How To Spend 8 Days in Rome In The Winter

Colosseum in Rome

I thought London, England was my favourite city to visit.  But you know what, I fell in love with Rome! I had spent a couple of days in Rome a few years back. I travelled there while I was recovering from food poisoning that I got at a Blue Jays game. I wasn't off to a great start.

But this time around! My family and I visited Rome after Christmas and spent our time in the city with a couple of day trips. One was to Florence and one to Orvieto.

How We Spent Our Time in Rome

1.Exploring the Culture

Trevi Fountain at Night

Where do you start?  There is so much history in Rome that you could spend days and days. When we were planning our trip, we decided to visit the Colosseum and the Vatican again. Both of these attractions are super popular and very busy. 

We booked tours through Viator for both of these places.  It does cost more money than going on your own. But if you want to avoid the long lines, it is super helpful. You can wait 2 to 3 hours to get into one attraction. There is so much to see inside the Vatican museum that you would miss, if you didn't have a guide. Both our guides for each of these tours were knowledgeable and entertaining.

Another famous attraction is the Trevi Fountain which I have now named the Trevi zoo! This year is the Catholic Jubilee. It is a year long celebration that occurs every 25 years. It brings so many more people to the Vatican. The Trevi Fountain was restored for this celebration.  You used to be able to  walk up to the fountain and take photographs but not now. You have to pay 2 Euros and wait in line.

Here is a really good tip. If you want to take photos of any of these three attractions, go there at night. We visited all three of them after 9pm and took photos without many others around. It was worth going back.

St. Peter's Basilica at Night

2. Walking the neighbourhoods

Pantheon

We walked everywhere. We were hesitant to use their subway transportation. A friend of ours wallet was almost stolen while he was on the train. Be extra careful at the Vatican too. Italians recommend wearing your backpack on the front of you when you are in large crowds.

When travelling to Rome in the winter, make sure to bring layers. During the day it was around 13 degrees Celsius but the evenings were cool.  It reminded me of  a desert climate.

There are many different neighbourhoods in Rome. I am going to highlight four of them.

CAMPO MARZIO
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This neighbourhood is where you will find many attractions. There are the Spanish Steps that lead from the Piazza di Spagna square to the French monastery church  Trinita die Monti.

Further over is the Piazza del Popolo where you can see an Egyptian obelisk dedicated to Ramesses II. It's called Flaminio Obelisk, and it is located at the centre of the piazza. Many people come to this square to see famous churches or to walk up to the top to see the sunset.

The Trevi Fountain is also found in this neighbourhood. 

My favourite was the Pantheon. You need to buy tickets to enter but you can easily do it once in Rome. It's faster to purchase them online. The Pantheon was a former Roman temple and turned Catholic church. The circular dome on the top of the Pantheon has inspired architects to use it in many other churches.

Inside the Colosseum

The Forum

MONTI

If you are looking to visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, you will find it in Monti. The Forum is the original village where the Romans lived. It's very close to the Colosseum. 

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre ever built. Titus finished building it 80AD and the first gladiator games came shortly after.  Seeing the Colosseum at night is beautiful with all the lights.

Fieramosca Restaurant in Trastevere

Pasta Alla Gricia (Gluten Free)

 TRASTEVERE

This neighbourhood is located across the Tiber River. On New Year's Day they have a competition where divers jump from a bridge into the cold water of this river. We witnessed it! They only wore a bathing suit.

It's a popular neighbourhood with history and wonderful restaurants. We went to a local restaurant called Fieramosca. It was recommended to us by our Chef at the cooking class. Great food in an old historic atmosphere.

ROME CENTRE

Just above Piazza Venezia is Il Vittoriano, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. You can't miss it. Romans either love it or hate it. But if you are visiting, I highly recommend going there and purchasing the pass to take you up the to top. You get spectacular views of the Colosseum and the Forum. We did it in the morning when it wasn't as busy and you are not rushed.

Il Vittoriano, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

3. Roman Food

If you are a foodie, this is the city to go! Pasta was ate every day and sometimes twice a day.

Rome has 4 favourite pasta dishes. They're found on every menu. They include Gricia, Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara and Amatriciana.

We decided to take a cooking class where we made pumpkin ravioli, homemade fettuccine, bolognese, and tiramisu. We booked it through Cookly.me but you can also find it at EnjoyCooking.com.

Chef Marco was entertaining and we were there for three hours. We learned how to make dough and used an electric pasta machine. We found  it's important not to overcook pasta otherwise it feels like glue in your stomach. They even had gluten free for me. I learned to make my own gnocchi.

Speaking of gluten free, they are so many options. Most restaurants will ofter gluten free pasta. We found gluten free restaurants that had two dedicated kitchens. One kitchen was  gluten free while the other was a regular one. I even had whole menus that could be made gluten free. You can locate these restaurants on the Italian Celiac Association.

I also found a gluten free grocery store called Celiachiamo LAB. I have never seen so many products in one place. We walked to it after visiting the Vatican in Prati. 

When in Rome you have to have gelato. One of my favourites is Grom as you can get gluten free cones and dairy free gelato. You really can't go wrong at any of the gelato shops.

Cooking Class in Rome

Chocolate and Mango Gelato from GROM

4. Day Trips to Florence and Orvieto

Uffizi Gallery Museum

Arno River

Babae Wine Window

FLORENCE

Before our trip we booked tickets through ItaliaRail to travel to Florence. We left early in the morning and arrived around 10am. We visited the Ufizzi Gallery which contains some of the most famous art created by Italian painters. If you wish to see the David statue, it is at the Galleria dell'Accdemia Di Firenze  which is closed on Mondays.

Another great attraction to see in Florence is their food hall called Mercato Centrale. It's absolutely insane at lunchtime. There are two levels.  We had lunch on the upper level and my family had one of the best pizzas on the trip there. 

If you looking for handmade leather goods, Florence is the place. But don't buy anything at the market when you come out of  Mercato Centrale. It's not authentic Italian.

Have you heard of wine windows? It's where you go up to a window in a historical building and order a glass of wine.  They became popular in the 16th century as wine growers could sell wine without paying taxes.  We visited one called Babae.

ORVIETO

What a little gem of a medieval village this town is. My husband and son discovered this place. We booked train tickets before we left for Rome on Trenitalia.  It's not as nice as the bullet trains! 
We bought a City Pass where we could visit a number of attractions without paying anything extra.

There were three highlights. The Duomo di Orvieto at the very top is absolutely stunning. We also visited St Patrick Well where you walk down 248 steps. It was built to provide water to the city in case of a siege. I recommend doing this right after you get off the train as it's close by. You do have to visit a kiosk to get your ticket even with the City Pass.

If you are looking for a stunning view of the city I recommend  Torre del Moro. Here you climb up to the top where they have their famous bell tower.

A must see is the Orvieto Underground.  You need to reserve a spot in a tour group which we did when we arrived.  If you are interested in doing this, I would recommend booking before you go to Orvieto. I think we got lucky.  

The Orvieto Underground is a maze of caves, wells and tunnels. They raised pigeons to provide them with a source of food. They also used the underground as an oil mill. Today some buildings above ground have their own private cave.

Not on our list that day was the discovery  of an outdoor market where I purchased a handmade labradorite necklace for myself!

Duomo di Orvieto

St Patrick Well

Jewellery Purchase - Handmade Market in Orvieto

Rome is going to be a busy destination this year because of the Jubilee.  If want to escape the crowds for a moment, walk inside one of the many Catholic churches. So peaceful!

Have you been to Rome? Planning to visit? Let me know!

Enjoy the Beauty of Nature!🌷
​Cheryl 

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