On the first Sunday of every month, state museums and archaeological parks are free, including the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine and the Pantheon. Free tickets are issued on the day; expect queues.

Entry to the basilica is normally free; only the dome climb is ticketed, so check current access on the basilica’s website. Michelangelo’s Pietà is in the first chapel on the right. Cover shoulders and knees.

Every day at midday a cannon fires once from the Janiculum hill towards the Tiber, a time signal fired here since 1904. Arrive a little early for the view over the domes.

In Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, the keyhole of the Priory’s gate frames the dome of St Peter’s. Walk on to the Orange Garden beside Santa Sabina for a free terrace view.

The square keeps the shape of Domitian’s first-century stadium. Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, finished in 1651, faces Borromini’s Sant’Agnese in Agone.

An 80-hectare public park above Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio terrace gives one of the classic views over the city, best at sunset.

The Teatro dell’Opera opened as the Teatro Costanzi on 27 November 1880 with Rossini’s Semiramide. The 2026–27 season opens on the same date.

Puccini’s Tosca, set in Sant’Andrea della Valle, Palazzo Farnese and Castel Sant’Angelo, had its premiere at the Costanzi on 14 January 1900.

The midday shot began at Castel Sant’Angelo in 1847, moved to the Janiculum in 1904, stopped in 1939 and resumed on 21 April 1959, Rome’s traditional birthday.

The Spanish Steps opened in 1725. Since 2019, city rules forbid sitting on them, with fines of up to €250.

The Centro Storico limited-traffic zone is closed to unauthorised cars 6.30 am–6 pm Monday to Friday and 2–6 pm on Saturdays, and 11 pm–3 am on Friday and Saturday nights. Trastevere has its own zone. Fines start at about €80; leave the car outside the centre.

Rome’s contributo di soggiorno is charged per person per night for the first 10 consecutive nights: €10 in five-star hotels, €7.50 four-star, €6 three-star, €5 two-star, €4 one-star, €6 in B&Bs and holiday homes, €3.50 in hostels. Under-10s are exempt.

The hard sheep’s-milk cheese behind cacio e pepe, carbonara and gricia. Buy a wedge from a deli counter and ask for vacuum packing if you are travelling far.

Cured pork cheek is the base of Roman pasta sauces. Pair it with bronze-cut rigatoni or tonnarelli to cook carbonara or amatriciana at home.

White wines from the Castelli Romani hills just south-east of the city, sold in Roman wine shops and delis; Frascati is a short train ride from Termini.

A delicatessen on Via Marmorata since 1973, with cured meats, cheeses, bakery goods, oil, honey and wines. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 am–8.30 pm.

A covered neighbourhood market with about 100 stalls of produce, cheese, meat and street food. Open Monday to Saturday, 7 am–3.30 pm; arrive before lunch.

Rome’s largest flea market, a Sunday tradition since about 1945, spreads south from Piazza Ippolito Nievo with antiques, books, records, clothing and household goods.