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

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If you want somewhere near the centre, take a stroll round the impossibly beautiful Isola Tiberina. This also brings a salutary reminder because the hospital there is a maternity clinic.

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Your first sight of St Peter’s from the end of the Via della Conciliazione will take your breath away.

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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/

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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/

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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)

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Made back in 1972, but still the best way to get the spirit of the place.

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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/

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Rarely fails to fire young imaginations.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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The gardens on the Gianicolo hill.

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

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The outlook from the top of the Spanish Steps is a favourite, and deservedly so.

Piazza di Spagna

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Open 9am-1hr before sunset

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

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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/

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The most surprising is what you see if you look through a keyhole in the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta on the Aventine hill. You can’t miss the door. There’s always someone peering through it. And I won’t ruin the surprise. Open 10-11am Sat.

Priorito di Malta, 3 Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta; Tel: 06 6758 1234

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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.

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