Rome - Things to do for cheap & on a budget (Page 1)

Rome or Roma as it is known by the Italians, is a city full of history and beauty. It is one of my favorite European cities so far. If you have the time, I suggest staying in Roma for at least a week. Below are my suggestions of things to do for 1 day, 3 days and 7 days for cheap.

After deciding how many day(s) to stay, you can select one of the passes below to buy, make sure you get your buses or metro routes in order ahead of time. And if you are planning on being in Rome longer than 1 day, check out my blog about - Getting around Rome for Cheap! for cost of Metro/Bus passes.

Roma Pass: 25 Euros (2 museums or sites) Good for 3 days, discount to other sites, unlimited transportation (metro, buses)

Archeological pass: 23 Euros (10 sites / museums) Good for 7 days, allowing one entry to each of the following site listed below

• The Roman Forum
• Colosseum
• Palatine Hill and Museum
• The Palazzo Massimo (Rome National Museum)
• The Palazzo Altemps (Rome National Museum)
• The Crypta Balbi (Rome National Museum)
• The Baths of Diocletian (Rome National Museum)
• The Baths of Caracalla
• The Villa dei Quintili
• The Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella
  
  Day 1 - Coloseum, Capitoline Hill, Piazza del Campidoglio, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Borghese Park, and Trastevere - for dinner.
  If you only have 1 day in Rome, I would suggest getting the Roma Pass. The Roma Pass can be purchase at the Fiumicino Airport, Tabacchi (tobacco shops), Train stations, or at one of the sites (i.e. Roman Forum). Note: if you are going to buy the Roma Pass once you are at the site, I suggest getting the Roma Pass at the Roman Forum to avoid the long line at the Colosseum. Walking up the hill to Roman Forum will save you 2 hours, so DO NOT buy your pass at the Colosseum.
  I suggest start site seeing in the order below: *make sure to eat a hefty breakfast at the hotel and take some snacks with you and a water bottle, you can fill it up at one of the water fountains available throughout Rome - its called a "Nasoni" - big nose, there are some inside the Colosseum as well. You will see many throughout Rome and its clean and cold drinking water*.

Nasoni - "Big Nose"

Colosseum (1-2 hours) 8am-10am. I suggest getting an audio tour from a booth once you are inside the Colosseum, there is booth directly after you enter the turnstile. The audio tour is 7 Euros or you can go to the top floor of the Colosseum if you want to buy a book or get a book beforehand in the States to take with you or read up on the Colosseum behorehand. The audio tour had some really interesting information. Note: As of October 2010, the subterranean areas have been re-opened, however it appears to only be available with a guided tour, its about 8 Euros extra for this tour with the Roma Pass. Or without the Roma Pass, its €21.50 at the gate (the line is about 2 hours long, so get there extra early if you want to go this route)

1.      Capitoline Hill (30 minutes) - one of the seven hills of Rome - free

2.      Piazza del Campidoglio - enjoy the view then you should be ready for some Roman food, either take a bus or walk to Piazza Navona

3.      Piazza Navona - 12pm-2pm. Lunch - the best area for food (see the food information the 2nd page)

4.      Trevi Fountain - is situated between Piazza Navona and Spanish steps

5.      Spanish steps

6.      Borghese Park

7.      Trastevere for dinner (take a bus or get a metro close enough to take a bus to), Travstevere is across the river.

Rome - Things to do for Cheap continues....

Capitoline Hill (one of the 7 hills in Rome)