Rome

The largest amphitheatre ever built opened in AD 80 and held around fifty thousand spectators for gladiator fights and public spectacles. Walking its corridors and looking down into the maze of passages beneath the arena floor gives a real sense of its scale. Standard tickets cover the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill together.

TipBook timed tickets on the official site well ahead, and check what each ticket includes: access to the arena floor and the underground passages is sold separately and sells out first.

The Forum was the heart of ancient Rome, a valley of temples, law courts and triumphal arches where the city's public life took place. Above it, the Palatine Hill is where emperors built their palaces, and where, according to legend, Rome was founded. The hill's gardens give one of the best views over the Forum.

TipThere is little shade, so visit in the morning or late afternoon, and bring water; you can refill it at the drinking fountains.

The grandest of Rome's fountains, finished in 1762, fills a tiny square with marble horses, tritons and cascading water. Tradition says that throwing a coin over your shoulder into the water means you'll return to Rome; the coins are collected and given to charity.

TipCome early in the morning or late at night: in the middle of the day, the crowds make it hard even to see the water.

A sweeping baroque staircase of 135 steps, completed in 1725, climbs from Piazza di Spagna to the church of Trinità dei Monti. The streets below are lined with fashion houses, and the view from the top looks over the rooftops of the centre.

TipSitting on the steps is not allowed, and wardens can fine you; enjoy the view standing, or from the Pincio terrace nearby.

A villa in the Borghese gardens holding an extraordinary collection: Bernini's marble sculptures, which seem almost to move, and paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian. Visitor numbers are limited, which makes it one of the most enjoyable museums in Rome.

TipReservations are compulsory and slots sell out, so book well ahead.

Built under the emperor Hadrian almost two thousand years ago, the Pantheon is the best-preserved building of ancient Rome, and its unreinforced concrete dome is still the largest of its kind in the world. Light falls through the open oculus at its centre, and the circle of sunlight moves across the walls during the day. The artist Raphael is buried here.

TipEntry now requires a small ticket; it is quickest to book online, or come at opening time.

This long, oval square follows the shape of an ancient stadium and is lined with baroque churches and palaces, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers at its centre. The lanes around it, towards Campo de' Fiori and its morning market, are the most atmospheric in Rome.

Built as the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian, this cylindrical fortress later became a papal stronghold, linked to the Vatican by a fortified corridor. Inside, ramps and rooms climb through its history to a terrace with one of the finest views of St Peter's and the river, and the bridge in front is lined with Bernini's angels.

The largest church in Christendom stands over the tomb of Saint Peter, with Michelangelo's dome above and Bernini's sweeping colonnade embracing the square in front. Inside, look for Michelangelo's Pietà, near the entrance. Entry to the basilica is free, and you can climb the dome for a view across the city.

TipCover your shoulders and knees, or you'll be turned away at the security check.

One of the world's great art collections, gathered by the popes over five centuries, with classical sculpture, the rooms painted by Raphael, and the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo painted the ceiling and the Last Judgement. Expect crowds: the route is long and the chapel itself is busy, so allow at least three hours.

TipBook an early slot online. The museums are closed on most Sundays, and photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel.

A neighbourhood of cobbled lanes, ivy-covered houses and small squares across the river from the centre, with some of the city's liveliest restaurants and bars. Visit the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, with its golden twelfth-century mosaics, then climb the Gianicolo hill for a view over the domes and rooftops.

The Via Appia Antica, built from 312 BC, was the great road south from Rome, lined with tombs and villas. Its stretch outside the city walls is now a regional park of cypresses, ancient paving stones and ruins, best explored by bicycle. Beneath it lie the catacombs of San Callisto and San Sebastiano, where early Christians buried their dead in kilometres of underground galleries.

TipParts of the road are closed to traffic on Sundays, the best day to cycle it; the catacombs can only be visited on a guided tour.