I've been to quite a few big cities in Europe and always thought nothing could ever match with Paris. When i finally came to Rome, this city took my breath. Mainly because of the atmosphere and the old buildings. I really love cities with characters. While New York was for me extremely modern and cold, Rome suprised me with it's ancient flair. There is so much to see, around almost any corner you will find something new and beautiful. Wether it is some ancient roman ruins or another church, this city will give you endless opportunities to explore.

How to get here:

You can get very cheap flights to Rome Fiumicino Airport, i paid 100euros both ways. From the airport there is a train that will take you within 45min to Roma Termini, the Central Station.

Where to stay:

I stayed at Alessandro Downtown Hostel, which is only a 5min walk from the Train Station. If you need to get to the airport or continue your journey, this is very practical.

I booked a bed in a 6-female dorm, which was very spacious, clean and luckily i shared it with only 1 girl the first night. The bathroom facilities are in the hallway, there are seperate shower and toilet cabins. It's less luxurious, but fairly cheap for staying in Rome. The price per night was around 31€ including city tax.

How to get around:

Walking: Although Rome is a quite big city, everything is fairly reachable, if you are young and like walking. Also you can see so much more and will maybe find some unique spots eventually, while getting lost in the maze of the city.

Public Transport: Rome has very good public transport connections, whether by Bus or Metro, everything is quite close. I have actually taken the Bus one day, since it was raining cats and dogs. I can not say anthing about the Metro though.

Hop-On Bus: If you visit Rome for the first time and like to access a lot of museums, i would recommend the Omnia City Pass, which also includes the tourist bus. Normally i always laugh about these tour busses, but on a hot day it is extremely nice to just get onto the Bus and enjoy the view from there.

What to do:

Fontana di Trevi: Well i guess you have heard of this one. The first time i visited this fountain was in the evening with a friend that i met/made in Rome. You will actually never find this spot empty, unless you come here at 6am, which i did the morning after. Even at that time, i was not alone. Traditionally you have to toss a coin into the fountain and make a wish. There are indeed specific rules, how to do it (with your right arm over your left shoulder, facing the fountain backwards).

Yearly around 1,3million Euros are taken out of the fountain by staff, donated to a welfare organisation.

Bocca della Vérita: Mostly known from the movie "Roman Holidays" with Audrey Hephburn, this huge marmor plate is yet another very touristic attraction. It is hanging on the wall of the Basilica Santa Maria. The ancient believe is, that the mouth will shut around your hand, if you speak out a lie. Indeed it is a very exciting thing to do. To access this sight, you need to donate a small amount to the church.

Spanish Steps: This set of steps between the Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Trinità dei Monti is a popular spot for many instagram bloggers and photoshoots. I went at 7am to see it empty, yet i was not the only one. There is a fountain at the Base of the Stairs and another Church at the Top. This spot is as all the other tourist sights kept very clean and nice compared to the rest of the city. You can easily reach the steps from Fontana die Trevi, which will take you 10min walk.

Vatican City: The state of Vatican is one of the busiest spots in the City and highly protected by military and police. If you like to visit, i would recommend you to buy a skip-the-line ticket with any operator. I booked a slot with Omnia before my visit, which saved me a lot of time. Otherwise you need to queue about 2h in the burning sun, to access the Basilica of St. Peter. The museums might not be as popular, and since they are huge, people flow in much faster.

In the vatican museum there are so many statues, paintings, carpets and much more, you could probably spent at least half a day here. Nevertheless the biggest reason i went, was the Sistene Chapel. The painted ceiling and the last judgment fresco by Michelangelo, which covers the altar wall are breathtaking. It is not permitted to take any kind of picture or video material in this room, therefore you have to go yourself to see it.

One more thing to do is climb the steps of the Basilica St. Peter. This is actually hard work and taking the elevator does not really make sense, since the hardest part to climb is the dome rooftop. In total it is 551steps you need to climb, you can skip 320 with the elevator. Being quite fit I still struggled, since it is really small alleys and you can get easily claustrophobic in the bad aired narrow towers. But after this torture, you will be rewarded with a fantastic view over the St. Peter Square and most of Rome.

Colosseum: Also known as Flavian Amphitheatre, this oval historical site lies in the center of Rome. It's built of concrete and sand and the largest Amphitheatre ever built. It could hold around 80.000 spectators for gladiatorial contests, animal fights and other public events. Nowadaways there is not much left and for me it was hard to imagine the ancient glory of this space.

Forum Romanum: Directly next to the Colosseum you will see the Forum Romanum and Palantine Hill. According to roman mythology the cave, where Romulus and Remus, the founders of the City where kept alive by the she-wolf Lupa was located here. The total area is incredibly big, i did not go inside, but from around you can see most parts of the ancient ruins.

Other famous spots to see are the Panteon, the Trajan's Market, The Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Trastevere (mainly for food) and so many more.

Where to eat:

Flower Burger (vegan): I have been waiting 2 days and 2 nights to finally go to this Place. Located very close to Vatican, this place makes Burger dreams come true. The variation of Burger Buns and patties is comparable to a rainbow. Sometimes they do special editions in pink and blue. While i was there, they offered an orange one. Even if you are not vegan, these burgers will more than satisfy you. My friend who is not a vegan is also still dreaming of her black charcoal burger.

Écru (vegan): This place is also a raw/vegan café that offers a huge variation of breakfast and lunch. Furthermore they have many veganized italian desserts, like tiramisu. In the café they sell a lot of organic products as well, far cheaper than in sweden. I went twice, since i fell in love with the sandwiches they do. I really would love to know how they make this round bread, it's far beyond delicious.

Dinner by the river: While my stay in rome, there were loads of tents built up on the river between Vatican and Trastevere, many offering like food trucks more individual treats and drinks. Me and my friend went to a place directly under Ponte Sant'Angelo, which was an incredible experience, since at night all the bridges are bathed in several spotlights.


Gelateria Della Palma (Via della Maddalena 19/23): This place has 150 (!!!) different flavours of icecream. Usually if there is such a big offer, a lot of sorts are quite similiar, just have another name. Not in this case. You can get any possible flavour in this icecream bar, weather fruit or candy, they got all of them. Furthermore they offer a broad range of Soy Icecream and most of the Fruit Sorts are without Milk.

Pizza, Pasta and Positano, that's basically a very short summary of my time in Italy.

Two weeks are way too short, to discover the whole beauty of this country, but anyhow i saw probably as much as possible.

This trip has been 13 Days long (14 nights) and started and ended in (all roads lead to) Rome. 

Basically this has been my first backpacking experience, hopping from one place to another almost every day. Good planning and a lot of booking in advance (6 month) and some excel sheets made everything work pretty smooth. So below you can find the facts and a summary of the travel route.

Maiori is rather a small spot i have to mention, because i actually spend a day here. This little town lies between Minori and Salerno, and is the big neighbour of the first. Nevertheless there is unfortunately not so much to see in this place, thence beaching is the main activity. 

How to get here: 

The SITA busses offer transport to Maiori, as well as boats from smaller companies. Fairly easy you can also stay a day with a car, just to check out the area. 

What to do:

Seintiere dei Limoni (see Minori) - i walked from Minori to Maiori, but of course you can also do it the other way around, which might be a completely different experience. 

Church of Santa Maria a Mare: If you have yet not visited enough churches, you can visit this one as well. While more impressive from the outside, due to its nice rooftop, the church is kind of random inside. Below you will find the view when walking over from Minori.

Shopping: While Minori is super small and has almost no shops, Maiori offers a nice promenade and many small local shops. If you do not like Italian food, or just want to try something different, there are some international places to eat here as well. 

Amalfi is the main town of the Coast and with Positano and Ravello one of the most popular spots to visit. Being rather small, it has still quite a few spots you do not want to miss out on.

How to get here:

Amalfi is also central spot for Bus traffic, since the SITA lines towards Salerno and Sorrento start and end here. Otherwise you can also get a Boat from any other destination.

What to do:

Amalfi cathedral: The main attraction in the city is the Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea, that is lying in the city center very close to the beach.

The church is dedicated to the Apostel Saint Andrews, whose relics are kept here. You can visit the Cathedral for free, but if you would like to see the Cloister of Paradise, which is directly built next to it, you need to pay a small fee. The visit includes a climb down in the tombs of the church, where noble people of Amalfi were buried.

A very popular thing is to have breakfast and a fresh latte on the steps of the cathedral, bought at one of the fancy cafés around the place.

Drink fresh Lemon Juice: The Amalfi Coast is known for all it's products made from lemon, wether it is liqueur, sorbetto or other treats, these lemons tastes different. The name of this sort is sfusato amalfitano, and the difference is in taste and size compared to our lemons in the supermarket. They can be double the size and taste much sweeter. I found a very good place, recommended by trip advisor, that serves a big bucket of fresh lemon slush for 6€. It's located in a small alley, lefthandside when you walk up the town from the cathedral.

Salerno is quite big compared to the other small towns around Amalfi Coast and was the first spot i headed to on my 2 weeks trip. Apart from a beautiful promenade with a huge harbour, the center has a buzzing nightlife, lots of shops and restaurants with food from all over the world. 

How to get here

You can very easily get to Salerno by fast Train from Rome, which takes around 3h in total. Otherwise coming from the Coast the local SITA busses and ferries can take you here. 

Where to stay:

After staying at Nancy's in New York, which was such an incredible air bnb experience, i did not expect to find something comparable again, but the Sunny Side of Augustine's place, really made me appreciate a good host. Augustine is a friendly middle-aged soul, speaking quite good English, compared to many other Italians and lives a 5min Walk from the Beach in Salerno.

The appartment consists of the beautiful open living-room kitchen area, modern bathrooms and 2 rooms that she rents out. You are free to use the kitchen and cook, which another girl in the first night actually did. She cooked japanese for the 3 of us, which tasted amazing.

My room was rather small, but i did not need much more. Augustine's cat Amelie will stalk around the House as well, but basically she doesn't care for you at all.

What to do:

Il Giardino della Minerva: This garden lies high up in eastern Salerno. It is closed during Mondays, but otherwise mostly open all day from 9am-8pm. The opening hours are seasonal, so better check online before. The entrance is 3€ and you can access a terrace garden, that mainly inhabits medical plants and herbs, but fruit trees as well. Most beautiful is the alley, covered by grape vines, which also offers a fantastic view over the city in the evening.

Acquedotto Medievale: This  is a very old historical sight, consisting of several arches close to Salerno Central Station. While there was not so much to read about, they are more to see and capture on your camera.

Duomo di Salerno: This big church with a big yard and fountain in Front is lying in the very central heart of the city. The church is dedicated to Saint Matthews, whose relics are inside the crypt. While the inside looked more like any other church to me, the cathedral has a striking belltower, which you can see as well from the yard.  

Boattrips: The harbour of Salerno is quite big and there are several boats leaving the day to different locations around the Amalfi coast. I took a boat to Positano which took around 70min and was 12€ one way. 

Close to Naples around Mount Vesuvius there are several ancient ruins like Herculaneum, Stabiae, Oplontis and of course Pompeii. While the first were not known to me before, i heard a lot about Pompeii and decided to see lefts of this ancient place, that had been covered by a 6m thigh layer of ash for hundreds of years. Keeping this in mind, you will find great interest, being suprised how far civilisation was already at that early age. 

How to get here:

You can very easily come by Bus or Train from Naples, which costs around 2€ only and takes around 30min by Train from Garibaldi Station. 

What to do:

Scavi di Pomepii: A day ticket to Scavi di Pompeii will regulary cost you 11€, when there are exhibitions it can be a bit more. Furthermore you can skip the line by taking a tour with some of the local guides. If you do not like grouping, you can also purchase an Audio Guide for 6€. I did non of the last two, but had printed a map of the city before and checked which spots are most important to see.
While it looks rather small from outside, the town which population was estimated to 11.000 is indeed quite big. The day i went it was around 35°c and after wandering around in this town, i had a crust of dust allover my body.

There are so many roads and houses for each profession, after i while i had to say everything looked the same. I entered at the eastern side (scavi di Pompeii and made my way up to the north western part. Below named are the most interesting ones i passed (history lovers might hate me for being ignorant, but it was very, very hot that day)

Temple of Apollo: Entering from the East the first impressive Building you will see is the Temple of Apollo. While many parts of the city are really for me just rocks and stones, this one shows still a lot of features from ancient times. Surrounded by collums, you can easily imagine the big yard to be center of a religious temple. If you compare the actual site to animated reconstructions, it is very easy to picture and suprisingly preserved after so many years.

Forum and Temple of Jupiter: Very close to the Temple of Apollo you will find another huge yard, that was a gathering spot and also home to the Temple of Jupiter, which is also well preserved. You can access all the main roads from this spot and at the sides you will find ancient ceramics and even preserved bodies to look at.

House of the Faun: This is one of the biggest and most impressive private homes in the city. Here you can actually see several pieces of Art like the dancing Faun and travel back to roman luxurious times. In total the House covers 3000 square meters and occupies a whole city block, which makes it quite impressive. Today the gardens are really nice to visit, being replanted of course.

Grand Theatre: This greek styled theatre was built into a natural hill and sat around 4.000 people. Here you can experience the great audio construction. During my stay a local guide gave a singing performance, which could still be heard clear at the top rows.

Amphitheatre: The biggest Building of the city, and oldest surviving roman theatre is comparable to the Kollosseum in Rome. This huge piece of ancient architecture is lying north-west of the city, a bit seperated, next to the Palace of Pompeii. If you stand in the center, you can easily dive into the ancient cult of gladiators. fighting to death in a huge crowd of people.