In early October, I spent a fruitful 5 days in Rome. After 27 years, the Eternal City was a long overdue revisit for me. The trip was with my Art History friends, so we dipped into a lot of churches to look at a sculpture or a painting. There's an overwhelming amount of things to see, and the sights with specific time slots need pre-booking at least 3 weeks beforehand. Still, a lot can be seen for free, such as the Fora from modern street level and all monumental churches.

They keep on discovering and opening up things to the public, so a revisit every decade or so will be rewarding. Three of the more recent additions/renovations that I enjoyed (pictured top – left - right):

• The interconnected (2019) Forum Romanum and Imperial Fora bring more attention to the latter, such as the splendid Trajan’s Forum and Markets.
• Domus of Vigna Guidi at the Baths of Caracalla (frescoes on display since 2022).
• Temple of Hercules Victor (restored by World Monuments Fund 1996-1998) 

Overall, I liked the Ancient Roman remains better than the later religious art. Hubert in his review already gave a good overview of the lesser-visited highlights. I’d like to add:

• Palazzo Barberini (great paintings in an always quiet setting)
• Aurelian Walls, with Porta Asinaria and Porta San Giovanni
• Fountain of the Four Rivers at the Piazza Navona

The visit furthermore was very pleasant overall. We liked the water fountains supplying free drinking water (it was still sunny and 25 degrees) and the good quality pizza and pasta available for 8 EUR at family-run restaurants. For such a touristy city, it was surprisingly inexpensive and relatively free of tourist traps. Only a few places were overly crowded (the Colosseum and the Vatican sites) – better skip those on a revisit.