UltimateCity Guide Rome
Our favourites

The magazine

Stories from Rome, Italy

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Rome City Guide, in one place.

Culture

Arts + Culture

All of Arts & Culture

The Galleria Borghese and the princely galleries, the Vatican Museums, the opera at Caracalla and the studios of Cinecittà.

Mariano Rossi’s painted ceiling in the entrance hall of the Galleria BorgheseArts + CultureArts & Culture in RomeGalleries, opera, music and film

Areas

Rome by neighbourhood

From the Pantheon to the Villa Borghese, each area has its own guide: the Baroque piazzas, the grand hotels above the Spanish Steps, the ancient heart, the lanes of Trastevere and the markets of Testaccio.

A river god of Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers on the Piazza NavonaNeighbourhood guideThe Centro StoricoThe Pantheon and the Piazza NavonaThe Trevi Fountain and the Palazzo Poli above its turquoise basinNeighbourhood guideTrevi & the Spanish StepsFountains and fashionTrajan’s Forum and Markets in evening light, with the Torre delle Milizie and the rooftops of MontiNeighbourhood guideMonti & the ColosseumThe ancient heartThe golden apse mosaics of Santa Maria in TrastevereNeighbourhood guideTrastevereAcross the TiberThe façade and dome of St Peter’s Basilica under a clear blue skyNeighbourhood guideThe Vatican & PratiSt Peter’s and beyond

On foot

Rome is best on foot: cross the Tiber on the Ponte Sisto, and let the piazzas lead you from one neighbourhood to the next.

  1. Neighbourhood guideTestaccio & the AventineOrange trees and offal
  2. Neighbourhood guideVilla Borghese & ParioliThe park and the galleries
  3. Neighbourhood guideOstiense & EURIndustrial Rome and the new city

Practical

Plan your trip

The practical things to know before you go: entry, the airports and the trains, booking the Colosseum and the Vatican, the Trevi ticket, and three days for a classic first visit.

The Colosseum under a deep blue skyBefore you goRome essentialsEntry, money, etiquette and getting aroundThe platforms of Roma Termini under a blue sky, with the station’s name on its façadeGetting aroundGetting aroundThe airports, the trains and the metroRome’s rooftops and domes seen from the Pincio terrace under a blue sky, with the dome of St Peter’s on the skylineItineraryThree days in RomeThe classic first visitThe Piazza del Popolo seen from the Pincio terrace, with the dome of St Peter’s on the horizonLuxury guideLUX LivingThe finest addressesThe Piazza di Spagna and the Via dei Condotti at night, seen from the top of the Spanish StepsItineraryThe Gold weekendThe Hassler, Imàgo and Il Pagliaccio
  1. ItineraryThe Platinum weekendLa Minerva, the Vatican and La Pergola

Our advice

Book the big sights before you fly

The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and the Galleria Borghese sell timed tickets on their official sites, and the first slots go first. Book them before you travel, and only on the official sites. Rome essentials

Day trips

Beyond Rome

Tivoli, Ostia Antica, the Castelli Romani, Orvieto, and Naples and Pompeii, all within reach for the day by train: emperors’ villas, a Roman port, hill towns, a Gothic cathedral and the city beneath Vesuvius.

The Fountain of the Organ in the gardens of the Villa d’Este, TivoliBeyond RomeTivoliTwo UNESCO villasAncient marble portrait heads in front of the machinery of the Centrale MontemartiniBeyond RomeOstia AnticaAncient Rome’s portLake Albano and the Alban Hills, seen from Castel GandolfoBeyond RomeThe Castelli RomaniHill towns and wineThe mosaics and carved portals of Orvieto Cathedral’s façadeBeyond RomeOrvietoA cathedral on a cliffThe Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius beyondBeyond RomeNaples & PompeiiBeneath Vesuvius

Our advice

Eat by the season

Order artichokes from late winter into spring, and save a long Sunday lunch for a trattoria booked a day or two ahead. Roman Cuisine

In depth

In depth: ancient, papal and Baroque Rome

Roman cuisine, the eternal city, art, eating, the grand hotels, film, rail and where to buy: the stories behind the city.

The Christmas market stalls on the Piazza Navona, with Sant’Agnese in Agone and the obeliskPiazza NavonaChristmas in RomeStalls round Bernini’s fountain until La BefanaA murmuration of starlings over Termini station in RomeIn depth: nature & wildlifeWild RomeStarlings, parakeets and the Appia AnticaSpaghetti alla carbonara with guanciale and black pepperEatRoman CuisineThe four pastas, artichokes and the quinto quarto

At the counter

In a Roman bar, pay at the till first, then take your receipt to the counter: coffee taken standing is the Roman way.

  1. FeatureRome, the eternal and the newGrandeur, style, the table and the city after dark
  2. FeatureRome on filmLa Dolce Vita, Roman Holiday and The Great Beauty
  3. The back storyThe city of artCaravaggio, Bernini and the princely galleries
  4. The back storyEating in RomeLa Pergola and the trattorias
  5. The back storyThe grand hotelsFrom the Spanish Steps to Monte Mario

The ULTIMATE letter

Rome in your inbox

An occasional email with new places, events, neighbourhood guides and our latest in-depth articles. No spam, ever.