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This article is ideal for a couple on a weekend break, who enjoy a touch of luxury without breaking the budget.

Rome is the perfect city to visit if you are wanting a romantic and yet interesting holiday. I have visited the glorious city twice now and the last time I came away in even more awe than before. It has the exact combination of elegance, history and culture you may be looking for.

You can find all the top tourist attractions on any website but I rate the Colloseum, Vatican City and Vatican Museums at the top of my list. If you don't get time to visit many places, at least visit these.

The Colloseum is a fantastic monument that is partly restored to prevent further depreciation and has a small gallery/museum on one of its levels explaining the times of the Gladiators. However, this attraction you need to get to early as the queues can take hours if left too late.

There are a selection of lovely Italian restaurants on the opposite side of the road. There is nothing better than watching the Colloseum lights glow when eating your evening meal and drinking a glass of wine. I myself highly rate "Martinellis". The food is divine and the staff are extremely friendly as well as multi-lingual.

The Vatican City needs no introduction. It's a wonderful environment to just stand in and be surrounded by Roman architecture. At the end of a main stretch of road, it contains many food vendors, cafes and souvenir shops and is also a useful area to pick up a coach tour of the city.

The Vatican Museums is where you can find corridors full of intricate paintings and statues, not to mention the infamous Sistine Chapel. The Chapel itself, although packed with people, was very calming and inspiring. It had a genuine smell of age and authenticity. Highly recommended for all you historians.

Accommodation comes in many forms but we stayed in a beautiful hotel which was one of the "Bettoja" chain. The best feature of this hotel was the roof terrace bar and restaurant. If you go during the summer months, the bar terrace is open and you can see almost the entire city from a rooftop view. It was beautiful and extremely romantic. I would go back in an instant.

So waste no time. Visit this city for the wine, food, history and beauty. You will not be disappointed.

Learn more about this author, Helen Bareham.
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