A Rome day in the Vatican and across to Trastevere

Book the 07:30 early-entry slot online months ahead. You'll walk through empty galleries for the first hour. Go directly to the Sistine Chapel, then the Raphael rooms on the way back. Two to three hours.

Exit the Vatican Museums via the direct tunnel to the Basilica. The Pietà is on the right as you enter — behind glass since 1972. Climb the dome (free stairs, paid lift for the lower section) for the top-of-Rome view.

A family trattoria since 1887, built into the Monte dei Cocci. Rigatoni all'amatriciana, coda alla vaccinara (oxtail), a bottle of Cesanese del Piglio. Cash preferred. Book ahead.

Walk off the lunch. Rent a rowboat on the lake (ten euros for twenty minutes), then loop through the Pincio terrace for the view over Piazza del Popolo. An hour at a slow pace.

The 2nd-century mausoleum turned papal fortress on the Tiber. Climb to the upper terraces at 17:30 (closes at 19:00) for the view over the Ponte Sant'Angelo and back to St. Peter's.

A tiny Trastevere trattoria with fifteen tables. Order the carbonara, the abbacchio alla romana (lamb), a carafe of house white. Queue from 19:30; no reservations for dinner.