Rome - Tours of the City

Walking Tours
Roma Antica (www.roma-antica.co.uk) offers a wide variety of tours of Rome's archaeological sites and most attractive or historic areas. The guide, David Lown, is a writer and art historian from Cambridge. Departure points vary, depending on the tour. Tours include The Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and a tour entitled From the Jewish Ghetto to Trastevere'.

Jennifer Cody is a Rome-based art lover who offers tours in English and French of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, and the centro storico (historic centre), and can also put together a private or shopping tour during your stay (www.renaissancerome.com).
Enjoy Rome (tel: 06 445 6890; www.enjoyrome.com) offers a number of walking tours in and around Rome, including a memorable visit by bus and foot of the Catacombs and the Appian Way, and a food and wine tasting tour. There is a maximum of 25 people per tour.

Bus Tours
The Roma Turismo Tourist Office (www.romaturismo.it) runs the '110 Open' double-decker open-topped bus (tel: 06 684 0901 or 800 281 281; www.trambusopen.com) service. It departs every 20 minutes daily between 0830 and 2030 from Piazza dei Cinquecento in front of Termini Station for a two-hour tour (with commentary in English) around Rome's main sights. The tickets (which cost less with a Roma Pass) and a leaflet outlining the 11-stop itinerary are available in English at any tourist information office, the kiosk in Piazza dei Cinquecento or on the bus. Passengers can get on and off the bus throughout the day.

They also operate 'Archeobus', a minibus service that departs every 30 minutes from Piazza dei Cinquecento (in front of Termini) between 0830 and 1630 bound for the beautiful and historic Appia Antica park. It makes 14 stops at historic sites and monuments. A joint ticket for the '110 Open' and 'Archeobus' can be purchased from Piazza dei Cinquecento and on the bus itself (tel: 06 684 0901 or 800 281 281; www.trambusopen.com).

Boat Tours
Rome also has river boat tours along the Tiber, though call ahead as recent flooding has led to cancellations. The 70-minute hop-on, hop-off tour, run by Battelli di Roma (tel: 06 9774 5498; www.battellidiroma.it), departs from Ponte Sant'Angelo and covers the stretch down to Isola Tiberina and up to Ponte Risorgimento. The same company also organises dinner cruises, evening wine cruises, and a boat service to the site of Ostia Antica that leaves from Marconi Bridge every morning. It takes just over two hours and there is a two-hour stopover at the ruins before departing again. Tickets can be bought online or over the phone.