The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a breathtaking view of the innumerable domes and bell towers that pierce the skyline of the multi-hued architectural museum.
This open-air café near the top of the Spanish Steps is an oasis surrounded by creeper-curtained trellises, with a pond in the centre. The view is stunning, especially at sunset.
he monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20000 scudi in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church
Rome's first ever wine bar, the Cul de Sac was founded in 1968. Looking very traditional nowadays, it's cramped inside and out, with long pine benches and tables, and decidedly no-frills.
The high-vaulted ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, surrounded by trees and grass, are pleasantly peaceful today.
The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and now property of the French State, has housed the French Academy in Rome since 1803.
The Santissima Trinità dei Monti is a late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. The church and its surrounding area (including the Villa Medici) are the property of the French State.
After 120 years as a building site, the current St Peter's was consecrated on 18 November 1626 by Urban VIII - exactly 1,300 years after the consecration of the first basilica on the site.
There is a good art bookshop and a café and - best of all - a breathtaking view of Rome's skyline from the rear staircase as you leave.
The current 16th-century church of this magnificent religious complex was built above a fifth-century basilica, which in turn incorporated a titulus, or house where early Christians met.
Along with the Lateran palace, it was the site of the original papal headquarters until the move across the river to St Peter's and the Vatican in the 14th century.
This 12th-century church was built on the site of a titulus, which in turn is believed to stand on the site of an ancient well sacred to Juno. The church's exterior incorporates Roman columns.
This tremendous theatrical space, centred on the gleaming marble composition of Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), is the hub of the centro storico.
For centuries, piazza del Popolo was the first glimpse most travellers got of Rome, for it lies at the end of the ancient via Flaminia and directly inside the city's northern gate the Porta del Popolo
The Pantheon is the best-preserved ancient building in Rome. It was built (and possibly designed) by Hadrian in AD 119-128 as a temple to the 12 most important classical deities.
It's a relief that Augustus' great monument has finally been liberated after years hidden beneath scaffolding: its Luna marble glows in architect Richard Meier's luminous space.
Vespasian began building the Colosseum - which has hosted gory battles between combinations of gladiators, slaves, prisoners and wild animals of all descriptions.
After its period of glory, the Forum was relentlessly attacked for centuries by barbarians, after which it was gradually dismantled by anyone - from popes to paupers - who needed building materials.
On the north-east side of via dei Fori Imperiali are the extensive remains of Trajan's forum, the last of the fora, laid out in the early second century AD.
For recent generations, it was Anita Ekberg who made this fountain famous when she plunged in wearing a strapless black evening dress in Federico Fellini's classic La dolce vita.
The 30m (100ft) column of Marcus Aurelius was built between AD 180 and 196 to commemorate the victories on the battlefield of that most intellectual of Roman emperors.
The oldest and largest of Rome's ancient arenas, the Circus Maximus hosted chariot races from at least the fourth century BC. It was rebuilt by Julius Caesar to hold as many as 300,000 people.
Urbino-born architect Donato Bramante is credited with kick-starting the Roman High Renaissance. He began with the beautiful Chiostro del Bramante in 1500-4.
The name 'catacomb' originated in this spot, where a complex of underground burial sites situated near a tufa quarry was described as being kata kymbas - 'near the quarry'.
These are Rome's largest catacombs. Buried in the 29km (18 miles) of tunnels were nine popes (venerated in a chapel known as il piccolo Vaticano), dozens of martyrs and thousands of Christians.
Begun by Emperor Hadrian in AD 135 as his own mausoleum, Castel Sant'Angelo has variously been a fortress, prison and papal residence.
For guided tours (in English) call 06 361 4015 from 9.30am to 1pm. From April to September the Zoo remains open until 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Great for all types of performances, the Olimpico has good acoustics, even for cheaper seats. Go for the central front and second row seats in the gallery.
The ice-cool barmen and a VIP room almost as big as the club itself speak volumes: this is one of the clubs of choice of Rome's fashion-victims.
Owned by the Italian journalists' association, but friendly and open to non-members, the Circolo offers both clay and synthetic grass courts.
This beautiful little chocolate-box of a theatre hosts an interesting range of performances plus the occasional concert or ballet. A gem.
Rome's plush flagship theatre has a wide-ranging programme, including some dance and poetry.
Begun by Pope Julius II in 1503, this immense collection represents the accumulated fancies and obsessions of a long line of strong, often contradictory personalities.
Blink and you could miss any mention of Napoleon's reign in Rome - from 1798 to 1814 - in standard accounts of the city.
At the top of the first set of stairs, two soldiers stand guard at the tomb of the milite ignoto (unknown soldier), placed here after World War I.
The collection at Palazzo Venezia contains a hotchpotch of everything from terracotta models by Bernini to medieval decorative art.
A rotating collection displayed over two floors recounts the evolution of the Eternal City from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
Rome's sluggish contemporary art scene was given a shot in the arm in the 1990s with the opening of a municipal modern art gallery in a stunningly converted brewery.
Works to transform this former army barracks into the Museo delle arti del XXI secolo (MAXXI) have been stop-go since building began in 2001, to a design by Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
Housed in the palaces of Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori on opposite sides of Michelangelo's piazza del Campidoglio, the Capitoline museums constitute the oldest public gallery in the world
Begun in 1608 by Flaminio Ponzio and continued by Jan van Santen (Giovanni Vasanzio) upon his death, the Casino Borghese was designed to house Cardinal Scipione Borghese's art collection.
The collection of one of the great families of Rome's aristocracy (spelled either Pamphili or Pamphilj), now headed by two half-British siblings.
Several of the villas dotted around the park are the remains of a world exposition held here in 1911 and this neoclassical palace dedicated to 19th and 20th century art is one of the most eye-pleasing
