#Cool free stuff to do near me series#

They are placed outside the victims’ homes. These are memorial plaques commemorating the city’s Holocaust victims: each one names a person and gives the date and destination of their deportation and death.

#Cool free stuff to do near me series#

While some Jewish people came as business envoys, most came as enslaved people.Īs you stroll around, look for a series of brass cobblestones. Dating back to the 2nd century BCE, this is one of the oldest Jewish quarters in Europe. The atmospheric Jewish Ghetto is studded with artisans' studios, kosher bakeries and popular trattorias. It was also where Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck rendezvoused in the silver-screen classic Roman Holiday (1953). Frederico Fellini even lived here for a while. Picasso worked at gallery No 54, and the Italian Futurists had their first meeting here in 1917. Take a stroll down the charming, ivy draped and prettily cobbled Via Margutta. Soak up the artistic vibes of Via Margutta

It might be slightly quieter if you visit late in the evening. Planning tip: On an average day, about €3000 is chucked over shoulders into the water – but with all that money comes crowds of people, so don't be surprised to be jostling for space. It’s an unforgettable sight any time of day but particularly spellbinding after dark when it’s all lit up. According to legend, tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain will ensure your return to Rome, making it a tourist rite of passage. The gorgeous, over-the-top, rococo Trevi Fountain depicts wild horses, mythical figures and cascading rock falls. Duck inside and take in spectacular works of art, including frescoes, an astrolabe and a duo of anamorphoses – wall paintings that appear to change entirely, depending on where you stand.

At the very top of the city’s most famous staircase perches Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti. People are no longer allowed to sit on the Spanish Steps, but you can still climb them. Climb the Spanish Steps to the Convent of Trinità dei Monti Watch life go by around the Spanish Steps © Apostolos Giontzis / Getty Images 4. Planning tip: Need to quench your thirst? Fill your water bottle at the nasone (big nose) drinking fountain in the north of the piazza. Now there is a Christmas market during the holiday season and plenty of activity year-round. Long a hub of local life in Rome, Piazza Navona hosted Rome’s main market for nearly 300 years.

Or better yet, be there when it’s crowded to watch the street performers and tourists come and go and hang out until dusk. Watch the street artists on Piazza NavonaĬome in the early morning before the crowds or after dark when the fountains, like Bernini’s iconic Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, are illuminated to enjoy Piazza Navona at its most alluring. St Peter’s Basilica is home to three of Italy’s most celebrated masterpieces: Michelangelo’s Pieta, his soaring dome and Bernini’s 29m-high (95ft) baldachin over the papal altar. There will probably be a line to enter Rome’s showstopping St Peter's Basilica, but after taking 126 years to build, maybe a little wait to see this opus isn’t so bad. Admire the riches of St Peter's BasilicaĪnd to be reminded where the power lies today, the city’s largest, richest and most spectacular basilica leaves all other churches in its shadow – and is completely free to enter. A visit to the Pantheon should be on everyone’s Rome bucket list, if only to be reminded that before Rome was the seat of Catholic power, the people here honored a different set of gods. It is a unique and exhilarating experience to enter the Pantheon’s vast bronze doors and gaze up at the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built. Built by Hadrian over Marcus Agrippa’s earlier 27 BCE temple, the Pantheon has stood since around 125 CE. This 2000-year-old temple, which is now a church, is the best preserved of Rome’s ancient monuments. Rome's impeccably preserved Pantheon is unmissable and completely free to enter © TTstudio / Shutterstock 1.