The Galleria Borghese admits a limited number of visitors in timed two-hour slots, and those slots sell out weeks ahead. This booking secures yours, with reserved entry and a licensed guide or audio guide included, so the hardest part of visiting Rome's most sought-after museum is already done before you arrive.

Inside the villa, Bernini's marble seems to move: Apollo and Daphne mid-transformation, Pluto's fingers pressing into Proserpina's thigh, David twisting into the throw. Around them hang Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian, and Canova's reclining Pauline Bonaparte — room after room of the collection a seventeenth-century cardinal built to outshine every other in Rome.

Choose a guided visit, with groups capped at 15 so you stay within earshot in rooms that fill quickly, or a ticket with an audio guide if you prefer your own pace. Morning, afternoon and evening slots are available: the last entries of the day are the quietest and the coolest.