My 12 Favorite Places in Rome (Not including the Colosseum) in Pictures

At Piazza della Trinity dei Monti above Piazza Spagna

There were so many places that I enjoyed about Rome so it was hard to pick only 10 places that I enjoyed the most, so I broke it down to twelve. In a previous blog post, I talked about the Colosseum because that's an obvious place that everyone needs to go to. Therefore I didn't include it in this post. I also left out the piazzas since they all had a certain charm about them. Having said that, here are the twelve places that I enjoyed the most. Let me know what you think of my list in the comments below.!



1. Foro Romano (The Roman Forum)

What I liked most: It was amazing to be among to be amongst beautiful architecture that dates all the way back to 8th Century BC. My favorite place to view it was at Palatine Hill (Palatino in Italian), which shows how spectacular this place is. It's right next to the Colosseum.

2. Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums)

What I liked most: I loved the busts of Roman poets, philosophers, and politicians as well as the outside of the museum. The statues make this museum. It's conveniently located near the Roman Forum.

3. The Vatican Museum

What I liked most: This place is enormous but every room was amazing. The ceilings were astounding, the Renaissance paintings were beautiful, and of course the painting of The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel to top it off. You'll spend most of your day here easily.

4. Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica)

What I liked most: The view at the top of St. Peter's Basilica gives you a view of Rome that you just won't believe. The dome inside the church itself is pretty large and artistic and you can even take time to pray in one of the prayer rooms. It's the world's largest church building and located in Vatican City.

5. The Pantheon

What I liked most: My wife and I got to see the largest dome in the world, saw two nuns praying together inside, and didn't pay anything. I can't believe this was built between 118-128 AD!

6. Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo

What I liked most: This was one of my favorites as far as interior design goes. See the pictures below.

7. Night view of Castel Sant'Angelo (The Mausoleum of Hadrian)

What I liked most: Although my wife and I got here late, we couldn't go inside. However, we ate a nice dinner on the Tiber River at 5:00pm and stayed until it got dark. Then we got some beautiful views of the Castel and St. Peter's Basilica from a distance. It was well worth the wait.

8. The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini

What I liked most: I loved the beautiful paintings and few people were here. I got a picture of the Henry VIII painting and although it didn't come out well, I thought the following three pictures represented how beautiful this museum was. If you do come here, don't forget to go behind the museum. You'll see a beautiful garden with a fountain (but, of course) that many people might not realize is there. It was quiet and very relaxing.

This ceiling was so big that I couldn't capture all of it.

9. Museo Nazionale Romano (The National Roman Museum)

What I liked most about it: I loved the courtyard and the Roman history. There are a lot of statues including a bust of Nero and other notable Roman figures.

10. Museo Nazionale Di Palazzio (National Roman Museum) near Piazza Venezia

What I liked most about it: The inside of the museum wasn't that amazing but the roof made up for it. You can get a great shot of Venizia Square (Piazza Venezia) with the Italian flag and beautiful Roman architecture all around this place.

11. Chiesa del Gesù (Church of the Gesu)

What I liked most about it: The lighting that shone through this beautiful church.

12. Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)

What I liked most about it: Although this place has A LOT of people around it and annoying people trying to get you to buy roses, it's still a very large and well constructed fountain. To actually be at one of the most copied fountains in the world was pretty cool.

Overview of Rome: Rome was fantastic. Although the city wasn't the cleanest, the architecture stood out the most obviously and made up for it. One of my favorite style of paintings is during the Renaissance era, so Rome definitely satisfied my curiosity there. Also, The food was wonderful and the prices were generally moderate. The food that stood out the most were the tortellini pasta, the thin pizza with prosciutto, and the firm linguine pasta noodles. I had no complaints with the food at all. The people were mostly friendly and the service was good at the restaurants. I recommend anyone to visit Rome once in their life!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

The outside of the Colosseum

On the first day of my European trip with my wife, we dove right into the most famous site in Rome: The Colosseum or The Colosseo in Italian (Amphitheatrum Flavium in Latin). We took a bus from Tuscolana Station and got there in about 30-40 minutes. But for most tourists, just get to Termini Station (center of Rome) and take a bus from there. Click here for more details on bus routes.


After we picked up our Roma Pass near there, we got in the line that allowed us to go in before other people. However, since it was a weekday, it wasn't crowded at all but it was VERY hot (38 C or 101 F).

Just inside the entrance of the Colosseum

Let me give you a very short history lesson about the Colosseum. It began being built under Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was finished under his successor Titus in AD 80 after the reign of Nero. The name Colosseum actually derives from the statue of Nero's head that was standing nearby, which later became morphed into the head of Apollo or Helio, the sun god.

You can see a cross on one side of the Colosseum.

What was it used for? It was used for gladiatorial battles, which you seen in movies all of the time, mock sea battles, animal hunts, dramas based on Classical mythology, and executions. However, all that kind of entertainment ceased to exist after the medieval era and started to become used for religious purposes: a Christian shrine, personal religious quarters, housing, etc. On Good Friday, the Pope has a procession that begins around the Colosseum, so the facilities are used for that purpose as well. It's also the largest amphitheater of all time and could seat up to 80,000 spectators. However, the average was about 65,000. See picture below.

The inside of the Colosseum on a very hot day!

My wife and I were thankful that we didn't have too many crowds to deal with. We were able to get a lot of good shots of the amphitheater without having to elbow our way through. My wife thought it was totally worth going and definitely her favorite place in Rome.

A view of the outside of the Roman Forum from a distance.

The great thing about this place is that it was conveniently located just east of the Roman Forum (For Romano in Italian), which was probably my favorite area of Rome. There is so much history in Rome, and although everything is somewhat close by, it requires A LOT of walking. If you do come to Rome in the summer time, take water with you and wear comfortable shoes. Just be aware that bathrooms (toilets) are not easy to come by. So if you come across one, just go even if you have to wait in line. You'll save yourself some agony later.

The way to the Roman Forum

Here's a picture of my wife and I inside the Colosseum. I can cross this one off of my Bucket List!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy