When we were in Italy, we flew in and out of Rome so only had a day in the city on each end of our trip. We didn’t have a ton of time (about 2 days), but we did pack in a lot during those combined 48 hours! Here’s everything we did during our time there and a few things we wish we had time for.

Where We Stayed: Our entire trip in Italy we stayed in airbnb’s and Rome was no different. Our airbnb (Pigneto Rhome: La Casa a Scacchi) wasn’t anything fancy but it was clean and had a great location. We were only a 2 minute walk from the metro so getting around was really easy. To get the main city center, we would walk to the metro, take the metro 2 stops and switch trains. The second train was only 3-4 stops and we were in the city center and could walk everywhere from there. Easy!

What We Did: The first day we were in Rome (after we landed), we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon as far as “sights” go. On the end of our trip, we made the Colosseum our priority (we booked tickets online beforehand here) The tour wasn’t guided per say, but you went in with your group and had a meeting spot several hours later. We only stayed at the Colosseum for an hour and a half or so because we felt like we saw what we needed to see lol, so we just skipped out early. We debated going to the Vatican but by that point it was pretty late in the afternoon and didn’t want to rush over there. That would have been the other thing we would have loved to see though! Side note, if you’re in Rome on a Friday, I believe the Vatican has a Friday night tour with drinks and apps–so that may be a good time to go!

Aside from the “tourist-y” spots we visited, we really just walked around and explored Rome the remainder of those 2 days. Rome has a ton of great shopping (all in the similar area of the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain) so we browsed a lot of the designer stores, and made random stops for gelato, wine, aperol spritz, etc!

Another area that I would have loved to explore is the Trastevere neighborhood. So many restaurant recommendations we got were in this neighborhood, and it seems like a cool area to explore. It wasn’t too far from the city center but we were just too pressed for time!

Breakfast at Necci–just a couple minutes away from our Airbnb

Where we Ate (all of these spots are in the main city center area!)
-La Prosciutteria Hole in the wall sandwich shop that you MUST go to!
-Dilla Great dinner spot. If you want to sit inside definitely make a reservation ahead of time. We didn’t have a reservation but we were able to get a table outside in less than 10 minutes.
-CiPasso Another spot we went to for dinner. If you want a “break” from only Italian food this is a great spot. I mean, I still ordered pasta (of course) but they also have a little more variety. Everything we had from the charcuterie, to the main courses were delicious. Great wine selection and recommendations as well.
-Ginger Want a salad, green juice, protein smoothie, etc? Go here! Super cute spot that we stumbled across one day. I’d recommend for lunch or a more casual/quick dinner. Menu was pretty broad and they had other items besides “healthy” food but if you’re craving something green this would be a good spot.
-Necci (in via fanfulla da Lodi) A breakfast spot just a couple minutes walk from our apartment recommended by our Airbnb host. Croissants and cappuccinos! Basically every breakfast in Italy LOL. Super cute cafe though.

Here are some other restaurants that were sent to me as recs but we didn’t get a chance to try! Sora Margherita, Dar Poeta, Pizzeria ai Marmi, Roscioli, Checci Er Carettuere, Da Fabrizio

Dinner at CiPasso

Overall, I actually really loved Rome, and honestly I didn’t think I would. It had the perfect mix of old European charm while still being a big city with great shopping and things to do. I know people are starting to say that Rome is just a big, crowded, dirty city but I totally disagree. Next time we go to Italy, Stephen and I both want to spend more time in Rome because we really loved it. There’s so much to see and do, and 48 hours just wasn’t enough!

Also! Here’s a tip! If you’re looking to buy a designer bag (or any more expensive designer item really)–do it when you’re here! First of all, you don’t have to pay taxes on these items (you pay upfront but then can get that money back before you leave the country), and when you’re spending anywhere from 1-3K+ on a bag for example, those taxes add up! I got extra lucky because the Chloe backpack I was looking at was an additional 30% off that week in their stores, plus the baseline price was a couple hundred less than if I would have bought online from the US. So, with those factors plus not paying taxes, I ended up saving like $500 on what I would have paid if I bought it at home. So just a thought if you’re traveling there and have your eye on any designer items!

For anyone that has been to Rome–other thoughts or recommendations to share?!