Rome

Roll up your sleeves and learn to make fresh Roman pasta from scratch – typically fettuccine or ravioli – then sit down to eat your handiwork with wine. A fun, hands-on break and a skill to take home.

Explore the working-class neighbourhood that gave birth to Roman cuisine, tasting your way around the Testaccio market and old-school delis and bakeries with a local guide. Come hungry.

Swap the traffic for the cypress-lined Appian Way on an easy electric bike, rolling past ancient tombs, catacombs and ruined aqueducts in the green Parco dell’Appia Antica. A refreshing half-day away from the crowds.

Go beyond the standard ticket with a guided tour onto the reconstructed arena floor and down into the underground hypogeum where gladiators and animals once waited. The best way to grasp how the amphitheatre actually worked.

A guided evening graze through Trastevere’s cobbled lanes, stopping for supplì, pizza, cured meats, cheese, wine and gelato while a local shares the neighbourhood’s stories. A delicious introduction to Roman food and life.

Beat the notorious queues with an early-access guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel – walking the galleries before the general public arrives, with an expert bringing the art to life. Easily booked online.