Rome Travel Blog: Our Honest Take After Visiting the Eternal City

How We Prioritize Our Time in Rome

Rome has an endless list of things you could see. After multiple visits, we have learned that trying to do everything is the fastest way to feel overwhelmed. Instead, we have found that Rome is best approached with clear priorities, realistic pacing, and the understanding that you will never see it all, and that is okay.

Rather than organizing our days by category or chasing every “must-see,” we think in terms of what consistently feels worth our time, what is great if you have extra time in your itinerary, and what we would personally skip or approach differently on a future trip.

Things We Love and Do Again and Again in Rome

These are the experiences we think belong at the core of a Rome itinerary, especially on a first visit. Think of them as the best things to do in Rome!

The Colosseum, Roman Forum, & Palatine Hill

The Colosseum is one of those landmarks that truly lives up to its reputation. Construction began in 72 AD under Emperor Vespasian, and nearly two thousand years later, much of the structure is still standing. It remains the largest Roman amphitheater ever built, a feat of engineering that once held upwards of eighty thousand spectators for gladiatorial contests, public spectacles, and civic events. Standing inside it, the scale is hard to fully process, especially when you consider its age and how much of it has survived earthquakes, stone removal, and centuries of use.

A visit to the Colosseum is typically paired with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and we strongly recommend treating these three sites as a single experience. The Forum was once the political, religious, and social heart of ancient Rome, where temples, basilicas, and public buildings shaped daily life. Palatine Hill, overlooking it all, adds crucial context. It is traditionally considered the birthplace of Rome, later became home to imperial palaces, and offers the best views of the Forum.

How We Recommend Visiting 

The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill is one area of Rome where context really matters. The ruins are vast and signage is limited, which is why we highly recommend visiting with a guide on your first trip. If you choose not to book a tour, using a high-quality audio guide can make a big difference in understanding what you are seeing and why it matters.

Tickets for the Colosseum, which includes access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, must be purchased online via the Parco Arcologicol del Colosseo website in advance of your visit. Same-day tickets are available in limited quantities for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. 

Why We'd Visit Again

We keep returning to this trio of ancient sites because it is where Ancient Rome feels the most tangible. More than any museum or monument, this area shows how the ancient city functioned at scale, and it never stops being impressive, even on repeat visits.

Jetset Seeker Pro Tip: If you decide not to book a guided tour, consider using the free audio guides from Rick Steves' Europe for the Colosseum and Roman Forum. They are thoughtfully paced, easy to follow, and add much-needed context without the cost of a private tour guide.

If it is extremely hot or the crowds feel overwhelming, consider a smaller alternative to the Roman Forum like Trajan's Market, which is easier to navigate and still incredibly informative. 

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica is the most important church in Catholicism, built on the site where Catholics believe Saint Peter, the first pope, was crucified and buried. According to tradition, Peter was executed during the reign of Nero at the Circus of Nero, in what is now St. Peter’s Square in the 1st century AD. The Vatican Obelisk, brought from Egypt by Emperor Caligula, still stands as a reminder of how much history has taken shape at this site in Rome.

Long before the current basilica was built, this was the location of Old St. Peter’s Basilica, commissioned by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD. For more than 1,200 years, it served as the spiritual center of Christianity, hosting major events including the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 AD. By the 16th century, the original basilica was in decline and ultimately demolished to make way for the Renaissance and Baroque masterpiece that stands here today.

Even if you are not Catholic or particularly religious, St. Peter’s Basilica is absolutely worth visiting. Its significance extends far beyond faith and is truly an architectural masterpiece.

Architecture & What Makes St. Peter's Basilica Special

The interior of St. Peter’s Basilica is vast and carefully composed, designed to impress through scale as much as detail. (In fact, the interior of St. Peter's Basilica is approximately the size of two American football fields!) Many of the church’s most iconic elements are tied to two artists who shaped Rome itself: Michelangelo Buonarroti and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Michelangelo’s dome dominates the space, both structurally and emotionally, drawing your eye upward and shaping the skyline of Vatican City. Inside, one of the most moving works is Michelangelo’s Pietà, his sculpture of Mary holding a dead Christ, which is surprisingly emotional despite the scale of the basilica around it.

Bernini’s influence is equally striking, most notably in the massive bronze baldachin over the high altar. Together, their work creates a space that feels both monumental and deeply human, which is part of what makes St. Peter’s so memorable.

Why We’d Visit Again

No matter how many times we visit, St. Peter’s Basilica never really loses its impact. Standing inside such an immense space, then climbing the dome and looking out over the city, puts Rome into perspective in a way few places can.

If you are able, we highly recommend climbing the dome. The views over St. Peter’s Square and across Rome are the best in the city, and it is one of the main reasons we keep coming back. It is physically demanding with 551 steps to the top, but the payoff is worth it every time.

Practical Tips Before You Go

St. Peter’s Basilica is free to enter, but you should allow extra time for airport-style security. A strict dress code is enforced. For both men and women, knees and shoulders must be covered, or you will not be allowed inside. In summer, lightweight layers or opaque leggings under a shorter dress or skirt make it much easier for women to follow the dress code.

Sundays are the busiest day to visit St. Peter's Basilica, particularly when the Pope is in residence and saying the Regina Coeli or Angelus at noon, so we recommend avoiding them if possible. If you plan to climb the dome, tickets can be purchased online from the St. Peter's Basilica website in advance. These advance purchase tickets let you skip the regular security line outside the basilica.

Jetset Seeker Pro Tip: A free audio tour of St. Peter's Basilica is also available from Rick Steves' Europe if you are looking for some added context as you step into one of the world's largest churches.

The Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums house one of the most important art collections in the world, built up over centuries by the popes. What makes the museums especially striking is not just the quality of individual works, but the sheer density of history, art, and power concentrated into a single complex.

For many visitors, the ultimate destination is the Sistine Chapel, which remains one of the most significant artistic achievements of the Renaissance. Painted by Michelangelo, the ceiling (with the iconic Creation of Adam) and altar wall, known as the Last Judgement, represent years of work and an extraordinary level of ambition. Standing within the Sistine Chapel, it is easy to understand why this space continues to define how many people think about Renaissance art.

Even beyond the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums matter because they show how deeply art, religion, and political power have been intertwined in Rome for centuries.

What You’ll See (and Why It Can Feel Overwhelming)

The Vatican Museums are vast. Galleries unfold one after another, filled with ancient sculptures, tapestries, frescoes, maps, and paintings. However, one of the most impressive aspects of the Vatican Museums is the strength of their sculpture collection. Works like the Laocoön and His Sons, discovered in Rome in 1506, help ground everything you see later in Renaissance art. Seeing pieces like this makes it easier to understand how ancient ideals of form and movement influenced artists centuries later.

The Raphael Rooms are another major highlight and, for many people, a favorite part of the visit to the Vatican Museums. Raphael’s frescoes, especially The School of Athens, offer a very different experience from the Sistine Chapel.

The Vatican’s painting collection, housed in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, is also worth a stop if you have the time. It provides a more traditional museum experience, with works by artists like Caravaggio, Tiziano Vecellio (Titian), and Leonardo da Vinci displayed in a quieter, more traditional setting.

The challenge is that the experience of the Vatican Museums can quickly become overwhelming. The museums are large, crowds are constant, and the volume of art makes it difficult to absorb everything in one visit. These are not galleries you want to rush through or try to “see everything” in, especially on your first visit.

How We Recommend Visiting

This is one place where guidance truly matters. On a first visit, a guided tour, booked through the official Vatican Museums website, can be incredibly helpful for navigating the galleries efficiently and understanding what you are seeing without being too overwhelmed. If you would prefer to explore independently, we strongly recommend using the official audio guide rather than going in blind.

Tickets should be purchased online, and in advance, via the official Vatican Museums website, especially during the summer months. Entry is timed, and same-day availability is limited. As with St. Peter’s Basilica, a strict dress code is enforced throughout the Vatican Museums. Knees and shoulders must be covered, including inside the Sistine Chapel.

We also recommend visiting earlier in the day, if possible. Crowds tend to build steadily, and by late morning the museums can already feel extremely congested.

Why We’d Visit Again

Despite the crowds, we still return to the Vatican Museums because there is nothing else quite like them in the world. Even on repeat visits, certain rooms and works continue to stand out, and the Sistine Chapel never fully loses its impact.

That said, we are more selective now. We do not try to see everything, and we are comfortable moving through certain areas more quickly so we can slow down where it matters most. Approached with intention, the Vatican Museums remain one of Rome’s most rewarding experiences rather than its most exhausting.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings, built between approximately 118 and 125 AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Originally constructed as a Roman temple, it has survived nearly two thousand years in large part because of its transformation in the early 7th century into a church.

Formally known as the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs, the Pantheon stands as one of the clearest examples of how Rome repurposed its ancient structures rather than abandoning them. Few places in the city show that continuity more clearly than the Pantheon.

What sets the Pantheon apart, however, is its dome. The massive concrete dome remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built, and the oculus at its center is still the building’s main source of natural light.

One of the most unforgettable experiences at the Pantheon happens when it rains in Rome. Since the oculus is open to the sky, rain falls directly into the Pantheon, pooling briefly on the marble floor before draining away. Standing inside during a storm, watching rain fall through the opening above, is one of those quietly magical Rome moments that is nearly impossible to plan for and hard to forget.

We love the Pantheon because it does not rely on spectacle or scale alone. It rewards attention, patience, and repeat visits, and it never feels rushed, even when it is busy.

Practical Tips Before You Go

A visit to the Pantheon requires a paid ticket. While tickets can be purchased online via the official Ministero della Cultura website, we have had mixed success getting payments to process with an American credit card. What has worked more reliably for us is buying tickets on-site.

Jetset Seeker Pro Tip: If you need to purchase tickets on-site for the Pantheon, bring cash. The ticket office line for cash payments almost always has a shorter line than the credit card line, and it can save you a surprising amount of time waiting in line.

Timing matters here, too. If you arrive right at opening, the Pantheon is rarely crowded, and you can experience the space at its calmest, especially if you need to purchase tickets. Later in the day, especially mid-morning through the afternoon, the surrounding streets become much more congested.

It is also worth remembering that the Pantheon is still a functioning church, so a dress codes applies, just like at the Vatican. Knees and shoulders must be covered to enter.

Why We’d Visit Again

The Pantheon is one of those places we return to every time we are in Rome. It does not demand much time or effort, but it consistently delivers one of the city’s most powerful moments. 

Walking Rome Without an Agenda (and What You’ll Discover Along the Way)

This is not one specific must-do or a single attraction in Rome, but something we encourage everyone to build into their itinerary: time to walk without a plan. Some of our favorite moments in Rome have come from simply walking, without a plan and without a ticket in hand. Once you have checked off the major sights, the city opens up in more surprising ways.

It is how you end up stumbling across places like Largo di Torre Argentina, where ancient temple ruins sit casually below street level and everyday life moves on around them. These ruins are not a place most people plan to visit, but it is one of those spots that reminds you of the ruins that lie below street level that are still being discovered to this day.

Walking also leads you into churches you did not know to look to even add to your Rome itinerary. The Basilica of Saint Mary above Minerva (Santa Maria sopra Minerva), tucked just behind the Pantheon, is easy to miss from the street. Step inside, though, and you will find one of the only remaining Gothic church interiors in Rome and the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena. The Basilica of St. Peter in Chains (San Pietro in Vincoli), home to Michelangelo’s Moses, is another example. It rarely draws the same crowds as larger basilicas, yet it holds one of the most powerful sculptures in the city.

We now always leave free time in our Rome itinerary. Wandering without a set plan often leads to the small streets, local spots, and unexpected moments you could never schedule—and that is exactly where Rome shines.

Great Additions If You Have Extra Time

These are not essential stops for a first visit to Rome, but they add depth and variety if your itinerary allows.

A Quick Planning Note: Many museums in Rome are closed on Mondays. The main exception is the Vatican Museums, which are closed on Sundays, except for the last Sunday of the month, when admission is free and crowds are especially heavy.

Capitoline Museums

If you are looking to better understand ancient Rome, the Capitoline Museums are hard to beat. Spread across several palaces atop Capitoline Hill, this is easily Rome’s best museum for classical sculpture, inscriptions, and artifacts that put the ruins you have already seen into context.

One of the highlights in the collection is the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, a rare surviving bronze from antiquity and one of the most iconic representations of a Roman emperor. Even if you do not spend hours inside, this piece alone makes the visit worthwhile.

Another reason to add the Capitoline Museums is the setting. The museum complex opens onto a terrace with excellent views over Rome. It is a quieter, more contemplative experience than many of the city’s larger museums, and a great addition if you want more historical depth without the intensity of the Vatican.

Tickets for the Capitoline Museums can be purchased both online via the Capitoline Museums website and in-person at the ticket office. If you have time for just one additional museum beyond the Vatican Museums, we would make it the Capitoline!

Domus Aurea 

Visiting the Domus Aurea feels a bit like stepping into a National Geographic documentary. Built to be Emperor Nero’s lavish palace after the Great Fire of Rome in 64-68 AD, the site is still an active archaeological site, and that is part of what makes it so compelling to see in person.

The Domus Aurea is only open to the public Friday through Sunday, and visits are by guided tour only. Tours are led by knowledgeable archaeologists who explain both what you are seeing and recent discoveries, which gives the experience a very different feel from Rome’s more polished museums.

Only a portion of the Domus Aurea is open to visitors, but even that small section is enough to convey just how ambitious the palace once was in Nero's time. Walking through the site, you are met with soaring ceilings, vast rooms, and fragments of frescoed walls that hint at the scale and extravagance Nero envisioned.

The virtual reality component builds on that experience, layering reconstructions over the raw remains and helping you visualize how extraordinary the palace would have been in its prime. Seeing the preserved architecture alongside these reconstructions makes it much easier to grasp both the original grandeur of the complex and the scope of what archaeologists are still uncovering today.

A tour of the Domus Aurea is not essential for a first trip to Rome, but if you have already seen the major sights, this is a fascinating and memorable addition to any Rome itinerary. Tours of the Domus Aurea must be booked online, in advance of your visit via the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo website. 

Castel Sant'Angelo

The Castel Sant’Angelo began its life in 135 AD, built by Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. Over the centuries, it evolved from an imperial tomb to a military fortress, eventually becoming a refuge for popes during periods of unrest.

What makes Castel Sant’Angelo especially interesting is how clearly you can see those layers as you move through the building. Ancient Roman foundations give way to medieval fortifications, Renaissance apartments, and papal corridors, including the secret passageway that connects the castle directly to the Vatican.

The upper levels open onto terraces with excellent views over the Tiber River and St. Peter’s Basilica, making it a rewarding stop even if you do not spend hours inside. It is not essential on a first visit to Rome, but if you are looking to add one more historically rich site that feels distinct from Rome’s churches and museums, Castel Sant’Angelo is a solid choice.

Tickets can sell out in advance, so make sure you book your tickets online via the Ministero della Cultura website.

Galleria Borghese

The Galleria Borghese is housed within Villa Borghese, set inside one of Rome’s largest and best public parks. The museum was once the private home of the noble Borghese family, and the collection inside reflects their tastes and ambition.

Highlights of the collection includes Raphael's The Deposition and his Portrait of a Young Woman with a Unicorn, a work often believed to be inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, on display at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. 

Where the Borghese truly shines, though, is its sculpture collection. The museum houses some of the most extraordinary works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (including his masterpieces The Abduction of Proserpina and David), whose sculptures feel almost impossibly alive, as well as pieces by Antonio Canova. 

Tickets for the Galleria Borghese must be purchased online and in advance, and have strict time slots. You will have exactly two hours in the museum before you are asked to leave. While this limits your time in seeing the collection, it does keep the museum free of overwhelming crowds. Tickets can sell out months in advance during the peak tourist season, so it is worth locking this in early if it is on your must-see in Rome list. Tickets for the Galleria Borghese can be purchased via the TOSC website. 

Trajan's Market

Trajan’s Market is often described as the world’s first shopping mall, but what makes it appealing today is how manageable it feels. Built in the early 2nd century AD during the reign of Trajan, the multi-level complex once housed shops, offices, and public spaces on the slopes of Quirinal Hill.

We like Trajan’s Market as either a complement to the Roman Forum or a lighter alternative if you do not want to tackle the Forum in full. The site is easier to navigate and generally less crowded than the Roman Forum. Plus, the onsite museum (Museum of the Imperial Fora) showcases a number of artifacts found at Trajan's Market and the other ancient forums in Rome indoors and out of the sun. 

Tickets can be purchased both online and in-person at Trajan's Market. To purchase tickets online, please visit the Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali website.

Palazzo Colonna 

The Palazzo Colonna is one of the most rewarding hidden gems in Rome, especially if you are curious about the city beyond ancient ruins and major museums. Still owned by the Colonna family, the palace offers a rare look inside aristocratic Rome, with generations of wealth, power, and influence layered into its interiors.

Palazzo Colonna is only open to the public twice a week, on Fridays and Saturdays. If you visit, we strongly recommend purchasing the ticket that includes access to Princess Isabelle's Apartment. These rooms are unapologetically grand, filled with more ornate ceilings and incredible artwork.

The palace also has a strong historical connection to the papacy. Pope Martin V, elected in 1417, was a member of the Colonna family and lived here during his papacy, underscoring how closely Rome’s noble families and the Catholic Church were intertwined.

One of the most surprising parts of the visit is the terraced gardens, which offer a calmer counterpoint to the opulence inside. Palazzo Colonna is not essential for a first visit to Rome, but if you are looking to add one of the true hidden gems in Rome to your itinerary, this is an excellent choice.

Tickets for Palazzo Colonna can be purchased in person, but to avoid waiting in line, you can also buy them in advance for Saturdays through our affiliate partner, GetYourGuide. Visits on Saturdays are self-guided, although audio guides are available to rent after you arrive at the palace. Visits on Fridays are by guided tour only which can be booked via the TOSC website.

Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo

The Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo functions much like an archaeological museum, akin to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. 

The highlights here are exceptional. The Boxer at Rest is one of the most striking ancient bronzes you will see anywhere, incredibly expressive and well preserved. The museum also houses beautifully intact Roman frescoes, detailed floor mosaics, and a fascinating collection of ancient Roman coins, which add another layer of context to the empire's economic and daily life.

While the Museo Nazionale Romano is spread across several branches, including the Baths of Diocletian, Palazzo Altemps, and Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Massimo is the clear standout. Located just steps from Rome Termini Station, it is easy to fit into any itinerary.

This is another of those hidden gems in Rome that rarely feels crowded, even during busy seasons. If you enjoy archaeology and want a museum that adds real depth to what you have already seen outdoors, Palazzo Massimo is an excellent addition and one of the city’s most underrated collections. As an added bonus, much of the signage in the Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo is available in both English and Italian. 

Tickets for Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo can be purchased both online via the Musei Italiani website or in-person at the ticket office. Tickets include admission to each branch of the Museo Nazionale Romano, with the exception of Crypta Balbi, over a period of seven days. For more information, visit the Museo Nazionale Romano website.

Things We’d Skip, or Approach Differently Next Time

Experience has definitely reshaped how we approach a few of Rome’s most talked-about spots.

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain may be iconic, but it is almost always packed. Beginning in 2026, access to the fountain itself is only available after paying a €2 fee between the hours of 9:00 AM and 10:00 PM, which in our opinion has only added to the congestion rather than improve the experience. Most visitors end up clustered along the surrounding sidewalks, craning their necks for a glimpse of the fountain, which makes the area feel extremely chaotic.

Instead, we much prefer spending time in Piazza Navona, which offers beautiful fountains, more space to move around, and a far more enjoyable atmosphere overall. The square is anchored by three remarkable Baroque fountains, including Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, with its towering Egyptian obelisk that gives the piazza its sense of scale and drama. There is plenty of room to linger in Piazza Navona, take it all in, and actually appreciate the artistry without feeling completely overwhelmed by crowds.

However, if you are set on seeing the Trevi Fountain, our advice is to go late at night, ideally after 10:00 PM. It will still be busy, but noticeably calmer than during the morning or midday rush, and far more pleasant to experience.

Church of St. Ignazio of Loyola (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

The elaborately painted ceiling and dome illusion at the Church of St. Ignazio (St. Ignatius) of Loyola is undeniably impressive, but the viral selfie mirror has turned the sacred space into a bottleneck, often with long waits and very little room to actually appreciate the church itself.

If you are looking for equally beautiful churches without the crowds, we recommend heading elsewhere. Rome is full of incredible churches afterall! The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major) is one of Rome’s most important basilicas, with a vast interior, stunning mosaics, and a sense of scale that immediately commands attention. It is also where Pope Francis is buried and far less chaotic than St. Ignazio, allowing you to explore at your own pace.

Another favorite church of our's in Rome is the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere (Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere), one of the oldest churches in the city, dating to the 4th century. Its Medieval-era mosaics and warmly lit interior feel intimate rather than overwhelming, and the surrounding neighborhood makes it an easy stop to pair with sightseeing or a meal nearby. In our opinion, both of these churches offer a more meaningful experience without the crowds that tend to dominate St. Ignazio.

Victor Emmanuel II Monument 

The Victor Emmanuel II Monument is impossible to miss. Towering over Piazza Venezia, the massive white marble structure was built in the early 20th century to honor Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. Its scale and location make it one of Rome’s most visually dominant landmarks.

There is no denying that the views from the monument are excellent, especially looking out over the Roman Forum and across the city. That said, we would not recommend paying for the elevator to the upper terrace. The experience does not add much beyond what you can already enjoy elsewhere in the complex.

Instead, we prefer sticking to the free terraces built into the monument, which still offer impressive vantage points without the extra cost or wait. Another option is to take advantage of the on-site café, where you can grab a drink or light bite and enjoy the views at a slower, more relaxed pace.

The museum spaces inside the monument are also easy to skip unless you have a specific interest in modern Italian history. For most visitors, the building itself and the surrounding views are the main draw, and you do not need to see everything here to appreciate it.

Circus Maximus 

The Circus Maximus was once the largest stadium in ancient Rome, built to host chariot races, public games, and mass spectacles for over 150,000 spectators. At its peak, it was one of the most important entertainment venues in the city, stretching between the Palatine and Aventine Hills and playing a central role in Roman public life.

Today, however, the Circus Maximus sounds far more impressive than it feels. It is essentially a wide open field with very little remaining structure, and for many visitors it can feel underwhelming.

A better approach is to take a quick look if you are already nearby, but do not go out of your way to visit it unless you are a chariot-racing fanatic. Sites like the Colosseum, Roman Forum, or Trajan's Market convey Rome's ancient scale far more effectively. 

Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth)

The Bocca della Verità is located just outside of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, not far from the Circus Maximus and the Tiber River. The carved marble face is believed to have originally served as a Roman storm drain cover, later becoming famous thanks to a legend claiming that anyone who tells a lie and places their hand inside will have it bitten off.

Today, it is a fun, slightly kitschy stop, but the line can be surprisingly long for what ultimately amounts to a quick photo. If you are not keen on waiting in line, this is not something we would build a day around seeing. That said, if you are open to the wait and happen to be a fan of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, it can still be a memorable stop.

The real reason we would recommend coming here, though, is the church itself. Santa Maria in Cosmedin is quietly beautiful and far less crowded than many of Rome’s more famous churches. Inside, you will also find one of the city’s more unusual relics: the skull of Saint Valentine. Located on the left side of the church on an altar in a small chapel, the skull of St. Valentine adds an unexpectedly fascinating, albeit morbid, layer to the visit and makes the stop feel more worthwhile than the photo of the Bocca della Verità alone.

Spanish Steps 

The Spanish Steps are undeniably famous, named for the nearby Spanish Embassy at Palazzo di Spagna, but they are rarely the highlight people expect. The area is almost always busy, and on weekends it can feel especially congested. We do not go out of our way to visit them anymore.

Where this area does make sense is for shopping. The streets around the Spanish Steps, particularly Via dei Condotti and the surrounding roads, are some of Rome’s best for browsing boutiques and designer stores. Nearby, the Rinascente department store is worth a stop. Beyond shopping, the lower level reveal ancient Roman ruins preserved beneath the building, which is a great reminder of how Rome's history finds itself in modern spaces.

If you do want to see the Spanish Steps themselves, we would recommend going on a weekday, around midday. It will still busy, but far more manageable than on weekends or in the evenings, when the area tends to feel overwhelmed rather than enjoyable.

Resources We Used to Plan Our Trips to Rome

At Jetset Seeker, we value transparency. In addition to sharing our own firsthand experience, here are a few of the resources we have personally used over the years to help plan our trips to Rome.

• Rick Steves Italy (2020 Edition)
• Tripadvisor: Top Things to Do in Rome
• Turismo Roma 
• Turismo Roma: Official Tourist Map (2025)