Rome attractions and November Events.

These mid-seasons are a leap into the unknown as far as weather is concerned – you could find glorious sunshine or a days of driving rain – but at least you’ll find the crowds less daunting. Here’s what to Do and See with 3 Days in Rome.

  Day 1: The Glories of Ancient Rome, Trevi Fountain, and Dinner near the Pantheon

Palatine Hill and Colosseum The Roman Colosseum, Ancient Rome's huge amphitheater, was built in between 70 and 82 AD in the heart of Rome as a venue for gladiatorial and wild animal fights. Today it's one of the best and most popular monuments of Ancient Rome. See Buying Colosseum Tickets for ways to avoid the long ticket line and Rome Passes and Cards for discounts on admissions.

Nearby you can visit the excavations and museum on the Palatine Hill, home to Roman emperors and aristocrats.

Tip: On Sunday, the Via dei Fori Imperiali leading to the Colosseum is closed to traffic, making a nice place to walk.

 

The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, a huge complex of ruined temples, basilicas, and arches, was the ceremonial, legal, social, and business center of ancient Rome. Give yourself at least two hours to wander around. 

  
 

Trevi Fountain and Gelato Break
Now you'll try what many consider the best gelato in Rome at San Crispino on Via Panetteria near the Trevi Fountain. Then see the magnificent Trevi fountain, completed in 1762. Toss a coin in the fountain to ensure your return to Rome.

Pantheon and Dinner The Pantheon, the best preserved building of ancient Rome, has a spectacular dome and free admission, closes 7PM. For dinner try Armando al Pantheon, in a street to the right of the Pantheon as you're facing it. (Salita de' Crescenzi, 31). After dinner, splurge on a drink outside in the Pantheon's lively Piazza di Rotonda.

Tip: Bars and cafes charge more to sit outside but it's worth it if you stay awhile and enjoy the ambiance.

 

Day 2: Capotiline Hill Museums, Rome Neighborhoods, Traditional Cuisine

Today you visit a few of Rome's neighborhoods and museums and sample traditional Roman cuisines.

Campo dei Fiori, Trastevere, and Jewish Ghetto
Campo dei Fiori is alive in the mornings with a market and flower vendors so it makes an interesting start to your day. From there wander along the Tiber River to Ponte Sisto, cross the Tiber to the Trastevere neighborhood and visit the church of Santa Maria in Trestevere,  Rome's first Christian church. Cross back to the other side and continue to the Jewish Ghetto. There are several places to sample Rome's interesting Jewish cuisine in the Ghetto.

Tip: If you're up early and want good photos of Piazza Navona, start the itinerary there, before the tourists arrive. Then continue to Campo dei Fiori.

Capitoline Hill Museums
From the busy Piazza Venezia, a transport hub and home to the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, go up to the Capotoline Hill, where you will have a fabulous view of the Roman Forum. The piazza was designed by Michelangelo and the museums are the oldest in the world. Palazzo Nuovo has Greek and Roman sculptures and Palazzo dei Conservatori has art galleries, sculptures, and frescoes. A ticket is good for both. 

Testaccio District
Tonight go to the Testaccio District by taxi, bus 75 or the metro. You'll want to make a reservation for dinner at Checchino dal 1887, a very nice restaurant serving old Roman cuisine. The Testaccio District has several good night clubs if you want to go out after dinner.

Tip: Be alert for pickpockets on the Metro and in crowds.

Day 3: Rome's Catacombs, the Ancient Appian Way, Piazza Navona and Tartufo

Today we visit the Ancient Appian Way, catacombs, and Piazza Navona with optional shopping.

Via Appia Antica and Catacombs The Via Appia Antica, the major road of the ancient Roman Empire, is now a regional park, Parco Regionale Dell'Appia Antica. Take bus 118 or 218 to visit the catacombs of San Callisto, the largest and most impressive of the catacombs. Then walk or rent a bike and ride along the ancient road, lined with tombs, monuments, and churches. A beautiful place for lunch is the Cecilia Metella Restaurant, especially when it is nice and you can sit on the patio.

Tip: You can bye bus tickets at a newsstand or tabacchi: Validate them in the little machine when you board the bus. If you say catacombs, someone will tell you when to get off. 

Spanish Steps and Shopping
If you have time in the afternoon, go to Piazza del Popolo and walk along Via del Corso, the main shopping street. Turn onto Via Condotti and follow it to the Spanish Steps. Window-shopping and people-watching is good in this area and won't hurt your budget. Read more about Shopping in Rome

It's fun to try a restaurant you've discovered on your own and after three days of walking around Rome, you've probably found something you'd like to try. 

Piazza Navona and Tartufo
In the evening, Piazza Navona is a great place to continue your people-watching as well as see the three lavish Baroque fountains. The much-touted ice-cream dessert, tartufo, is said to have originated here - you can try it outside at the Tre Scalini for a splurge.

EVENTS

Vermeer, the Golden Century of Dutch Art

September 27 - January 20

The Scuderie del Quirinale is the venue for Italy’s first ever major show – entitled The Golden Century of Dutch Art – of works by 17th-century genius Johannes Vermeer. The Scuderie will follow up from February with an exhibition of masterpieces by Titian. Given the popularity of this venue’s excellent exhibitions, it’s best to book tickets (€12, €9.50 reductions) and time slot on-line, otherwise you face a long queue to enter.

Romaeuropa Festival
September 26 - November 25

The autumn sees the return of the Romaeuropa Festival (romaeuropa.net/en/) with its exceptional, world-class programme of contemporary dance, music and theatre performed in venues around the city. This year’s festival includes a tribute to US composer Philip Glass for his 75th birthday. Ticket prices vary greatly depending on venue and event; they can all be booked on line. For dedicated festival-followers there’s a five-show pass at €80.

Along the Silk Road
October 27 - March 24

A fascinating collection of textiles, artefacts and art works goes on display at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni (palazzoesposizioni.it) in October, charting a journey along the ancient Silk Road, which for centuries carried merchants from the Mediterranean to China. Tickets (€12.50, €10 reductions, include all the shows on inside this huge exhibition space) can be booked on line or purchased at the door.

Paul Klee and Italy
October 9 - January 27

Swiss-German artist Paul Klee made many visits to Italy. This show at the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna (gnam.beniculturali.it) displays works made during, and inspired by, his journeys. Tickets (€10, €7.50 reductions) can be purchased at the door.

Days of Rome. The Age of Balance
October 4 - April 28

The Capitoline museums (museicapitolini.org) play host to a stunning exhibition of artworks from the golden age when ancient Rome enjoyed prosperity and remarkable peace under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian (AD 98-138). Buy tickets (€12, €10 reductions) on the door, or book on-line through www.omniticket.it in order to go straight to the head of possible queues.

Rome Jazz Festival - most of November. Concerts are held in the Auditorium Parco della Musica. Rome Jazz Fest web site

Early to Mid November - International Rome Film Festival. A young festival as far as international film festivals go, the International Rome Film Festival takes place at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. Past guests of the festival have included big name Hollywood players, such as Wes Anderson, Jonathan Demme, and Martin Scorcese, as well as many other Italian and foreign directors and actors.

November 22 - Feast of Saint Cecilia (Santa Cecilia). The saint's feast day is celebrated at Santa Cecilia in Trastevere as well as at the Catacombs of San Callisto.

Autumn in Tuscany: Val d’Orcia landscape

“…the pause in this crossing that I hold dearest, the stop that my spirit desires with fits of impatience and greediness - is that in the high Orcia valley, beyond San Quirico, in the lands reaching to Montepulciano and Pienza. Its vision appears as the seabed of the memory or a land of dreams where some mysterious exalted sense perceives the chill of an unexplainable wind. Up there, in fact, the wind turns into the planet's enigmatic breathing. The morning breeze blows out toward the sea and returns warmer in the evening toward land. In that oasis which welcomes my exodus I sense the idleness of old men, I listen to the dull, mounting din of birds breaking into song, to silence, to the cry of joy that greets the day, to the sounds of life in the valley that are deflected, with the clinking of artisans meeting the moans of plows furrowing the land. Then there is that silence which is "not silent", being the language of nature and the universe…”

Mario Luzi

From “Terre di vento e di deserto”

“A land of wind and desert”

In the heart of the Sienese countryside dwells an essential, yet perfect landscape. It Is made up of hills, ravines, a winding riverbed and cypress trees that crown hilltops in perfect isolation or run along country roads with geometrical precision. Oak woods, olive groves and vineyards where Brunnello di Montalcino and other great Tuscan wines are born watch over enchanting hillsides, villages and historical monuments. To the west the view takes in Monte Amiata, Italy's highest extinct volcano. But it is the hills that impress you first. Val d'Orcia is now protected as an artistic, natural and cultural park. Trails, guides, brochures and museums all offer different means for exploring its treasures, although this most beautiful of Tuscany's valleys is first and foremost an emotion in itself. You’ll feel it in Radicofani if arriving from Viterbo or Rome, while crossing the Foce pass if arriving from Chianciano or Chiusi or at the Rocca a Tentennano after passing through Monte Amiata's dark forests. Wide-open, rolling and welcoming, Val d’ Orcia unfurls for travellers like one great, embracing smile.

If arriving from Siena or Florence to the north, the transition from the Crete area to Val d'Orcia is more sublte. The landscape remains arid as the hills rise and predominate and the wide Ombrone riverbed makes way for a narrower, winding valley. Clay outcroppings and ravines become fewer and farther between. The hamlets crowning the hilltops suddenly become splendid villages steeped with history and monuments. This is the most forbidding approach, described by poet Mario Luzi and by numerous other travellers. This is the route to Val d'Orcia taken in the past by pilgrims, Popes, mercenaries and merchants. Of these we may mention Charlemagne, the 11thcentury Archbishop Sigeric and members of the Medici family on their way to the curative waters at Bagno Vignoni.

Val d'Orcia leaves its mark on all those who pass this way. Those born here are fiercely bound to their land, and can scarcely live anywhere else. Even today, travellers who spend just a few hours passing through are instantly struck and seduced. They suddenly realise they must come back. The director Anthony Minghella was similarly struck and set his masterpiece film The English Patient, a saga about travelling, love, life and pain in Pienza and the monastery at Sant’ Anna in Camprena. More than anything else, Val d’ 0rcia means nature. The river this valley is named after is little more than a stream for most of the year. in the summer heat it practically dries up, but the autumn rains transform it into a raging river that seems to consume all it encounters. It springs forth in the hills between Radicofani and Sarteano, descends into a wide cultivated valley and then heads west toward Pienza, San Quirico, Montalcino and Castiglione. It skirts Monte Amiata and delves into a deep canyon, then passes through the hills of Maremma and finally feeds into the Ombrone river. The Orcia river is not the valley's only source of water. In Bagno Vignoni and Bagni San Filippo, thermal waters heated in the heart of the volcano bubble to the surface and form mineral outcroppings of rare beauty while offering well-being and pleasure to those who arrive from near and afar, as they have done for centuries.