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Parts of the city are perfectly mediaeval; Renaissance and Baroque buildings soar skyward, and breathtaking sculpture sits on every corner. With the Vatican in town, Easter and Christmas are highlights on Rome’s calendar, but pilgrims of an artistic persuasion flock to the tiny city state all year to adore Raphael and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes. Rome is also about the art of life – food, fashion and fun are enjoyed with religious zeal in this most sensual of capitals. Live la dolce vita as the locals do: colonise a café in the Campo de’ Fiori; linger longer over rustic pasta in a traditional trattoria; let your feet wander and your eyes roam.
Think of Rome and chances are you’ll imagine Italy’s gilded youth zipping around astride hornet-like mopeds. Do asFellini’s dashing journalist Marcello did and scoot the sights aboard a vintage Vespa or polished Piaggio with Happy Rent (+39 06 4202 0675; www.happyrent.com). Hire one and wobble wherever your wheels take you, or let their drivers ferry you on a city tour. If bikes just ain’t your thing, you can also hire cute-as-a-button mini motors, including Smart cars and Fiat 500s.
… taking a stroll round the lively farmer’s market in Campo de’ Fiori near Piazza Navona – its colourful stalls of flowers, fruit and veg set up every morning.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Rome
Hotel de Russie, a couples' nest and family-friendly boutique hotel in centre of Rome, has five-star comfort, style and – a well-kept city secret – elegant terraced gardens where guests can escape the fashionable buzz of the Eternal City.
When in Rome… do as the Romans do and set up camp in a refined private apartment. A grown-up boutique bolthole, Crossing Condotti gives you privacy and freedom to do as you please – and it’s right next to the Spanish Steps.
This apartment-style boutique hotel in Rome’s most couture-conscious quarter is an elegant outpost of the Ferragamo fashion empire, and Portrait Suites' rooftop terrace boasts one of the best views in the city.
With only four refined and elegant rooms, the wonderful Il Palazzetto (formerly the International Wine Academy of Rome) is one of Rome's most intimate boutique hotels and boasts an absurdly perfect view of the Spanish Steps.
The grand boutique apartments of Residenza Napoleone III in Rome is akin to the home of an aristocratic relative than a hotel, with silk-draped canopy beds, oil paintings and antiques.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
March/April Good Friday: the Via Crucis, a torch-lit procession from the Colosseum up the Monte Palatino reenacting the 14 stations of the cross. On Easter Sunday, the Pope gives his blessing from the balcony of St Peter’s (www.vatican.va). May Primo Maggio, the annual May Day festival in Piazza San Giovanni, welcomes spring with a big free stage gig (www.primomaggio.com). June–July Around Sound, a month of nightly jazz at La Palma Club (www.lapalmaclub.it). 29 June The feast day of Rome’s patron saints Peter and Paul shuts the city down. September Photography festival FotoGrafia (www.fotografiafestival.it). La Notte Bianca keeps you up all night with music, drama and dance – perfect for 24-hour party people (www.lanottebianca.it). RomaEuropa Festival: big-hitting culture (www.romaeuropa.net). October Celluloid is celebrated at the Rome Film Fest (www.romacinemafest.org). November The annual Roma Jazz Festival brings bebop, swing and all things snazzy to the Eternal City (www.romajazzfestival.it). 25 December The pope’s Christmas blessing is delivered at noon.
A veritable institution: one of Rome’s oldest ice-cream parlours, Giolitti dates back to 1900 and is within my-cone-hasn’t-melted distance of the Pantheon. Classic interiors complement the Italian versions of knickerbocker glory and peach melba.
40 via Uffici del Vicario, Rome 00186
Handily located near the Trevi fountain, this gelateria is claimed by many to make the best ice cream in Rome, if not the whole country. Flavours are seasonal and made with top-quality ingredients. Try a classic stracciatella, pistachio or hazelnut, or something more exotic, such as liquorice root, green tea, or saffron.
42 via delle Panetteria, Rome 00187
Gusto is a huge restaurant, pizzeria, deli, wine bar, cookstore and bookshop all in one, good for weekend buffet brunch when you refill as many times as you like and pay for what you eat by weight (of the food, not of yourself once you’ve finished). Open daily, 12.30–3pm and 7.30 till midnight.
9 Piazza Augusto Imperatore, 00186 Rome
Arancia Blu is a stylish, alternative, urban bistro with a great wine list. Vegetarian restaurants are a rarity in these parts – but this boho babe is a contender for Rome’s best.
55–65 via dei Latini, Rome
Quiet, with soft music and subdued lighting, this two-roomed restaurant is a charming, romantic place to sample an array of inventive Sardinian specialities.
9 Vicolo del Malpasso, 00186 Rome
Eat in one of the best fish restaurants in Rome, while enjoying a front-row view of the Piazza Farnese. Praise has been heaped on the ambiance, the service and the food here: come and try it for your yourself.
50 Piazza Farnese, Rome
Located behind the Piazza Navona, sometime celeb-haunt Santa Lucia provides comfortable outdoor seating and simple, traditional Italian food such as pastas, seafood and vegetarian dishes.
12 Largo Febo, Rome
A wine bar that also does very good food. Choose from a menu of some 20 wines by the glass at the bar and/or eat downstairs in one of the several wood-panelled rooms. The menu is relatively extensive, and covers plenty of snackable ground from cured meats and crostini via pastas and grilled meats to wood-fire-oven pizzas.
12 via delle Fontanelle, Rome
This stellar addition to Rome’s list of Michelin-starred restaurants serves exciting Mediterranean dishes, with unusual twists on classic flavours. We loved chef Fabio Baldassarre's beetroot ice-cream. Open daily from 7.30pm.
53 via Giraud, 00186 Rome
It’s well worth tracking down this gem of a trattoria on a cobbled backstreet. It's packed to the rafters with locals and specialises in simple, typically Roman dishes, such as spaghetti with pecorino and pancetta, and fried artichoke hearts.
2 Vicolo del Mattonato, Trastavere
A drink in this dark, atmospheric spot in an ancient wine cellar is the perfect ending to a visit to the nearby Spanish Steps. Enter through a discreet door and decide whether to opt for a tiny table in the back, or stand at the bar where wine bottles are stashed in every nook and cranny.
76B via delle Croce, Rome
This quirky café-bar in up-and-coming Trastevere is housed in a former garage (thus the name, 'Brakes and clutches'. The patrons tend to spill out into the square outside, cocktails in hand. Also a nice spot for Sunday brunch or a quick morning espresso.
4–6 via del Politeama, Trastavere, Rome
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
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