Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts

In the city of Parma, Alice surveys an underground hotel, a buried Roman bridge and a museum of offerings to the gods. A train takes Alice north to Turin, to find out how the city's grid system helped scientists crack an age-old mystery. She also heads across the Alps to discover how Hannibal dragged his army of elephants through the mountains.

Alice arrives in Nimes after crossing the Alps by train. The image of a crocodile is everywhere, commemorating Emperor Augustus's victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31BCE. In Narbonne, Alice revels in more extraordinary Roman artefacts. The train follows the same route as Rome's Via Domitia, eventually leading Alice all the way to Spain.

Alice heads to Tarragona, once the capital of Iberian Rome, which boasts the largest Roman forum in the world and a vast amphitheatre unearthed below a church. In Cartagena, on Spain's south coast, Alice marvels at the area's subterranean riches and takes a skylift above the city to reflect on the many things her 1300-mile Roman odyssey has taught her.