A Day Trip from Florence to Rome: Visiting the Sistine Chapel

We took a day trip from Florence to Rome.

The main purpose of our trip was to see the Sistine Chapel.

I have been to Rome many times over the years.

I first visited when I was a university student. I have also been there to show my parents and younger sister around, and I have visited Rome for other reasons, including going to the Japanese Embassy.

My daughter has also been to Rome several times.

However, we had never had a full day to actually explore Rome together as a family.

So this time, my husband, my daughter, and I left Florence early in the morning and decided to spend the day walking around Rome.

Going to Rome to See the Sistine Chapel

The place I had really wanted to see this time was the Sistine Chapel.

Although I had had many opportunities to visit Rome, I had never managed to visit the Sistine Chapel.

One reason was that you need to make a reservation in advance.

When my parents and other relatives came to visit us, there were other places they wanted to see, so we never made a reservation.

On other occasions, I simply thought, “Maybe next time.”

But this time, my daughter, who loves art, said that she really wanted to go.

When I checked the availability in August, I found that there was an available time slot in late August.

So we suddenly decided,

“Why not? Let’s go.”

Leaving Florence Early in the Morning

We are usually early risers, so this time we also took an early morning train from Florence.

The early Frecciarossa was less crowded than I had expected, and the carriage was quiet and comfortable.

When you travel in Business Class, coffee, cookies, sandwiches, and other refreshments are also provided.

Even though we were leaving early in the morning, the journey did not feel rushed. The seats were spacious, and we were able to relax during the trip.

One of the things I like about living in Florence is that Rome is easily accessible by high-speed train. We can leave Florence in the morning, spend the day in Rome, and return to Florence the same day.

We arrived in Rome at around 8:30 a.m.

Our reservation for the Sistine Chapel was at 11 a.m., so we had about two hours before our scheduled entry.

We decided to walk slowly toward Vatican City, stopping at some of Rome’s famous sights along the way.

Walking Around Rome Before Our 11 a.m. Reservation

After arriving in Rome, we first headed toward the Quirinal Palace.

From there, we walked to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.

Rome is an interesting city to explore on foot, no matter how many times I visit.

Florence also has historic buildings everywhere you look, but the scale of Rome is completely different.

The buildings are bigger, the streets are wider, and even the squares and the river seem enormous.

The impression you get from the city is quite different from walking through the historic center of Florence.

From Piazza Navona, we passed the Ponte Umberto I, walked along the river, and enjoyed the view of Castel Sant’Angelo before continuing toward Vatican City.

By this point, we had already walked quite a long way.

Fortunately, it was still relatively quiet in Rome in the morning, and we were able to do most of our walking before the temperature became too high.

It was a pleasant way to see the city.

And Finally, the Main Purpose of Our Trip

And then, at 11 a.m., we finally reached the main destination of our trip: the Sistine Chapel.

Once you actually enter the space, it is overwhelming.

Because of the crowds and the heat, it was not exactly a peaceful or leisurely experience, but the scale of the building, the lavish decoration of the rooms, and the sheer amount of artwork covering the walls and ceilings felt completely different from seeing photographs or videos.

For my daughter, this visit was also much more than simply “going to Rome.”

She had studied the Sistine Chapel in her art history classes at high school, so she was able to explain many of the things we were seeing. That made the visit especially interesting for me as well.

Photography is not allowed inside the Sistine Chapel, so unfortunately I cannot show you any photographs from inside.

The more I learn about Italian history, the more fascinating and complex I find it.

Since seeing the Sistine Chapel was the main purpose of our day trip, we were already very satisfied just to have finally been able to visit it.

Walking Back Toward Rome Termini in the Afternoon

After visiting the Sistine Chapel, we continued walking until it was time to return to the train station for our train back to Florence.

On the way back, we crossed the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II and walked along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

From there, we continued toward:

• Piazza del Gesù
• Campidoglio
• the Altare della Patria, also known as the Vittoriano

The scale of the buildings was simply overwhelming. Everywhere we looked, there was something impressive to see.

In the end, we even managed to see the Colosseum.

After walking this much in one day, we were naturally quite tired.

Still, it did not feel as though we were forcing ourselves to see as much as possible simply because we had come all the way to Rome.

Whenever we came across somewhere that caught our attention, we stopped and took our time.

We simply enjoyed walking through the city.

On the way home, we were already talking about going to the area around the Spanish Steps next time.

I am sure we will make another spontaneous day trip to Rome when we feel like it.

▶ Train tickets can be purchased at discounted prices when you book online in advance.