Go to:  

Fountain of Triton
Photo: Oginia Tabisz

The Roman way
“Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi.” (When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.) St Ambroses’s advice to St Augustine.

Why do I love Rome? Maybe I don’t. The beauty of the place is overwhelming, certainly: the art, the architecture and then the Romans themselves, so engagingly elegant. The sun shines for much of the year. The food is rarely poor - and can be utterly delicious. Over the best part of 3,000 years, Rome has accumulated so many layers that it is effectively endless. I have lived here three times in my life, yet I still find myself discovering lanes and alleyways, markets, even entire magnificent palazzos, I never knew existed. Barely a week goes past without someone telling me for the first time about some Roman quirk or tradition.

But this is also a city that was corrupt by the time of Caligula and has had another couple of millennia since then in which to grow even more venal and decadent. Other Italians tend to regard its inhabitants as cynical, indolent, conformist and obsessively hierarchical. And they are not always wrong. Rome is like a materialistic but stunningly beautiful and sophisticated woman. You can be entranced by her looks. You can be fascinated by her ways. But you know you’d be a fool to give her your heart. And yet you do.
Best view
The Spanish Steps
The outlook from the top of the Spanish Steps is a favourite, and deservedly so.

Piazza di Spagna

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Best thing to do for free
Visit the Forum
Open 9am-1hr before sunset

Enter from Via Sacra, Largo Romolo e Remo or Via del Foro Romano

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to watch the world go by
Piazza San Lorenzo
Sip a Campari at one of the tables outside Ciampini in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina. The lower house of parliament is 200 yards in one direction. The main fashion thoroughfare, Via Condotti, is 50 yards in another. The houses in the streets and alleyways around are crammed with film stars, TV personalities and members of the so-called “black” aristocracy whose titles come from the Popes. The best possible spot for a close-up view of some of the best-dressed people on the planet.

Ciampini, Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina 29; Tel: 06 687 6606

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Cultural highlight
The Sistine Chapel
Well, it has to be the Sistine Chapel. But can you survive the queue?

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Bring back
Clothes
The cut of Italian clothes will flatter you as no other. Via Condotti is where most of the big designer names are to be found. But excellent clothes for less money can be found along Via Frattina, which runs parallel to Via Condotti, on nearby Via Campo Marzio and, further afield, on Via Cola di Rienzo and Via Po.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Leave there
Glow-in-the-dark Virgins
The tat you find round St Peter’s, including glow-in-the-dark Virgins and shake-and-snow models of the basilica (unless, of course, you’re into kitsch).

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Time for love
Gianicolo hill
The gardens on the Gianicolo hill.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Best-kept secret (till now)
The Supplì
Rome’s rice croquette. Originally conceived as a way to use up leftovers, it consists of a mixture of rice, mozzarella and tomato paste in a crust of deep-fried breadcrumbs. More often found in bars and snack bars than in restaurants. Hard to stop at just one.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

The thing to eat
Carciofi alla Giudea
A Jewish dish of deep-fried artichokes is a must, but no visit would be complete without those Roman staples, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Bucatini all’Amatriciana and Saltimbocca alla Romana.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Green space
Villa Doria Pamphilj
Try the elegant grounds of the Villa Doria Pamphilj up at Monteverde. It glories in the splendid, and appropriate, nickname of Belrespiro, which is untranslatable but might be rendered as “lovely respite”.

Via di San Pancrazio, Monteverde

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Best ride
Scooters
Nothing rivals a swoop through Rome on a warm night on a motorino (scooter). Cyclo's Car & bike rental, Piazza Cavour 80, will hire you a 50cc at €30 a day. But a warning: the Romans themselves die like flies on motorini, so before you set off you need to be experienced, confident – and courageous.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Keep the kids happy
The Colosseum
Rarely fails to fire young imaginations.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Escape the crowds
EUR
Italians love crowds so this is not easy. But try the gardens around the lake at EUR, the area Mussolini tacked on to the south of Rome. You can taste some of the best ice cream in the city at the Casina dei Tre Laghi (aka “Giolitti”) and, for the sake of five-minute walk, get a look at the stunning “Colosseo Quadrato” or Square Colosseum, (real name: Palazzo della civilta italiana).

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

The film to see before I go
Fellini’s Roma
Made back in 1972, but still the best way to get the spirit of the place.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

... and the novel to read
Cabal by Michael Dibdin
The novel to read.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to eat (budget)
Pizza Ré
Cheap in Italy means pizza, but the pizza made in Rome, which traditionally has a thin base with crisp edges, can be disappointing. Pizza Re serves the spongier and altogether more appetising Neapolitan-style product. A straightforward pizza and a large beer costs €10.50.

Branches at Via di Ripetta 14 (06 3211 468) and Via Oslavia 39 (06 3721 173) share a website at www.pizza-re.it/

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to eat (moderate)
Matricianella
Once named by an Italian foody mag as the best value trattoria in Rome’s “centro storico” (historic centre), Matricianella serves good Roman cuisine at reasonable prices. It is always crowded, so best to book. In summer, there is a small covered terrace outside. A three-course meal with wine should work out around €45 per person.

Via del Leone, 4; Tel: 06 6832 100 (Closed Sun)

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to eat (posh)
La Pergola at the Hilton Cavalieri
Offers a panoramic view of Rome as well as some of the best food to be had in Italy prepared, ironically enough, under the supervision of a German head chef, Heinz Beck. In summer, you can get a table on the adjoining terrace, but book well in advance. The sampler menu (menu gustazione) costs €140-155 euro per head – and that’s without wine starting at €45 a bottle.

Via Cadolo, 101; Tel: 06 3509 2152; not open for lunch; closed Sun and Mon.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to stay (budget)
Pop Inn Hostel
Small, clean and friendly hostel near the main Termini rail station offering a range of accommodation from single rooms to dormitories for eight, with or without bathroom. Prices for a double room plus Italian breakfast range from €21 to €49 per person per night.

Via Marsala 80, 00185 Roma; Tel: 06 4959 887; www.popinhostel.com/

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to stay (moderate)
Hotel Aventino
The least expensive of three hotels owned by the same group on the tranquil, up-market Aventine hill. If you ever fancied yourself as a character in a Henry James novel then this is the place for you. Prices for a double room range from €114 to €197.

Via San Domenico 10, 00153 Roma; Tel: 06 5783 214; www.aventinohotels.com/

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Where to stay (posh)
Hotel Hassler
The building at the top of the Spanish Steps was bought by a Swiss family in 1885 and has become a byword for old school stylishness. The rooftop restaurant offers stunning views across the city and a fabled Sunday lunch buffet. Prices for a double start at €500, but special deals can be obtained.

Trinità dei Monti 6, 00187 Roma; Tel: 06 699 340; www.hotelhasslerroma.com/

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Find out what's on
Romac'è
Pick up a copy of Romac'è to find out what's going on in the city.

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree

Get there from the airport
Airport transfer: Leonardo Express
The Leonardo Express train service leaves regularly for Rome’s Termini Station. The journey last less than forty minutes and is the most reasonable and direct means of travelling to the centre of Rome.

www.adr.it

0%

agreed

0

people

I agreeI disagree


Your tips about Rome