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St Peter's Basilica
You don't need to be religious to be bowled over by this architectural overstatement - you just need to be appropriately clad (no shorts, miniskirts or bare shoulders). The basilica's portico features a mosaic (c 1298) by Giotto from the original 4th-century building, while the red porphyry disk inside the main door marks the spot where Charlemagne and later Holy Roman Emperors were crowned by the pope.
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St Peter's Square
From above, Piazza San Pietro looks like a giant keyhole. The square's creator, Bernini, described the double colonnade as 'the motherly arms of the church'. He'd planned for the square to gob-smack pilgrims as they emerged from the tangle of medieval streets, an effect spoilt when Mussolini bulldozed Via della Conciliazione through the area. Caligula shipped in the central obelisk from Heliopolis, and it was later used by Christian-culling Nero as a turning post at his chariot-racing circus.
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Tempietto di Bramante & Chiesa di San Pietro
Considered the first great building of the High Renaissance, Bramante's proportionally perfect Tempietto (little temple) stands in the courtyard of the Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio, on the spot where St Peter is supposed to have been crucified. Completed in 1508, Bramante's temple is a much-imitated masterpiece of classical proportion and elegance, its circular design based on the style used in many Roman temples.
Read more about Tempietto di Bramante & Chiesa di San Pietro
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Terme di Caracalla
Rome's most awe-inspiring ruins, the Terme di Caracalla are a striking reminder of the massive scale on which Rome was built. Spread over 10 hectares, the ancient leisure centre could hold up to 1600 people and included caldaria (hot rooms), a lukewarm tepidarium, a swimming pool, gymnasiums, libraries, shops and gardens. Between 6000 and 8000 people were thought to have used them every day.
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Time Elevator
Down a small side street, the Time Elevator is ideal for armchair sightseers. Of the three programs, the one to see is Time Elevator Rome , a 45-minute virtual journey through 3000 years of Roman history. Shows kick off every hour and children and adults alike love the panoramic screens, flight-simulator technology and surround-sound system. Note that children under five aren't admitted and anyone who suffers motion sickness should probably pass.
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Tomb of St Peter
Excavations beneath the basilica, which began in 1940, have uncovered part of the original church and what archaeologists believe is the tomb of St Peter.
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Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
Cats may be as iconic in Rome as the Colosseum, but for many of the capital's felines, life is anything but purrfect. In the summer of 2007 alone, 400 kittens were abandoned at the city's volunteer-run Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, a common occurrence in a country where neutering pets is hardly in vogue. Expectantly, sterilisation is the shelter's primary concern, along with nursing ill and injured cats and finding them good homes right across the world.
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Trastevere
Although its traditionally proletarian nature is changing as the crumbling palazzi become gentrified, a stroll among the labyrinthine alleys of Trastevere still reaps small gems of a bygone past. Washing strung out from the apartments in best Mama-leone tradition has everyone sighing and reaching for the Kodaks.
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Trevi Fountain
Rome's largest and most famous fountain, Fontana di Trevi was completed by Nicola Salvi in 1762, and immortalised by Marcello Mastroianni and a frolicking Anita Ekberg in Fellini's La Dolce Vita .
This extravagant baroque work takes up most of the piazza, appears to meld into the palazzo , and depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons with seahorses - one wild, one docile - representing the moods of the sea.
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Vatican Gardens
You need to book by fax at least a week ahead, but it's well worth it to snoop around the Vatican's backyard, with its flower-filled French parterre, formal Italian garden, English wood and grottoes. There's even a kitchen garden, although you can forget about pressing the papal tomatoes.
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Vatican Grottoes
Extending beneath the basilica, the Vatican Grottoes contain the tombs of numerous popes, including John Paul II, as well as several huge columns from the original 4th-century basilica. The entrance is a door in the base of the Pier of St Andrew, to the left of the main altar.
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Vatican Museums
The entrance to the Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) is a 15-minute walk from Piazza San Pietro. From the piazza head to Piazza del Risorgimento and turn left, following the Vatican walls north until you come to an area with hundreds of people milling around. Join the queue, charge your batteries and prepare to enter Rome's richest museum complex.
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Via Giulia
Designed by Bramante as an approach road to St Peter's, Via Giulia is a picturesque street lined with Renaissance palazzi and potted orange trees. The Michelangelo-designed Arco Farnese is near one end and the street is lined with other works, as well as the Museo Criminologico with its torture and execution displays.
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Via Vittorio Veneto
Curving up from Piazza Barberini to Villa Borghese, Via Vittorio Veneto is the spiritual home of la dolce vita . Unfortunately the street today, while still impressive, is largely given over to tourism. Many of the towering streetside palazzi are luxury hotels, and glass-cased restaurants serve overpriced food to tourists with more money than imagination. The huge building on the right as you walk up is the US Embassy.
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Villa Ada
If you're in this neck of the woods and you need a breather, Villa Ada is the place. A big rambling park with wooded paths, lawns, lakes and lawns, it was once the private property of King Vittorio Emanuele III. it hosts putdoor concerts in summer.
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Villa Borghese
Formerly Cardinal Scipione Borghese's private playground, Villa Borghese is Rome's most famous park. A popular spot for joggers, cyclists, strollers and smoochers, it has kilometres of shaded avenues, hedged walks, planted flowerbeds, gravel paths and roads. The reserved, English-style Giardino del Lago in the centre was laid out in the late 18th century, as was Piazza di Siena, an amphitheatre used for Rome's top equestrian event in May.
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Villa Celimontana
With its lawns and shady corners, this leafy walled park is a wonderful place to escape the crowds and enjoy a quiet picnic. Parents with toddlers can let their loved ones loose at the popular playground. Famous for its annual jazz festival, the park is centred on a 16th-century villa that was once owned by the Mattei family but is now home to the Italian Geographical Society.
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Villa dei Quintili
The splendid Villa dei Quintili is a wonderfully sited 2nd-century-AD villa built by two brothers who were consuls under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Alas, the splendour of the villa was to be the brothers' downfall - in a fit of jealousy, Emperor Commodus had them both killed, taking over the villa for himself. The highlight is the well-preserved baths complex with a pool, caldarium (hot room) and frigidarium (cold room). There's also a small display of archaeological bits and bobs found in the vicinity.
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Villa Doria Pamphilj
Laid out by Alessandro Algardi in the mid-16th century, this is Rome's largest park. Romantic and rolling, it's an ideal spot for recuperating beside a baroque fountain, feeding the ducks in the lake, or walking along the picture-perfect walkways under parasol pines. It's also a great place for kids.
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Villa Doria Pamphilj
Rome's largest park is an excellent place to get away from the relentless noise of the city. Once an enormous private estate, it was laid out around 1650 for Prince Camillo Pamphilj, a nephew of Pope Innocent X. At its centre is the prince's summer residence, the Casino del Belrespiro, designed by Alessandro Algardi and surrounded by manicured formal gardens and citrus trees. It was acquired by the state in the late 1950s and is now used for official government functions.
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Villa Farnesina
Anyone with the remotest interest in Renaissance art should find a couple of hours to visit this extraordinary 16th-century villa. Commissioned by wealthy banker Agostino Chigi and built by the Sienese architect Baldassare Peruzzi between 1508 and 1511, it boasts some awe-inspiring decoration, with frescoes by Sebastiano del Piombo, Raphael and Peruzzi. In 1577 the Farnese family bought the villa from the bankrupt Chigi and modestly renamed it in honour of themselves.
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Villa Medici
Enjoying one of the best addresses in Rome, Villa Medici has been home to the French Academy since 1801. It was originally built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540, but Ferdinando dei Medici bought it in 1576 and it remained in Medici hands until Napoleon acquired it and gave it to the French Academy. The only way to get inside is to visit one of the regular art exhibitions held here. You can, however, visit the gardens at the weekend.
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Villa Torlonia
Less than 1km from Porta Pia, this splendid 19th-century park once belonged to the family of Prince Giovanni Torlonia (1756-1829), a banker and landowner. His large neoclassical villa, the Casino dei Principi, later became the Mussolini family home (1925-43) and, towards the end of WWII, Allied headquarters (1944-47). These days it's used to stage temporary exhibitions.
