Of all Italy’s historic cities, it’s perhaps Rome which exerts the most compelling fascination. There’s more to see here than in any other city in the world, with the relics of over two thousand years of inhabitation packed into its sprawling urban area. You could spend a month here and still only scratch the surface. As a historic place, it is special enough; as a contemporary European capital, it is utterly unique. For the traveller, all of this is much less evident than the sheer weight of history that the city supports. There are of course the city’s classical features, most visibly the Colosseum, and the Forum and Palatine Hill; but from here there’s an almost uninterrupted sequence of monuments - from early Christian basilicas, Romanesque churches, Renaissance palaces, right up to the fountains and churches of the Baroque period, which perhaps more than any other era has determined the look of the city today. There is the modern epoch too, from the ponderous Neoclassical architecture of the post-Unification period to the self-publicizing edifices of the Mussolini years. All these various eras crowd in on one other to an almost overwhelming degree: there are medieval churches atop ancient basilicas above Roman palaces; houses and apartment blocks incorporate fragments of eroded Roman columns, carvings and inscriptions; roads and piazzas follow the lines of ancient amphitheatres and stadiums.

All of which is not to say that Rome is an easy place to absorb on one visit; you need to approach things slowly, even if you only have a few days here. You can’t see everything on your first visit to Rome, and there’s no point in even trying. Most of the city’s sights can be approached from a variety of directions, and it’s part of the city’s allure to stumble across things by accident, gradually piecing together the whole, rather than marching around to a timetable on a predetermined route. In any case, it’s hard to get anywhere very fast. Despite regular pledges to ban motor vehicles from the city centre, the congestion can be awful. On foot, it’s easy to lose a sense of direction winding about in the twisting old streets. In any case, you’re so likely to come upon something interesting it hardly makes any difference.

Rome doesn’t have the nightlife of, say, Paris or London, or even of its Italian counterparts to the north - culturally it’s rather provincial - and its food , while delicious, is earthy rather than haute cuisine. But its atmosphere is like no other city - a monumental, busy capital and yet an appealingly relaxed place, with a centre that has yet to be taken over by chainstores and big multinational hotels. Above all, there has perhaps never been a better time to visit the city, whose notoriously crumbling infrastructure is looking and functioning better than it has done for some time - the result of the feverish activity that took place in the last months of 1999 to have the city centre looking its best for the Church’s jubilee. On the surface the city still looks much as it has done for years. But there are museums, churches and other buildings that have been “in restoration” as long as anyone can remember that have reopened, and some of the city’s historic collections have been rehoused, making it all the more easy to get the most out of Rome.

The Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums make up the richest and most extensive museum collection in the world. The Raphael Stanze and the Sistine Chapel are worth the price of entrance alone.

Pantheon
The most complete ancient Roman structure in the city, the Pantheon, finished around 125AD, is still to be marveled at for its enormous dome. Inside, you can visit the tomb of Raphael.

Porta Portese Flea Market
The Porta Portese flea market straggles all the way down Via Portuense to Trastevere train station, a riot of antiques, bric-a-brac, old clothes and pure junk.

The Church of Sant’Ignazio
In the centro storico, the church of Sant’Ignazio has a marvelous and often overlooked trompe l’oeil false cupola, covered in figures in various states of action and repose.

The Church of San Clemente
With a Mithraic temple in its lower levels, an earlier Christian church above, and a medieval basilica above that, San Clemente is Rome’s unique history in microcosm.

The Galleria Borghese
Just opened after a drawn-out (even by Italian standards) refurbishment, the Galeria Borghese is one of the city’s finest small collections, with a fantastic array of Bernini statues.

Giolitti
In the heart of the old city, Giolitti may be Rome’s best place to enjoy great ice cream, with no fewer than seventy flavours on offer until 2am each morning.

Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is perhaps the closest Rome has to a central square: go to be a tourist, stroll past the pavement artists and check out Bernini’s typically grandiose Fountain of the Four Rivers.

The Church of Immaculate Conception
A must for fans of the macabre, the Church of Immaculate Conception has the bones of some 4000 Capuchin monks set out in patterns on the walls or simply left as skeletons and wrapped in their original gowns.

There are tourist information booths on arrival at Fiumicino (daily 8.15am-7.15pm; tel 06.6595.6074), and at Termini (daily 8.15am-7.15pm; tel 06.487.1270 or tel 06.482.5078), although the long queues that often develop at both of these mean you’re usually better off heading straight for the main tourist office at Via Parigi 5 (Mon-Fri 8.15am-7.15pm, Sat 8.15am-1.45pm; tel 06.4889.9253 or tel 06.4889.9255), ten minutes’ walk from Termini. They have free maps that should - together with our own - be ample for finding your way around, although the rest of their information can be uneven and out of date. There are also information kiosks in key locations around the city centre (daily 9am-6pm). They too often have outdated general information but the staff usually speak English, and they are useful for free maps, directions and new information (opening times, for example) about nearby sights.You might be better off bypassing the official tourist offices altogether and going to Enjoy Rome , Via Varese 39 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-2pm & 3.30-6pm, Sat 8.30am-2pm; tel 06.445.1843), whose friendly, English-speaking staff run a free room-finding service; they also organize tours, and have a left-luggage service for those who take them. Their information is often more up to date and reliable than that handed out by the various tourist offices, and they will also advise on where to eat, drink, and party, if you so wish.

For what’s-on information, the city’s best source of listings is perhaps Romac’è (L2000, Thursdays), which has a helpful section in English giving information on tours, clubs, restaurants, services and weekly events. The ex-pat bi-weekly, Wanted in Rome (L1500, every other Wednesday), which is entirely in English, is also a useful source of information, especially if you’re looking for an apartment or work. If you understand a bit of Italian, there’s Time Out Roma (L2000, Thursdays), a weekly review full of listings as well as articles on the trendiest everything in Rome, and the daily arts pages of the Rome newspaper , Il Messaggero, which can be found in most bars for the customers to read, and lists movies, plays and major musical events. The newspaper La Repubblica also includes the ” Trova Roma ” section in its Thursday edition, another handy guide to current offerings.

A number of companies run organized trips around the city centre, though these are, for the most part, quite pricey and not really worth the money. Probably the best value, for general orientation and a glance at the main sights, is the ATAC-run #110 bus tour , which in summer leaves Termini Station at 10.30am, 2pm, 3pm, 5pm, 6pm and costs L15,000 for a three-hour jaunt, with twenty-minute stops at the Vatican, in Via dei Fori Imperiali and in Piazza Venezia. The air-conditioned grey coach, with pictures of Rome’s monuments on the sides, stands out against the ocean of orange buses.

Roman nightlife retains some of the smart ethos satirized in Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita, and designer-dressing-up is still very much a part of the mainstream scene. Entrance prices to the big clubs tend to be high (as much as L40,000, including a drink), but there are a few smaller, more alternative nightspots, where your travel-crumpled clothes will be perfectly acceptable. To get around the licensing laws, some of Rome’s night haunts are run as private clubs - usually known as “centri culturali” - a device that means you may be stung for a membership fee, particularly where there’s music, though as a one-off visitor some places will let you in without formalities; and some places charge no fee at all to be a member. In recent years these sorts of places have sprung up all over the city, particularly in the suburbs, and these are becoming the focus of political activity and the more avant-garde elements of the music and arts scene.On the live music scene , summer offerings are plentiful, with several venues all over town, featuring concerts of every sort, including practically free events in Testaccio. However, the chances of catching major rock and pop acts are virtually nonexistent, and getting worse. Rome has been all but abandoned by most big UK and US acts because of its almost complete lack of organization and a suitable venue. Big promoters book the cities up north, especially Milan and Bologna, and leave Rome entirely out of the loop. However, there is a chance you can catch up-and-coming US and UK indie bands playing some of the city’s more alternative venues.

Rome’s clubs run the gamut. There are vast glitter palaces with stunning lights and sound systems, predictable dance music and an over-dressed, over-made-up clientele - good if you can afford it and just want to dance (and observe a good proportion of Romans in their natural Saturday-night element). But there are also places that are not much more than ritzy bars with music, and other, more down-to-earth places to dance, playing a more interesting selection of music to a younger, more cautious-spending crowd. There is also a small group of clubs catering specifically to gay or lesbian customers. Whichever you prefer, all tend to open and close late, and some charge a heavy entrance fee - as much as L25,000, which usually includes a drink. During the hot summer months, many clubs close down or move to outdoor locations.

As for location , Roman nightlife can be found all over the city, including neighbourhoods on the very edge of town. However, in the central zone the best areas tend to be Testaccio (especially in summer), Trastevere, and the centro storico from the Jewish Ghetto to the Pantheon.

For what’s on information, there’s Romac ‘è (L2000, Thursdays), with its helpful section in English, and, if you understand Italian, Time Out Roma (L4500, Thursdays). Otherwise the main Rome newspaper , Il Messaggero, lists major musical events, and ” Trova Roma ” in the Thursday edition of La Repubblica is another handy guide to current offerings.