The view everyone wants, seen properly: from slightly above and to the side rather than the packed pavement at its foot — the rise toward the Oppian Hill, or the approach down Via dei Fori Imperiali, where the amphitheatre sits at the end of the ancient road with the Forum on both sides.

From the terrace behind Michelangelo's piazza, look straight down into the Roman Forum with the Colosseum closing the far end. Standing between a Renaissance square and an ancient one is one of the clearest lessons in how Rome is built in layers.

Framed between orange trees and a brick wall, this terrace looks across the Tiber to St. Peter's. The Aventine is residential and quiet, apart from the tourist city, which changes the mood before you even reach the view — the most romantic of the six stops.

The easiest good view in central Rome, directly connected to Villa Borghese and the Spanish Steps. The view runs west across the rooftops to St. Peter's, with the twin churches of Piazza del Popolo directly below.

The widest view in Rome, high above Trastevere on the western bank.

A monumental fountain just below the Janiculum summit, built to celebrate the restoration of an ancient aqueduct, with one of the most photographed views of the city behind it — the terrace made famous as the opening shot of "La Grande Bellezza."