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My name is Andreea, I am 20 years old, and I always travel with my boyfriend, Xavier. Two years ago, we wanted to experience something new as we were used to visiting just small cities. We live half of the year in Italy and the other half in Romania, but Italy has many more breathtaking cities and villages, which is why we decided to plan a trip there. And since we’ve never visited the capital before, we decided to spend four days in Rome.
I strongly believe that everybody who has the opportunity should visit Rome at least once in their lives. Why? Because a giant part of the history of Europe either happened in Rome or has something to do with it, as it was one of the greatest empires for a long time.
It can be said that our trip to Rome was our first big trip, so in my opinion, it is always a good idea to start traveling to a country’s capital or other big and significant cities since it is easier to orient yourself and to find something to do.
If the place is very popular you won’t have trouble finding the most interesting spots as well as suitable restaurants and accommodation. Rome for example is packed with attractions and a large variety of restaurants and hotels in all price categories.
In our case, we did not have a lot of money, so we were looking for budget solutions and found the perfect place called “Next Stop Roma Affittacamere”. From my point of view, it was exactly what we needed. We paid 100€ for 4 nights, a very good price, everything was clean and organized and the staff was kind and helpful.
I am not sure how things are now because recently I heard many complaints about that place, but when we visited it back then we had a nice experience there.
The location is not so close to the center though. We needed to take a bus to the metro station from where we could get to the city center and almost all other famous and interesting places and neighborhoods in Rome, such as Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Spagna, and the Vatican.
Day 1: Iconic Sites Of Ancient Rome
Our best day in Rome was the first one. Starting the day a bit later than usual, we left the apartment at 10 am without really knowing what to expect. We went to see the beautiful Fontana di Trevi and started with a little photo session. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that we visited Rome from the 1st of March to the 5th of the same month, so we avoided the tourist crowds of the high season and enjoyed our stay at the highest level possible.
Anyway, while we were taking photos, a nice woman approached, saying that we were a very beautiful couple and letting us know that we had free access to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and many museums on the first Sunday of every month, just in case we plan to go there. Happy and thankful for this useful tip and the nice compliment, we decided to invite her to have a cup of coffee with us.
It was around noon when we reached the waiting queue of the Coliseum, and after 2 hours, of waiting, we entered, took some pictures, and went straight to the Roman Forum which was the central zone of the ancient city of Rome and the point where public meeting and law courts were organized.
The funny part was that when we entered at 3 pm, we had no idea that the Roman Forum would close at 5 pm, so two hours later, strolling calmly around this impressive place, we saw some guards running around to get all the remaining people out.
Luckily, we were not the only ones who didn’t know that we were supposed to leave and instead went on to explore a little bit more of the place after closing hour. Also, we were quite far away from the entrance, which is why there was no chance to get out on time anyway. A funny experience we will always remember!
After we left the forum we were very hungry, and so we decided to try out one of Rome’s restaurants and looked online for recommended places to eat. After some time searching, we found a YouTuber called Valle Caballero and watched a video in which she gave tips for those who wanted to visit Rome on a budget.
She was presenting one of the cheapest restaurants, but a very good one that also was extremely popular there. So we tried it out, and it turned out to be the perfect choice! When we arrived, we saw a large waiting line so we prepared to wait some time before we were finally assigned to a table.
Honestly, we did not have high expectations because the prices were extremely low: a Margherita pizza for 2€, carbonara for just 3€, the bruschetta for 2€ – most of the menu cost less than 5€. But once we tasted the food we fastly understood why so many people were waiting for so long to get a table there. It is the perfect place to spend a beautiful night eating tasty food at an affordable price!
Everything was working out perfectly that day. As I am a big fan of chocolate, I wanted to see what Rome has to offer in the world of sweets. We walked around the center and enjoyed every second of every corner of the beautiful city center. Near the Fontana di Trevi, we found a man handing out brochures to all the tourists who were passing by.
Just out of curiosity, we wanted to see what that was all about, and so we grabbed one. Guess what. It was a flyer about an Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer called “Venchi” that was just 1 km away from where we were. And so we grabbed some ice cream and started to walk.
Let me tell you that Rome at night is as amazing as it is during the day. There were a lot of people walking around, live music performed by street artists, and all the shops were open, and at that moment I realized that choosing Rome as our first big trip was the best idea, being happy about the fact that everything was working out way better than we expected.
Moreover, this city gave us everything we were looking for. Good food, a bustling and beautiful nightlife, the rich history of ancient Rome, and a variety of amazing places to find gourmet sweets, good pastries, and coffee shops.
Day 2 And 3: Getting Lost In The Eternal City
Another thing I enjoyed was Euroma2, the biggest mall in Europe, which is also one of the most exclusive ones in Rome. That’s where we spent most of the second day of our trip, buying some new clothes, eating burgers and just relaxing a bit. After a full day of walking, sightseeing, and photoshooting we needed a break.
The third day was entirely dedicated to a trip to the Vatican, the smallest country in the world. As I previously told you, it is pretty easy to get there by the metro because there is a metro station right outside the Vatican which is called “Ottaviano-S. Pietro” station.
From Roma Termini, the central train station, you take the metro and five stops, and 10 to 15 minutes later, you arrive in Vatican City. Make sure to pay attention to the schedule because from Sunday to Thursday the metro runs between 5:30 AM and 11:30 PM but on Friday and Saturday the schedule changes and it runs from 5:30 AM to 1:30 AM.
Since we didn’t know that there was a metro station so close to the Vatican, we headed to Roma Termini and took the bus instead with the number 40 which left us 10 minutes away from the main square in Vatican City called “St. Peter’s Square”. It was a long trip and it took us around 40 minutes to get there, but this way we were able to enjoy some beautiful views along the roads of Rome. Believe me when I say that it was worth every single extra minute!
Time for a precious tip: Similar to the Coliseum, the Vatican can be visited for free, but in this case, it’s the last Sunday of every month when entry is free. So if you would like to visit both of them for free, you can take a trip to Rome starting on the last Sunday of a month, and end the trip 8 days later.
If you ask me, I think eight days is too much because Rome is small enough that you can walk easily from one landmark to another and see all the interesting things and even visit the surroundings perfectly in four to five days. But that is different for everybody.
The Vatican, in my opinion, is very beautiful, especially the St. Peter’s Church and St. Peter’s Square, but if you are like us and do not want to go to see the inside of the Church and the gardens, then one entire day is too much time. Yes, it is amazing. Yes, it is a very good spot to take photos, but besides all of this, it is extremely small, so believe me when I say that three to four hours should be more than enough time.
Day 4: The Perfect Last Day
We reached the time of the story where I tell you how we spent the fourth day which is also the last one of our trip. Let me tell you that it was a perfect day! The sun was shining and the city was not that crowded at all.
We woke up early and our first stop was the Sant’Angelo Castle, which we only saw from the outside because our plans didn’t allow us to spend too much time there. The castle is impressive and interestingly at some time in the past, it was the highest building in Rome.
We continued and tried to find the Fontana di Trevi. For some unknown reason, our map application did not work very well that day, so it was not helping us a lot. We were a little lost but we kept walking until we accidentally saw some kind of monument and thought it would be great to see what that is. It turned out that it was part of the church that is situated at the top of “The Spanish Steps” on the “Piazza di Spagna”, both of them being very famous spots in Rome.
Reaching this beautiful place without even knowing the exact way was a pretty cool experience! We stopped for some photos and to have breakfast at the McDonald’s which was just a few meters away from the square. With Wifi, we were able to check our map again and saw all the nearby landmarks which were just a few streets away.
We saw that, from Plazza Spagna, we could walk to Fontana di Trevi in just 5 minutes. So that was our next stop, the magnificent Fontana di Trevi, one of the most popular landmarks in Rome and the spot where everybody wants to throw a coin inside.
Legends say that whoever turns around and throws a coin into the fountain will return to Rome someday. To do it correctly, you have to take the coin with your right hand, turn your back to the fountain, and throw it over your left shoulder. I did not do it, but I think it could be fun, and who knows, maybe it works for you?
Don’t Hesitate: Visit Rome!
All in all, from my point of view, Rome is the perfect destination for a four to five-day trip. It’s a beautiful destination for couples because it is a romantic city where you can also find a lot of activities and places dedicated to lovers.
You can make a wish in the Fontana di Trevi, have lunch or dinner at Plazza Navona, an amazingly beautiful square, watch the sunset from the top part of the Spanish stairs, and maybe if you would like to make it more romantic, buy a bottle of sparkling wine and go there we the sun is about to go down. Believe me, you will experience an amazing date night!
I fell in love with Rome and so far it is one of my favorite cities and I am sure that many of the amazing memories will remain forever. Moreover, it was our first big trip together, so for us, Rome will always have a special place in our hearts. It made us grow culturally by showing and teaching us the city’s incredible past and its unique ancient architecture.
All the buildings and remains from ancient Rome left us surprised and made us realize what a big impact this city had on world history, which made us feel quite small. We just discovered and visited one of the greatest empires of all time and there is nothing else that could be compared to it. This trip filled us with pure joy and happiness and we will be back someday!
I strongly recommend you all take your time and visit Rome at least once in your life. You won’t be disappointed. Every time you go there, you will find something new and special there. For us, something that I will never forget from our last day in Rome was a guy who was making a “bubble soap show” right in the middle of the Plazza Navona. It filled me with joy seeing all the kids running around with big smiles, just because they saw some bubbles, Their innocence, their pretty faces, it is impossible to not make you smile at least a little bit.
Conclusion
Rome is a happy place. It really is. We weren’t kids anymore, but we enjoyed all of this just like they did. Sometimes feeling like a kid again is what we are missing to be happier in our lives. We need to forget about our worries and expectations once in a while and just enjoy the moment more often. So travel and live your best life, and in case you decide to visit Rome, I hope and I am almost sure that it will leave a beautiful lasting impression as it did with me!
For more interesting travel tips and stories, make sure to follow Andreea on Instagram. Are you planning to travel to Rome soon? If so, feel free to check flights, hotels, rental cars, tours, and much more right here on our website. With every booking you complete by using one of our links, we donate 50% of each commission to charity. This way you will enjoy your trip and do something good at the same time!
