Mid-range: Around the corner from the colourful piazza of the same name, the Hotel Campo de’ Fiori is full of antique warmth and character. Doubles from £105. Read a full review http://bit.ly/W3T5lL.
On a budget: The Raffaello has excellent family rooms, generous breakfasts and easy access to the Termini railway station and the Colosseum. Doubles from £79. Read a full review http://bit.ly/UNOCm1
Enoteca Provincia Romana (0039 06 6766 24242; closed Sun; wine from £2.50 a glass) is a bright contemporary wine bar and restaurant dedicated to the wines and produce of the countryside around Rome.
The Santa Maria del Popolo in Piazza del Popolo houses the strikingly dramatic Conversion of St Paul and Crucifixion of St Peter.
After a cappuccino in the elegant Rosati café ( 0039 06 322 5859), head down artsy Via Ripetta.
Take lunch at NO.AU (0039 06 4565 2770; average £20 a head for two courses and glass of beer), a funky new bar restaurant in a pretty, hidden-away piazza.
The Basilica of San Clemente is a triple-decker affair with a Mithraic temple at its lowest level and the deliciously ghoulish human bone decorations of the Capuchin Crypt on Via Veneto.
Pamper yourself by heading for Wonderfool (06 0039 6889 2315; wonderfool.it; open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-8pm) a trendy but friendly centro storico spa, barber’s shop and boutique.
Dine at one of Rome’s new breed of creative trattorias in Trastevere. La Gensola (0039 06 581 6312; osterialagensola.it) offers a mix of tasty Roman specialities and Sicilian-style seafood dishes.
If you’re determined to include the Vatican in your brief Roman holiday, pre-book your slot at the Vatican Museums (http://mv.vatican.va) online to avoid an even longer wait there.
Less daunting but equally rewarding, Galleria Doria Pamphilj (0039 06 679 7323; open daily 9am-7pm; dopart.it) houses more Caravaggios as well as works by Breughels, Titian, Raphael and Velasquez.
You’re well placed, afterwards, for a spot of pre-flight shopping, either in the chic (and costly) boutiques of Via dei Condotti.
