This morning we walk to St Peter’s Square for a tour of the basilica including the Pieta, the crypt, which contains the tombs of several popes and the tomb of the late Pope John Paul II. After time for lunch at choice we visit the Basilica of St Paul Without the Walls, built over the site of the saint’s martyrdom, then go on to one of the catacombs, burial place for the early Christians. In the late afternoon we return to our hotel. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.

This morning we take our seats in St Peter’s Square for the weekly General Papal Audience (if His Holiness is in Rome at the time). After lunch (included today) our coach and guide take us to two of the churches that all pilgrims to Rome must see. We visit the cathedral of Rome, St John Lateran, and afterwards cross the road to see the Scala Santa - the steps brought back from Jerusalem by Empress Helena in the 4th century and said to be those ascended by Christ on his way to Calvary. We continue to Santa Croce, which contains a fragment of the True Cross, again brought back by Empress Helena. Dinner will be at choice tonight.

After breakfast we ascend Michelangelo’s Campidoglio for the view over the Forum and continue past the Coliseum, and the Mamertine Prison (without entry), where SS Peter and Paul were imprisoned. Our final visit is to the beautiful church of San Clemente with its splendid mosaics, built over the remains of a Temple of Mithras and ancient catacombs. This afternoon we transfer to the airport for our return flight to the U.K.