If you haven’t got the stomach for the Colosseum, take a book to the remains of the ancient baths, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52 (00 39 06 575 8626); open May-Sept 9am-1pm Mon, Sun, 9am-6pm Tues-Sat; Oct-Apr 9am-1pm Mon, Sat, 9am-4.30pm Tues-Sat, L8,000, around £2.60). The site once housed not only baths but steam rooms, and even a library. Laze on the lawns beneath the towering ruins and lose yourself in the scandals of ancient Rome, with Gaius Suetonius’ Twelve Caesars or Juvenal’s Satires, which revel in the city’s seedy history – or pick up a local paper for some modern-day political scandal.Window shoppingBe decadent with your earnings. Along the via Condotti and via del Babuino at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, you’ll find designer labels at prices that will make you beg your bank’s forgiveness. The queues outside Gucci on a Saturday afternoon stretch along the pavement. While in the streets around the Vatican, such as Borgo Pio, the tat is unforgivably prolific – teaspoons with pictures of the Pope on top, miniature golden bottles of holy water decorated with pictures of the Virgin or holograms of Christ on the cross, with eyes that open and shut for L19,000 (£6.20). A sin against good taste.An AperitifSipping champagne in the sixth-floor terrace bar of the Hotel Eden as the sun sets over Rome is as wickedly self-indulgent as it gets – especially when you see the bill A glass of champagne will set you back around L30,000 (£10).

For a cheaper option, join the crowds sipping Prosecco (Italian bubbly) outside La Vineria (00 39 06 68 80 32 68), closed Sunday, on Campo de’ Fiori, the piazza where Caravaggio, talented artist, not-so-talented tennis player, and bad loser, murdered his opponent. Lucrezia Borgia, of the notorious Italian clan, was born nearby, and the statue in the centre of the piazza is of one Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake for daring to question the church’s teachings. La Vineria is an old cellar whose walls are lined with dusty bottles, and a glass of Prosecco here costs just L2,000 (65p).Dinner with the localsGluttony is easily indulged in Rome. Dinner is traditionally a five-course affair starting with a plate of antipasti, followed by soup or pasta, then meat or fish, vegetables follow separately and finally, a sumptuous dessert. If the setting is as important as the meal itself, behind Piazza Navona is the newly opened Santa Lucia, Febo Largo 12 (00 39 06 68 80 24 27).

In a tiny square surrounded by shuttered, ivy-clad buildings of crumbling terracotta, you can eat outside beneath the trees on a raised patio. La Canonica, via della Paglia 6a (00 39 06 580 3845) near Santa Maria in Trastevere serves traditional Roman food in a cosy converted church.Sunday morning, go to churchRepent of your sins. To avoid the crowds at St Peter’s, head for the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Piazza Santa Cecilia (00 39 06 589 9289), approached through a wild garden of unruly rose bushes. Saint Cecilia maintained her vow of chastity in marriage and was martyred for her beliefs The path of virtue is not always an easy one. For L1,500 (50p) listen to the taped history of the church before descending into the crypt (just pay L4,000, around £1.30, to the knitting nun) to see the frescoes Sunday mass is at 10am. The frescoes are open 11.15am-noon.Bracing brunchIn Rome, a city fed on offal, vegetarianism is regarded by many as a sin. As atonement for the excesses of the previous night, head for a macrobiotic brunch at Margutta Vegetariano, via Margutta 118 (00 39 06 32 65 05 77).

With its curved marble bar, sleek fixtures, black leather banquettes, stained glass and contemporary art on the walls, this is not your average veggie restaurant. Tables full of fashionable young Italians pick delicately at gourmet salads and smoked mozzarella. The brunch buffet costs L45,000 (£15).A walk in the parkAt the end of the 16th century, the wealthy and pleasure-loving Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, ordered work to begin on a garden of earthly delights. The Borghese Gardens and the Villa Borghese, where his collection of art was housed, was turned into a Baroque pleasure park, with trick fountains and erotic paintings. You can wander around the gardens, picnic in the shade (try to find a bench not occupied by lovers draped around each other) or visit the three galleries in the grounds – the Galleria Borghese, Villa Giulia and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna.Write a postcardBuy a hologram postcard of Jesus on the cross for L1,400 (45p) from one of the shops around the Vatican. Take it to Antico Caffe Greco, via Condotti 86 (00 39 06 678 5474), where bad boys Shelley, Byron and Casanova used to hang out.

It’ll brand you a tourist, but so what? Its d?r is extravagant: alcoves lined with red velvet banquettes; dark, silk-covered walls hung with enormous oils and gilt mirrors; bronze busts crowding every nook. The caf?tretches back toward a private room boasting a grand piano and an enormous statue of a wickedly grinning Puck – you can imagine the wild, disreputable parties. The icing on the cakeFor the best coffee in Rome, visit the renowned Sant’Eustachio, Piazza Sant’Eustachio 82 (00 39 06 686 1309, open 8.30am-1am) for an espresso. Romans consider it a crime to drink cappuccino at any time of the day except first thing in the morning, and at any temperature other than lukewarm.