I find it hard to put into words how I felt about Rome. Wandering its streets felt like being in a Roman theme park, with snippets of knowledge taught back in school flooding back. Upon turning each corner, you stumble upon another ancient icon and your breathe is taken away. Italy’s capital city is simply stunning.
It isn’t just the ancient ruins and awe-inspiring art that should draw you to this majestic city, it also has vibrant street life and well the food…Bellissimo!
It goes without saying that if visiting Rome for the first time, or even second or third, you should take in the key sights whilst interspersed with dropping into its hip neighbourhoods to sample the cafe-culture and local fare. More on that shortly.
We were only in town for a weekend but did manage to cram in quite a bit of sightseeing – taking in the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Yes, there will be hoards of tourists but that goes with the territory and as the saying goes ‘When in Rome…’ You can avoid some of the queues by booking tickets for many of the bigger sights online and inadvance.
They are all spectacular but my particular favourites were the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and St Peter’s. The view from the top of St Peter’s Basilica (and the climb to it!) is particularly impressive, especially on a bright winter’s day. And whilst in the Vatican city, keep your eyes peeled for the sinful ‘Hot Priests’ calendars bizarrely advertised in many of the shops surrounding the Vatican.
If the crowds and gladiators at the Colosseum are getting too much, I would recommend seeking out Celio Hill which overlooks the amphitheatre to wander the gardens and devour a picnic from one of the many markets or snack bars gracing the city.
Once you’ve thrown coins in the Trevi fountain and marvelled at the Colosseum, check out one of Rome’s hip neighbourhoods like Trastevere. I’d recommend others but we kept gravitating towards Trastevere.
This used to be a working class area and is brimming with shops, bars, cafes and trattoria’s. This is laid back Rome where you’ll be able to mingle with the locals in bars like the slightly rough and ready Bar San Calisto. Just a few steps away from the Piazza Santa Maria , this is a great local hangout which serves coffee by day and Peroni’s by night. Once we had figured out how to order a beer (pay at the old-school cash register and then take your ticket to the bar to retrieve your drink), grab a seek and listen to the local argue about football or people watch.
Another drinking spot, more lively than Bar San Calisto, is Freni e Frizioni. This used to be a mechanics but is now a cool evening spot for drinks. It offers a aperitivo buffet which is widely cited as being very good.
If hunger is starting to get the better of you, I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Pizzeria Ai Marmi, also in Trastevere. This place felt very authentic and paired-back (i.e. scrap the glossy image you might have of a pizzeria at home), this is the real deal with its old-school fridges and waiters wearing bow ties preparing thin crusted, delicious pizza’s on long marble slabs. Its worth getting here early to avoid the queues which snake out the door and along the street. Try the courgette flower pizza or pizza con fiori di zucca. Still one of the best pizza’s I have ever eaten.
To truly measure whether this was one of the best pizza’s we had ever eaten, we also hiked to Pizzeria da Remo in Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice in Testaccio. Again, this is another neighbourhood eatery which is scruffy but lively. Good pizza but Pizzeria Ai Marmi better in my humble opinion.
Back amidst the ruins, I’d recommend exploring the streets around Piazza Navona. There’s a great late night snack bar called Forno Campo De’Fiori and Bar del Fico on Piazza del Fico is also worth hunting out to enjoy a drink with a local, student-y crowd.
I could go on but I’m concerned that it sounds like all we did when we visited Rome was eat pizza. Yes, we did leave with a pizza baby but Rome was one of our favourite types of city breaks fusing sights, culture and food. We loved this city and are long-overdue a visit back there. Enjoy!
Travel for travel's sake 