🇸🇪 Gothenburg → 🇮🇹 Rome · 2 weeks

The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are included in the Colosseum ticket (€18) but most visitors spend 20 minutes there and miss everything — the Palatine Hill above the Forum is the most archaeologically rich part of ancient Rome, where emperors built their palaces, and the view down over the Forum from the terrace is the best perspective on the ancient city. Allow 3 hours for the combined site.

Order coffee the Roman way: stand at the bar, say 'un caffè' (you'll get an espresso), and drink it in 90 seconds. Sant'Eustachio il Caffè near the Pantheon is a genuine institution — the baristas guard the exact recipe carefully and the result is among the finest espresso in the city. Morning is best; the coffee bill should come to €1.10.

The four Roman pasta dishes — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and gricia — each have strict ingredient rules. The best cacio e pepe in the city is arguably at Roscioli on Via dei Giubbonari (book ahead; it's also a deli and wine bar), where they use aged Pecorino and long pasta with a sauce so perfect it has spawned imitators across Europe.

The Pantheon is free to enter on weekdays before 9am (confirm current free hours as policies change) — arrive at 8:55am to walk into the space in near-silence. The 43-metre dome with its open oculus, casting a column of light that moves around the interior throughout the day, is more affecting without 500 other visitors inside.