Rome

2,700 years of history on every corner — plus the finest pasta of your life.

Rome is a city built on layers of history that span nearly three millennia. As the former heart of the Roman Empire and the continuing home of the Vatican, it carries a weight of significance unlike anywhere else on Earth. Yet daily life here unfolds with an effortless Italian ease — espresso at a standing bar, a passeggiata along cobbled streets, lingering lunches that stretch into the afternoon. The sights are staggering in their concentration. The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill occupy one corner of the city; the Pantheon, a perfectly preserved 2,000-year-old temple, sits in another. Toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, climb the Spanish Steps, and wander through Piazza Navona at dusk. Vatican City, technically a separate state, holds St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel — Michelangelo's ceiling remains one of humanity's greatest artistic achievements. Beyond the monuments, Rome's neighbourhoods are endlessly explorable. Trastevere enchants with ivy-clad buildings and intimate restaurants; Testaccio is the working-class foodie heartland; Prati offers elegant boulevards near the Vatican. Visit in spring or autumn to avoid summer's intense heat and peak crowds.