Rome (Roma)
A capital that never finished being one
Rome has been the capital of an empire, a church and a republic, and it kept the furniture from all three. Living in it, or visiting it well, means learning which layer you are standing on.
The thing to understand about Rome is that nobody cleared the site. Other capitals rebuilt over their pasts; Rome built through them, so a 2nd-century temple is a working church, a Renaissance palace has an ancient theatre for a foundation, and the metro takes decades to extend because every shaft hits something the archaeologists want. The city of 2.7 million is not a museum with people in it. It is a capital — of Italy since 1871, of the Catholic Church for far longer — that happens to be assembled from the spare parts of the ancient world.
The layers are legible once you know the order. The Forum, Palatine and Colosseum are the imperial core, and the Pantheon its best-kept survivor. The medieval city is the tangle around the Campo de' Fiori and Trastevere, where the streets follow no plan because there was none. The popes of the 16th and 17th centuries laid the straight avenues, the domes and the fountains — Bernini's Rome is the one on the postcards. And the united-Italy city of the 1870s onward added the ministries, the Vittoriano and the grid of the Esquiline and Prati. Each era ignored the last and left it standing.
Day to day, the city runs on a rhythm the guidebooks undersell. Bars open at dawn for a standing espresso and a cornetto. Lunch is late and long; many shops close for it. Trattorie fill from eight in the evening, and the passeggiata — the evening walk to see and be seen — is a real institution in the piazzas. August empties the place: Romans leave, shutters come down on the good neighbourhood restaurants, and what remains is heat and tourists. Learn the rhythm and Rome is easy; fight it and it is exhausting.
The food is stubbornly local, which is its virtue. The four Roman pastas — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, gricia — are cheap, ubiquitous and fiercely defended. Testaccio, built on the old slaughterhouse, is where the cooking is most itself; the Jewish quarter gives you fried artichokes; and supplì and pizza al taglio are the street food. Coffee is a euro at the bar and three at the table, and that gap is the whole economy of the Roman café.
The practical picture for a longer stay is mixed. Rents in the centro are high and apartments old; Prati, Monti and the Aventine are the liveable compromises, and the ring beyond the walls is where most Romans actually live. Public transport is patchy but improving, and the ZTL makes a car in the centre pointless. What you get in exchange is the density of a city where the walk to the shops passes a fountain that has run for four hundred years — and Romans, for all their complaining, would not trade it.
Where People Live
Centro Storico
The medieval and Baroque heart inside the Tiber bend — Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori. Unbeatable to walk, expensive to live in, and loud until late.
Trastevere
Across the river, the old working-class quarter turned nightlife district. Cobbled, ivy-hung and genuinely charming by day; by night it belongs to the bars. Quieter uphill toward the Gianicolo.
Monti
Between the Colosseum and Termini, Rome's first suburb and now its most fashionable village — vintage shops, wine bars and a real piazza life on Piazza della Madonna dei Monti.
Testaccio
The old slaughterhouse and market district south of the Aventine. Working Rome, the best trattorie in the city, and the clubs built into the hill of broken amphorae.
Prati
The orderly 19th-century grid between the Vatican and the river — wide streets, good shopping on Via Cola di Rienzo, and the sane residential choice for anyone who needs to sleep.
Pigneto & San Lorenzo
East of the walls: San Lorenzo is the student quarter beside Sapienza, Pigneto the former working-class district turned bar-and-bakery scene. Cheaper, younger, less pretty, more Roman.
Major sights
Colosseum & Roman Forum
The amphitheatre and, beside it, the ruined civic heart of the empire with the Palatine hill above. One combined ticket; book a timed slot to skip the worst queues.
Pantheon
The best-preserved building of ancient Rome — a 2nd-century temple with an open oculus, still roofed by the original concrete dome. Free, and astonishing.
Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
Miles of galleries ending at Michelangelo's ceiling. Vast and crowded — go at opening or book the late slot, and dress to enter a church.
St Peter's Basilica
The largest church in the world; climbing the dome is the view. Free entry, strict dress code, long security line.
Trevi Fountain
Baroque theatre in travertine and water. Impossibly busy by day — come at 7am or after midnight to have it.
Galleria Borghese
Bernini's marble that looks like flesh, in a garden villa. Entry is by two-hour timed slot and must be booked ahead — the one reservation to make.
When it rains, or in the August heat
Capitoline Museums
The world's oldest public museum collection, on Michelangelo's piazza — the original bronze she-wolf, and a terrace café over the Forum.
Basilica di San Clemente
A church on a 4th-century church on a Roman house with a pagan temple — you descend through the centuries under one roof.
Baths of Diocletian & Palazzo Massimo
Rome's antiquities museum in a monumental bath complex — the best Roman frescoes and mosaics anywhere.
Mercato Centrale / Testaccio Market
Covered food halls to wait out a downpour eating well — Testaccio is where Roman cooking is most itself.
Restaurants & places to go
V Lounge Beach
Lungomare Amerigo Vespucci, 62, 00122 Ostia, Roma RM, Italy · vloungebeach.tv
Airports
Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO) 22 km to the centre
Rome, 62, IT — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 92 airlines (Alitalia, easyJet, Iberia Airlines, Air France…) · direct flights to 157 destinations incl. Chicago, New York, Prague, Brussels, Catania… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 92 airlines, 157 direct destinations
- Alitalia AZ (A319, 32S, A320, Embraer 175, A321, Embraer 190…) · 99 routes: Abu Dhabi, Algier, Amman, Amsterdam, Ancona, Athens, Atlanta*, Baku*, Barcelona, Bari, Beirut, Belgrade, Bilbao, Bologna, Bolzano, Bordeaux, Boston, Brindisi, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cagliari, Cairo, Caracas, Casablanca, Catania, Chicago, Colombo*, Copenhagen, Delhi*, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Genoa, Iasi, Istanbul, Jeddah*, Kiev, Kuwait* … +59 more
- easyJet U2 (A319, A320) · 21 routes: Amsterdam, Athens, Belgrade, Berlin, Bristol, Copenhagen, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Lyon, Milan, Milano, Mulhouse, Nantes, Nice, Palermo, Paris, Prague, Tel-aviv, Thessaloniki, Toulouse
- Iberia Airlines IB (A320, 767-300, A319, A321) · 12 routes: Alicante, Barcelona*, Brussels, Catania, Chicago*, Madrid, Malaga*, Nantes*, New York*, Paris, Prague*, Valencia*
- Air France AF (A319, Embraer 190, A320, A321, CRJ-700, Embraer 175…) · 10 routes: Atlanta*, Bordeaux*, London*, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier*, Nice*, Paris, Strasbourg*, Toulouse
- Meridiana IG (A320, 767, A319, 737, MD-80) · 10 routes: Amman*, Berlin*, Catania, Duesseldorf*, Fuerteventura, La Romana, Malta*, Milano, Olbia, Vienna
- Blue Panorama Airlines BV (737, 767) · 9 routes: Catania, Havana, La Romana, Milano, Moscow, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Tirana, Torino
- Vueling Airlines VY (A320) · 9 routes: Alicante, Barcelona, Brussels, Catania, Malaga, Nantes, Paris, Prague, Valencia
- Delta Air Lines DL (330, A330-200, 777-200, A330-300) · 7 routes: Atlanta, Boston*, Chicago*, Los Angeles*, Miami*, New York, Toronto*
- Norwegian Air Shuttle DY (737-800, 737-300) · 7 routes: Bergen, Copenhagen, Gothenborg, Helsinki, London, Oslo, Stockholm
- US Airways US (A320, A330-300, 767-300, A319) · 6 routes: Athens*, Charlotte, Chicago, Lisbon*, New York, Philadelphia
- Wizz Air W6 (A320) · 6 routes: Budapest, Gdansk, Prague, Sofia, Vilnius, Warsaw
- American Airlines AA (A330-300, 767-300, A319, A320, A321, 767) · 5 routes: Charlotte, Chicago, London*, New York, Philadelphia
- Etihad Airways EY (A319, A320, 330, 32S, EMJ) · 5 routes: Abu Dhabi*, Bucharest*, Budapest*, Malta*, Zurich*
- Germanwings 4U (A319, A320) · 5 routes: Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A320, A321, A319, A330-300, 767-400) · 5 routes: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Newark*, Toronto*
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 5 routes: Barcelona, Brussels, Catania, Lamezia, Palermo
- British Airways BA (A319, A320, 767-300, A321, 734, 767) · 4 routes: Chicago*, London, London, New York*
- Jet2.com LS (737-300, 737-800, 737-800, 73C) · 4 routes: Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle
- Air Berlin AB (A320, A321, 737-800, 737-700, Embraer 190) · 3 routes: Berlin, Duesseldorf, Vienna
- Airlinair A5 (CRJ-700, Embraer 170, Embraer 190, CRK, ERJ-145) · 3 routes: Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg
- Finnair AY (767-300, A321, A321) · 3 routes: Chicago, Helsinki, New York*
- Scandinavian Airlines System SK (A321, 737-800, 737-700, 737-800) · 3 routes: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm
- Swiss International Air Lines LX (A319, A320, A321, AR1, A320) · 3 routes: Geneva, Mulhouse*, Zurich
- Transaero Airlines UN (735, 737-800, 767-300) · 3 routes: Moscow, Moscow, St. Petersburg
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU (A320, A321) · 2 routes: Moscow, St. Petersburg
- Air Transat TS (330, 310) · 2 routes: Montreal, Toronto
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines BG (777-300) · 2 routes: Dhaka, Frankfurt
- Carpatair V3 (Fokker 100, 737-300) · 2 routes: Chisinau, Lublin
- China Eastern Airlines MU (A330-200, 737) · 2 routes: Amsterdam, Shanghai
- Croatia Airlines OU (Dash 8-400) · 2 routes: Dubrovnik, Split
- Ethiopian Airlines ET (767-300) · 2 routes: Addis Ababa, Milano
- Flybaboo F7 (S20, ATR 72) · 2 routes: Bolzano, Geneva
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (A330-300, 737) · 2 routes: Amsterdam, Atlanta*
- Kuwait Airways KU (340) · 2 routes: Kuwait, Paris
- Monarch Airlines ZB (A320, A321) · 2 routes: Birmingham, London
- Saudi Arabian Airlines SV (A320) · 2 routes: Jeddah, Riyadh
- TAP Portugal TP (Fokker 100, A319, A320, A321) · 2 routes: Lisbon, Porto
- Tarom RO (737-300) · 2 routes: Bucharest, Iasi
- Transavia France TO (737-800) · 2 routes: Nantes, Venice
- United Airlines UA (767-300, 767-400) · 2 routes: Newark, Washington
- Aegean Airlines A3 (A320) · 1 route: Athens
- Aer Lingus EI (A320) · 1 route: Dublin
- Aerolineas Argentinas AR (340) · 1 route: Buenos Aires
- AeroMéxico AM (A330-300) · 1 route: Atlanta*
- Afriqiyah Airways 8U (A320) · 1 route: Tripoli
- Air Algerie AH (736) · 1 route: Algier
- Air Baltic BT (73C) · 1 route: Riga
- Air Canada AC (A330-300) · 1 route: Toronto
- Air China CA (330) · 1 route: Beijing
- Air Europa UX (737-800) · 1 route: Madrid
- Air Malta KM (A319, A320) · 1 route: Malta
- Air Moldova 9U (Embraer 190) · 1 route: Chisinau
- Air Serbia JU (A319, 737-300) · 1 route: Belgrade
- Austrian Airlines OS (Fokker 100, A319, A320) · 1 route: Vienna*
- Azerbaijan Airlines J2 (A319) · 1 route: Baku
- Belavia Belarusian Airlines B2 (735) · 1 route: Minsk 2
- Brussels Airlines SN (A319, A320) · 1 route: Brussels
- Bulgaria Air FB (A319, A320, Embraer 190) · 1 route: Sofia
- Cathay Pacific CX (A340-300) · 1 route: Hong Kong
- China Airlines CI (A330-300) · 1 route: Delhi
- Cubana de Aviación CU (767) · 1 route: Havana
- Czech Airlines OK (A319, 737-800, 737-700) · 1 route: Prague
- Egyptair MS (737-800) · 1 route: Cairo
- El Al Israel Airlines LY (737-800, 737-900, 767-300, 737-700) · 1 route: Tel-aviv
- Emirates EK (A380, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- Eurolot K2 (Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Rzeszow
- Excel Airways JN (A320) · 1 route: Alghero
- Hainan Airlines HU (A319) · 1 route: Brussels
- Iran Air IR (313) · 1 route: Tehran
- Israir 6H (A320) · 1 route: Tel-aviv
- Korean Air KE (747-400) · 1 route: Seoul
- Luxair LG (Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Luxemburg
- Malaysia Airlines MH (A330-200, A340-300) · 1 route: Colombo
- Middle East Airlines ME (A319, A320, 32S) · 1 route: Beirut
- Montenegro Airlines YM (Fokker 100, Embraer 175) · 1 route: Podgorica
- Niki HG (A320, A321, Embraer 190) · 1 route: Vienna
- Olympic Airlines OA (A320) · 1 route: Athens*
- Pegasus Airlines PC (A320, 737-800) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Qatar Airways QR (A320, A330-300) · 1 route: Doha
- Royal Air Maroc AT (737-800, 737-700) · 1 route: Casablanca
- Royal Jordanian RJ (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Amman
- Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (777-200) · 1 route: Singapore
- SriLankan Airlines UL (A330-200, A340-300) · 1 route: Colombo
- Thai Airways International TG (747-400) · 1 route: Bangkok
- Transavia Holland HV (737-700, 737-800) · 1 route: Rotterdam
- Travel Service QS (A319, A320, 737-800) · 1 route: Prague
- Tunisair TU (A319, A320, A320) · 1 route: Tunis
- Turkish Airlines TK (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Ukraine International Airlines PS (734, 73R, 73N) · 1 route: Kiev
- Ural Airlines U6 (A320) · 1 route: Yekaterinburg
- Uzbekistan Airways HY (767-400) · 1 route: Tashkent
- Wizz Air Ukraine WU (A320) · 1 route: Lvov
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Rome-Ciampino G.B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) 14 km to the centre
Rome, 62, IT — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 2 airlines (Ryanair, Wizz Air) · direct flights to 50 destinations incl. Alghero, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Billund… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 2 airlines, 50 direct destinations
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 45 routes: Alghero, Barcelona, Bari, Beauvais, Billund, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Brindisi, Budapest, Cagliari, Chania, Charleroi, Comiso, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Gothenborg, Hahn, Ibiza, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Kerkyra/corfu, Krakow, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Marrakech, Marseille, Memmingen, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Poznan, Prestwick, Rygge, Santander, Sevilla, Stockholm, Thessaloniki, Trapani … +5 more
- Wizz Air W6 (A320) · 5 routes: Bucharest, Chisinau, Cluj-napoca, Katowice, Timisoara
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Rome Urbe Airport 6.9 km to the centre
Rome, 62, IT — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.
Vall'Ornara Airfield 17 km to the centre
Roma (RM), 62, IT
Fonte di Papa 19 km to the centre
Roma, 62, IT
Getting there by ferry
Isola Tiberina
Ferry terminal · 1 km from the centre
Ponte Cavour
Ferry terminal · 1.8 km from the centre
Sant'Angelo
Ferry terminal · 2 km from the centre
Ponte Risorgimento
Ferry terminal · 3.5 km from the centre
Battelli di Roma
Ferry route · Compagnia di Navigazione Ponte Sant'Angelo S.r.l. Vicolo Margana, 11/b 00186 Roma
Local transit
ATAC
Metro, bus, tram · Rome's three metro lines, buses and trams. · Fares: Tap&Go contactless or BIT ticket · Airport: Leonardo Express train from Fiumicino to Termini
Roma Servizi per la Mobilità
Bus · Rome, Lazio · Schedules & GTFS data (official feed)
Trains & rail
Compagnia Ferroviaria Italiana
Rail operator
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
Rail operator
Italo - Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori
Rail operator
Leonardo Express
Rail operator
Trenitalia
National rail
Coaches & shuttles
FlixBus → Naples (Napoli), Italy
About two and a half hours from Tiburtina. · Naples (Napoli), Italy guide →
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Air Charter Service
Broker · Any aircraft via operators worldwide · Global charter broker with 30+ offices; private jets, group charters and cargo.
ExecuJet
FBO, charter, management · Managed fleet · FBO network and management across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Flexjet
Fractional, jet card · Embraer Praetor, Bombardier Challenger & Global, Gulfstream · Fractional ownership and jet cards in North America and Europe.
Global Jet
Charter, management · Large-cabin & VIP airliners · Geneva-based operator known for large-cabin and VIP airliner charters.
Jet Aviation
Charter, management, FBO, MRO · Managed fleet worldwide · General Dynamics company: charter, completions and FBOs in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US.
Tours & experiences
Ancient Rome Walking Tour
Walking Tour · 3 hours · from €45/pp
Roma Cart Tour
Sightseeing
Living Here
Getting about
- Three metro lines — A (Termini to the Vatican and Spanish Steps), B (Termini to the Colosseum and EUR) and the slowly extending C — cross a city that is otherwise served by ATAC buses and a handful of tram lines. Buy a ticket before boarding and validate it; a single fare covers 100 minutes.
- The centro storico is a ZTL — a limited-traffic zone enforced by camera. Driving into it without a permit is an automatic fine. Do not bring a car; the city is walked, and taxis (white, metered) fill the gaps.
- Termini is the hub: high-speed trains to Florence in an hour and a half, Naples in just over an hour, Milan in three. Fiumicino airport is 32 minutes away on the Leonardo Express; Ciampino, for low-cost flights, is a bus ride.
- Bike-sharing exists but the cobbles, hills and traffic make it a minority pursuit. Walking remains the way most of the centre moves.
Health
- Policlinico Umberto I, attached to Sapienza, is the largest hospital in the city and the main public emergency department. Gemelli, in the north-west, is the Catholic university hospital where popes are treated. Bambino Gesù on the Gianicolo is the children's hospital.
- Emergency number 112 (or 118 for medical). Pharmacies are marked by a green cross; a rota keeps some open overnight, posted on every pharmacy door.
- EU visitors are covered by the EHIC card; others should carry travel insurance. Public care is good and slow; private clinics are quick and priced accordingly.
Work & study
- Sapienza is one of the largest universities in Europe, with Roma Tre, Tor Vergata and the private LUISS alongside. The student population is what keeps San Lorenzo and Pigneto young.
- Government is the city's largest employer — ministries, parliament, the Vatican and its institutions. Rome also hosts the UN food agencies: FAO, WFP and IFAD all have their headquarters here.
- Tourism, film (Cinecittà is still working) and a growing tech sector round out an economy that is service-heavy and bureaucracy-slow. Expect paperwork.
Money & manners
- Euro. Cards are widely taken now, but small bars and markets still prefer cash. A coperto (cover charge) on restaurant bills is normal; tipping beyond rounding up is not expected.
- Sundays and public holidays close much of the city; August closes the rest. Church visits require covered shoulders and knees, enforced at St Peter's.
- Drink from the nasoni — the cast-iron street fountains. The water is cold, clean and free, and has been since the aqueducts.