Grab a seat right away. Worth fighting for a seat. Also worth getting an audio guide from Rick Steves (on iphone) or some other source to fully absorb the importance of what you are looking at.
Impossibly exhausting. Try going around lunch time on a Tuesday to avoid the big crowds (although there are ALWAYS crowds). Although everyone will rush to the chapel, take your time.
Largest dome of it's time. Note the sloped floors and the symmetry of the building. The 16 columns at the entrance way were from Egypt. Incredible
Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE, in the heart of Rome.
The apartment that was the setting for The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (1961) is halfway up on the right. Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged (1998) is also set in a house next to the steps.
Even if you won't replay Anita Ekberg cult scene from "La Dolce Vita", feel the irresistable romance of one of the most spectacular fountains of the World.
Download the free podcast by Rick Steves for a great guided tour of this impressive site.
TRAVEL FACT: The Colosseum is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.
Several of the villas dotted around the park are the remains of a world exposition held here in 1911 and this neoclassical palace dedicated to 19th and 20th century art is one of the most eye-pleasing
It is the oldest and ranks first among the four Papal Basilicas or major basilicas of Rome. It claims the title of ecumenical mother church among Roman Catholics.
This may seem out of the way and others will direct you elsewhere for the best Gelato in Rome. Don't believe them. This little place has the lightest, creamiest gelato ever created. Worth the trip.
If you want to have the best beer and pizza in Rome, then this is the place. Ask for a beer recommendation and you probably won't go wrong. But come early (7pm) if you don't have a reservation.
Fantastic bridge completed in 134AD. Used to be called St Peter's bridge as pilgrims used it extensively to reach the Cathedral in days past.
Begun by Emperor Hadrian in AD 135 as his own mausoleum, Castel Sant'Angelo has variously been a fortress, prison and papal residence.
