Rome is the closest large city in the SkyAlps network, reachable in an hour and a half. The historic centre has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1980 and — despite its importance — is surprisingly compact: most well-known sites lie within a few square kilometres and are walkable. For a first visit, three or four days are enough to see what matters, without commuting between quarters.

Antiquity is concentrated along one axis: the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill lie side by side and are visited on a combined ticket. The Pantheon, which has stood for almost 2,000 years and still holds the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, sits a fifteen-minute walk away. From there, the baroque quarter opens up with the Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain.

The Vatican is a state of its own and a day of its own. St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square are freely accessible; the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel charge admission and are almost always full — book a time slot before you fly. In the evenings, the Trastevere quarter west of the Tiber sits at the top of the list for restaurants: narrow lanes, ivy-covered facades, and cuisine that has moved little in twenty years — Roman classics such as cacio e pepe, carbonara and saltimbocca in taverns you'd expect from a film set.