Rome

Rome is the only city I know where your ordinary walk to dinner takes you past a two-thousand-year-old temple that nobody has even bothered to put a sign on. I adore that about it, and it’s also the catch: there’s so much that first-timers try to see all of it, and end up queuing six hours a day in forty-degree heat.

So here, more than almost anywhere, the plan matters. Three full days is the right length for a first trip, enough for the ancient city, the Vatican and one long aimless afternoon, which is usually the day you’ll still be talking about. Add a fourth if you’d like Ostia Antica or a day out to the Castelli Romani.

This is my whole Rolodex for you: where to stay, what to book before you fly, where to eat, and the handful of things that have changed recently and will catch you out if nobody tells you.