Rome in 3 Full Days

Well, you can visit whatever you want to see first, but I like to take the HOHO bus in a big city to get a good overview and some info on the sights. You can get off when you want and explore, then return to the bus and go on to the next sight. Or, I will usually do the whole ride the first day just to relax and get a lay of the land.

A family of four - 2 adults, 2 kids? If so what are their ages? What do they want to see? Are you arriving in Rome from the US or somewhere else where jetlag won't be an issue? What kinds of sights do you like to see? Art galleries? Ancient ruins? I like the HOHO bus in some cases, especially if you have no idea about the lay of the the city. If you are looking for free things to do/see, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and St. Peter's among others are all free. The Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill are all on the same ticket which is a 2-day combo ticket. I would recommend doing these together on the same day. With 3 days, I would limit myself to the Centro Storico (historic center) with lots of walking and gelato!

I also recommend the Hop On-Hop Off buses. I got a 48 hour ticket this last summer and it worked great especially if you don't want to rely on public transportation. The main sites can include the Colosseum and Roman Forum, Vatican City, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, but what are your interests? You can easily see all the "main" sites in 3 days. Last summer I was in Rome for 3 days and my first day was spent seeing the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona area, then the second days was focused on the Colosseum and Roman Forum area, and the third day was spent in Vatican City and at the Spanish Steps.

Terry that HOHO bus is looks like a great idea. I will put it in my list. Thanks
Stephen, no kids. Will be son who's 20th , wife and my mother. I will be flying from the Chicago. Mainly my son is wants to see the Ancient Ruins, Colosseum & things like that. I do want to visit the Vatican. I'm trying to book maybe an extra night or two nights but not sure if will be necessary.

Thanks!

Re ruins: If you have time, the Via Appia Antica and Acqueduct Park are an easy combination, or Ostia Antica.

For a shorter visit, you can walk part of the Roman Wall near Porto San Sebastiano.