09/08/2026
🇮🇹 TRIP REPORT: LITERALLY 24 HOURS IN ROME… DURING A 104°F HEAT WAVE! 🥵❤️🇮🇹
Just spent literally 24 hours in Rome with my daughter in the middle of this crazy heat wave — 104°F! And somehow we still managed to pack in an amazing amount without completely melting. 😂
For anyone traveling to Rome during extreme summer heat, the biggest takeaway from this trip is: change the way you tour. Early mornings, late nights, taxis when you need them, lots of water, long breaks in the middle of the day and reservations, reservations, reservations!
We stayed at a friend’s apartment directly on Piazza della Rotonda, right next to the Pantheon, which reminded me again why this is one of my favorite areas of Rome.
During the day it is packed, but late at night and early in the morning, after everyone disappears, it becomes magical. Walking out your door and seeing the Pantheon and Piazza della Rotonda almost empty is a completely different Rome.
Here is what we managed to do in 24 hours:
🏛️ COLOSSEUM AT NIGHT — “A NIGHT AT THE COLOSSEUM”
This was probably the highlight.
We booked the official A Night at the Colosseum experience directly through the Parco archeologico del Colosseo official website.
For 2026, the night visits are currently scheduled Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 8:00 PM–11:00 PM, with last admission at 9:50 PM.
The guided experience lasts approximately one hour and includes the first level, arena floor and underground areas of the Colosseum.
Groups are limited to a maximum of 25 people, which makes this an entirely different experience from seeing the Colosseum during the day.
Tickets are €50 per adult and are released 7 days before the date of the visit. The official Colosseum site states that these night-tour tickets are sold exclusively through their website.
If you’re trying for tickets, be ready when they are released. They are limited.
Seeing the underground areas after dark with such a small group was incredibly special — and in a 104°F heat wave, touring the Colosseum at night instead of in the middle of the afternoon was a VERY good decision. 😂
Search: Parco archeologico del Colosseo — A Night at the Colosseum 2026
🍸 SUNSET COCKTAILS AT THE COURT — PALAZZO MANFREDI
Before our Colosseum tour, we had cocktails at The Court at Palazzo Manfredi, directly across from the Colosseum.
This remains one of my favorite cocktail experiences in Rome.
The Court sits above the ancient Ludus Magnus, the gladiators’ training school, with one of the most extraordinary direct views of the Colosseum.
You aren’t coming here just for the view, though. The cocktails are seriously good.
Some highlights were a traditional Negroni, an amazing clarified espresso martini with a chocolate-covered coffee bean, and probably the most interesting cocktail of the night — an avocado margarita. 🥑🍸
It sounded crazy.
It was DELICIOUS. 😂
We also had fish tacos while watching the sun set behind the Colosseum. Pretty hard to beat.
IMPORTANT: You absolutely need reservations for The Court, particularly if you want sunset. The prime reservations go extremely quickly. I plan ahead and am online when reservations open rather than hoping something will be available a few days beforehand.
Also worth knowing: Palazzo Manfredi is one of my favorite hotels in Rome for the location and views. Their rooftop restaurant, Aroma, is another spectacular option overlooking the Colosseum.
Search: The Court Rome Palazzo Manfredi
Search: Aroma Restaurant Palazzo Manfredi
🍊 10:30 PM DINNER — PICCOLO ARANCIO, TREVI FOUNTAIN
After our night at the Colosseum, we had a 10:30 PM dinner reservation at Piccolo Arancio — “Little Orange.”
It is tucked down Vicolo Scanderbeg, just a few minutes from the Trevi Fountain, and has been there since 1985.
We had their handmade ravioli all’arancia — ricotta-filled ravioli with an orange cream sauce — and carciofi alla giudia, the wonderfully crispy Jewish-style fried artichokes.
Delicious.
And here’s your indication of how popular this little restaurant is:
We had a 10:30 PM reservation and there was STILL a line outside the door.
Make a reservation!
Search: Piccolo Arancio Rome Vicolo Scanderbeg
✡️ 9:00 AM SUNDAY — JEWISH GHETTO + TRASTEVERE
The next morning we met my private guide at 9:00 AM for a beautiful walking tour through the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere.
Sunday morning at 9:00 was absolutely perfect.
The streets were relatively quiet, the light was beautiful and, most importantly during this heat wave, we were able to do our walking before the worst heat of the day.
One of the most meaningful things to notice in the Jewish Ghetto are the Stolpersteine — the small brass memorial stones embedded into the pavement outside the former homes of people who were arrested and deported during the Holocaust.
They’re easy to walk right past if you don’t know what you’re looking at.
The stones in my photo commemorate members of the Sciunnach family, who were arrested in February 1944 and deported to Auschwitz.
It’s one of those small details in Rome that makes you stop and remember just how many layers of history are beneath your feet.
We continued walking through the Jewish Ghetto and across the river into Trastevere.
One planning note: if you want to include the Great Synagogue of Rome and the Jewish Museum, check the opening time for the day you’re visiting. We started our tour at 9:00 AM Sunday, but the synagogue/museum didn’t open until later that morning.
🍝 ONE LAST ROMAN LUNCH — OSTERIA DA FORTUNATA
And because apparently 104°F isn’t enough of a challenge, we finished our 24 hours in Rome with giant plates of fresh pasta. 😂😂
We stopped at Osteria da Fortunata.
One of the things people love here is watching the women making the pasta by hand. This isn’t delicate machine-cut pasta — it’s thick, rustic, wonderfully chewy fresh pasta that really holds onto those Roman sauces.
We went full Rome:
🍝 Carbonara — egg, Pecorino Romano, guanciale and lots of black pepper.
And another beautiful, cheesy Roman pasta with zucchini flowers and crispy guanciale.
Rich in 104°F weather?
Absolutely.
Did we finish it?
You know we did. 😂
Search: Osteria da Fortunata Rome
☀️ WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT DOING ROME DURING A HEAT WAVE
If you’re coming to Rome in July or August and temperatures are extreme, don’t necessarily cancel your plans — change your plans.
I would NOT schedule hours of outdoor sightseeing from late morning through the afternoon in 100°F+ temperatures.
We structured everything around the heat:
9:00 AM — walking tour
Middle of the day — slow down, eat, get inside, use taxis and stay hydrated
Sunset — cocktails at The Court
Evening — Colosseum
10:30 PM — dinner
It made an enormous difference.
Rome is also wonderful late at night. Some of the places that are overwhelmingly crowded at 2:00 PM are completely different experiences at 11:00 PM.
So there you have it:
24 hours.
104°F. 🥵
Pantheon.
Jewish Ghetto.
Trastevere.
Trevi Fountain.
Fresh Roman pasta.
Sunset cocktails overlooking the Colosseum.
The Colosseum underground after dark.
And LOTS of water. 😂
Was it hot? Unbelievably.
Would I do it again?
In a heartbeat. ❤️🇮🇹
Sometimes you don’t need four days in Rome to fall in love with it all over again.
Rome, you never disappoint. 🇮🇹❤️
