This post features Rome, Florence and Genoa from a trip in March 2026 and Trieste, Gorizia and Udine in May 2026…
Rome
It’s worth considering why you’re going to Rome and what you want to do when you get there. You can spend a lot of time queuing to visit attractions such as the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums. If you’re happy doing that, then it’s worth considering getting a tourist card and buying the entrance tickets in advance. Bear in mind that most of the attractions have airport-style security – so, travel light. See any of these sites for the options available: www.tiqets.com/en/rome-city-cardshttps://romesite.com/https://www.turismoroma.it/en/
I couldn’t be bothered with queuing up and was just happy wandering around the city. Depending on how long you are spending in the city, it’s worth pacing yourself as you can walk for miles.
Just a day? Start at the Colosseum, walk down the Via dei Fori Imperiale. When you reach the absurd Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II, head off into the city centre and the Parthenon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Piazza Navona before heading off to the Vatican. That could easily take up 4 or 5 hours.
If you have 2 days, then do the area around the Colosseum and the Via dei Fori Imperiale on day one and then the city centre attractions and the Vatican City on day two…
The location of your accommodation will help determine the routes. It’s an easy city to walk around and it’s nice just wandering around. Don’t be fooled by pedestrian zones – they’re more traffic free-ish zones. Think the street is too narrow to drive down? Not to the Italians. In fairness, they generally drive slowly and carefully – well used to tourists wandering aimlessly…
According to Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, the city of Rome was founded in April 753bc and was formed from settlements gathered around the River Tiber. That sounds like spurious accuracy to me, but anyway. Between 264bc and 146bc, the Romans fought three wars with Carthage, known as the Punic Wars. This resulted in the Romans winning control of Carthage’s overseas territories in North Africa, the Mediterranean and southern Europe. By 58bc the Romans had an empire that stretched from North Africa and Syria to Portugal. These lands outside of the boundaries of Rome became known as provinces. The provinces were ruled by Roman law. The Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum) began in 27bc, when Augustus became the first official Roman emperor, and ended in 476ad. The Romans conquered Britannia (as they called it) between 43-47ad and left around 410ad. These are generally accepted dates but needless to say some sources use different dates…
The Colosseum:
The Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Colosseum, was built in the first century adThere’s a handy pedestrian bridge over the Via degli Annibaldi from where you can get a great view of the Colosseum…
Arches of Constantine and Titus:
The Arch of ConstantineThe Arch of Titus
Via dei Fori Imperiale:
The Temple of Venus and Roma
Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II:
In 1878, a few years after the unification of Italy, it was decided to dedicate a monument to theKing Vittorio Emanuele II, who had recently died, and to the entire Risorgimento period. Two international competitions (in 1880 and 1882) were held to decide the design and the project byGiuseppe Sacconi won. It was inspired by the great sanctuaries of the classical age: a large staircase leading to the Altare della Patria, the propylaea and the grandiose colonnade, surmounted by bronze quadrigas, allegories of the Unity of the Fatherland and Liberty. The works began in 1885, inaugurated in 1911 but only considered complete in 1935…
Circus Maximus:
Vatican City:
The Ponte Sant’Angelo leading to the Castel Sant’Angelo, or the Mausoleum of Hadrian, was built between 123-135adThe Castel Sant’Angelo
The River Tiber:
The Tiber rises in the Apennine Mountains and flows for 405km (252 miles) where it enters the Tyrrhenian Sea at Isola Sacra…The vast Palazzo Koch opened in 1893 and is the headquarters of the Central Bank of Italy…
Centro Storico:
The Trevi FountainThe Spanish StepsPiazza NavonaChiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone, Piazza NavonaThe Pantheon in the Piazza della RotundaThe Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotunda
Piazza del Popolo:
Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore:
Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore – it appears to be sponsored by Samsung…Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore
Rome Termini and Metro:
Roma Termini is the main railway station and it’s huge. A vast shopping centre, bus station and railway station in one. It is also on the Metro network. It’s called Termini not because it’s a terminus, but after the nearby Roman Baths of Diocletian, as the Latin for baths is Thermae. There’s been a station here since 1863. The original station building was demolished in 1937. The current station was designed in 1947 and inaugurated in December 1950. Rome Tiburtina is the city’s second biggest station and 3 stops away from Termini on the Metro Line B, in the direction of Rebibbia (NOT Jonio)… A Metro station. Rome has only three metro lines: A,B and C. In theory it’s pretty straightforward and easy to use. You don’t need to buy a ticket: simply tap-in with your debit card. There’s a flat cost of €1.50 (at time of writing). No need to tap out on exit – just go through the turnstiles. However. You need to know not just where you’re going but the last stop in the direction you want to go. There are absurdly few maps in the stations and the direction signs will simply tell you the line terminus. So: to get from Colosseo to Termini or Tiburtina you will need Line B. For Termini get a train going to Jonio or Rebibbia. There’s only one intermediate stop (Cavour), so it’s easy and fairly quick. But to get to Tiburtina only take a train going to Rebibbia. There are five intermediate stops. The line splits after Bologna: the spur goes to Jonio, while the main line continues to Rebibbia. See: https://roma-metro-card.com/rome-metro-line-b/ and https://www.atac.roma.it/en/home
Hotel Mercure Rome Colosseum:
The Mercure Roma Colosseo is astonishingly ugly but it is in a great location…Room 603 with great views and, as it isn’t overlooked, there’s no need to close the curtains nor is it necessary to close the windows as it isn’t as noisy as you might expect…View from one of the, admittedly small, windows…
Florence
Florence (Firenze) is a lovely city and a popular tourist destination. As with Rome, the city centre and its attractions can get very busy.
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the largest churches in the world…Construction began in 1296 and was consecrated in 1436The Cathedral is actually free to visit but the queues can be very long – check opening times and dress codes at: https://duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/cathedralThe church is decorated in white, red and green marble with geometric figures and stylised flowers. The facade is a 19th-century neo-Gothic masterpiece, designed by De Fabris and adorned by the greatest Tuscan artists. It replaced a previous decorated wall from the late 1600s,..
Basilica San Lorenzo:
Basilica Santa Maria Novella:
Piazza di Santa Croce:
The Basilica Santa CroceA confectionery market Most of the stalls were selling chocolatesMore chocolate…
Palazzo Vecchio:
Ponte Vecchio:
The River Arno:
Museums: Uffizi on the left and the Galileo right
Street Scenes:
Piazza della RepubblicaOrsanmichele ChurchPonte San TrinitaPalazzo StrozziPalazzo StrozziPiazza San FirenzeMuseo GalileoThe Cucina Toscana Vini on the Via Isola delle Stinche – an intriguing buildingPiazza di San Pier MaggioreCosta dei MagnoliThe old town is a maze of narrow streets…Apparently it’s an Irish pub but you’d never know – small, friendly and a reasonable choice of beers including, bizarrely, Tiny Rebel Cali Pale. It’s not far from the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella on Via del Sole…Florence’s Santa Maria Novella StationThe view from my balcony at the Hotel Indigo. Five minutes from Florence SMN station and about 10 minutes from the Duomo and yet a nice little oasis of calm. A great hotel…
Genoa
Piazza de Ferrari:
Piazza Matteotti and Via San Lorenzo:
Via XX Settembre:
The Bristol Palace HotelMy room in the Bristol Palace Hotel
Via XXV Aprile:
Via Giuseppe Garibaldi:
The Harbour:
Porta Soprano:
City of Little Streets:
Trieste
Around The Grand Canal:
Piazza Unità d’Italia:
The Cathedral and Castle:
Around the Amphitheatre:
Street Scenes:
The Central Station:
Gorizia
Piazza della Vittoria:
The Castle:
The Town:
The regional museum
Monfalcone:
Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) was founded in Monfalcone in 1908 by the Cosulich’s, a family of shipowners. Until then, their company – Unione Austriaca di Navigazione – used to order new ships from UK shipyards, which were at the forefront in the field. In 1930, the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico (CRDA), an association of shipyards in Monfalcone, Trieste and Muggia, was established. In 1966, Italy’s two main shipbuilding groups, Ansaldo and CRDA, merged to form Italcantieri. In 1984, all public shipyards were merged into a national shipbuilding giant, rationalising the sector that would ensure continuous work. Unable to compete with Far-Eastern shipbuilders in the construction of merchant ships, the only option for the Italian shipbuilding industry was to craft high-tech ships. It was decided to focus on cruise ships, an emerging industry with great potential for development – as you can see there 3 under construction right now…
Udine
In The Rain:
Udine Cathedral, in the Piazza Duomo, dates from 1236 with 14th century additions. In the 16th century, the cathedral was remodelled in a Baroque style. In the twentieth century, the façade was restored to its simpler14th century architectural style…Adjacent to the Cathedral is the bell tower, dating from 1441.Courtyard of the Morpugo PalacePiazza della LibertàPiazza della LibertàA fuzzy photo of the Loggia del Lionello -completed in 1456, but the facade wasn’t decorated until 1548
