Sights in the Outskirts

What to see beyond the walls and in the outlying neighborhoods of Rome

Fairly close to the center

Terme di Caracalla

Baths of Caracalla ★
The largest surviving ruins of an ancient baths complex in Rome is a crumbling complex of brick walls and broken archways sprawling over 33 acres that could once accommodate 1,600 bathers. It is also a spectacular setting for summertime opera and concert performances... » more
 
St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome

San Paolo Fuori le Mura ★
One of the four great basilicas in Rome, badly damaged by fire but beautifully restored, and well worth the trek out here for its lovely cloisters... » more
 
Art Center Acea - Centrale Montemartini Museum

Centrale Montemartini ★
The Acea Art Center is a bona fide deus ex macchina experience. They've prettied up the old Montemartini power plant to house over 400 gorgeous ancient Roman sculptures from the Capitoline Museums collections that haven't been seen by the public in decades. They’re displayed evocatively against a backdrop of the power plant's inky black iron machinery, much of it so massive and muscularly mechanical that it looks more like a metaphor of early industry than actual working devices, like it came from a Fritz Lang movie set... » more
 
Basilica di San Giovanni

San Giovanni in Laterano
Rome's cathedral—no, it isn't St. Peter's—is one of the great basilican churches of Rome, with a Giotto fresco and some lovely quiet cloisters... » more
 
Scala Santa in Rome

Scala Santa
Across the street from Rome's cathedral (San Giovanni in Laterano), is an unassuming, small, chapel-like structure housing the Scala Santa, the "Holy Staircase"of 28 steps of Tyrian marble that legend holds were the actual staircase of Pilate's house, which Jesus descended after being condemned, brought back to Rome by St. Helena... » more
 
Mercato Via Sannio

San Giovanni Clothing Market
The Via Sannio market is best place to pick up inexpensive new and cut-rate used clothing and outfit yourself like a true Roman. You can also pick up cheap army surplus in case you need an extra pack, sleeping bag, or tent)... » more
 

A bit farther afield

Via Appia Antica

The Ancient Appian Way ★★
The arrow-straight Via Appia Antica was the first of Rome's great consular roads, running 370km (222 miles) to Brindisi in Apulia, the heel of Italy's boot. Bits of the Ancient Appian Way—there is a semi-parallel modern road called Via Appia Nuova—are covered in tar now to facilitate vehicular traffic. But the original, rutted Roman flagstones still cover long swathes of this mighty ancient road, and it is lined by magnificent ancient tombs and creepy Christian catacombs... » more
 
The Catacombs of St. Calixtus

The Catacombs of the Appian Way ★★
These miles of low, dimly lit tunnels carved into the soft tufa honeycomb the earth beneath the Via Appia Antica are wildly popular among tourists. The catacomb tunnels are pigeonholed with tens of thousands of niches where early Christians buried their dead and left some of the world's first Christian art... » more
 
Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella

The Tomb of Cecilia Metella
The best of the Via Appia tombs, the resting place to the daughter-in-law of Crassus, a 1st-century BC land mogul and Julius Caesar's financier, transformed into a midget medieval castle... » more
 
Biking the Via Appia Antica

Exploring the ancient Appian Way on a Sunday
On Sunday, this catacomb-lined ancient road to Rome is closed to all traffic except for bicyclists... » more
 
Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica ★★
The ghost town ruins of Rome's ancient seaport are like Pompeii without the crowds—and just a 14-mile subway ride west of downtown... » more
 
Cinecittà Studios

Cinecittà ★
Rome's Cinecittà movie studios has grown to become a Mediterranean mini-Hollywood, the site of more than 3,000 productions from sword-and-sandals epics to spaghetti westerns, classic Fellini films to HBO miniseries... » more
 

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How long does Rome take?

Planning your day: Rome wasn't built in a day, and you'd be hard-pressed to see it in that brief a time as well. Still, you can cram a lot into just a day or three.

To help you get the most out of your limited time in the Eternal City, here are some perfect itineraries, whether you have one, two, three, or four days to spend in Rome.

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