This tour can be as short as 2.5 hours. Usually it is 3-4 hours. (With capuccino and gelato breaks!)
This tour can be extended up to a FULL day tour, to include more of the historic centre such as Piazza della Republica, ancient bath houses, glorious churches with works by Caravaggio, Bernini, Michelangelo, Raphael and others... the Castel St Angelo and St Peter's from the outside, Trastevere, Jewish Ghetto, Campo dei Fiori, Capitoline Hill, Aventine Hill and Circus Maximus.
A really wonderful way to see the highlights and hidden gems in all of Rome!
UNDERGROUND ROME, CATACOMBS, CRYPTS AND MYSTERIOUS SUBTERRANEAN TEMPLES 4.5 - 6 hours (depending on your interests!): an extraordinary journey into the netherworld of subterranean Rome... like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft! We will uncover ancient mysteries, learn of buried secrets, funerary rites and rituals and the early Christian beliefs through symbols and frescoes, as we explore the ancient burial chambers of the early Christians out on the Old Appian Way. We will also explore the archaeology beneath a 12th century church near the Colosseum. It's stunning byzantine mosaic is not the only treasure at the Basilica of San Clemente. We will discover the excavations layer by layer - a 9th century church, a 2nd century Mithraic temple and a 1st century roman house!
To extend this tour we can also visit the ancient baths of Diocletian, now a basilica by Michelangelo, and end at a stunning baroque church with the remains of a saint taken from the Catacombs.
For a full day we can explore the ancient Roman mansions on the Celio Hill, the baths of Caracalla, admire the views and secret garden of the Aventine Hill and discover a hidden underground crypt where medieval exorcisms took place...
DRIVING TOUR - the most beautiful vistas of Rome, with hidden gems along the Appia Antica, the oldest road in the world along which Spartacus and the rebels were crucified - now glorious countryside with pagan tombs and ancient aqueducts. The keyhole on the Aventine, the panorama over all of Rome from the Gianicolo Hill. 3.5-4 hours
CARAVAGGIO & VINO - AFTERNOON PASSEGIATA - a visit to 3 churches housing Caravaggio's masterpieces, with a glass of vino to honour the bad boy of the Baroque! 3 hours
TRASTEVERE beautiful historic neighbourhood, with roman street food tastings including pizza al taglio, fritti and suppli, porchetta! Yum!
JEWISH HISTORY OF ROME
In the current global climate, I believe it is ever more important to remember the past, and stem the tide of rising antisemitism. We do this through education. Through remembering. I will be donating 10% of my tour fee to the charity "Campaign Against Antisemitism" in the UK.
This tour explores the long, fascinating and deeply inspiring Jewish history of Rome dating back over 2000 years. Rome is said to be the oldest settlement of Jews outside of the Holy Land, and many Roman Jewish families can trace their ancestry as far back as the time of Caesar! We will discover the early remains of synagogues and Jewish community in Trastevere, cross the river to explore the Jewish Ghetto and learn about the history of Jews in Rome, including the many memorials to the horrific events of the Holocaust. We will learn about the treatment of Jews in Rome during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The clothes they could wear, and the professions they were allowed to do. We will learn about the horrific persecutions of the Jewish people - as well as their courage, creativity and resilience. We will also learn about some remarkable allies of the Jewish people, including Michelangelo! We will admire the Synagogue (from the outside) and walk through the ancient Portico d'Ottavia. On a lighter note we will also stop off at the delicious Jewish bakeries and fast food joints for some traditional Artichokes cooked Jewish style, and delicious pastries. Yum! We can end at the Jewish memorial rose garden on the Aventine Hill, overlooking the Circus Maximus.
THE MAJOR BASILICAS, a pilgrimage through San Giovanni in Laterano with the Scala Santa, St Paul's Outside the Walls and Santa Maria Maggiore. This is a particularly special tour in the Jubilee year of 2025. The Holy Doors are open!
Due to ticketing difficulties and overcrowding I no longer do tours of the Vatican, or the Colosseum. Please feel free to reach out and I can help you book great tours with top agencies with a discount code.
Villa Borghese - subject to availability, also ticketing issues; however, it is one of the most magical museums in the world, famous for housing 5 of the young Bernini's marble sculptures, the largest collection of Caravaggio in the world, floor to ceiling frescoes, and upstairs works by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Domenichino and others...
EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE THE CITY
OSTIA ANTICA - Beautiful, and incredibly well-preserved ruins of Rome's Ancient port town - roads, bath houses, mosaics and frescos, public bathrooms, the bakery, the mill, mansions and apartments, restaurants, temples and burials in the necropolis, a spectacular amphitheatre and so many stories! From Claudius to Hadrian. From slaves and martyrs to soldiers and bakers. Ostia is beautiful, tranquil, fascinating - a totally immersive experience as we tread in the footsteps of the ancient Romans. And sometimes quite literally see the footprints of their mules and horses embedded in the giant basalt cobble stones.
Although it does not have the drama and tragedy of Pompeii, Ostia is in many ways a better experience - cooler, shadier, closer to Rome (just 40 minutes by direct metro) and none of the overwhelming crowds you find in Pompeii.
TIVOLI: HADRIAN'S VILLA & VILLA D'ESTE
Breathtakingly beautiful ruins of the Emperor Hadrian's Villa - more like a citadel... peaceful and tranquil, absolutely absorbing. Followed by the spectacular Renaissance Fountains at the Villa d'Este.
