This 2,000 year old highway is located on the outskirts of Rome. RELATED LINKS City Guide Rome

For most tourists, an excursion to the Via Appia Antica at the southern outskirts of Rome is little more than a chance to tromp through one or two old Christian catacombs before boarding a bus back to the city center.

A better option is to plan your visit for a Sunday or holiday when a section of the renowned 2,000-year-old highway is closed to traffic. If the weather is nice, you'll join a festive crowd of Romans out to stroll, jog or bike along the car-free stretch of gently undulating pavement, which extends several miles into the countryside from the Porta di San Sebastiano.

The Parco dell'Appia Antica is also a perfect place for a Sunday picnic, in keeping with the early Christian practice of exiting the city walls on holy days to honor deceased relations by joining them for an alfresco supper over the catacombs. Bike rentals are available Sundays at the park's Cartiera Latina information center on the Via Appia, and at the Caffarella visitor center on Largo Tacchi Venturi.

More information is available in English and Italian on the park Website, www.parcoappiaantica.it.