Rome in Three Days without Losing Your Sanity, Rome, Italy

Rome — the Eternal City, where history greets you at every corner… along with several thousand other tourists. Don't let that detour you from putting Rome on your next Italy itinerary!

When I visited this past May with my daughter, and a few friends (eight of us total), we knew the itinerary was going to be ambitious: Vatican City, the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, shopping on Via del Corso, and even a sandwich shop where Bobby Flay has been spotted.

Here’s how we managed to see Rome’s greatest icons without feeling like we were stuck in an endless game of tourist traps — and how you can do the same.

If you take one piece of advice from me: book early-entry tickets for the Vatican Museums. I’m talking before general opening hours early. Yes, they cost more, but you’ll see the Sistine Chapel before the crowds flood in, and you won’t have to fight for space.

- Sistine Chapel – Michelangelo’s masterpiece in (relative) peace. ( Pay attention when you enter, the staff wisk you thru the chapel fast, blink and you will miss it! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).