Travelogue “Please Daddy! I’d love you to come.”

So I did. I took an Easy Jet flight from Stansted to Rome for £60 return. On arrival the comfortable and efficient airport bus whisked me to the city centre at a fraction of the cost of a taxi.

Three days in Rome with my back-packing-through-Europe 26-year-old daughter turned out to be all the cultural invigoration I would need for the year. The budget early morning flight from Stanstead meant I avoided motorway congestion and was standing outside Statione Termini the heart of Rome by 11.am.

A hug or two and we were off to our hotel - 90 seconds away. Perfect! Our accommodation was cool, quiet and clean, one of many little family-owned hotels in the area, a little bargain tucked away in a side street close to the central train station, and a real luxury compared to the nearby back-packers hostel! (I found it on the Web and booked by phone. It was so easy. And I used a credit card to protect my booking.)

Rome. This is the place to dip your toes in the ocean of history lapping to the kerb of every street of this stunning Italian city. Here is a capital saturated with visual, intellectual and historical grandeur that extends its irresistible hospitality towards anyone curious enough to explore it.

We went everywhere on foot, overwhelmed by the architecture, art and compelling history. We felt ourselves sucked into St Peter’s Square. We were willingly intimidated by the Coliseum, entranced by the domed and columned Pantheon and enchanted by the richness and liberality of the grand sculptures and statues. They were just everywhere.

By the time evening fell on that first day, we had shared pizzas in the relaxing little street-cafés overlooking the Pantheon at lunchtime, coffeed everywhere and put the world to rights. Finally stumbled almost literally into the Piazza Navona, perching at the perfect table for a spaghetti supper.

Next day we legged it across town (not that far) to the Vatican. Hidden inside was a sight I just HAD to see - the Sistene Chapel. I have to confess we jumped the half-mile queue. Get there before breakfast if you don’t want to wait 90 minutes or more to get in or break the rules. It was SO worth it. We were moved to awesome silence, our necks craned back as we stared, transfixed, at its breathless imagery, layer upon layer of inexpressible beauty. When you go, forget everything and just stare! Be amazed, enthralled, entranced! Look at the colours! What stories the essential recorded hand-held “guide” provides! What a place.

I have no time to tell you about the Spanish Steps awash with sunbathing students and the wild pink of azaleas, the cool shade of the Borghese Gardens, the lovely English-speaking sister who helped us, the Trevi fountain and the Catacombs. Rome is, and always has been, a city of dreams and passion. It’s just a couple of hours or so away – and waiting for you to explore it too.

Must See Attractions 1) St Peter’s Square. 2) Coliseum. 3) Pantheon. 4) Sistene Chapel.

• 133 maps including full-colour Rome map section
• know your Romanesque from your Renaissance: colour special section on Italian art & architecture
• covers the unmissable sites, on and off the beaten track
• the lowdown on where to eat, drink and be merry, whether you crave pizza in Palermo or music in Milan
• easy-to-use, comprehensive language chapter