Rome

While visiting Rome last summer, I joined a Rome food and pizza making tour, which, if you ask me, is the best way to discover a city! The tour lasts through mid-day, taking you through different parts of Rome. You will get your bearings of the city while trying the delicious food!

You get to go to a market, a local bakery, a traditional pizzeria (where you can make a delicious masterpiece), and of course, end with a traditional Italian coffee break.

Make your way to the Imperial Forums, especially Trajan’s markets which is the first “multi-level shopping mall” in the world. You can also explore the Via Biberatica, which is the most intact ancient Roman street in the city.

After exploring the forum, and wandering the streets that Julius Caesar once did, climb up to see the ruins of the imperial palaces on the Palatine Hill. Enjoy the beautiful garden areas and fragments of ancient villas.

Take the southeast entrance from the Roman Forum, and walk right up to the Colosseum. It is such an amazing sight to see, and if you are really interested in exploring the inside, join a tour. The tours can be expensive and have quite a bit of a wait, so decide if it is something that is really important to you!

Next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, one of the largest of Rome’s ancient triumphal arches. The arch celebrates Emperor Constantine the Great’s victory and the battle that made Christianity the religion of Rome.

Make sure that before sunset you slip around the backside of the central building in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of Capitoline Hill. You will see a beautiful panorama of the Forum from above, with the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum in the background.

One of the oldest and most famous cappuccino and espresso shops in Rome, Caffé Sant’Eustachio is famous for its home-roast beans, blended with water from an ancient aqueduct. You will find authentic, Italian coffee and some colorful characters!

Definitely a sight you CANNOT miss in Rome, the Pantheon is the only ancient Roman temple to survive the millennia virtually intact. The architecture will blow your mind, and you will need a few minutes just to sit in the piazza and take in the stately sight before heading inside.

I also highly recommend exploring the city at night. There are countless evening walking tours if you are traveling solo and want a guide, but there’s no city quite like Rome lit up at night! Don’t miss it!