3 days in Rome - what should we do?

[BabaganooToo]

Just booked 3 days in Rome in November and I'm very excited! Haven't been abroad in years. It's just me and my DM going. We'll be staying in a hotel that's pretty central.

Can anyone help us decide what is/isn't worth doing? We don't have a huge amount of time there so want to ensure we make the most of it.

We would like to do some of the tours, if they're worth paying for.

Any recommendations on what to do/see and where to eat would be greatly appreciated!

Rome is a great city to explore on foot. Before I first went I expected it to be a bit dusty and dirty, but these days I think of it as having the charm of Paris but considerably cheaper.

Don't bother too much with restaurant recommendations. Look where the locals are eating. If it's been 30 minutes since your last coffee, go into a bar and have another one. Prepare to accidentally eat way too many tramezzini.

One time we went into an osteria, which is like a kind of deli place with prepared food on display, a bit like the tapas/pinchos counter in a Spanish bar. It was a weekday lunchtime and most people were getting something to heat up in the microwave at the office, but we found a little counter to sit at and ordered melanzane parmigiana or something like that. We asked for wine and were issued with two tumblers and a ⅔-full plastic mineral water bottle of red wine. We took what we wanted and handed back a ⅓-full bottle. The woman behind the counter rang up our food, then held up a thumb and finger to estimate the amount of wine we had had and said "tre" (meaning 3 Euros). We could probably have haggled, but didn't.

If you are flying to Ciampino with Ryanair, be aware that for once the airport is actually really close to the city (unlike, say, "Charleroi - Brussels South", which is indeed south of Brussels, but then so is Algiers). You can get the shuttle bus into town for just a few Euros rather than booking a transfer.

Do visit the Vatican, whatever you think about the Pope. The gardens, in particular the Teutonic Garden, are well worth the number of guards you need to pass in order to get into them.

@samarrange this is amazing, thank you so much!

Rome is really compact so you will see it all in 3 days.
Must sees are the obvious
Coliseum and palatine hill
Trevi fountain ( v v crowded)
Spanish steps
The Pantheon - all walkable and close to each other.
The Vatican.
Food and drink I found reasonably priced. Public transport is cheap if you use it.

Pre book the coliseum as the queues are always huge

It's really worth booking a tour of the Forum. It makes the mass of ruins and fallen columns really come alive.

Yes, walk, walk and walk some more. In November it will be cooler and hopefully less crowded.

We were told to book the Vatican in advance, but we just pitched up at 2pm on a weekday and there was no queue at all. This was in October. Don't fall prey to people offering joint tickets to St Peter's and the Vatican at over inflated prices.