For spring break this year I decided to go on a trip through three countries in Europe. After my travels I have learned many things and hopefully sharing some of my stories will help you in your future travels. Over the next few weeks I will post about all the exciting cities I visited. To start the trip off, I went to the city that was #1 on my list…Rome, Italy.
I had a combination of the worst and best timing for my trip to Rome. On one hand I had perfect timing because I was in Rome for the first Sunday of the month. Why is this important you might ask… well… every first Sunday of the month a majority of Rome’s major attractions are free. That’s right. Free. I was able to go to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill without spending anything.
But, on the other hand I was in Rome on Easter Sunday. It was, to say the least, very busy. While I was there Pope Francis blessed the city and it was very exciting to be in the city during this time. Unfortunately, due to the festivities the Vatican was closed while I was there. This was very disappointing as this was one of the main things I had planned to see. However, Rome did not disappoint and after lots of walking and yummy gelato, I still feel like I had the experience of a lifetime.
The Colosseum:
The Colosseum is actually quite large. The line to get in is even larger. I waited for about an hour and a half to get into the Colosseum (which actually wasn’t that bad considering how many tourists were there). And once I was inside I had exactly 2 minutes to take my pictures on the lower platform. And yes… you really have only two minutes. They sent us out on the main platforms in groups and guards timed each group and ushered us off quickly once our time was up. Don’t let this discourage you though, after moving from the lower platform you can go to the other side of the Colosseum and take as many pictures as you want. I do believe there is a time limit of an hour for this part but I’m not certain.
The wait was worth it and next time I want to take the guided tour that takes you through the underground area (as pictured below).
The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill:
The Roman Forum was much larger then I had expected. This attraction was also free for me but I did have to have a ticket. This ticket was given to me free of charge when I entered the Colosseum. If you are traveling on a different day then the first Sunday you can buy a joint ticket for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill on the Rome tourist website. These three attractions are located next to each other and it took me the whole day to view everything. For ticket prices and more information about the tourist attractions available in Rome please visit: https://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket.cfm?office=Foro%20Romano&id=4
Palatine Hill stands approximately 40 meters above the Roman Forum and is a great place to get panoramic photos. You use the same entrance to get into Palatine Hill as you do to see the Roman forum. The hill also has a garden and several beautiful statues.
Rome was beautiful and the architecture on the buildings was stunning. However, there are a lot of tourist, so if you are planning to see multiple attractions in a day make sure to pre-book tickets when possible. This will save you time in the lines and will allow you to see more amazing things.
I hope you found this article helpful and if you have any questions comment below. Thanks and Happy Travels!
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Adventures in Life 