Rome is a city rich with history dating back to the Roman Empire, and there are a lot of places to see. My young kids may not understand it as much though, so, we only reserved one day to visit most of the famous sights in Rome.

Hop-on Hop-off Bus

Our mode of transportation in Rome was the Hop-on-hop-off bus. I like to take this type of transport for city tours as it stops at all the main tourist spots and provides commentary. It saves me from having to figure out which train or bus to take. We hopped on the bus at a bus-stop near the main train station (which was near our hotel).

I think it would not be possible to squeeze so many attractions in a day had we not bought the Skip-the-Line Ancient Rome Half day tickets. The queue at the Colosseum was horrendously long. One would probably have to queue up for an hour or more to get into the Colosseum. The tickets also covered the famous Roman columns called Roman Forum (Foro Romano) and Palatine Hill. I bought it from www.citydiscovery.com.

Colosseum (Piazzale del Colosseo)

The Colosseum is probably the most famous building of the Roman empire. Even though the monumental structure has fallen to ruin, it remains a must-see for tourists in Italy.

Here is the view inside the Colosseum.

There were also a number of art pieces on display at the Colosseum.

Roman Forum (Foro Romano)

The Roman Forum was a rectangular plaza surrounded by ruins of several important ancient buildings. It was once a marketplace and a center for roman public life, including triumphal procession, trials and matches.

Vatican City

We were not so lucky with our Skip-the-Line Vatican Museum tour though because we could not locate the meeting point. Our GPS was just not working well. When we finally figured out that the pick-up point was a long 20-minute walk from the bus stop, we were too late. The tour group had already left without us. Anyway, we did explore the Vatican City grounds. Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world by area and population.

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)

The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and a stunning masterpiece of Italian art. It is said that if you throw a coin in it, you would return to Rome. My daughter threw a coin in it just for fun. Let’s see if she returns to Rome.

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna has been the most famous meeting spot of Rome for centuries. It was packed with people sitting on the steps.

Barcaccia Fountain

At the foot of the Spanish Steps was the Fontana della Barcaccia, a fountain in a boat built in the 1600s.

Where to buy tickets

You can get tickets online for attractions in Rome from WeekendinItaly in the banner below.

Where to stay

I stayed at a hotel that was within walking distance from Rome’s main train station and also the bus-stop for the hop-on-hop-off bus tour. Here is a list of accommodations for 4 near Rome’s Termini Train station.