Rome Highlights Golf Cart Tour

The Roman Forum and the Palatine

The Forum was the political, religious and commercial centre of ancient Rome. Today it is a field of columns, arches and fragments, and it takes imagination to picture it crowded with senators and merchants. Beside it, the Palatine Hill was where Rome's emperors built their palaces, and the word “palace” itself comes from the name of the hill. The Arch of Titus and the Arch of Constantine stand nearby as triumphal monuments.

The Pantheon and the old centre

The Pantheon is one of the most remarkable buildings in the world. Its dome, topped by an open oculus, remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built. Rebuilt under the emperor Hadrian, it survived because it was later converted into a church. Close by lies Piazza Navona, which follows the shape of an ancient stadium, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers at its centre.

Fountains and steps

Some of the city's most loved sights are about water and stone:

• The Trevi Fountain, a Baroque masterpiece fed by an ancient aqueduct, where visitors toss a coin over the shoulder.
• The Spanish Steps, which link Piazza di Spagna with the church of Trinità dei Monti above.
• The Barcaccia, the boat-shaped fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps.
• The Fountain of the Triton in Piazza Barberini.

Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill

The huge white monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy, dominates Piazza Venezia. Romans have given it irreverent nicknames, including the typewriter and the wedding cake. Behind it rises the Capitoline Hill, home to the elegant square Michelangelo designed, with the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at its centre. The statue in the square today is a copy, and the original is kept indoors for preservation.

St Peter's and the Vatican

On the west bank of the Tiber, St Peter's Basilica is the heart of the Catholic world. Its dome, designed by Michelangelo, dominates the skyline, and St Peter's Square, designed by Bernini, is framed by sweeping colonnades. Castel Sant'Angelo, which began as the mausoleum of Hadrian, stands along the river between the Vatican and the old centre.

Every one of these places could fill a day on its own, so be realistic. If you have a short time in Rome, learn the name and rough story of each highlight in advance, so that you can recognise it when you pass.

It also helps to notice how the highlights relate to one another. Ancient monuments were reused, plundered and reinterpreted by later builders, so the Colosseum's stone ended up in Renaissance palaces and churches. Seeing the highlights as chapters of a single long story makes them far easier to remember.