48 hours with Vietnamese tourists exploring Rome

The street and square in front of St. Peter's Basilica

I first came to Rome 9 years ago and was extremely impressed with this museum city because every house, square, street corner, church is hundreds to thousands of years old. This year we returned to Rome and had more time to explore this city with the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. If you only have 48 hours, you can still visit all the main tourist attractions in Rome according to the following itinerary.

The Colosseum - a world cultural heritage is the number 1 choice when coming to Rome. Built in the 70s AD, for 400 years, this was the bloody arena between gladiators and gladiators, gladiators and beasts and beasts and beasts. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was a place for public performances, shops and executions.

The Colosseum is 158m wide, 188m long, 57m high, 3 floors, designed in an oval shape with rolled arches, intersecting arches, fan-shaped horizontal walls, and can accommodate about 50,000 people. It is so well designed that it only takes 15 minutes to enter and 5 minutes to exit for tens of thousands of spectators. The entrance system with a series of stairs, corridors and 80 doors 2,000 years ago is exactly like modern sports stadiums today.

After nearly 2,000 years, through many events and impacts of nature and humans, this masterpiece of human art now only retains about 1/3 of its original structure. Every day, the Colosseum welcomes about 20,000 visitors. If you want to visit, you should buy tickets online in advance or come early to buy because this place limits the number of visitors each day.

Just outside the Colosseum you can see the Arch of Constantine. The largest Roman triumphal arch still in existence, it was built to honor Emperor Constantine after his victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312.

The Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum, with the Colosseum in the background

Palentine Hill and the Roman Forum are located right next to the Constantine Arch. This was once the political and cultural center of ancient Rome , including temples, courts, the Senate, palaces, arenas, markets and government buildings... Now all that remains are the ruins of an empire that once ruled over a large area of the Mediterranean, Europe and North Africa...

Of the 900 churches and monasteries in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major is one of the four largest and oldest. Built in 434, for nearly sixteen centuries, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major has attracted pilgrims from all over the world to pray and admire its beauty and artistic treasures.

The fifth-century mosaic in the central nave, the gilded wooden ceiling designed by Giuliano Sangallo in 1450 and especially the masterpiece and sacred painting of Our Lady of Rome (Salus Populi Romani) are the most unique works of art in the Basilica.

St. Mary Major Basilica is free to enter and you don't have to wait in line to visit this huge basilica.

The Pantheon is the best preserved ancient structure in Rome. Built in 120 AD under Emperor Hadrian to honor the gods, it is one of the architectural wonders of the ancient Roman Empire. When the great artist Michelangelo saw the Pantheon, he said it was designed by angels, not men.

The Pantheon's architectural design has inspired countless important architectural works throughout history, spanning Europe and the Americas. Today, the Pantheon continues to function as a church and is a prominent tourist destination in Rome, Italy.

This is one of my favorite squares in Rome. The square is rectangular with three beautiful fountains and is surrounded by buildings with balconies decorated with beautiful flowers. Street artists and painters help attract more visitors.

Sitting and drinking coffee or eating at a restaurant on the beautiful and romantic square is an experience not to be missed.

St. Peter's Basilica was started in 1506 on the site of the old Constantinian church. It was not completed until 1626 and became the most famous architectural masterpiece of the Renaissance period and also the largest and most important church in the world since then.

The church is an extremely large space, with a capacity of up to more than 60 thousand people at a time and is exquisitely, splendidly and uniquely decorated.

When mentioning the famous architectural structures of St. Peter's Basilica, one cannot help but mention the unique dome designed by the talented sculptor Michelangelo. Built with bricks with a large free span, with an outer dome diameter of 42 meters and an inner dome diameter of 41.5 meters, it was a feat of construction engineering at that time.

The statue of the Madonna of Sorrows, one of Michelangelo's most outstanding sculptures.

Not only is St. Peter’s Basilica rich in ancient architecture, it also possesses the most famous artistic masterpieces in the world. This is where countless works of art from paintings to sculptures by many famous artists of the past are displayed. Some of the works include Michelangelo’s Madonna and Raphael’s paintings…

Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica

The church is open from 7am to 7pm and admission is free. Go early or late to avoid long lines. You will have to pay for admission to the Vatican Museums if you want to see Michelangelo's most famous painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

After visiting St. Peter's Basilica you can walk to the banks of the Tiber River to see the Sant'Angelo Bridge and visit the nearby Sant'Angelo Castle.

The bridge dates back to 134 AD and is one of only two ancient bridges in Rome that still retains its original structure (the other being the Fabricius Bridge). Three of the five arches that now span the bridge are Roman in origin. There are 10 sculptures on either side of the bridge.

The Baroque Trevi Fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732 and completed in 1872, is the city's most beautiful and famous fountain and one of the most beautiful fountains in the world.

The Trevi Fountain is made of limestone and marble. The centerpiece of the fountain is a bearded sea god Neptune riding a shell-shaped chariot pulled by two horses and two Tritons. The horses, one wild and one docile, represent the ocean at times of both storm and calm. The fountain’s crystal clear water comes from a source 22 kilometers away and is fed by one of the aqueducts built by Caesar Augustus and in use since 17 BC. Visitors toss two coins into the water, one for their own wish and one for their return to Rome. Whether or not the wish comes true, the fountain raises about $4,000 a day, and the money goes to local charities.

People gather here from morning to night with a hopeful and joyful mood. However, this is also an ideal place for thieves even though there are many police around. We are often reminded by the police that there are many pickpockets, be careful with the things in your pockets and backpacks.

Located a few blocks from the Trevi Fountain are the Spanish Steps. Built exactly 300 years ago, they are one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions. The Spanish Steps are a 135-step marble staircase that connects the Trinità dei Monti church at the top and the former Spanish Embassy building at the bottom. That's why they're called the Spanish Steps.

The movie Roman Holiday (1953) starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn helped make the Spanish Steps more famous worldwide. With its ancient and romantic beauty, set in a classic space, this structure has appeared in many famous movies, most recently Mission Impossible 7 (2023).

Spanish Steps at night

Since August 2019, the city of Rome has banned tourists from sitting on the Spanish Steps. This decision was made due to the carelessness of some tourists who spit chewing gum and spilled beer, wine and coffee on the marble floors of the steps, causing them to discolor. However, according to my observations, tourists still sit and the police did not warn or fine them, with the announced fine being 250-400 euros.

There are 15,000 pizzerias and 8,000 restaurants ranging from casual to high-end in Rome for you to choose from. However, you cannot come to Rome without eating Italian food with pasta dishes, especially carbonara, pizza and gelato. You can walk between most of the tourist attractions I mentioned above because they are located in the city center. There are some places that are further away, you can take the metro or bus, tram or call a technology car (uber). The best time to visit Rome is from April to June and from September to November when the weather is cool, there are fewer tourists, and airfare, hotels and food are cheaper.