Travel

My Rome Bucket List for 2024

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I moved to Rome, Italy back in 2001. My original plan had been to stay here for three days... I'm still here!

I had a bucket list of places I wanted to visit and stuff I wanted to see during my three day visit. Like most tourists coming here for a quick visit I wanted to see the main sites like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's and the Vatican museums, and the Spanish Steps to name a few. 

Fun fact! The Spanish Steps is where I met my now husband and so part of the reason I never left Rome 😉

I have fully embraced the concept of being a local tourist (Explore Tourist Places has a great article explaining local tourism in more detail). I'm fortunate enough to live in the eternal city where they say a lifetime isn't enough to see everything it has to offer. Well, I'm going to make sure I see as much of it as possible!

I hope this list will also help inspire those of you planning on visiting here and give you some ideas of what to do in Rome beyond the most well known tourist stuff. 

Places I want to visit in Rome in 2024

Whilst I have visited most of the places I originally wanted to (I've been to St. Peter's multiple times over the years) I still haven't made it to the Sistine Chapel and the rest of the Vatican museums. It's terrible I know. I've been here for over half my life now and yet haven't managed to go there. 2024 will be the year I finally do! 

Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Caelian Hill (Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo al Monte Celio in Italian), located at Via Santo Stefano Rotondo 7 near the Colosseo. Rome is packed full of churches and this particular one sounds really interesting. The church was the first in Rome to have a circular plan. It's open on Sundays and they offer free guided tours too.

Palazzo Doria Pamphil and the Doria Pamphili Gallery has been on my bucket list for a while now. The photo's I've seen look amazing! I feel like I should dress like a princess to visit it (I won't, but you get the idea).

The Capuchin Crypt of Santa Maria della Concezione, located at Via Vittorio Veneto, 27 near Piazza Barberini. I visited some great underground sites in 2023 and can't wait to discover more. Apparently the tiny chapels underneath the church are adorned with the bones of 4000 monks. 

Galleria Sciarra located at Via Marco Minghetti 10 near Trevi fountain is also on my list. This is another one of those places that will probably give me neck-ache (seriously anywhere you visit in Rome look up. The ceilings are often breath-taking). I have a feeling it will be worth it though. 

Basilica di San Clemente located at Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 45, near the Colosseum. This ancient basilica actually consists of two overlapping churches and the remains of a temple of the god Mithra. I have visited the upper level in the past but never got round to visiting the lower levels. 

I'd also like to go back to the Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco. You can find my Guide to the Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco here. I visited it with my son last summer but unfortunately the underground was closed when we went. I plan to head back there on a weekend when it's open to check it out.

The Aurelian Walls (Museo delle Mura in Italian), located at Via di Porta San Sebastiano,18. This is another place I've wanted to visit for a while now. I love the idea of being able to walk along the top of the walls.

Little London (Piccola Londra in Italian), located at Via Bernardo Celentano, directly off of Via Flaminia is a short street here in Rome where the architect wanted to recreate the feel of a residential suburb of London. I'm curious to see what it's like and also haven't been back to the UK in a while and so hoping it might help quell need to get back on British soil until the summer when it's a more likely possibility for us. 

Ostia Antica is on the very outskirts of Rome towards the coast. It's packed with historical sites and other interesting places to visit. There's a lot of see and do here so this one will probably take a few separate visits to cover it all. 

You might also like: Ostia Lido - Easy Beach Day Trip From Rome

I'm sure this list will grow considerably throughout the year as I discover more places worth discovering more. Rome has a crazy number of museums, churches, and other historical and archaeological sites. 

I got a MIC Card in 2023 and made good use of it visiting most of the museums. For just €5 it gives free unlimited access to a wide variety of museums and archaeological sites. It also means you get to avoid queues and get access to special events. It gives a discount on the ticket price for some other places too. I'll probably be renewing my card for 2024. It basically pays for itself with just one use. 

To be honest, I'd be quite happy to go back and revisit a lot of the places I've already been to. So many of them are so packed with things that you can go several times and see something new each time. 

What places are on your travel bucket list for 2024? Have you ever visited Rome? What places do you recommend I check out? When was the last time you were a local tourist where you live?

You might also like: A Guide to Palazzo Venezia, Rome

You might also like: A Guide to the Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi

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