ROME TICKETS - THE COLOSSEUM, THE BORGHESE GALLERY AND RESERVATIONS FOR VATICAN TOURS

ROME - A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE CITY'S ATTRACTIONS, WITH TICKET BOOKING LINKS

Rome can seem overwhelming at times. With more than two millennia of history extant in its architecture, this is the head of the Catholic church, the fount of one of the the greatest empires the world has seen and has more museums, galleries, monuments, churches and public buildings. The Vatican Museums alone could take a month or two of you time and still leave you impatient to see more. Rome is the Classical city of the Forum, the Pantheon and the Colosseum. It is pagan temples, early Christian Churches, Renaissance Basilicas, the Vatican of course. Rome is an architectural masterclass in the Classical, the Romanesque and all flavours of Gothic architecture, of the Baroque and the grandiloquent neoclassical adventures in stone so beloved of Benito Mussolini ... who dreamed of building a new Rome. And it is the romantic city of the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, the town that inspired generation after generation of poets such as Keats and Shelley.

How to see it all? Well you can't of course, though you could die trying. Best to carefully select the essential sights to see, and join a professionally led tour. If you're going to 'do' Rome, make sure you do it right (and if you're going to do Rome hotels, do them right with ahotelinitaly.com).

 Booking links: Roman Colosseum : Vatican tours : Borghese Gallery : 'Rome cards'

The Vatican and St Peter's Tour is a three-hour expedition taking in the Vatican Museums, Galleria dei Candelabri, Galleria degli Arazzi and the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, Sistine Chapel and Basilica of St Peters. On request, you can also request a trip to the Tombe dei Papi (tombs of the Popes). Vatican Tour Two (three hours again) covers the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Library, the Museo Pio-Clementino, the Sala a Croce Greca, the Stanza di Raffaello,the Galleria dei Candelabri, Galleria degli Arazzi, Galleria degli Arazzi, Galleria delle Carte Geografiche and, on request, the Pinacoteca.

The Borghese Gallery Tour covers one of Rome's most important collections of paintings, sculpture and other antiquities. The works are based on the original collections of Cardinal Scipione and Francesco Caffarelli, with many additions and losses over the succeeding three centuries of course. Important works here are too numerous to mention. To give you a taste though, the Galleria Borghese is particularly renowned for its Berninis, inlcuding statues of Apollo and Daphne, Truth, Pluto and Proserpino. and his David. Important paintings inlcuding Raphael's Deposition, Correggio's Danae and Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Caravaggio's Madonna of the Palafrenieri and David with the Head of Goliath. A mere glimpse - this is a superb collection of Italian Renaissance art and quite unmissable.

 Booking links: Roman Colosseum : Vatican tours : Borghese Gallery : 'Rome cards'

The Roman Colosseum can lay claim to being the world's most recognisable structure. 'The Flavian Amphitheatre' as it was originally called, this monster stadium once seated 50,000 baying spectators, satisfying one half of the Roman public's need for 'bread and circuses'. In use for half a millennium for gladiatorial contests and games (though not, despite popular myth, for the sacrifice of Christians) it has been battered since by earthquakes and by the pragmatic Romans purloining stones to build their walls and houses over the last 1500 years. But first sight of the Colosseum still impresses like no other. Huge, dramatic, quite unique (and when floodlit at night extremely beautiful) - a visit to Rome without touring the Colosseum would be like London without a trip to Buckingham Palace or Venice without the canals.

The Rome Archaeological Card, incidentally, is a great way to economically and manageably tour Ancient Rome, giving you entrance to the Colosseum plus eight other Rome Archaeological sites and museums).

The Domus Aurea (Golden House, unfortunately closed at present) was perhaps the most extravagant folly of Rome's decadent days. Contrary to myth, the Emperor Nero almost certainly didn't fiddle as Rome burned but he was a licentious tyrant and probably quite mad. He did in fact respond to the Great Fire of 64AD by building this stunning villa, made of brick but clad in shimmering gold leaf, with stuccoed ceilings studded with semi-precious jewels and veneered with ivory. This was the decadent Nero's party house: innovations included a ceiling that revolved like the heavens (slave powered) as rose petals and perfume were scattered onto the diners below. Nero didn't get to enjoy his folly for long, committing suicide in 68AD. The gold and jewels were stripped or looted and within a few years the Golden House was built over - not to be rediscovered until the 15th century.

 Booking links: Roman Colosseum : Vatican tours : Borghese Gallery : 'Rome cards'