Galleria Doria Pamphilj
A British voice with a cut-glass accent issuing from the hand-held free audio guide leads visitors through the picture-clogged rooms, lavish furnishings and ageing sculptures - in short, the excessive wealth of the powerful Doria Pamphilj family, a pillar of Rome's papal aristocracy. Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, the half-British sibling and heir, along with his sister, of the Doria Pamphilj fortunes is a modern-day prince and recalls childhood memories of rollerskating along the parquet floor of the 18th-century ballroom - tiny indentations prove the truth of his tale. The rambling palace is still occupied and a number of the private apartments are open to the public (mornings only) for a small additional fee. Works by Correggio, Caravaggio, Titian and Velázquez are on show here, as well as some amusing pieces by lesser-known artists.

Piazza del Collegio Romano 2
Tel: (06) 679 7323.
Website: www.doriapamphilj.it
Opening hours: Fri-Wed 1000-1700; last entry at 1615.
Admission charge.

Campo de' Fiori
From Monday to Saturday, each day at dawn, stall holders at Rome's best-known and most picturesque fruit and vegetable market set up their wares at Campo de' Fiori. This down-to-earth square (surrounded by tumbledown orange-ochre facades and the only main piazza in Rome that does not contain a church) is a far cry from the more grandiose piazzas of the centro storico (historic centre). Here one encounters the friendliness and spontaneity for which Romans are so renowned. Come sunset, some of the city's liveliest and most authentic wine bars and trattorie spill their tables out onto the cobbles, as locals and visitors, famous actors and ordinary office workers alike flock here to eat and drink below the stars.

Campo de' Fiori 
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0700-1300 for the market.
Free admission.

Centrale Montemartini (Montemartini Art Centre)
One of Rome's most intriguing and memorable museums, the Centrale Montemartini displays 400 pieces of Roman sculpture from the Capitoline collection of ancient sculpture among the gleaming machinery and furnaces of a former electricity power plant. Initially intended as a stop-gap solution during renovations on the Capitoline Museums, its popularity has ensured it a place on the Roman museum scene.

Via Ostiense 106
Tel: (06) 8205 9127.
Website: www.centralemontemartini.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1900, last entry at 1800.
Admission charge.

MACRO (Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma)
Rome's municipal museum of modern and contemporary art is located not far from Piazza Fiume north of the city centre in a converted former Peroni brewery. The venue is being expanded to cover 10,000sq m (107,639 sq ft) under a project by French architect Odile Decq, which foresees the creation of a vast rooftop area-cum-garden housing a café and terrace by the end of 2007. The venue pulls in big international names as well as young and local artists. Some shows are also displayed at another venue in the former slaughterhouse in Testaccio.

Via Reggio Emilia 54
Tel: (06) 671 070 400.
Website: www.macro.roma.museum
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1900.
Admission charge.