Rome

ROME, ITALY

In ancient times, the Romans built extensive road networks spanning thousands of miles, with all roads leading to the capital of the world, Rome. Though the city may no longer hold that same status nowadays, it is still one of the world’s most visited capitals, and there is little wonder why. For more than two and half millennia and with the help of Caesars, popes, artists, and common folk, it has stacked up an innumerable amount of evocative antiquities and monuments. These include everything from UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the grandiose Colosseum and Pantheon, extraordinary Renaissance and Baroque wonders seen in the architecture of buildings and adorning the walls and ceilings of churches, and cobbled streets leading to beguiling piazzas with beautifully sculpted fountains. And all this can pretty much be found around every corner, making the term ‘open-air museum’ so perfectly fitting. To top it all off, it’s also among the warmest of the European capitals so how could it not be nicknamed the Eternal City.