We may have kicked Europe's collective arse in every conflict we've been in, but as a young nation without the centuries of European history that our overseas friends have behind them, cities like Rome certainly beat us on the historic front. Now, a trip to Rome is notoriously expensive, but it's in its history – one you can't find anywhere in the States – that you'll find an exciting adventure that can be had on a dime, and that's a remedy to two problems at once.

WE can be a bit snobbish, us Brits. Laughing at Americans, for example, because they think anything older than a stale doughnut is “historic”.

So it can be humbling to be on the other end of the equation.

The Eternal City has us beaten hands down when it comes to what my wife calls “old, old s***”.

Yes we may have plenty of “old s***” and we’ve always got Stonehenge up our sleeves but Rome has it in spades.

From the Pantheon to the Colosseum and the entire district around them, there is more gritty, rock-solid evidence of life a couple of thousand years ago than you can appreciate. And, of course, Rome has a lot more to offer the city-breaker.

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