Walking Tours
Roma Antica (website: www.roma-antica.co.uk) offers a wide variety of tours of Rome's archaeological sites and most attractive or historic areas. The guide, David Lown, is a writer and art historian from Cambridge. Departure points vary, depending on the tour. Tours include The Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and a tour entitled ‘From the Jewish Ghetto to Trastevere'.Jennifer Cody is a Rome-based art-lover who offers tours in English and French of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and the centro storico (historic centre), and can also put together a private or shopping tour during your stay (website: www.renaissancerome.com).

Enjoy Rome (tel: (06) 445 1843; website: www.enjoyrome.com) offers a number of walking tours in and around Rome, including a memorable visit by bus and foot of the Catacombs and the Appian Way, and a food and wine tasting tour. There is a maximum of 25 people per tour.

Bus Tours
The 110 Open double-decker roofless bus (tel: (06) 684 0901 or 800 281 281; website: www.trambusopen.com) departs every 10 minutes daily between 0830 and 2030 from Piazza dei Cinquecento in front of Termini Station for a two-hour tour (with commentary in English) around Rome's main sights. The tickets (which cost less with a Roma Pass) and a leaflet outlining the 11-stop itinerary are available in English at any tourist information office, the kiosk in Piazza dei Cinquecento or on the bus and passengers can get on and off the bus throughout the day.

Archeobus is a minibus service that departs every 40 minutes from Piazza dei Cinquecento (in front of Termini) between 0900 and 1600 bound for the beautiful and historic Appia Antica park. It makes 16 stops at historic sites and monuments. A joint ticket for the 110 Open and Archeobus can be purchased from Piazza dei Cinquecento and on the bus itself (tel: 800 281 281; website: www.trambusopen.com).

Boat Tours
Rome also has a limited public river boat service along the Tiber. The service, run by Battelli di Roma (tel: (06) 9774 5498; website: www.battellidiroma.it), makes seven stops between Calata Anguillara (Tiber Island) and the Duca D'Aosta Bridge near the Olympic Stadium in the north of the city. The same company also organises daily cruises with commentary, wine-tasting evenings, romantic night-time cruises with dinner, and a boat service to the site of Ostia Antica that leaves from Marconi Bridge every morning. It takes just over two hours and there is a two-hour stopover at the ruins before departing again. Tickets can be bought at the hotel reservation point.