Rome attractions

One of the mainstays of daily life in Italy is shopping at the market, and the market, for many Romans, means Campo de’ Fiori. This historic square in the city center hosts one of the largest and most famous outdoor food markets each morning,, offering visitors the perfect opportunity to rub elbows with locals.

Rome’s Circus Maximus(Circo Massimo)—a massive arena for chariot races, games, religious ceremonies, and civic events—was the largest stadium in the Roman Empire. A major restoration in 2016 yielded a spruced-up archaeological site comprising arched walkways, ancient shops, a newly excavated cobbled road, and the Circus track’s oblong outline and starting gates.

Rome’s Olympic Stadium (Stadio Olimpico) seats more than 72,000 spectators, and when the city’s deeply beloved A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio soccer teams hold their home matches here, there isn’t an empty seat in the house. But the stadium isn’t just for "football" fans; rather, the venue is also used for rock concerts and other sporting events.

The heart of Rome's Vatican City is St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), the grand space that provides a magnificent approach to St. Peter's Basilica. Designed by Bernini in the 17th century, Piazza San Pietro is lined by semicircular colonnades four columns deep on either side that seem to reach out and enfold visitors in an embrace.

Most visitors to Rome pass through the Piazza Venezia intersection, home to the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, at least once. This busy, sprawling intersection has a vast grassy island at its center, making it a square, but its function is to keep the Eternal City’s car and bus traffic flowing, rather than act as a leisure space.

Standing proud behind the Colosseum and steps away from the beginning of the Via Sacra, the imposing triumphal Arch of Constantine (Arco di Costantino) was erected by the Roma Senate in 315 AD in honor of Emperor Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge that took place three years earlier. At 69 feet (21 meters) tall, the ornate monument was carved from a single enormous block of gray and white marble. In typical Classical style, the great central gateway is mirrored by two smaller side arches and supported by eight Corinthian columns. The arch is decorated with reliefs plundered from other long-forgotten memorials that describe feats of bravery by earlier Roman emperors, as well as inscriptions praising the achievements of Constantine.Thanks to its close proximity to the Colosseum and its sheer size, the Arch of Constantine is an easy landmark to find and a popular spot for photos. Many walking tours stop to admire the arch before continuing on to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum or to Palatine Hill.

Bohemian Trastevere is one of Rome’s most historic and picturesque neighborhoods—a maze of cobbled streets lined with atmospheric restaurants serving some of Italy’s best cuisine. At dusk, trendy crowds pour into its fashionable sidewalk cafés and bars to enjoy the vibrant Roman nightlife. Trastevere lies across the river—hence the name, which means “across the Tiber”—from the center of Rome, and at its heart is Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, home to one of Rome’s oldest churches (from AD 340) and a majestic 15th-century fountain. Other neighborhood sights include the beautiful Santa Cecilia in Trastevere church, dating from the fifth century, and Villa Farnesina, filled with stunning frescoes—including two attributed to Raphael.

Hidden deep underground on the outskirts of Rome, the vast 2nd-century Catacombs of Rome (Catacombe di Roma) are some of the oldest burial tunnels in the world. Today, the narrow tunnels are eerily quiet and full of Roman history, including some of the best-preserved early Christian frescoes and sculptures—including the oldest known depiction of the Virgin Mary and, in the bone-adorned Capuchin Crypt, a Caravaggio.

Vatican City (Città del Vaticano) may be the smallest sovereign nation-state in the world, but it's a religious and cultural superpower. Home to some of the world’s greatest artistic and architectural marvels—namely St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Peter’s Square, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums—it's located wholly within the confines of Rome, covers 110 acres (44 hectares), and has an official population of about 800.

Situated in a former Borghese family villa, Rome’s Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese) houses much of the eponymous family’s vast collection of antiquities, paintings, and sculptures across 22 rooms and two floors. Highlights include paintings by Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Rubens, as well as several Bernini sculptures.