Tourist Attraction places in Rome

Tourist Attractions in Rome

History comes to life in Rome everywhere you look, everywhere you roam. For nearly 1,000 years, Rome was the largest, wealthiest and most important city in the Western World. The top ten sights in this beautiful city of love and light are the stuff of which memories are made.

Colosseum
A symbol of Rome recognized throughout the world, approaching the remains of the Colosseum is remarkable for its sheer size. The giant arena was used for gladiator sports and shows to entertain up to 50,000 spectators. Under the tiered seating, where citizens took their places according to rank and status, are the remains of subterranean passages and cages used for animals and event props.

The Forum
Adjacent to the Colosseum, the Forum was the very heart of life in ancient Rome, serving as a public square, a marketplace as well as a gathering place as early as 500 B.C. Wandering among the silent labyrinth of ruins and architectural fragments found here lends so much to imagining what life was like among the citizens of ancient Rome.

Pantheon
Constructed as a temple to all the Roman Gods, the Pantheon is beautifully proportioned with a giant dome behind a portico of Corinthian columns under a pediment. One of Rome's best preserved ancient buildings. Nearly 2,000 years old, this is certainly one of Rome's greatest treasures. Be sure to look up from under the very center of the dome.

St. Peter's Basilica and The Vatican
With a population of approximately 800, Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world in both size and population, with the Pope as its head of state. Approach via enormous St. Peter's Square, with a view of the basilica ahead. See Michelangelo's first Pietà, sculpted at the young age of 25. Climbing the 551 steps to the top of Michelangelo's dome is recommended for the hearty, rewarded with a marvelous panorama of Rome.

The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Established in 1506, the vast Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel contain many splendid masterpieces of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Bernini, Botticelli, Rosselli and other famed artists. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is well known for Michelangelo's nine scenes from the Book of Genesis including the highly acclaimed section of the fresco painted in 1511, The Creation of Adam.

Trevi Fountain
Of all the fountains in Rome, this is certainly the most photographed. You stumble upon it suddenly, looming large in a small piazza, after meandering down narrow lanes with shops and cafés. Squeeze your way through the crowds, turn your back to the fountain and throw a coin in over your shoulder while making a wish, as legend has it that those who do will have the good fortune to return to Rome. It is crowded, but crazy and wonderful, just like Rome.

Castel Sant'Angelo
The large cylindrical structure crowned by an angel statue is situated on the banks of the River Tiber. Castel Sant'Angelo served as a fortress, a prison, an execution site and a castle, linked to St. Peter's by a long passageway. Enjoy splendid views, especially of St. Peter's Basilica, from the windows at the top.

The Spanish Steps
Constructed in 1723, the flower-covered steps face west, so wonderful sunsets are frequently afforded to tourists. The 138 steps are the widest in Europe, connecting the Piazza di Spagna, an upscale shopping district, at the bottom to the Piazza Trinità dei Monti, with its church, at the top. The well-loved Barcaccia Fountain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is at the foot of these steps, named for the Spanish Embassy located here.

Piazza Navona
Dating from the 15th century, this is Rome's largest and most popular public square, beautifully illuminated at night. Of its three fountains, the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini is widely considered one of Rome's finest. Known to feature charming Baroque architecture, Piazza Navona is lined with cafés for al fresco dining and people-watching. Artists set out easels in the piazza, street performers entertain crowds. Tartufo, a rich handmade chocolate ice cream roll, is the traditional treat served at Piazza Navona.

Palantine Hill
Rome is built upon seven hills, of which this is the central one, rising 168 feet above sea level. Archeological expeditions indicate that people lived here since the Bronze Age, predating the founding of Rome. Recent excavations uncovered Palatine House, believed to be the birthplace in 63 B.C. of Augustus, Rome's first emperor.

Top Tourist Attractions in Rome

No, not the 7 hills but the 7 tourist attractions in Rome. Having been the center of one of the world’s greatest civilizations ever, Rome has exerted a huge influence over the world in its millennium long history. With wonderful palaces, ancient churches and basilicas, grand Roman monuments, ornate statues and graceful fountains, Rome has an immensely rich historical heritage and cosmopolitan atmosphere. Our top selection of the many sights of the ‘Eternal City’.

7Roman Forum

flickr/Ramiro S

Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, The Roman Forum (or Forum Romanum in Latin) was for centuries the teeming heart of ancient Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections, venue for public speeches, and nucleus of commercial affairs. The Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and includes the Arches of Septimius Severus and Titus, the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina and the Temple of Saturn.

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6Spanish Steps

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A truly monumental stairway of 135 steps, the Spanish Steps were built with French funds between 1721‑1725 in order to link the Bourbon Spanish embassy to the Holy See with the French church, Trinità dei Monti. The steps are usually very crowded attracting tourists as well as locals who use it as a gathering place. Each year in May the steps are decorated with pink azaleas. At the foot of the Spanish Steps is the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish square) and the Fontana della Barcaccia, a sober fountain designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

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5Trevi Fountain

flickr/Mark Turner

Completed in 1762 to a design by Nicola Salvi, this world famous Baroque fountain features a mythological sculptural composition of Neptune, god of the sea, flanked by two Tritons. The location of the Trevi fountain marks the terminus of the ancient Aqua Virgo aqueduct and is so named on account of its position at the junction of three roads (tre vie). The fountain was the setting for an iconic scene in Fellini’s film Dolce Vita starring Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni. Since than, it has become one of the most popular Rome tourist attractions. The legend says that one who throws a coin in the fountain shall one day return to Rome.

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4Vatican Museums

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Founded by Pope Julius II in the 6th century, the Vatican Museums inside the Vatican City boasts some of the world’s most important relics. Attractions of the museums include the spiral staircase, the Raphael Rooms and the exquisitely decorated Sistine Chapel. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. Today the ceiling, and especially The Last Judgment, are widely believed to be Michelangelo’s crowning achievements in painting.

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3Pantheon

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One of the best preserved Roman buildings, The Pantheon was built in 126 AD as a temple for all the Roman gods. The temple has served as a Roman Catholic Church since the 7th century. The Pantheon consists of a large circular portico with three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns. The portico opens into a rotunda which is topped with a concrete dome with a central opening: the oculus. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

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2St. Peter's Basilica

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The center of the Catholic world and a major tourist attraction, the Basilica of St. Peter is a huge church: with an interior height of 120m, the space shuttle, together with its booster rockets, could fit inside, as could the Statue of Liberty. The basilica stands on the traditional site where Peter, the apostle who is considered the first pope, was crucified and buried. Construction on the current building began in 1506 and was completed in 1615. Many famous artists worked on the complex and its surroundings: Michelangelo designed the dome while Bernini designed the great St. Peter’s Square.

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1Colosseum

flickr/Brunswickian

The Colosseum is the largest and most famous amphitheater in the Roman world. Its construction was started by emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty in 72 AD and was finished by his son Titus in 80 AD. The Colosseum was capable of holding some 50,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances. The Colosseum today is a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists paying to view, what is left of, the interior arena.