10 Reasons to Visit Rome

Rome, the Eternal City, has enthralled travelers for more than two millennia. Cobblestoned streets wind past ancient forums, baroque fountains, and trattorias where the smell of fresh pasta drifts onto the pavement. Whether you’re chasing history, art, or the simple pleasure of people-watching over an espresso, Rome delivers in style. Below, you’ll find 10 compelling reasons to put Rome at the top of your bucket list.

1. Living Museum of History

Nowhere else allows you to pass by two millennia of architecture in the time it takes to finish an espresso. Stand beneath the Colosseum’s weather-scarred arches and picture gladiators saluting the emperor before combat. A short walk leads to the Roman Forum, where broken columns and triumphal arches hint at speeches that once shaped an empire. Continue toward the Pantheon, step inside, and look up; the oculus opens to the sky exactly as it did in Hadrian’s reign, letting sunlight trace slow circles across marble floors. Every stone you touch forms part of a continuous conversation between ancient ambition and modern life, turning a simple stroll into a masterclass on Western civilization.

2. Art at Every Turn

Rome treats art as a daily companion rather than a museum exhibit. In the Vatican Museums, spiral corridors guide you toward Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, its prophets and sibyls vivid enough to feel alive. Venture beyond the Vatican walls and slip a coin into the light box at Santa Maria del Popolo; Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro leaps from canvas in the dim chapel, transforming storytelling into drama. Piazza fronts and corner shrines add more surprises: fountains sculpted by Bernini, street murals blooming on once-blank walls, and mosaics glittering in modest basilicas. Whether you bend your neck in a gilded gallery or pause at a fresco on a traffic island, Rome insists that beauty belongs to everyone who pauses long enough to notice.

3. Culinary Capital

Rome tells its story through flavor. Begin with a plate of cacio e pepe in Testaccio, where tangy Pecorino Romano and cracked pepper cling to firm noodles that need no garnish beyond a swirl of olive oil. A few streets away, on Via dei Coronari, bite into a golden supplì and watch melted mozzarella stretch in ribbons from your first taste. As afternoon light softens, order a heaping scoop of nutty pistachio gelato and join the slow evening stroll locals call the passeggiata. Romans linger at cafés long after plates are cleared, talking about football scores, weekend plans, and most of all, what they will eat tomorrow. Make time for carbonara rich with guanciale, tomato-bright amatriciana, and pillowy maritozzo buns filled with sweetened cream; each dish explains, better than any guidebook, why food sits at the heart of city life.

4. Iconic Squares and Fountains

Rome’s public spaces are open-air theater sets that shift mood with the hour. Toss a coin backward into the Trevi Fountain to wish for a return visit, then walk fifteen minutes to Piazza Navona. Once a Roman stadium, it now curves around terraces where cappuccinos steam beside sketchbooks. Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers thrusts marble figures toward the sky while painters capture portraits in quick strokes. As shadows lengthen, climb the Spanish Steps, pause midway, and watch palaces glow honey-gold while a violinist chooses the perfect serenade. Photographers swear by sunrise light at Trevi and sunset hues viewed from the church of Trinità dei Monti that crowns the staircase.

5. Distinct Neighborhood Vibes

Every rione feels like a self-contained village. In ivy-draped Trastevere you will hear cutlery tapping on ceramic plates as families share grilled artichokes beneath paper lanterns. Monti answers with racks of vintage denim and tiny ateliers where artisans stitch custom sandals. Prati, anchored by broad boulevards near the Vatican walls, pours modern cocktails flavored with basil and bergamot in sleek glass-fronted lounges. The distances are short enough for walking, yet renting a scooter lets you glide from one personality to the next in minutes. When night settles, locals settle too, often on the stone rim of Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, listening to buskers while the basilica façade glows beneath fairy-light strings.

6. Easy Day Trip Launchpad

Two major rail stations and a web of regional lines place remarkable sights within easy reach. Travel east for forty minutes to Tivoli, where the fountains of Villa d’Este leap among cypresses and frescoed salons. Head southwest for half an hour to Ostia Antica, rent a bicycle, and pedal roads once traced by togas and sandal straps. An hour north, bullet trains emerge at Orvieto, a hill town that greets visitors with an elevator ride through volcanic stone and a cathedral façade flashing gold mosaics. Frequent departures mean you can gather UNESCO stamps by daylight and still savor pasta alla gricia back in Rome before the restaurants fill.

7. Festivals and Live Culture

The calendar here overflows with celebrations of faith, film, and food. Easter morning masses fill Saint Peter’s Square, choirs echoing beneath Michelangelo’s soaring dome. During the hot months, Estate Romana brings open-air cinema, jazz trios, and dance nights to courtyards along the Tiber once the sun dips below umbrella pines. In October, the Rome Film Fest draws global stars to premiers at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. Throughout the year, neighborhood sagre honor seasonal harvests, artichokes in spring, white wine in early autumn, ensuring centuries-old recipes stay alive. Visitors in late June can look skyward for fireworks marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, bright bursts reflecting in river currents.

8. Fashion and Shopping Playground

Elegance feels effortless on Via Condotti, where flagship windows display handbags like works behind museum glass. The street sits only a few cobblestones from the spot where Audrey Hepburn tasted gelato in Roman Holiday. Seek singular style in Monti, where independent craftsmen emboss initials onto Tuscan leather or cast silver pendants shaped like she-wolves. Sunday morning brings the sprawling Porta Portese flea market, an organized chaos of vinyl records, brass candlesticks, and silk scarves. Most boutiques raise shutters at ten in the morning and close around eight at night, though August heat often convinces owners to pause for a long midday rest.

9. Green and Outdoor Escapes

City walls contain surprising stretches of countryside. In Villa Borghese, rowboats glide past temples reflected in still water while turtles bask on half-submerged statues. Up on Janiculum Hill, lawns slope toward a panorama that sweeps from distant aqueducts to the Dome of Saint Peter’s; at noon a ceremonial cannon fires, startling pigeons into flight. The Appian Way offers wilder freedom. Rent a bicycle near its ancient gate for roughly fifteen euro and follow paving stones that remember legions, passing crumbling tombs and towering aqueduct arches. Sheep graze calmly beside you, proof that pastoral peace survives only a few kilometers from the roar of car horns.

10. Eternal Romance

Evening turns Rome into a watercolor of warm lamplight and echoing footsteps. Share prosecco on a roof terrace as the Pincio sky blazes pink, then wander narrow lanes where jasmine perfumes spring air. Cross Ponte Sant’Angelo, built for emperors yet graced by angels sculpted in swirling cloaks, and watch those marble wings glow against the nighttime dome beyond. Many lovers walk onward to the Orange Garden on Aventine Hill. Through the keyhole of an unassuming door they glimpse Saint Peter’s framed by clipped hedges, a secret view that feels like a private blessing. In moments like this the city lives up to its title, proving that the Eternal City is also eternally in love.

Bonus: Budget-Friendly Flights with ITA Airways × WINGIE

Stretch your travel budget before you even take off. Thanks to WINGIE’s exclusive deal with ITA Airways, Italy’s modern national carrier, you can save up to 15% on select fares. ITA’s strong fleet of new-generation jets links Rome with Riyadh and Jeddah, all while providing onboard Wi-Fi and Italian-designed cabins. A few taps on WINGIE lock in the discount, freeing extra euros for a guided Colosseum tour, another scoop of pistachio gelato, or a sunset aperitivo overlooking the Forum. In short, your Roman adventure, comfortable, connected, and wallet-smart, begins the instant you click “book”.

Rome’s alchemy of history, art, cuisine, and everyday charm makes each visit feel both epic and intimate. Ready to plan yours? Browse WINGIE’s latest flight deal with ITA Airways and start counting down the days until your own Roman holiday. Book your flight to Rome now and enjoy this Eternal city at its fullest!