Rome: a relaxed visit

The appeal of Rome

Rome is not called La Città Eterna for nothing: the Eternal City. It is a modern, lively capital and the seat of Italy's government, with traffic, offices, shops, residential districts and a daily rhythm that has little of the museum about it. Yet inside that city the past stays continually in view. The ancient Rome of the emperors and the Forum, the Rome of the popes and the basilicas, and the Rome of fountains, squares and baroque churches all exist here side by side.

Every time I come back to Rome, what strikes me is how many different cities live alongside one another inside this one city. I first visited Rome on my honeymoon in 1969 and have returned often since. The monuments I saw then are still impressive and still worth going back to. But Rome always has something new: every visit turns up a church, a garden, a museum or a street I had not seen before.

I try not to experience Rome as a long series of separate sights. I would rather choose four worlds that hold together: ancient Rome, the Vatican and papal Rome, the baroque centre, and the other Rome around the Aventine, Testaccio and Ostiense.

That leaves time to look, to sit, and to let the city settle.

Ancient Rome

At the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum and the Palatine I see ancient Rome at its clearest. These three places belong together. The Colosseum speaks of arenas and mass entertainment, the Forum of politics and religion, and the Palatine of the imperial residences above the city.

I start here early. The Colosseum is often busy from late morning, and a timed entry keeps a visit from beginning with a long wait. After that I walk on through the Forum and across the Palatine. I do not work through this area as a collection of separate ruins, but take the time to see how the temples, basilicas, triumphal arches and imperial buildings lie in relation to one another.

From the ruins I walk up to the Campidoglio. After the scale of the Forum, Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio is a quiet, clear space. Behind the Palazzo Senatorio lies one of the best viewpoints over the Forum Romanum. From here you can see how the Forum, the Palatine and the Capitoline Hill fit together far better than you can from the paths below.

The Capitoline Museums follow on well from this route. The statues, the busts and the collections of the city itself make the Rome lying in ruins below both visible and possible to feel.

The Vatican and papal Rome

For many visitors the Vatican is the high point of Rome, and it is also the place where it is easiest to plan too much into a single morning. The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica each deserve time. So I try not to rush all of them one after another.

Anyone coming mainly for the art begins at the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Anyone who cares more about the basilica and the dome begins at St Peter's and saves the museums for another day. That is not something lost; it is a way of experiencing both visits better.

After the Vatican I walk towards Castel Sant'Angelo. The building began as the mausoleum of Hadrian and later became a papal fortress. That shift says a great deal about Rome: an ancient funerary monument became part of the world of papal power.

Then I like to walk a stretch along the Tiber. After the crowds around St Peter's and the museums, the river, the bridges and the embankments give you room. The dome stays in sight, but the city takes on an everyday rhythm again. Anyone who wants to see more of Catholic Rome can visit St John Lateran or Santa Maria Maggiore on another day. Both basilicas show a different side of the church city.

Baroque Rome and city life

Piazza del Popolo, the Pincio terrace, Villa Borghese, the Galleria Borghese, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona together make a walk through the baroque centre. The route links a museum, a park, a viewpoint, fountains, domes, obelisks, church façades and elegant streets. It is precisely the stretches around the Spanish Steps, Trevi and Piazza Navona that get busy when a lot of visitors want to see everything at once.

I begin at Piazza del Popolo and go by way of the Pincio terrace to Villa Borghese. From the terrace I look out over Piazza del Popolo, the rooftops and the domes of Rome. Anyone wanting to visit the Galleria Borghese books a timed entry and starts there. After that I walk on through the park towards Via del Babuino and the Spanish Steps.

The streets around Via Condotti show Rome as a city of fashion. Historic façades, churches, boutiques and heavy traffic all belong together here. I like looking around, but I try not to stay too long in the middle of the day.

I visit the Trevi Fountain briefly, and by preference early in the morning or later in the evening. The fountain stays impressive, but the space around it is small and almost always crowded. After that I walk on to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, where the squares and the wider streets give you air again.

This part of Rome is at its finest, for me, in the late afternoon. The light softens, the crowds shift slowly towards aperitivo and dinner, and the city feels less like a route past sights.

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The other Rome

This is not about the great squares and monuments of the centre, but about the Aventine, Testaccio and Ostiense: the Rome of hills, residential streets, food and industrial heritage.

The Aventine is one of the seven hills of Rome, the southernmost of them all. It lies close to the Circus Maximus and the Forum, yet soon feels quieter and more at a remove from the centre. Churches, gardens and viewpoints give Rome a different scale here.

I start on the Aventine, at the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta. The famous keyhole is pleasant, but only when the queue is short. After that I walk to Santa Sabina and the Orange Garden.

The combination of church, garden and the view across the Tiber to the dome of St Peter's matters more than the keyhole itself.

From the Orange Garden I walk downhill to the Circus Maximus and go on from there to Testaccio. Testaccio is a good quarter for Roman dishes such as cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, gricia and supplì.

Centrale Montemartini in Ostiense is one of the museums that surprised me most on a later visit. Ancient statues, mosaics and imperial portraits stand here among the machinery of a former power station. It shows that Rome is not only a city of antiquity, but also one of industry and twentieth-century history.

Useful before you leave

Use ATAC for current routes, departure times and disruptions on the metro, tram and bus.

Tram 3 is handy for the Colosseum and for heading south and east; tram 8 connects Piazza Venezia with Trastevere.

Book only what is essential for your own visit: the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, the Galleria Borghese and perhaps a performance. Better not to visit the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums on the same day.

Tickets for a papal audience are free, but have to be requested in advance from the Prefecture of the Papal Household. A cookery class is a good alternative to another museum or another queue on a hot afternoon. If you go, choose a small class on pasta dough, Roman sauces and ingredients from the market.

Rome is also a good base for a day outside the city. Ostia Antica is the best choice for archaeology away from the busy centre. Castel Gandolfo combines the Apostolic Palace and the papal gardens with a view over Lake Albano. Tivoli suits Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este; Frascati is right for a shorter trip with lunch and local wine.

Have you got half a day left?

Have you got half a day left, and would you like to see more of old Rome? Then go to the Via Appia Antica. This old Roman road runs past catacombs, tombs and stretches of the original paving. Pick one visit, or one stretch to walk or cycle; the Via Appia lies outside the centre and is easiest to reach by bus, bicycle or taxi.

Rome never goes entirely quiet. But when I take the city in a few worlds that hold together, I see it better: the Forum from the Campidoglio, St Peter's from the Tiber, the Trevi Fountain in the evening, and the old Appia under the pines.