Rome famously features historical ruins scattered haphazardly next to modern infrastructure, meaning you can literally sit at a bustling modern bus stop right next to a two-thousand-year-old column from the Roman Empire.

A closer look

Rome famously features historical ruins scattered haphazardly next to modern infrastructure, meaning you can literally sit at a bustling modern bus stop right next to a two-thousand-year-old column from the Roman Empire. The city is a nightmare for civil engineers who cannot dig a new subway line without accidentally unearthing an ancient necropolis or an imperial bathhouse, thereby halting construction for years of archaeological review. Tourists flock to the Colosseum to romanticize the glorious history of gladiatorial combat, completely ignoring the fact that it was essentially a massive, blood-soaked sports stadium funded by political corruption and built by enslaved prisoners of war. Experiencing the Eternal City requires navigating a chaotic blend of breathtaking antiquity, aggressive Vespa drivers, and heavily overpriced gelato stands strategically placed wherever a historically significant assassination once occurred