Rome
Rome is the capital and largest city of Italy.
It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special municipality named Roma Capitale with a population of 2.7 million in an area of 1,287.36 km2 (497.1 mi2), Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, with a population of 4.2 million, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City—the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See—is an independent country within Rome's municipal boundaries, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the "City of Seven Hills" due to its geography, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be one of the cradles of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.
Getting to Rome
Rome (ROM IATA) has two main international airports:
- 01Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport
Rome's main airport is modern, spacious, efficient, and well-connected to the city centre.
- 02Ciampino International Airport
- 03Laurentina B
Worth seeing
Italians are very fond of their landmarks; in order to make them accessible to everyone one week a year there is no charge for admittance to all publicly owned landmarks and historical sites.
Things to do
Take in a show. There are lots of theatres, but you will need to know Italian to enjoy them. The main concert venue is the Auditorium in Viale Pietro de Coubertin to the north of Rome. The Auditorium at Parco della Musica is a large complex composed of three separate halls whose shapes are inspired by musical instruments.
Where to eat
Rome is full of good restaurants, many in attractive settings, particularly when you sit outside in the evening. No one location can be recommended to search for a good restaurant: some of the best places to eat are in the most unpromising locations while well-situated restaurants can often live on their reputation rather than the quality of their food.
Getting around Rome the local way
- Get inFor example, a sedan, usually a Mercedes E-class, from Fiumicino Airport to Rome Centre and hotels can be booked for €45 or a minivan for €55.
- Get inProvides ferry service to/from Barcelona, Tunis, Toulon (France), Porto-Vecchio (Corsica).
- Get aroundSome of the main rental shops: There is the possibility to hire any kind of bike in Rome: from tandem, road bikes, children bikes to trekking bikes.
- Go nextConsider a day trip to Tivoli to see the Villa d'Este with its famous and glorious fountains.
- Go nextCivitavecchia, the port of Rome, is the point of arrival and departure of hundreds of ships, cruises, and ferries travelling all around the Mediterranean.
- Go nextEspecially if you have a rail pass, making Pompeii a day trip, while it is a very full day, is very doable.
From Wikivoyage: Rome, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wolfgang Moroder (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons.
