Rome

Rome's first rione sits between the Colosseum and Via Nazionale: cobbled lanes, artisan shops, wine bars and the church of Santa Maria Maggiore at its top. It is where our office is and where the Rome food tour and the Monti bar crawl begin. Come back in the evening for aperitivo on Piazza della Madonna dei Monti.

Across the river from the center, Trastevere is the neighborhood of trattorias, ivy-covered facades and the mosaics of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Twilight is the best time: the streets fill with locals, and a private food tour or the pasta class pairs well with a walk over Ponte Sisto afterwards.

The ancient Appian Way leaves the city through the Aurelian Walls at Porta San Sebastiano and runs past the catacombs of San Callisto and Domitilla. Traffic is limited, so it is one of the greenest walks in Rome. Our Rome catacombs tour includes transfers from the center, which saves a long bus ride.

 The cylindrical fortress on the Tiber is linked to the Vatican by the Passetto di Borgo, the raised corridor popes used to escape. Inside are Renaissance papal apartments and a rooftop terrace with the bronze angel and a view straight down Ponte Sant'Angelo, lined with Bernini's angels. Castel Sant'Angelo tickets are timed.

The three great set pieces of Baroque and ancient Rome sit within a 15-minute walk of each other. The Pantheon is a working church; the Trevi Fountain is free and busiest mid-morning. A golf cart tour or a Rome night tour covers all three when the crowds have thinned.

For a view over the city, the Orange Garden and the keyhole of the Knights of Malta on the Aventine Hill face St. Peter's dome, and the Gianicolo terrace above Trastevere looks over the whole center. Both are stops on our golf cart tour Rome route and on the Vespa and Fiat 500 photoshoot tours.

Rome's two big-ticket sites have their own pages: see our Colosseum tours for arena floor and underground access with the Roman Forum, and our Vatican tours for the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. Both need advance booking; a private driver between them saves an hour on foot.

Pompeii, Tivoli's Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa, the papal town of Castel Gandolfo on Lake Albano and the Amalfi Coast are all reachable in a day. Our private transfers take you door to door and wait, or our local planner builds a custom itinerary with pickup and drop-off across Rome, Naples and Pompeii.