10 Top Things to Do in Rome, Italy

The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill sit beside the Colosseum and were the political, religious, and social heart of ancient Rome. Wandering down the Via Sacra you pass the Temple of Saturn, the Curia where the Senate met, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the House of the Vestal Virgins - all in an open-air archaeological park with the Capitoline Hill towering above.

Climb up to Palatine Hill - the legendary site where Romulus founded Rome in 753 BC - for the imperial palaces of Augustus and Domitian and panoramic views over the Forum and Circus Maximus. The combined Colosseum-Forum-Palatine ticket covers all three sites within 24 hours, but most travellers tackle them in one long visit of four to five hours total.

The Vatican Museums hold one of the greatest art collections on Earth, accumulated by popes over 500 years and laid out across roughly 7 km of galleries inside Vatican City. The route ends at the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo's ceiling (1508-1512) and Last Judgement cover almost every surface in some 5,000 square feet of frescoes that remain the high-water mark of Renaissance painting.

Highlights along the way include the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps, Laocoön and His Sons in the Pio-Clementine sculpture wing, and the Pinacoteca picture gallery with works by Caravaggio and Leonardo. Plan for a minimum of three hours and book online - walk-up queues frequently exceed two hours in spring and summer.

St Peter's Basilica is the largest Catholic church in the world and the spiritual heart of Vatican City, built directly above the tomb of the apostle Peter. The current Renaissance basilica - completed in 1626 - was designed in turn by Bramante, Michelangelo, Maderno, and Bernini, who shaped the dome, the colonnaded square outside, and the giant baldachin over the high altar.

Inside, do not miss Michelangelo's Pietà to your right as you enter (now behind glass), Bernini's bronze baldacchino under the dome, and the Treasury Museum. Climb 551 steps - or take the lift partway and finish on foot - to the dome cupola for one of the great views of Rome. Entry to the basilica is free; the dome climb is around €10 by lift, €8 on foot.

The Pantheon is the best-preserved building of ancient Rome and one of the most influential pieces of architecture ever built. Commissioned originally by Marcus Agrippa around 27 BC and rebuilt by Hadrian in roughly 126 AD, it has been in continuous use for nearly two millennia, first as a Roman temple, then since 609 AD as a Catholic church.

The dome remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, with an interior diameter of 43.3 metres - exactly equal to its height - and a 9-metre oculus at the top open to the sky. Inside lie the tombs of Raphael and the first two kings of Italy. Since July 2023 a small entry fee (around €5) applies on weekdays; Sundays remain free.

The Trevi Fountain is the largest baroque fountain in Rome and a fixed stop on every itinerary. Designed by Nicola Salvi and completed in 1762, the 26-metre-high travertine sculpture depicts Oceanus riding a shell-shaped chariot drawn by sea horses through the façade of Palazzo Poli. The water still arrives via the Aqua Virgo aqueduct, originally built in 19 BC and one of the few ancient Roman aqueducts still in operation.

Tradition has it that throwing a coin over your left shoulder with your right hand into the basin guarantees your return to Rome. Around €3,000 is collected from the fountain each day and donated to Caritas, which uses it to fund a supermarket for Rome's needy. The piazza is open 24 hours.

Piazza Navona is the most theatrical of Rome's baroque squares, built directly on top of the Stadium of Domitian (1st century AD) - which is why its long elliptical shape echoes a Roman racecourse. Three fountains anchor the piazza, including Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) at the centre, where four colossal river-god figures personify the Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Río de la Plata under a Roman obelisk.

Bordering the piazza are the Sant'Agnese in Agone church by Borromini, several historic palaces, and a permanent rotation of street artists, portrait sketchers, and outdoor cafés. It is one of the few spots in Rome where the historical theatre and modern street life genuinely fuse. You can also descend below ground at the Stadio di Domiziano museum on the north end to see the original Roman foundations.

The Spanish Steps are the dramatic 135-step staircase that links Piazza di Spagna at the bottom with the church of Trinità dei Monti at the top. Built between 1723 and 1725 by Francesco de Sanctis, the steps were funded by a French diplomat and named after the nearby Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. They were the meeting point for 18th-century Grand Tour artists - John Keats died in the pink house at the foot of the staircase in 1821, now the Keats-Shelley Memorial House museum.

At the bottom, Bernini's father Pietro designed the Fontana della Barcaccia in the shape of a half-sunken boat. Via dei Condotti runs west from the piazza and is Rome's most famous luxury shopping street - Bulgari, Prada, Gucci, and Valentino all have flagships here. Sitting on the steps is forbidden and fines are enforced.

Trastevere - meaning across the Tiber - is Rome's most atmospheric neighbourhood, a maze of cobbled lanes, ivy-covered walls, and tiny piazzas just south of the Vatican. The 12th-century Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, with its golden mosaics and 22 ancient columns lifted from a pagan temple, anchors the central square. By night the area transforms into Rome's main eating and drinking district, with hundreds of trattorias, wine bars, and cocktail spots packed along Via della Lungaretta and Vicolo del Cinque.

For something quieter, walk south to Piazza di Sant'Egidio, climb up to Janiculum Hill (the Gianicolo) for what locals consider the best free panorama in Rome, or visit the small but lovely Villa Farnesina with frescoes by Raphael. Trastevere is at its best on weeknights - weekends draw heavy crowds.

The Galleria Borghese houses one of Rome's most concentrated and rewarding art collections, displayed inside the Villa Borghese Pinciana built in 1612 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The cardinal was a ruthless patron - and as a result the gallery owns the world's most important collection of Bernini sculptures (The Rape of Proserpina, Apollo and Daphne, David), six paintings by Caravaggio (including Boy with a Basket of Fruit and David with the Head of Goliath), and major works by Raphael, Titian, and Canova.

Visits are strictly time-limited to two-hour slots with a capped number of visitors, which is why advance booking is mandatory and tickets often sell out a week or more ahead. The villa itself sits inside the larger Villa Borghese gardens, ideal for a stroll afterwards. The Pincian Hill terrace at the southern edge of the park has one of the best free views over Rome's domes.