The Esquiline, Monti and Termini

Immediately north of the Colosseum, the Esquiline Hill is the highest and largest of the city’s seven hills. Formerly one of the most fashionable residential quarters of ancient Rome, it’s nowadays a mixed area that together with the adjacent Viminale Hill make up the district known as Monti, an appealing and up-and-coming quarter of cobbled streets and neighbourhood bars and restaurants. It’s also an area that most travellers to Rome encounter at some point – not just because of key sights like the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, but also because of its proximity to Termini station, whose environs shelter many of Rome’s budget hotels.