A heady mix of haunting ruins, awe-inspiring art and vibrant street life, Italy’s hot-blooded capital is one of the world’s most romantic and charismatic cities.

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Here are our top 5 things to do in Rome

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The Colosseum

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The biggest amphitheatre ever built and the ultimate symbol of imperial Rome. It’s every tourist's rite of passage to stroll through the crumbling stadium, once sheethed in marble, and imagine the blood-spattered gladiatorial combats, the lions that once prowled the stadium, the roar of the crowd.

 

Pantheon 

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This former temple, now a church, is a must for any first visit to Rome – all granite Corinthian columns, colured marble and bronze doors. The centrepiece is the coffered concrete dome, with an oculus (circular opening) in the middle, where the light streams in.  

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Trevi Fountain 

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The world’s most famous fountain, a Baroque explosion of tritons, winged horses and drinking snakes, gleams bright as the teeth of the Cheshire Cat. The water glitters with thousands of coins that tourists have tossed in (it racks up to €2000 each week; the coins are collected to fund a supermarket for the poor). 

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Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill

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Once most important meeting places in the world – where temples rubbed alongside brothels; streets tremored with triumphal processions and heaving markets; and squares thronged with spectators of fervid political debate and criminal trials. Despite its slightly sad, neglected state, the well-preserved ruins make it the most memorable attraction for many visitors to Rome.

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Vatican City Part I: Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums 

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The world’s smallest city state and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church  is mind-blowing and blister-inducing in equal measure. The Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Roman sculpture-and-sarcophagi-stuffed Vatican Museums are normally top of a first-time visitor’s bucket list.

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Vatican City Part II : St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square

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The Basilica is one of the largest churches ever built, an Italian Renaissance beauty all papal tombs, neoclassical sculptures and frenziedly detailed reliefs. Those with the energy can climb the 871 steps to the top of the Basilica’s dome for 360-degree views of Vatican City. Fronting the monument is St. Peter's Square, perhaps the most famous piazza on the planet.

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