# 2 days in Rome: a day-by-day itinerary for a first visit

> 2 days in Rome, day by day: the Colosseum and Forum, the Pantheon and Trevi, then the Vatican and Trastevere, with opening hours, 2026 prices and metro fares.

- URL: https://traypass.app/blog/2-days-in-rome
- By: Gonzalo Fuentes, Traypass
- 2026-10-29
- [es](https://traypass.app/es/blog/roma-en-2-dias) · [fr](https://traypass.app/fr/blog/rome-en-2-jours) · [de](https://traypass.app/de/blog/rom-in-2-tagen) · [it](https://traypass.app/it/blog/roma-in-2-giorni) · [ja](https://traypass.app/ja/blog/rome-2-day-itinerary)

## In short

- **Day 1, ancient Rome and the center**: the Colosseum at 8:30 a.m., the Palatine and the Roman Forum, lunch in the Jewish Ghetto, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, then the Spanish Steps at sunset.
- **Day 2, the Vatican and Trastevere**: the Vatican Museums at 8:00 a.m., St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant'Angelo at sunset, Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori, dinner in Trastevere.
- **Money**: about **€70** a person for all the tickets. The Colosseum is €18, the Vatican Museums €25 online, and a metro ride €1.50, with a cap of €8.50 a day.
- **Book ahead**: the Colosseum (sales open 30 days before) and the Vatican Museums, on the official sites only.

2 days in Rome is enough for the Colosseum, the Vatican and the fountains and squares in between, if you give each day one side of the river: ancient Rome and the center on the first, the Vatican and Trastevere on the second. You walk from one stop to the next and take the metro once.

This is the plan as we built it in Traypass for a sample trip in late November. We land at Fiumicino on Sunday evening and fly home on Wednesday, so the app counts four days: our day 1 is its day 2. Prices and opening hours were checked on October 25, 2026.

- Colosseum: €18About $20, with the Forum and the Palatine

- Vatican Museums: €25Booked online with a time slot; €20 at the door

- All the tickets: €70Per person, for the two days

- Metro ride: €1.50Never more than €8.50 a day with contactless

## Day 1: the Colosseum, the Forum and the center

Start at the Colosseum at 8:30 a.m., walk through the Palatine and the Roman Forum, then cross the center to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps for sunset at about 4:45 p.m.

Book the first slot. The **€18** ticket gives you one entry to the Colosseum at the time you booked, and one entry to the Forum and the Palatine within 24 hours. Tickets carry your name, so keep your ID handy, and arrive 15 minutes early: you cannot go in at another time, and you can stay up to 75 minutes. Sales open 30 days before the visit; the only official site is ticketing.colosseo.it. The arena floor and the underground need the €24 Full Experience ticket.

Traypass lays the day out on a map and a timeline: the stops numbered in order, your hotel, the walks between them and the free time left over.

![The itinerary in Traypass for Monday, November 23, day 2 of 4 in Rome, 16 °C with sunset at 16:44: a map with five numbered stops from the Colosseum to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, near the Hotel in Monti; below, the Colosseum from 8:30 to 9:45, a 10-minute walk, and the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill from 10:00 to 12:30](/_astro/rd-day1-front.C4K3vVT1_fB1oW.webp)

![The Colosseum in Rome at golden hour under a clear sky, with the light coming through its upper arches](/_astro/photo-colosseum.BDCskbjB_Z73dLf.webp)[Matteo del Piano · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/7Y015gklIDg?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

From the Colosseum, the Palatine entrance on Via di San Gregorio is a 5-minute walk. Climb the Palatine first, then go down into the Roman Forum: two and a half hours is a comfortable pace for both. Leave by the Forum’s exit at Largo della Salara Vecchia and walk 7 minutes up to the Capitoline Hill, where the view from behind the Palazzo Senatorio over the whole Forum is free.

![The Roman Forum from above, with the three columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in front, the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Capitoline Hill behind](/_astro/photo-forum.DKGoM-WZ_Z1LWno6.webp)[Nicole Reyes · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/FRZ8jQ9j85U?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

Have lunch in the Jewish Ghetto, around the Portico d’Ottavia, 9 minutes away. Then walk 11 minutes to the Pantheon: it has cost **€7** since July 1, 2026 (it used to be €5) and is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., last entry 6:30 p.m. Buy at the desks or on the Musei Italiani app; 30 to 45 minutes is enough. On a Saturday, get there before 4:00 p.m., when ticket sales stop for the 5:00 p.m. Mass.

![The portico of the Pantheon in Rome, its columns under the M. AGRIPPA inscription, seen from the cobblestones of Piazza della Rotonda](/_astro/photo-pantheon.UthWXSOt_ZnqJLu.webp)[Nelson Rodz · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/gmzBR1iREcs?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

The Trevi Fountain is 9 minutes away. Since February 2, 2026, going down the steps to the basin costs **€2**, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (from 11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays); at the gate you pay by card only. The fountain stays free to see from the square, and after 10:00 p.m., when the fee ends, you can come back to see it lit and quieter.

![The Trevi Fountain in Rome in full sun, with the statue of Oceanus in the central niche above the rocks and the turquoise basin](/_astro/photo-trevi.Djf17rbD_ZYcW8k.webp)[tommao wang · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/8PWrdVgGyfs?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

Walk 9 minutes to the Spanish Steps and climb to the church of Trinità dei Monti at the top for the sunset, at about 4:45 p.m. in late November. Walk the steps but don’t sit on them: it is not allowed, and fines start at €250. Spagna metro station, on line A, is right beside them; you will use it tomorrow.

![The Spanish Steps in Rome at dawn, almost empty, rising from the Barcaccia fountain to the church of Trinità dei Monti](/_astro/photo-spanish-steps.D56nW3G__KpCBR.webp)[Matteo del Piano · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/_yJyWzX5DqE?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

**Day 1 · Ancient Rome and the center (Rome)**

1.  08:30 — Colosseum — 1 h 15 · €18, Forum included
2.  10:00 — Palatine Hill and Roman Forum — 2 h 30 · same ticket
3.  12:40 — Capitoline Hill — The view over the Forum · free
4.  13:15 — Lunch in the Jewish Ghetto — 1 h
5.  14:30 — Pantheon — 45 min · €7
6.  15:30 — Trevi Fountain — 30 min · €2 for the basin
7.  16:20 — Spanish Steps — Sunset about 16:45
8.  19:30 — Dinner around Via della Croce — 1 h 30

## Day 2: the Vatican, Castel Sant’Angelo and Trastevere

Be at the Vatican Museums for the first slot at 8:00 a.m., see St. Peter’s before lunch, climb Castel Sant’Angelo for sunset and walk through Piazza Navona and Campo de’ Fiori to dinner in Trastevere.

Take metro line A from Spagna to Ottaviano, three stops, and walk 8 minutes to the Museums’ entrance. Tickets are **€25** (about $28) booked online with a time slot, or €20 at the door; book only on tickets.museivaticani.va, as the museum warns about look-alike sites. Allow about three hours for the route that ends in the Sistine Chapel, where photos and video are not allowed. Cover your shoulders and knees, and leave your hat off; backpacks, large bags and medium or large umbrellas go to the free cloakroom.

Traypass leaves 45 minutes free after the Museums before the 15-minute walk around the walls to St. Peter’s, time for a coffee or the security line.

![The itinerary in Traypass for Tuesday, November 24, day 3 of 4 in Rome, 14 °C with sunset at 16:43: a map with five numbered stops, among them St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza Navona and dinner in Trastevere; below, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel from 8:00 to 11:00, 45 minutes free, then a 15-minute walk to St. Peter's Basilica at 12:00](/_astro/rd-day2-front.CzTvK4Pv_1yKMb0.webp)

St. Peter’s Basilica is free and open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in winter. You first go through an airport-style security check under the colonnade, and the wait varies. There is no cloakroom inside, so carry only a small bag. The dome is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. if you want to climb it.

![The facade and dome of St. Peter's Basilica, with the obelisk of St. Peter's Square in front, framed between two buildings](/_astro/photo-st-peters.DVbex4vJ_ZGWxCV.webp)[Fabio Fistarol · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/61rBB5NXuUw?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

After lunch in Borgo or Prati, walk 14 minutes from the square to Castel Sant’Angelo: **€18**, open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and closed on Mondays. Its top terrace looks over the Tiber to St. Peter’s dome, and the sun sets at about 4:45 p.m., well before closing.

![Castel Sant'Angelo and Ponte Sant'Angelo lit up at dusk, reflected in the Tiber in Rome](/_astro/photo-castel.D_-s-oIn_XQoG1.webp)[Mauricio Artieda · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/zUvZsrB94mk?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

Cross Ponte Sant’Angelo and walk 15 minutes to Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, then 7 more to Campo de’ Fiori: a market in the morning, bars in the evening. From there, Ponte Sisto takes you over the river into Trastevere, and the square of Santa Maria in Trastevere is 11 minutes from the Campo. Stay for dinner.

![A cobbled lane in Trastevere at night, with ivy across the street and a restaurant's tables under its awning](/_astro/photo-trastevere.B8UQlfAz_ZtKPPh.webp)[Mariano Alvarez · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/eS5Rn4hE-h0?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral)

**Day 2 · The Vatican and Trastevere (Rome)**

1.  08:00 — Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel — 3 h · €25 online
2.  12:00 — St. Peter's Basilica — 1 h 15 · free
3.  13:30 — Lunch in Borgo or Prati — 1 h
4.  15:00 — Castel Sant'Angelo — 1 h 45 · €18 · sunset about 16:45
5.  17:05 — Piazza Navona — Over Ponte Sant'Angelo · free
6.  17:40 — Campo de' Fiori — 20 min
7.  18:15 — Trastevere, over Ponte Sisto — Santa Maria in Trastevere
8.  19:30 — Dinner in Trastevere — 1 h 30

The two days in Rome

1.  **Colosseum** — Day 1, 8:30 a.m.
2.  **Roman Forum** — Day 1, with the Palatine
3.  **Capitoline Hill** — Day 1, the view
4.  **Pantheon** — Day 1, €7
5.  **Trevi Fountain** — Day 1, €2 for the basin
6.  **Spanish Steps** — Day 1, at sunset
7.  **Vatican Museums** — Day 2, 8:00 a.m.
8.  **St. Peter's Basilica** — Day 2, free
9.  **Castel Sant'Angelo** — Day 2, at sunset
10.  **Piazza Navona** — Day 2, free
11.  **Campo de' Fiori** — Day 2, on the way
12.  **Santa Maria in Trastevere** — Day 2, dinner nearby

## Which days of the week work best

Put the Vatican on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday. On a Sunday, Monday or Wednesday, something on day 2 is closed or crowded, and on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays a few day 1 times change:

Day

What changes

Sunday

Vatican Museums closed, except the last Sunday (free, crowded)

Monday

Castel Sant’Angelo closed; Trevi basin from 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday

Morning papal audience: crowds around St. Peter’s

Friday

Trevi basin from 11:30 a.m.

Saturday

Pantheon tickets stop at 4:00 p.m.

If you can only book a later slot at the Museums, swap the morning: be at St. Peter’s when it opens at 7:00 a.m., while the lines are shortest, and see the Museums afterward.

## Getting around Rome

Walk: on each day the stops are 5 to 15 minutes apart. Take the metro to the Vatican, and tap a contactless card or your phone at the gates: **€1.50** a ride, never more than **€8.50** in 24 hours. Tap on every change, use the same card all day, and use one card per person.

How

Price

Good to know

Metro, bus or tram

€1.50

100 min on buses and trams, one metro ride

Contactless, per day

€8.50 at most

Reached on the sixth ride in 24 h

Roma 48h / 72h pass

€15 / €22

Unlimited metro, bus and tram

Leonardo Express

€14

Fiumicino to Termini, 32 min

Taxi from Fiumicino

€55 per car

Fixed fare to the center

The Leonardo Express runs nonstop every 15 minutes, and you can tap a contactless card at the gates; metro tickets are not valid on it. The €55 taxi fare is for the whole car, to anywhere inside the Aurelian Walls: take a white Rome taxi from the official rank, as Fiumicino-licensed cars charge more.

## Where to stay for 2 days in Rome

Stay between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, or near the Spanish Steps, so both days start a short walk or a metro ride away. Our sample trip stays in Monti, 12 minutes on foot from the Colosseum. Prati is next to the Vatican, Trastevere is good for evenings, and Termini is handy for the airport train.

## Before you go

Book the Colosseum (sales open 30 days before) and the Vatican Museums as soon as you have dates, both on the official sites only. In Traypass, bookings like these become tasks with a date, listed before departure.

What

Where to book

When

Colosseum, Forum, Palatine

ticketing.colosseo.it

30 days before

Vatican Museums

tickets.museivaticani.va

Once you have dates

Pantheon

Musei Italiani app

Mid-month, the month before

Castel Sant’Angelo

Musei Italiani or CoopCulture

Optional

Trevi basin

vivaticket.com or the gate

Optional

On a US passport you need no visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, which includes Italy. Your passport must be valid for at least three months after you leave the Schengen area and issued within the last 10 years; the State Department recommends six months. On your first entry you give your fingerprints and a photo at the border. ETIAS, the EU’s travel authorization, is not in operation yet, so you don’t need it this November.

Italy uses plug types C, F and L at 230 V: bring an adapter (a two-pin type C fits every socket). Phone and laptop chargers handle the voltage; US hair dryers and straighteners usually don’t. In November, lows in Rome are about 47 °F and highs about 62 °F (8–17 °C), with rain on about nine days: pack a small umbrella. Rome is 6 hours ahead of New York. The Traypass [packing list](/packing-list) adds the adapter for you.

## Your two days in the app

Add your flights and hotel to a trip and Traypass lays them out in order, with each day on a map and its stops on a timeline. The [itinerary planner](/itinerary-planner) builds the days with you. Going on to London? Here are [3 days in London](/blog/3-days-in-london), planned the same way.

## Questions people ask

### Is 2 days in Rome enough?

Yes, for the sights most first-time visitors come for, if you give each day one side of the river: ancient Rome and the center on the first, the Vatican and Trastevere on the second. Most stops are 5 to 15 minutes apart on foot. A third day lets you slow down and go inside more places.

### Do you have to pay to see the Trevi Fountain?

Only to go down the steps to the basin: since February 2, 2026, that costs €2, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (from 11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays). The fountain is free to see from the square, and at the gate you pay by card only.

### Can you visit the Vatican on a Sunday?

St. Peter's Basilica, yes. The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month, when entry is free from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (last entry 12:30 p.m.) and the lines are long. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are better days.

### How much does the metro cost in Rome?

€1.50 a ride: the ticket is valid for 100 minutes on buses and trams and for one metro ride. Tap a contactless card or your phone at the gates and you never pay more than €8.50 in 24 hours, as long as you use the same card all day.

### Do I need ETIAS to visit Italy?

Not for a trip in November 2026: ETIAS is not in operation yet, and the EU will announce its start several months ahead. On a US passport you can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, and on your first entry you give your fingerprints and a photo at the border.

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