See the best of Rome with this streamlined, itinerary-driven guide, created in a handy, take-along format. Part of a brand-new series from National Geographic that showcases the world's great cities, Walking Rome is divided into the following sections: The Whirlwind Tours section shows you how to see the entire city in a day or a weekend; what sights will interest kids most; plus, a hedonist's tour that's pure pleasure from dawn to midnight and beyond. The Neighborhoods section of the book presents the city broken down into 15-odd itineraries that lead you on a step-by-step tour to the best sights in each of the city's greatest neighborhoods--from Rome's ancient heart to Laterano to Piazza di Spagna to Trastevere. Travel Essentials provides information on how to get to the city and how to get around, as well as hand-picked hotels and restaurants. Each itinerary includes the following features: Distinctly Rome: Explore the city through 2-page features that showcase the quintessential aspects of the city, such as Renaissance Architecture, the popes through history, and Roman baths. Here you'll get intriguing background information to help you understand why this city is one of the world's greatest. Best of: Specific thematic groupings of sights are described, such as coffee and cafes, street markets, and gelato shops. In-depth: These spreads take a deep dive into a major museum or other sight--the Colosseum, Palazzo Barberini, and Galleria Borghese, for example--providing step-by-step guidance on what to see and how to plan your visit. Sidebars throughout give you the low down on shopping, eating, and going out on the town, and offer insider tips and interesting asides. “The Eternal City is showcased.” –Publisher’s Weekly NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC is one of the world’s leading nonfiction publishers, proudly supporting the work of scientists, explorers, photographers, and authors, as well as publishing a diverse list of books that celebrate the world and all that is in it. National Geographic Books creates and distributes print and digital works that inspire, entertain, teach, and give readers access to a world of discovery and possibility on a wide range of nonfiction subjects from animals to travel, cartography to history, fun facts to moving stories. A portion of all National Geographic proceeds is used to fund exploration, conservation, and education through ongoing contributions to the work of the National Geographic Society. Neighborhood Walk: Piazza di Spagna to Villa Borghese   1. Ara Pacis: The Pax Romana is the theme of this ancient monument on the banks of the Tiber. Reconstructed in the 1930s from remnants scattered across scores of museums, the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) was commissioned by the Roman senate as a tribute to Emperor Augustus and the peace that followed his imperial expansion. The rectangular structure is now enclosed within a museum designed by American architect Richard Meier and opened in 2006. The monument is covered in intricate carvings, including renderings of Augustus and his family, a scene that may have represented the dedication of the Ara Pacis in 13 b.c. Across the street is the crumbling Mausoleum of Augustus, no longer open to visitors and badly in need of restoration.   2. Piazza di Spagna: Named after the Spanish Embassy that once overlooked the square, the Piazza di Spagna has been the coolest place to hang out in Rome for nearly 300 years. The neighborhood has long attracted foreigners—Lord Byron, Keats, Shelley, Goethe, Ibsen, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and Hans Christian Andersen are among the artistic hipsters who frequented the local inns and cafés. The Spanish Steps were added in the 1720s to connect the square with Santissima Trinità dei Monti, the Renaissance church on the hilltop above. La Barcaccia, the boat-shaped fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps, predates the stairway by a hundred years. The area’s chic boutiques are a recent addition.   3. Keats–Shelley House: Perched on the south side of the Spanish Steps, the building is a holy grail of the early 19th-century English Romantic movement. Poet John Keats moved here in 1820 and died, aged 25, from tuberculosis the following year. Percy Bysshe Shelley lived nearby. He perished in 1822 when he drowned off the Italian coast. Memories of them linger on, as do those of the other Romantics that round out the collection of this marvelous small museum. Exhibits include Keats’s death mask and an original manuscript by Mary Shelley, wife of the poet and author of Frankenstein.   4. Piazza del Popolo: Once the spot where religious heretics were executed, the Piazza del Popolo is now the “people’s square” and a venue for mass political gatherings. From here a Roman road called the Via Flaminia began its journey north up the Italian Peninsula. On the square’s southern side, baroque twin churches—Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto—flank the Via del Corso. The whitewashe