39 Best things to see & do in Rome

Built by Emperor Vespasian beginning in AD 72 and known as the Flavian Amphitheatre in ancient times, the thrilling Colosseum still manages to pull a hefty crowd.

Inaugurated by the Emperor’s son, Titus, in AD 80, it could hold an unruly crowd of more than 50,000 spectators. With a circumference of 545m, it’s considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering.

The remarkably well-preserved walls, seating stands and underground tunnels are an evocative reminder of gory gladiatorial history.

Lovers of the film Gladiator will relish a guided tour of the monumental arena, where gladiatorial contests and traditional games were held.

Commissioned by the wildly ambitious Pope Julius II, and completed in 1626, few buildings are as recognisable as this enormous, late-Renaissance basilica, majestically situated on St Peter’s Square.

As the burial site of Saint Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles and, according to tradition, also the first Bishop of Rome and therefore the first pope – it is considered one of the holiest Catholic sites.

Dominating Rome’s skyline, the Dome of St. Peters rises above Vatican City — the world’s smallest sovereign nation-state and Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, within its borders (44 hectares) are St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Apostolic Palace, the Pope’s official residence.

This complex of museums, in the home of the Catholic Church, are mind-bogglingly opulent. They’re home to one of the greatest hoards of treasure, antiquities and art anywhere.

A day trip to Frascati has long been a tradition for Romans, who savour a stop at the numerous fraschette (outdoor wine bars) to sample the many wines produced in these hills.

Frascati white wine, either dry or sweet, still or sparkling, is made from blends of the Malvasia and Trebbiano grape varieties. Tradition says it’s best immediately after production, namely at the source. Romans flock here just to drink it.

The area is also well known for its beautiful Tusculum villas, a 16th-century legacy of the aristocratic families who came here to escape the heat of the city. Many of these villas have been turned into hotels, such as the grandiose Villa Grazioli.

Few places on earth have witnessed more history. Located between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, the Forum is packed with Rome’s most ancient shrines, temples (which doubled as banks and art galleries), the Curia (Senate) and basilicas (law courts), the infamous Mamertine prison and the Arch of Titus.

It was here that the Vestal Virgins kept the sacred flame, politicians addressed the crowds from the rostra and victorious legions held their triumphs along the Sacred Way.

Rome was officially born on 21 April 753 BC when the sons of Mars, Romulus and Remus, were found suckled by a she-wolf on the Palatine Hill. It was the favourite address of the Etruscan and Roman elite, and emperors whose magnificent Flavian residence overlooked the Forum. Although the imperial box is long gone, the Palatine offers the best views over the remains of the Circus Maximus, which once sat 300,000 people for chariot races.

Archaeologists have pinpointed the House of Tiberius, Temple of Cybele, Nero’s revolving dining room and the Domus Flavia, all amid the beautiful 17th-century Farnese Gardens.

Roman cuisine is more straightforward than many visitors expect, dominated by pastas and pizzas made using simple local ingredients.

In Rome, seasonal eating is a way of life. In winter find carciofi (artichokes) along with puntarelle: a green enjoyed with an olive oil/anchovy dressing. Lentils (lenticchie) are another wintertime staple.

Spring tables showcase meaty fava beans and zucchini flowers (fiori di zucca).

Summertime is focused on fruits like peaches (pesche) and watermelon (cocomero).

Rome’s most impressive private art collection houses paintings and furniture assembled since the 16th century by the Doria, Pamphilj, Landi and Aldobrandini families.

The main collection is displayed in the state rooms (and chapel) of the lavish Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, still privately owned by the princely Doria Pamphilj family.

The audio guide, wittily narrated by Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj himself, offers an endearing way to understand life as the heir to one of Rome’s greatest families.

The world-famous, spectacular Baroque fountain, where gods, goddesses and tritons mix with cascades of water, immortalised in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita.

One of Rome’s best-preserved landmarks, the Pantheon was originally a temple to the Gods. Rebuilt by Hadrian in AD 118 – it has been a church ever since 609.

Inside the original bronze doors, the astonishing 43m dome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world; as a compliment to it, Michelangelo made the cupola of St. Peter’s a touch smaller. Originally the entire dome ceiling was covered with bronze plates, until Bernini convinced the Pope to let him strip them off to make the baldacchino in St. Peter’s – and there was enough bronze left over for 60 cannons.

Raphael and the first two kings of Italy are buried here.

Galleria Borghese, in the lovely surroundings of the landscaped Villa Borghese gardens, houses the magnificent art collection of the extraordinarily wealthy, art-mad Borghese family – one of whom married Napoleon’s favourite sister, Paolina.

Described as the finest non-royal private art collection in the world, it houses treasures such as Antonella da Messina’s Portrait of a Man, Correggio’s Danae, Antonio Canova’s sculpture of Paolina Borghese, Bernini’s astonishingly depiction of flesh in The Rape of Proserpina, and Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love.

Rome’s astonishing MAXXI (National Museum of 21st Century Arts) is a jewel of contemporary art and architecture, the museum opened to rave reviews in 2010. Designed by star Anglo-Iranian architect Zaha Hadid, the Stirling Prize-winning building strikes a dramatically modern note against the ancient Roman skyline.

The interior, with volumes designed for major three-dimensional works (Hadid declared no paintings should hang on its walls) doesn’t disappoint either, with works by the likes of Alighiero Boetti, Francesco Clemente, William Kentridge, Mario Merz and Gerhard Richter.

This 17th-century Palazzo, designed by Carlo Maderno and Bernini, is itself a perfect example of how the elite lived in baroque Rome.

It’s now also part of Rome’s national gallery, and houses the best collection of the city’s old masterpieces – a wealth of art by Filippo Lippi, Raphael, Tintoretto, Titian, Caravaggio and Holbein, plus majestic ceiling frescoes by Pietro da Cortona.

A theatrical masterpiece, the Spanish Steps were designed by Francesco de Sanctis in 1725 and paid for by the French. At the top is Villa Borghese; at the bottom lies the boat-shaped Fontana della Barcaccia (by Bernini’s dad).

Located where the River Tiber meets the sea, Ostia Antica was the harbour city of ancient Rome, and is one of Italy’s best-preserved archaeological sites.

As a port, it was naturally cosmopolitan: Persian, Phrygian and Egyptian gods were all worshipped in its shrines. Beautiful mosaic pavements (notably in the Forum of the Corporations), warehouses, apartment buildings (insulae), merchant’s houses, taverns, baths and a theatre, recall Ostia’s old prosperity on silent streets under the parasol pines.

Rome’s Jewish Ghetto is Europe’s most engaging and intriguing Jewish quarter, but its charming character belies its tragic past, culminating in the rounding up and deportation of some 2,000 Jewish inhabitants in 1943; only 15 returned.

Created in 1555 by Pope Paul IV, today the Ghetto has a villagey charm, lined with restaurants, kosher bakeries, small art galleries and a majestic, 1904 Synagogue.

The area also serves up some of the best food in the city – don’t miss traditional specialties such as carciofi alla giudia (deep fried artichokes), baccalà (cod in batter) and fried courgette flowers.

Borromini’s convex church of Sant’ Agnese frames his arch-rival Bernini’s stunning Four Rivers Fountain in an eternal Baroque battle; at night it’s beautifully illuminated.

The mostly wooden cities of the Etruscans have all but vanished, but they also built astonishing cities of the dead that replicated their long-lost abodes. Cerveteri has one of the best: Banditaccia, a World Heritage necropolis with more than 400 tombs from the 9th-2nd centuries BC.

Recently some of the tombs have been virtually ‘reconstructed’ with their original art, Greek vases and other grave goods (now in museums) using 3D technology.

Excellent 19th- and 20th-century art with works by Canova, by Italy’s Impressionists (the Macchiaioli, ‘splatterers’) and Futurists such as Balla and Boccioni. Also paintings by De Chirico, Modigliani, Klimt, Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne and Kandinsky.

A cluster of busy stalls offering delicious eats, Testaccio Market in Rome’s former meat-packing district, is where you’ll find authentic Roman delicacies, such as stuffed braised meat sandwiches, rustic piazza, and handmade pasta dishes. Eat in or take-away.

Sumptuous 16th-century Roman villa designed by Baldassare Peruzzi and beautifully frescoed by Raphael, in particular the Triumph of Galatea featuring a nymph driving a scallop-shell chariot pulled by dolphins.

Founded in 1471, the Capitoline Museums consist of three buildings packed with ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian statues. Not to be missed are the original gilded equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the copy of the sexy Capitoline Venus and Aphrodite of Cnidus, Bernini’s Head of Medusa and the Capitoline Wolf.

Museum holding one of Italy’s finest archaeological collections – antiquities from the 5th century BC to the 3rd century AD including superb sculptures, bronzes and frescoes.

If time allows, make the short 40-minute hop out of the city to wander around this small commune in the Castelli Romani, which occupies heights overlooking Lake Albano. It was voted one of the most beautiful towns in Italy, and is home to the summer residence of the Pope.

Caravaggio single-handedly transformed Italian art in the early 1600s. Three of his most stunning paintings hang in the Contarelli Chapel of this small Rome church, including The Martyrdom of St Matthew.

Former pleasure palace of Pope Julius III, now houses the world’s greatest collections of Etruscan art. It includes artefacts and finds from the Banditaccia Necropolis at Cerveteri.

Adjacent to Rome’s original Forum, these tremendous ruins – a series of squares known as fora – were among the greatest works of the Romans.

These are several successive works, built by Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nerva and Trajan; each was a huge collonaded square with a monumental building at the centre.

Trajan’s had a great library as well as Trajan’s Column, covered in reliefs celebrating imperial victories. Next to this is the enormous, well-preserved Trajan’s Market, which has been called the ‘world’s first shopping mall’.

Adjacent to Capitoline Hill, this enormous, gleaming white marble was built in 1935 to honour the first king of Italy. It houses the Museum of Reunification, and Italy’s Tomb of the unknown soldier.

Walk the 800m-long Passetto do Borgo that connects the Vatican with Castel Sant’Angelo, a secret escape route. It was used by Pope Alexander VI crossed in 1494, when Charles VIII invaded the city, and again by Pope Clement VII to flee mercenaries in 1527 who sacked the city. It’s only open in July and August on guided tours.

Located on the Via Sacra, just southeast of the Forum, the Arch of Titus was built in 82 AD by Emperor Domitian. It has inspired other triumphal aches around the world since, most notably the Arc de Triomphe.

This Roman bridge was built in AD 134 by the Roman emperor Hadrian, to provide a scenic access route from the city to his newly built mausoleum, the Castel Sant’Angelo (which later became a fortress, and is now a museum).

The Centrale was the first electric power plant in Rome and the industrial building now houses a superb collection of Hellenic statues from the Capitoline Museums.

Spanning the Tiber from Campus Martius to Tiber Island, this is the oldest bridge in Rome. Commissioned by Lucius Fabricius, then curator of roads, it has been in constant use since its construction in 62 BC.

Peer through the keyhole on Aventine Hill to admire the perfectly framed vista of the dome of St. Peter’s. The view encompasses three nations: the Italian State, the Priory and the Vatican.

Located between the Colosseum and Palatine, the triumphal arch – the Arch of Constantine – was built by Emperor Constantine in AD 315. Art was at a nadir: most of the carvings were pilfered off earlier monuments.

Rome has so many treasures, this one is often overlooked. But with the empire under threat from invaders, Emperor Aurelian gave the city one of the greatest sets of fortifications in the world – a job finished in only five years. 19km long, and almost completely intact today, the circuit includes several monumental gates, and it passes some of the Eternal City’s most interesting monuments.

The Romans had a custom of making their burials along the roads leading out from the towns. These often included lavish tombs, and nowhere more than along the capital’s main road to the east.

Spared from development and closed to traffic, the Via Appia is one of the most beautiful places in Rome for a walk.

Near the road, you can also visit the Baths of Caracalla, the Roman Catacombs, and many other sights.

To get away from the bustle of Rome, Emperor Hadrian decreed a suburban palace that was a city in itself. Built for pleasure, most of it was gardens, pools, baths, fountains and temples, all in a sumptuous, almost decadent style.