Rome

There’s a reason this is called ‘The Eternal City,’ and it still looms gloriously amidst a sea of traffic lanes and cobbled streets right at the town’s very heart. It was eulogised by Virgil and Ovid, made rich by the Caesars, sacked by Visigoth and Vandal alike. Today it rises as a symbol of Rome’s never-ending narrative: The great ancient city that was once the very centre of the earth. In fact, there are few places on the planet better suited to hungry history buffs than Rome, and it isn’t all ancient here either. Of course, there’s the ubiquitous Roman Forum area, and the great Flavian Colosseum, but then there are also the even older Etruscan sites and the ever-present sea of churches, and domed basilicas, crowned at the peak by the mighty height of St Peter’s at the Vatican. Once you’ve ticked that lot off with your Rome tour guide, don’t forget the city’s other side; its romantic Latin quarters, its sprawling regal parks cut from the cloth of the opulent Borghese, and its formidable wealth of artistic works—from Caravaggio to mysterious Da Vinci. Then there are the pizzas, the pastas, the bubbling cafes and the cobbled piazzas, all waiting for the people watchers and the culture lovers and the hungry fans of Italian cuisine alike.