• See the ancient warehouses and docks. These are well preserved and look very much like those of the 19th century. The ancient kerbs and pavement is still in place as they are in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

• Visit the two Baths with their beautiful and famous mosaic floors.

• The Forum, with its Capitol, is particularly worth seeing. The Temple's podium is still in place, as are the walls of the cellar where the cult statues were kept. You get an appreciation of how huge Roman temples were.

• The "Piazza of the Corporations", beind the theatre, preserves the offices of trade guilds or merchants from various parts of the world, each office identified by its mosiac floor.

• Ostia is famous for the ancient apartment buildings that are very well preserved. The town's population were poor dock workers living in large apartment buildings. These buildings can be explored to one storey in height, with narrow stairways and corridors leading to small rooms. There are also the remains of more wealthy houses, such as the House of Cupid and Pysche, with very rich marble decorations. You get a real feel for how these people lived 2,000 years ago.

• The small museum contains the main finds from the excavations, ranging from cult statues to small bits of sculpture.

• By Train:

The local train from Rome leaves from the station alongside Piramide metro; it is part of the local transport network, so the "biglietto integrale giornale" for Rome buses and metro is valid on this line also.

• Walk. Note that the archaeological site is vast, with plenty to see to occupy a full day. Visitors will need to wear good footwear.

• A guide book from the ticket office when you enter. There are many interesting things between the entrance and the gift shop. Without a guide book, you will see lumps of stone everywhere. With a guide book, you will understand what buildings stood where those lumps of stone now lie.

• There is a modern, clean restaurant inside the site, next to the gift shop which stocks all kinds of items for the visitor - postcards, posters, books and souvenirs.

• Remember to bring enough water to drink as it gets quite hot in summer.