel from the airport. There is a free shuttle from the hotel into Rome which runs from 09:00-23:00 and drops you off near Piazza Venezia. If you wish to get a taxi to the centre of Rome or one back to the hotel it is approximately €50. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the hotel into Rome.
Our room was very spacious where we had a bathroom that featured a waterfall shower. There is a restaurant within the hotel but the food is limited as well as a bar. On our arrival day we ate evening meal at the hotel, we found that the service was slow. We chose not to have breakfast included within our stay but there is breakfast available if you wish to have it during your stay.
Rome is a city that I would visit again for a longer amount of time so that I could see more of the city as there is so much to see that it’s not possible to see it all in a day.
Is Rome a city you have been to before or want to visit?
LauraJane
WORLDOFLAURAJANE 
Rome is such an amazing city to explore and seeing Colosseum in person has been on my travel wish list for such a long time. Can’t believe I haven’t been to Rome yet and unfortunately it doesn’t look like anyone is going anywhere anytime soon due to the coronavirus. Can’t wait for things to go back to normal again, I guess it’s time to learn what’s important and what’s not. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 😀 Aiva
Sadly it doesn’t look like we will going anywhere anytime soon, I’m lucky I’ve got back a few hours ago from spending 3 weeks in Australia & Dubai. I would definitely recommend a visit to Rome though there is so much to see and do
Rome is such a magnificent city. I hope when this pandemic dies out, I will be able to travel again.
It is and with so much to do, I’m hoping to be able to travel again next year. I’ve accepted it’s not going to be this year
Fingers crossed for next summer!