How to See Ancient Rome in a Day Without a Tour Guide

Bom Oliver

Welcome to Channel – A Journey to Explore the World!  This YouTube channel shares a unique lifestyle through global travel, exploring local cultures via street food, traditional dishes, and authentic travel experiences you won’t want to miss.  🎒 From bustling markets in Asia, street food tours in Europe, to minimalist living and local life in remote lands – each video captures real, inspiring moments from every journey.  🍜 If you’re passionate about food, backpacking, and discovering diverse lifestyles, this is the channel for you!  📅 Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you won’t miss our weekly adventures!  #travel  #chill travel #europeantravel #asian travel #food #streetfood

Transcript

00:00Our goal for our first full day in Rome is to see all the highlights of ancient Rome,

00:04including the Pantheon, the Colosseum, Roman Forum, in a day and without a guide or paid tour.

00:11Good morning for our first full day in Rome.

00:14We're going to take advantage of kind of this slower morning.

00:18Our hotel is literally less than a block from the Pantheon,

00:22so we've downloaded the Rick Steves Audio Tour. We're going to go check that out.

00:24Rick Steves Audio Europe app is basically the key to not having to pay for a guide.

00:29It's free to download from the App Store and extremely easy to use.

00:34There's already a super long line.

00:37We made use of our time in line by starting this audio tour

00:40because it actually covers a lot of stuff on the outside of the Pantheon first.

00:44They're 40 feet tall and 15 feet around, made of red and gray granite.

00:50The line actually moved pretty quick and we were in and under 20 minutes.

00:53The Pantheon was originally built as a pagan temple and now it is a Catholic church.

00:58It is one of Rome's best kept monuments and there are many monarchs buried inside,

01:03which is pretty crazy to see.

01:05This dome is a perfect sphere. It is 142 feet from the floor up to the rooftop.

01:10It also inspired the Duomo in Florence as well as St. Peter's Basilica here in Rome.

01:16The Pantheon is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week

01:20and is absolutely free to visit during the week.

01:23To visit the Pantheon on weekends and public holidays,

01:26it is required to book the visit at least one day in advance.

01:30Admission is only 8 euro and 50 cents per person.

01:33So cool.

01:34That was incredible.

01:38Let's go get some food.

01:39So Lauren's status, we usually get free breakfast at hotels or we'll get points.

01:44Normally we take the points and run around the city,

01:46but Lauren wanted to go up and have a nice breakfast with a view of the city on the terrace.

01:52Great day starts with all the beverages.

01:57Just relaxing.

01:58All right, we already got our history warm-up in with the Pantheon tour

02:01and we've got a good breakfast.

02:03We are fueled up and fully ready to explore ancient Rome.

02:07So I'm a bit of a procrastinator,

02:09so I bought our tickets to the Coliseum a little bit late,

02:12so we can't get in until about 1.15.

02:15However, our ticket does get us into the Roman Forum,

02:18so we're going to head over there and explore now.

02:20Tickets are 18 euro per adult

02:22and you have to reserve a time for entering the Coliseum.

02:24However, you can enter the Roman Forum and Palantyne Hill anytime within that same day.

02:30We are entering the Roman Forum.

02:32Ruins or bench?

02:34People are sitting on those rocks.

02:37But on the rocks, it seems safer.

02:39You already know what's about to happen.

02:41I'm going to let my man Rick Steves.

02:43Hi, I'm Rick Steves.

02:45Who always seems to have a sweater tied around his shoulder

02:49guide us through the Roman Forum.

02:52The political, religious, and social center of this vast empire

02:55was a five-acre patch of land known as the Forum.

02:59As per usual, we were staring at the wrong thing

03:04and then he starts describing some of the pictures or the carvings

03:07and we should be seeing on the arch and we're like,

03:10I think we're at the wrong end.

03:11So we are headed that way to this arch.

03:15You'll want to allow about an hour to do justice to this audio-guided tour.

03:18The Arch of Titus, the actual start to this tour.

03:24There's a lot to see in here, like a lot.

03:27So we're going to put Rick on times two and try to take everything in.

03:31The Temple of Saturn.

03:34The Basilica of Constantine.

03:36Via Sacra or the main strip through the Roman Forum.

03:40The Temple of Antonius Pius and Faustina.

03:44The House of the Vestal Virgins.

03:46So the Vestal Virgins were selected at 10 years old

03:50and told that they were going to be one of the six women

03:54who were responsible for tending to the hearth flame.

03:57And if they served their term faithfully for 30 years,

04:00they were given a dowry and allowed to marry.

04:02However, if it was found out that they were not a virgin,

04:07as the Vestal Virgin name implies,

04:10they were essentially buried alive

04:12after being carted through the city and called out.

04:18All right, so we just finished our walking tour, the Roman Forum.

04:22It was a lot to take in at once.

04:24There's so much history here.

04:26I mean, you can just see behind me

04:27all of the ancient ruins that are still here.

04:29What's crazy to me is just to imagine how this was built so long ago

04:32without, you know, new technology and things like that.

04:34It's just kind of hard to imagine.

04:36We are headed now to the Colosseum.

04:41I'm about to cross off my sixth wonder of the world

04:43and I could not be more excited.

04:45Let's go.

04:46For our tour, allow about an hour to see the Colosseum.

04:51Time for another audio tour.

04:53When we think of ancient Rome,

04:55we think of the Colosseum, Rome's most enduring monument.

04:58So this is the ground floor

05:00or what would have actually been the stadium floor of the Colosseum.

05:05They have an opening so you can see all of the tunnels

05:07and the elevators where all of the gladiators,

05:10the animals and all of that were.

05:12It comes around.

05:13They have some restored stadium seats

05:16with people's names on it where they had assigned seats.

05:19And now, let's head up to the cheap seats.

05:23All right, we exited the Colosseum.

05:34We're now walking through Palantine Hill.

05:36Hoping to get one last good look at the Colosseum

05:38before we go find some pizza

05:40because we might be getting angry.

05:42If you don't know what Palantine Hill is,

05:44it's the center hill of the seven here in Roma.

05:47Back in ancient Rome,

05:48it was where the emperors and aristocrats lived.

05:51We're just kind of enjoying the scenery.

05:53There's a lot of trees, greenery,

05:55some ancient ruins,

05:56and it's a nice place for a walk

05:58to avoid the crowds

06:00around the ancient city of Rome

06:02and the Colosseum.

06:03Oh, did a bird just poop on me?

06:06Nope.

06:06Okay.

06:07Something just hit me.

06:08I thought it was bird poop.

06:09Reflecting on my thoughts

06:10of just visiting the Colosseum,

06:11glad I saw it.

06:12It was crazy.

06:13It was just weird to try and envision

06:14what used to take place.

06:16It was very exciting and thrilling

06:19and somber at the same time.

06:20It was somber in the fact

06:21that it was built using slave labor

06:23and that people used to literally

06:25fight to the death,

06:25which would be weird

06:26and crazy to watch.

06:28But anyways,

06:29Lauren crossed off her sixth

06:31out of her seventh new wonder of the world.

06:33And if you guys are new here,

06:35we're trying to visit 30 new places

06:36by the time we turn 30.

06:38But also Lauren's personal travel mission

06:40is to see the new seven wonders of the world.

06:43So she is truly happy.

06:44And of course,

06:46the perfect way to celebrate

06:47this accomplishment was some pizza.

06:50Got myself a slice of Roman pizza.

06:52Roman pizza is very different

06:55from let's say the thin,

06:57airy pizza that a lot of people

06:58think of when they think of Italy.

07:00That's more from the Sicilian region.

07:03But this guy is almost like fococcia.

07:06Got one with tomato, cheese, and mushroom.

07:09And then they cut it in half for me

07:11and put it like a sandwich

07:12so I can eat it all in a while.

07:13If you liked this video

07:15or found it useful,

07:16please consider checking out

07:17the rest of the vlogs

07:18in our Italy series

07:19and subscribe.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended