The best attractions, monuments, museums, archaeological sites, neighborhoods and experiences to enjoy in Rome.
The Circus Maximus can be confusing on a first visit because its historical importance is far greater than the amount of monumental architecture still standing. In antiquity, this enormous valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills was Rome’s principal venue for chariot racing and mass entertainment. Today, much of the space reads as an open…
Ponte Mazzini Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Ponte Mazzini is one of the quieter central crossings and a useful choice when you want to move between Via Giulia and the lower Janiculum side without joining the heavier pedestrian flow around Ponte Sisto. Its restrained design and position make it more about urban…
Ponte Garibaldi Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Ponte Garibaldi is one of the most practical crossings between the historic center and Trastevere, but it also marks an important moment in Rome’s transformation after Italian unification. Its broad roadway, direct urban alignment and close view of Tiber Island show how the river became…
Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II is often crossed quickly by travelers heading between the historic center and the Vatican, but its sculpture and urban position deserve a slower look. It belongs to the great modernization of Rome after Italian unification and was conceived as…
Ponte Sant’Angelo Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Few bridges in Rome have a stronger sense of arrival than Ponte Sant’Angelo. It was created by Hadrian as the approach to his mausoleum and later transformed into a papal and Baroque stage lined with angels, so a short river crossing condenses imperial Rome, medieval…
Ponte Cestio Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Ponte Cestio is the western half of the classic two-bridge route across Tiber Island. It is less visually famous than Ponte Fabricio, but it is essential to understanding how the island has functioned as a stepping point between the historic center and Trastevere for more…
Ponte Fabricio Rome is worth more than a quick crossing. Ponte Fabricio is the best-preserved ancient Roman bridge in Rome and one of the rare places where a visitor can cross the Tiber on infrastructure created in the late Republic. It turns the short walk from the Jewish Ghetto to Tiber Island into a direct…
Via Ostiense Rome is one of the best ways to understand Rome as a living archaeological landscape rather than a collection of isolated monuments. The ancient road linked the city with Ostia, Rome’s river and maritime port at the mouth of the Tiber, and its line still shapes modern streets, neighborhoods, bridges, gates and archaeological…
Via Aurelia Rome is one of the best ways to understand Rome as a living archaeological landscape rather than a collection of isolated monuments. The ancient road linked the city with the Tyrrhenian coast northwest of Rome, eventually linking with Etruscan and Tuscan routes, and its line still shapes modern streets, neighborhoods, bridges, gates and…
Via Tiburtina Rome is one of the best ways to understand Rome as a living archaeological landscape rather than a collection of isolated monuments. The ancient road linked the city with Tibur, modern Tivoli, east of Rome, and its line still shapes modern streets, neighborhoods, bridges, gates and archaeological sites. This 2026 guide explains where…