Rome

Rome doesn't reveal itself all at once. It layers history so densely that a single city block might hold a medieval church built atop a Roman temple, its floor tiles worn smooth by two thousand years of footfall. This is a city where the ancient and the everyday coexist without self-consciousness — where commuters cut through the shadow of the Colosseum, and baristas pull espresso within view of baroque fountains.

The best way to understand Rome is to resist the impulse to tick off landmarks and instead drift. The Trastevere neighborhood offers cobbled lanes lined with ivy and trattorias where the menu changes daily. The Pigneto quarter gives a glimpse of a younger, less photographed Rome. Cross the Tiber at dusk and watch the city soften into amber light against the water.

Plan for more time than you think you need. The Vatican Museums alone can consume a full morning; the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum deserve an unhurried afternoon. And allow at least one evening with no agenda — sitting at a piazza table with a glass of local wine, watching Romans live their lives, is its own kind of monument.