Rome

Elect's take

"Rome is the city that makes me feel most keenly the weight of history. The combination of the ancient, the Renaissance and the baroque creating a single lived-in city is an achievement that I find genuinely overwhelming every time I visit."

The Colosseum and the Roman Forum together provide the most extraordinary immersion in ancient Roman history available anywhere in the world. The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel contain Michelangelo's ceiling fresco, arguably the most celebrated work of art in the western world. St Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world and Michelangelo's dome is magnificent. The Pantheon, the best preserved building of ancient Rome, is extraordinary in its perfection. Trastevere and the Campo de' Fiori provide beautiful neighbourhood experiences. The food scene from cacio e pepe and carbonara to Roman pizza bianca is outstanding.