Rome, Italy Hotels and City Guide

Rome - Attractions

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Rome, the capital city of Italy, is one of Europe's treasures; a city so steeped in history its legacy is hard to avoid. The city resembles a vast open-air museum where the present persists on top of the past, as it has for more than two-and-a-half millennia. With so many monuments, museums and masterpieces to view, the decision on where to begin can be overwhelming.

One cannot wander amongst Rome’s treasures of antiquity, set against the bustle of a modern and energetic city, without a sense of wonder. Rome is where history, religion, grandiose art and architecture and music take on elevated status – it’s a feast of intoxicating sights, tastes and experiences that has its own demands on the visitor: even the most avid scholars and academics can excuse a certain blasé tendency after days of passing so many archaeological wonders, Renaissance masterpieces, Baroque churches and religious icons.

The centro storico contains the greatest concentration of classical Roman and Christian sites in a comparatively small area, but almost every palazzo, piazza and park has its own heritage, permeated with history, from Etruscan to Renaissance and more recently through cinema classics by film-makers such as Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica.

At night, Rome’s monuments take on an even more imposing aspect, seductively lit for an incomparable backdrop when dining al fresco in the city’s famous piazzas, walking its romantic streets or stopping atop one of the city’s famous hills.

There is also much to see below ground: Rome’s collection of subterranean churches, burial grounds and grottos are renowned, the most famous being the Coliseum where archaeologists are still digging up gladiator and animal bones secreted below. Take a look beneath the Vatican City, Nero’s Domus Aurea and the Basilica of San Clemente.

Rome Attractions

Colosseo (Colosseum)
Piazza del Colosseo, 00184 Rome
Tel: +39 06 3996 7700

Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)
Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Rome

Scalla di Spagna (Spanish Steps)
Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, 00187 Rome

Basilica di San Pietro (St Peter's Basilica)
Piazza San Pietro, 00193 Rome

Città del Vaticano (Vatican City)
Vatican Hill, 00120 Rome

Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel)
Viale Vaticano, 00165 Rome
Tel: +39 06 6988 4947 | Fax: +39 06 6988 5061

Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums)
Viale Vaticano, 00165 Rome
Tel: +39 06 6988 4947 | Fax: +39 06 6988 5061

Piazza Navona
Junction of Via della Cuccagna and Corsa Agonale, Via di Sant'Agnese, 00186 Rome

Foro Romano (Roman Forum)
Between the Capitol, the Imperial Forums, the Colosseum and the Palatine, Rome
Tel: +39 06 699 0110

Panteone (Pantheon)
Piazza della Rotunda, 00186 Rome
Tel: +39 06 6830 0230 | Fax: +39 06 588 3340

Castel Sant'Angelo (Saint Angelo's Castle)
Lungotevere Castello 50, 00193 Rome
Tel: +39 06 687 5036

Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, 00152 Rome
Tel: +39 06 6988 6452

Santa Maria Maggiore
Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, 00185 Rome
Tel: +39 06 446 5836

Spectator Sports

Football: Soccer (Il calico) has near-religious importance in Italy and leading teams in the country's Serie A league have a history of success on the European stage. Rome's two teams, AS Roma and Lazio, share the Stadio Olimpico at Foro Italico, just north of Rome, for home matches, which are played every Sunday from September to May. The great rivalry between the two sides invariably leads to tightly contested derby matches. Tickets can be purchased from the Stadio Olimpico box office (tel 06 323 73 33) or authorised ticket agencies such as Orbis (tel 06 482 74 03, Piazza Esquilino 37).

Rugby Union: Italy contest the Six Nations rugby tournament along with France, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Italy's home matches are played at the Flaminio Stadium, accessible by metro.

Basketball: Basketball is Rome's second favourite spectator sport after football. The season runs over the winter months and matches are played at the Palazzo dello Sport (tel 06 592 5006, Viale dell'Umanesimo).

Tennis: May's Italian International Tennis Championships is played on clay at the Foro Italico - tickets can often be bought on the day at the stadium.

Rome Marathon: The 42 km Rome Marathon in late March famously starts and finishes at the Colosseum and passes most of the city's major monuments. June sees the Golden Gala athletics event at Stadio Olimpico.

Cycling: Cycling is another popular sport in Italy and the Giro d'Italia race, which starts in Rome and ends in Milan - is regarded as second only to the Tour de France in prestige amongst European cyclists.

Value for Money Sightseeing

Many of Rome’s top attractions are free to enjoy, from the elegant piazzas, ornate churches and classical museums and galleries. St. Peter's Basilica, the Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, the exterior of the Colosseum and Castel Sant'Angelo, the Mouth of Truth, Piazza Navona, Appia Antica, Galleria Nazionale Di San Luca and Aula Ottaganale can all be appreciated without paying, as are the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel on the last Sunday of each month.

The Roma Archeologia Card costs includes the entrance to nine major sites in Rome including the Colosseum, Terme di Caracalla, Terme di Diocleziano and Villa dei Quintili. The card is valid for a week and is available from the attractions themselves and the Visitor Center of Rome Tourist Board (APT) in Via Parigi 5. The Appia Antica Card covers entrance to the Baths of Caracalla, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella and the Villa of the Quintili. EU citizens under 18 and over 65 are entitled to free admission to state museums and art sites, with 50% off for under 25s, and those in education. Similar incentives apply for municipal museums and art sites.

Hotels in Rome, Italy