Explore Rome - An Exclusive Guide

A perfect day in... Rome, Italy

Where to start in the Eternal City, a vibrant cultural hub for nearly 3,000 years, boasting some of Europe’s most fascinating ancient sites? Luckily, many of the highlights are within a relatively small area, so you can explore the best of the city and still make time for a spot of shopping or a delicious meal…

What to see in Rome

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nor can you see it in one. But plan carefully and you can take in some of the most fantastic sites. Start out at the Colosseum, the city’s most famous classical site and humbling to see in real life. Join a guided tour to get the most of the ruins, and don't miss the basement tunnels, once used to funnel gladiators, prisoners and wild animals into the arena to meet their untimely fate. From here, it’s not far to the ruins of the Forum and Palatine Hill, where ancient Rome’s traders and politicians once lived, worked and plotted.

(The Colosseum)

(The Forum and Palatine Hill)

If you’re heading on to Vatican City, keep an eye out for the soaring dome of the Pantheon, one of ancient Rome’s few remaining complete structures, a temple that was rebuilt in the 2nd century AD as an architectural marvel of its time.

What to do in Rome

Vatican City merits several days’ exploration, but for the highlights, book a tour to skip (some of) the queues for the Vatican Museums, home to Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. And don’t miss the enormous St Peter's Basilica and Michelagelo’s Pietà, a heartbreaking sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus.

(Vatican City)

(Sistine chapel ceiling)

For more soul-stirring art, head for the Galleria Borghese, one of the city’s finest galleries and showcasing sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Caravaggio’s.

Monti, Rome’s fashionable boho-chic neighborhood, is great for a stroll, its cobbled streets lined with cool boutiques and wine bars.

What to eat in Rome

Food and wine is taken seriously in Rome, and you can barely turn a corner without discovering some delicious pizzeria or homely trattoria. One of our favorite restaurants is the family-run Armando al Pantheon, serving Roman dishes such as spaghetti carbonara and saltimbocca, a veal and prosciutto dish cooked with sage; the food comes with the added benefit of brilliant beautiful views of the Pantheon.

 If you’ve made time to climb the famous Spanish Steps, go one better and reserve a table at the glamorous rooftop Cielo in the Hotel de la Ville, offering classic cuisine, Italian cocktails and epic views. Then, after nightfall, join the throngs at the lit-up Trevi Fountain and throw a coin over your shoulder and into the water – this, myth dictates, means you’ll one day come back to Rome.

(Trevi Fountain)

For more information, visit www.turismoroma.it/en