Rome Recommendations

By Aline Fusco | June 5, 2022 |

Restaurants 

  • Tonnarello – absolutely must go! waited in a 20-30 min line to be seated outside with cups of “line wine” (house wine on tap in a plastic cup).  They serve their pasta in skillets which keeps them warm longer. I got carbonara and Scott got cacio e pepe, plus we started with meatballs. We loved it so much we brought friends back there a few nights later. 
  • Jardin de Russie at the Hotel de Russie – 5 minute walk from Spanish steps. the food is amazing but overpriced, and there is a secret garden in the back.
  • Campo dei Fiori is a marketplace with a lot of bars and restaurants
  • Da Pancrazio – have heard it’s a good restaurant but we didn’t go
  • Trattoria Polese
  • Gelateria Sweet Life
  • Napoletano’s Pantheon – decent pizza near the Pantheon 
  • All’Antico Vinaio – massive sandwich shop near the Pantheon (also have it in Florence) 
  • Roma Sparita
  • Il Vero Alfredo – inventor of Alfredo. Felt touristy at first but inside are tons of pics of famous people who have been and the Alfredo was excellent so glad we went. We split one order and a caprese which was the right amount of food. Jodonnel rec. 
  • Lo Scopettaro
  • Ristorante Scarpone – supposed to be good but was kinda far from us 

Things to do/see 

  • Trevi Fountain – This is still an active fountain/aqueduct in Rome, which is mindblowing. Tons of tourists but worth it to walk by and get a pic. 
  • Pantheon – built as a temple to the Greek gods and is such an incredible Roman monument. It was the first thing we did when we got to Rome after the Trevi Fountain. It’s free so you don’t really need a tour guide but you can get one. The line to get in moved quickly but make sure your shoulders are covered. 
    • Close to this is the Piazza Navona which was a chariot racing course
  • Spanish Steps – I feel like we walked by here a million times. Our second hotel was near here and the fancy stores like Gucci where we got our shoes and belt. It’s pretty cool but full of tourists and those guys with roses. 
  • Trastevere – a neighborhood in Rome, cute, like west village, wander around 
    • Other side of the river from center city but goes up by vatican 
  • Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel – very worth booking a tour in advance that gets you in to cut the line. Once inside you’ll get your bluetooth earpiece so you can hear the guide. Ours was really good. He leads you through the museum and it ended at the Sistine Chapel which is where you have to be quiet and have your shoulders covered. Afterward, you could def stay and explore more but we booked it out of there. It’s a maze to get out of and they make you pass a bunch of gift shops and cafes. I also recommend going early before it gets too hot and crowded because there’s minimal AC inside. 
    • St Peter’s Basilica – we didn’t get to see this but wish we did. I think that would have been a separate tour within the Vatican or we could have walked through by ourselves if we wanted to. 
  • Villa Borghese museum in the Villa Borghese park – The museum has paintings by Caravaggios and Leonardo da Vinci. Even if you don’t go to the museum the park is pretty and you can rent bikes and ride around. Definitely worth it to go to!
  • Colosseum – def do! So cool. Book a tour. We did one in the evening (5pm) so it wasn’t as hot or crowded. The tour also included walking by the Roman Forum, which was cool. 

Shopping 

The high-end shopping is mostly around the Spanish Steps area.

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