Rome today is one of the most important tourist destinations of the world, due to the incalculable immensity of its archaeological and artistic treasures, as well as for the charm of its unique traditions, the beauty of its panoramic views, and the majesty of its magnificent "villas" (parks). Among the most significant resources: plenty of museums - (Capitoline Museums, the Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese, and a great many others)-aqueducts, fountains, churches, palaces, historical buildings, the monuments and ruins of the Roman Forum, and the Catacombs. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in the EU, after London and Paris, and receives an average of 7-10 million tourists a year, which sometimes doubles on holy years. The Colosseum (4 million tourists) and the Vatican Museums (4.2 million tourists) are the 39th and 37th (respectively) most visited places in the world, according to a recent study. In 2005 the city registered 19.5 million of global visitors, up of 22.1% from 2001 and also, in 2006 Rome has been visited by 6.03 million of international tourists, reaching the 8th place in the ranking of the world's 150 most visited cities. The city has also been nominated 2007's fourth most desirable city to visit in the world, according to lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure, after Florence, Buenos Aires and Bangkok.

Most popular tourist attractions
Rome's two most popular tourist destinations are the Vatican Museums (with over 4.2 million tourists per year, making them the world's 37th most visited destination) and the Colosseum (with around 4 million tourists a year, making it the world's 39th most popular tourist destination). Other popular sites include St Peter's Basilica, the Forum Romanum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Via Condotti, Via Veneto, the Capitoline Museums, the Villa Borghese gardens, the Villa Giulia, Piazza Navona, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Piazza del Popolo, the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Campo dei Fiori, the Quirinal Palace, the Lateran Palace and the Palazzo Barberini, to name a few.