European Splendor: London to Rome via Paris

The British Museum is one of the world’s most comprehensive and iconic museums, home to over eight million artifacts—including the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures—spanning two million years of global history.

The British Library is the UK’s national library and one of the largest in the world, home to over 170 million items—including treasures like the Magna Carta, Shakespeare’s First Folio, and handwritten Beatles lyrics.

The British Museum is one of the world’s most comprehensive and iconic museums, home to over eight million artifacts—including the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures—spanning two million years of global history.

The British Library is the UK’s national library and one of the largest in the world, home to over 170 million items—including treasures like the Magna Carta, Shakespeare’s First Folio, and handwritten Beatles lyrics.

Book early if you want to see the Vatican Museum's monumental works of art from the greatest Italian artists of the Renaissance.

The Vatican Museum is actually 26 different museums, which include not only exhibitions but chapels, apartments, and other rooms of the Vatican palace, covering a huge range of fine and applied arts patronized by the popes. There's also an outstanding collection of ancient antiquities (including even the Emperor Nero's red stone bathtub), a gallery of hand-painted maps, and whole rooms turned into works of art. In addition to ancient and medieval works of art, you'll see masterpieces by the "who's who" of the Italian Renaissance, including Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Caravaggio. Other highlights include panels by the brilliant monk-artist Fra Angelico, works from the Venetian school, including Vavarini, and much, much more.  Booking in advance is highly recommended as otherwise you can wait for hours or not even be able to get in at all.

Explore the gigantic and incredibly beautiful church known as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

The basilica is one of the chief pilgrimage sites in the Christian world, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome. The basilica is the symbolic center of the church not only because the Pope frequently celebrates Mass there, but because it is believed that the apostle St. Peter is buried beneath it. Catholics consider Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and "the rock" upon which the Catholic Church was built, in accordance with Christ's instructions. Inside you can admire sculptures by Bernini as well as Michelangelo's famous sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the crucified Jesus, known as The Pietà. The church's elaborate and impressive golden interior is a sight to behold. Other sights include St Peter's tomb, the Papal crypts in the necropolis under the basilica, as well as the dome, which rewards visitors with views over Rome.  Entry is free, but queues to visit the Basilica can be lengthy, so it is highly advised to either get there early or to purchase a skip the line entrance. The dome is also paid entry. 

Escape the crowds in this oasis of green hidden behind the walls of the Vatican.

Accessible only via a guided tour, the gardens are definitely worth a visit. Just as the Popes have for hundreds of years, you can stroll the gardens and relax amidst the greenery, while taking in the perfect view of St. Peter's. 

Stand in the middle of this famous square in which the faithful gather to hear the Pope give audiences and celebrate mass.

As one of the most superb conceptions of its kind in civic architecture, St Peter’s Square is the masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and makes a wonderful approach to one of the world’s most magnificent churches, St Peter's Basilica. An oval rather than an actual square, the piazza, laid out in 1656-67, is partially enclosed by two semi-circular colonnades on which stand 96 statues of saints and martyrs. At the center of the oval stands an 84-foot (26m) tall Egyptian obelisk of red granite.

Gaze up at the world's most famous ceiling, the masterpiece of Michelangelo.

This famous chapel inside the Vatican Museums is best known for Michelangelo's 16th-century painted ceiling of "The Creation of Adam" and "The Last Judgement" fresco that covers the whole altar wall of the chapel. The jaw-dropping sight is not to be missed, considered one of the top highlights of visiting the Vatican Museums and one of the top artistic wonders of the world. 

Book early if you want to see the Vatican Museum's monumental works of art from the greatest Italian artists of the Renaissance.

The Vatican Museum is actually 26 different museums, which include not only exhibitions but chapels, apartments, and other rooms of the Vatican palace, covering a huge range of fine and applied arts patronized by the popes. There's also an outstanding collection of ancient antiquities (including even the Emperor Nero's red stone bathtub), a gallery of hand-painted maps, and whole rooms turned into works of art. In addition to ancient and medieval works of art, you'll see masterpieces by the "who's who" of the Italian Renaissance, including Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Caravaggio. Other highlights include panels by the brilliant monk-artist Fra Angelico, works from the Venetian school, including Vavarini, and much, much more.  Booking in advance is highly recommended as otherwise you can wait for hours or not even be able to get in at all.

Take a look around the world's first shopping mall.

Trajan's Forum was the last great forum built in Rome and rivaled the original Forum in scale and grandiosity. However, the only significant structure that remains now is the semicircular ruins of the Trajan Markets, which are often described as the world's first shopping mall. Arcaded passageways led to offices, shops, and apartments, situated in a multi-story structure. It is still possible to visit some of these levels. Within Trajan's Market you will find the Museum of Imperial Fora, one of the best interactive museums covering Ancient Rome. The labeling in English is unsurpassed and the exhibition rooms both in the museum and the rooms of the markets provide a superb introduction to Roman life and the architecture and building methods that were lost for centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire. Two or three hours spent here is time well invested.

Relive a saga of war and conquest on this carved frieze as it winds its way up a 140-foot high ancient column.

Built in 113 AD out of 18 massive blocks of marble, the column is decorated with exquisitely executed reliefs which spiral up around it. There are over 2,500 carved figures, and the column tells a detailed and highly visual tale of the Emperor Trajan’s Dacian wars. At the top of the column once stood a statue of the victorious Emperor (replaced by St Peter in 1588), and a spiral stone staircase inside led to a platform from which extensive views could be enjoyed over the rooftops of the city. Today the column is visible from the Piazza Venezia without a ticket, but those with a particular interest in Roman history might consider hiring a private guide who can explain the story depicted by the column in more detail.

Visit this grand monument and ascend to the roof through an elevator at the back for the wonderful views of the Roman Forum and Colosseum.

Standing grand and mighty on Capitoline Hill overlooking Piazza Venezia, the monumental marble temple honouring Italy's first king Vittorio Emanuele II is a sight often overlooked by tourists. The impressive wedding cake-like building is home to one of the best views in Rome. Ascend to its rooftop and you can enjoy amazing views over the Roman Forum and Colosseum.  The monument is also the sight of the Altar of the Fatherland (Altare della Patria), which includes an altar to the goddess Rome, and a shrine to the Italian Unknown Soldier, thus making the monument a sort of secular temple dedicated to the country. However, it's unlikely the relatively modest and unassuming Vittorio would have appreciated this massive monument built to his legacy. Inaugurated in 1911 to symbolize the achievement of Italian unity, it irrevocably changed the aspect of the city, throwing out of scale the Capitoline hill itself and causing indiscriminate damage. Familiarly known as ‘Mussolini’s typewriter’ (it was finished during his regime in 1937), it is thought by some locals to be a colossal monstrosity, although for others its symbolic importance makes it a place of reverence, regardless of any architectural criticism.

See the square Michelangelo designed to mark the spot of Rome's legendary origins.

This square at the top of the Capitoline Hill, Piazza del Campidoglio, is a lovely piece of town planning designed by Michelangelo. It is surrounded on three sides by stately palaces and an open-end featuring a balustrade. This is the historical center of ancient Rome, and to reflect this fact, Pope Paul III ordered that the famous gilded bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius be moved here from the Lateran hill.  Off of one corner of the square you will find a reproduction of the famous Lupa Capitolina, that is, the statue of the she-wolf that suckled the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. Wander just a bit further and you will be rewarded with an amazing view over the Forum. You'll also find the Capitoline Museums in one of the 15th century palaces fronting the square. These are some of the oldest collections in Rome, containing Classical Roman, Greek, and Egyptian sculptures, as well as Renaissance art.