1
Stand inside the Colosseum
Landmark
Rome’s 2,000-year-old arena, book the arena-floor and underground tour to skip the queue and walk where gladiators fought.
Time2 hrs
Cost€18
Best atMorning
TipPre-book combo
Country
Italy
The best things to do in Rome are standing inside the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain and an evening in Trastevere. Give it 3–4 days, visit in spring or autumn, and book the big sites online to skip the queues.
Rome layers three thousand years on top of each other and somehow still feels alive. Below are the ten experiences worth your time (each mapped, with a Wimup video guide) plus the tourist traps we’d skip.
Rome’s 2,000-year-old arena, book the arena-floor and underground tour to skip the queue and walk where gladiators fought.
Raphael’s rooms, endless galleries and Michelangelo’s ceiling, go at opening or on a Friday night to dodge the worst crush.
The best-preserved building of ancient Rome, its open oculus framing the sky and rain falling straight through the roof.
Baroque theatre at its grandest. Come at dawn or late at night for a photo without the scrum, one coin, legend says, guarantees a return.
Cobbled lanes, ivy-draped facades and the city’s liveliest dinner scene. Wander without a plan and follow your nose to a trattoria.
A morning food market by day and a buzzing piazza by night, grab supplies, then an aperitivo at a café on the square.
A former garage pouring Trastevere’s favourite aperitivo, spritz in hand on the piazza.
The password-at-the-door bar that started Rome’s cocktail revival. Find the password, then knock.
A wood-panelled vini e olii institution: hundreds of bottles, small plates, zero pretension.
Bernini’s marbles and Caravaggios in a villa built to show them off. Entry is timed; book ahead.
The she-wolf, the colossal Constantine, and a Forum view from the Tabularium gallery.
Rome’s best ancient frescoes and bronzes, strangely uncrowded; the Boxer at Rest alone earns the ticket.
A still-inhabited palace whose mirrored gallery hides a Velázquez pope that stops you cold.
Hadrian’s mausoleum turned papal fortress; the terrace gives the classic Tiber-and-dome view.
The centro’s best browsing street: vintage, indie boutiques and aperitivo stops.
Twenty minutes on the laghetto rowing past the Temple of Asclepius; small kids, big win.
Peek through the keyhole at St Peter’s, perfectly framed, then the Orange Garden next door.
Villa d’Este’s hundred fountains and Hadrian’s sprawling villa: two UNESCO sites in one hill town.
Pompeii-grade ruins half an hour away on a suburban train, with mosaics you walk right up to.
42km past the Colosseum, the Vatican and everything between.
The city's birthday: costumed legions and historic re-enactments at Circus Maximus.
Open-air cinema, concerts and pop-up bars along the Tiber all summer.
Trastevere's own festival: processions, street stalls and fireworks.
The autumn season of international dance, theatre and music.
Premieres and red carpets at the Auditorium Parco della Musica.
Stalls, lights and a carousel fill the baroque piazza.
Epiphany closes the season, the witch delivers sweets and Navona celebrates.
Main hub, 30km SW. The Leonardo Express reaches Termini in 32 min, or ~€50 by fixed-fare taxi.
Budget-airline airport to the SE. A shuttle bus reaches Termini in ~40 min.
Two main metro lines plus trams and buses; a single BIT ticket is €1.50 for 100 min.
A 48/72-hour pass bundling unlimited transit with skip-line entry to top sites.
Pecorino and black pepper, three ingredients, pure magic.
Egg, guanciale and pecorino; never, ever cream.
Tomato, guanciale and pecorino tangled in bucatini.
Fried rice balls with a molten mozzarella heart.
Roman-style braised artichokes, a spring treat.
A cream-stuffed sweet bun, best for breakfast.
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