The Colosseum

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.

Secret tip: Book the visit in advance in Internet and avoid long queue. Avoid modern gladiators asking for picture, you may need to pay it, it is not free!

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Contact: Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 3996 7700; coopculture.it)

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Pantheon

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.

 

Secret tip: Visit between 11am and 1pm, when the vision of sunrays pouring through the oculus is at its most spectacular. Also head over if it’s raining to see the water ricochet off the marble floor, before being captured by drains built into the floor.

 

Contact: Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 6830 0230).

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Trevi Fountain

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 (The coins are collected weekly to fund a supermarket for the poor). 

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Secret tip: Rome hosts more than 2,000 other fountains: the Quattro Fontane on via delle Quattro Fontane and Triton Fountain on Piazza Barberini, Rome’s first fully sculpted fountain, are particularly worth a nosey.

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Address: Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma, Italy.

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Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill

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.

Secret tip:  The site is vast and badly signposted so it’s worth investing in a good guide. Don’t miss the Temple of Caesar, built in his memory after a group of senators stabbed him 23 times to death in 44 BC, you can still find flowers there...after more than 2000 years romans still miss the highest model of roman citizen in the history (great general, great writer, great politic, impressive roman).

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Contact: Via della Salara Vecchia 5/6, 00186 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 0608).

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Capitoline Hill

The holy hill of the ancient Rome. The hill was earlier known as Mons Saturnius, dedicated to the god Saturn. The word Capitolium first meant the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, and Capitolium Campidoglio that surround a piazza, a significant urban plan designed by Michelangelo. Nowdays hosts Rome CityHall and Musei capitolini.

Secret tip: many people says that Rome Mayor's office has the best view of the world: Roman Forum. Not easy to check it, but you can enjoy of the almost similar panorama from the terrace.

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Vatican City Part I: Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums 

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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Secret tip: Don’t miss the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museums. The Sistine Chapel is always rammed and many do not adhere to the silence rule; those who expect to take in the marvels of Michelangelo in an atmosphere of quiet contemplation will be disappointed.

 

Contact (Vatican Museums): Viale Vaticano, 00165 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 6988 3332; museivaticani.va); address for Sistine Chapel is 00120 Vatican City.

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

The Basilica is the largest catolic church 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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Secret tip:The pope holds Papal Audiences most Wednesdays on St. Peter’s Square, at 10am (tickets are bookable in advance; arrive at 8am for a good seat). He also recites the Angelus prayer and gives a papal blessing on Sundays at noon. 

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Contact (St Peter's Basilica): Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City (00 39 06 6982).

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Galleria Borghese

If you only visit one art gallery in Rome, this is your must visit. This is the grand daddy of all private art collections, crammed with classical antiquities, Baroque sculptures and paintings by Titian and Raphael. Admission is at two-hourly intervals; book a tickets with specific time slot in advance.

 

Secret tip: Don’t miss Bernini's Ratto di Proserpina (Rape of Proserpina) sculpture. Caravaggio fans should make a beeline for Sala VIII. Although the paintings section upstairs is understandably popular, the Roman mosaics and sensational frescoes on the ground floor still merit time.

 

Contact: Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5, 00197 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 841 3979; galleriaborghese.it).

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Trastevere

After a day’s sightseeing, head across the river Tiber to this cobblestoned, ivy-twined neighbourhood with slow-food trattorias, bare-brick microbeweries and graffiti-tattoed bars. Head over for for dinner and drinks as the sun sets to enjoy the street tambourine players and violinists, and enjoy an aperitivo on one of the terraces.

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Secret tip: Shopping enthusiasts and antiques hunters should pop over on Sundays for the Porta Portese flea market.

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Piazza Navona

This magnificent square decorated by a fountain by Bernini is built on what was once the Stadium of Domitian, dating back to the first century AD; today it’s a popular gathering point for Romans with its bustling terraced cafés and seasonal fairgrounds.

Secret tip: The cafés on the square are of variable quality. If you can bag a table, Bernini Ristorante does a credible spaghetti and excellent tiramisu. If you want to taste the best coffe in Rome goes to Trombe di S'Eustacchio bar, just 100m from the Piazza Navona, direction to Pantheon.