Rome

The 50,000-seat amphitheater where gladiatorial combat once drew the entire city still dominates the skyline with its travertine and concrete tiers.

Built by Hadrian around 125 AD, its unreinforced concrete dome with the open oculus remains the best-preserved ancient building in Rome.

Miles of papal collections culminate in the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo's ceiling stretches above crowds straining their necks in enforced silence.

Rome's most theatrical baroque fountain demands you toss a coin over your shoulder to guarantee your return to the Eternal City.

A villa museum housing Bernini's breathtaking marble sculptures, including Apollo and Daphne, in rooms that are themselves encrusted with inlaid floors and frescoes.

Ancient Roman marble statues displayed between massive industrial turbines in a decommissioned power station in the Ostiense neighborhood create a genuinely strange and beautiful contrast.

Peer through the perfectly framed keyhole of the Knights of Malta priory gate for a singular view of St. Peter's dome perfectly centred in a tunnel of manicured hedges.

Rome's largest covered food market near the Vatican draws local housewives and chefs alike for its staggering spread of seasonal produce, cheese, and cured meats.

A fever-dream cluster of Art Nouveau apartment buildings with frescoed façades, grotesque carvings, and a central fountain that feels entirely hidden from the tourist circuit.

A tiny counter-service spot on Via di San Francesco a Ripa frying the definitive Roman supplì — a rice croquette with ragù and molten mozzarella center — to eat on the street.

A bronze keyhole on the Aventine Hill frames a perfectly composed view of St. Peter's dome through a tunnel of manicured garden hedges, quietly drawing those who know.

Anthony Genovese's intimate two-Michelin-star restaurant in the historic center weaves Asian technique into seasonal Italian ingredients with quietly confident precision.

Chef Heinz Beck's three-Michelin-star restaurant atop the Rome Cavalieri hotel serves inventive Mediterranean tasting menus with a panoramic view across the entire city.

The rooftop terrace of Palazzo Manfredi delivers one-Michelin-star Italian cooking with a direct, close-range view of the Colosseum that is difficult to overstate.

Chef Ciro Scamardella's one-Michelin-star restaurant near Largo Argentina delivers precise, modern Italian cooking in a sleek, buzzing dining room beloved by Rome's food cognoscenti.

A dependable Roman institution near the Pantheon serving classic cacio e pepe and coda alla vaccinara in a warm room that feels entirely untouched by trend.

A matchbox-sized craft beer bar in Trastevere with a rotating tap list of Italian and international microbrews and zero pretension, perpetually spilling onto the street outside.

Hidden behind an unmarked door in the centro storico, this speakeasy-style cocktail bar requires a password to enter and mixes historically inspired drinks with theatrical precision.

A Pigneto neighborhood staple with a long bar, dozens of craft taps, and a loyal local crowd of students and artists that arrives after 9 pm and stays late.

The Rome outpost of Italy's pioneering craft brewery chain stocks over 40 Baladin beers on tap and in bottle, served in a handsome space near Campo de' Fiori.

A hybrid bookshop-bar in Trastevere where natural wine and cocktails are poured among overstuffed shelves, drawing a literary crowd for aperitivo and beyond.

A beloved anchor of the hip Pigneto neighbourhood's nightlife, this bar and live music venue fills every night with a young, artistic Roman crowd spilling onto the pedestrian street.

A long-standing Ostiense club spread across two floors and a garden terrace that pumps house, techno, and R&B to a faithful late-night Roman crowd well into the small hours.

One of Rome's most respected clubs hosts internationally recognised electronic music DJs across multiple rooms in a converted warehouse space in the Pigneto district.

A converted wool factory in Pietralata that operates as a multi-room club and cultural venue, hosting everything from techno nights to theater in its industrial shell.

Rome's most internationally recognized electronic music club in the Ostiense district books serious techno and house DJs from across Europe to a serious, dancing crowd.

A bar and live music venue at the heart of the Pigneto neighborhood hosting indie, jazz, and experimental acts in a stripped-back room that fills up quickly.