Ah, the eternal city! Rome is certainly one of the most exciting cities in Europe, if not worldwide. No matter if you are interested in history, art, religion, shopping or culinary delights – Rome has it all. I personally had been once as a teenager, which is long enough ago (yep, I am getting old) for another visit. The long weekend over Pentecost offered a great opportunity for a trip.
Accommodation
Our hotel had the perfect location half-way between the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain; a boutique hotel with a generous breakfast buffet (for Italian standards), called Siena Hotel. The room size was decent and value for money was great, given that it was the Pentecost weekend. The only complaint would be that the two twin beds were less than 2m long, which proved to be difficult for my travel companion. Thus, I’d advise to book a double room with a double bed: I peeked into one of these rooms and that bed seemed to be long and wide enough for two.
Sights / Activities
Where do I start? There is so much to see and experience in Rome; it would be enough for several trips. We started with the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. To visit the inside, it is advisable to book tickets online beforehand (this is true for most attractions in Rome).
The Trevi Fountain for me is most beautiful during the night. You could challenge yourself and find a time where it is not overcrowded. Let me know if you do! 😉
The Spanish Steps are worth visiting during the day and during the night. Rome in general does a great job of lighting their attractions during nighttime. A visit to the Spanish Steps is best combined with some shopping in the surrounding streets. You’ll find high fashion, but also local boutiques with a nice selection. One great find for me was the coffee shop/delicatessen called Castroni. I was looking for ginseng coffee as I got addicted to it. It is regular coffee mixed with ginseng(-syrup) and tastes milder than normal coffee, a bit sweeter too. You’ll find it in most cafés in Italy. Sadly, I haven’t found it in Switzerland yet. Thus, I bought a few packages with Nespresso-compatible capsules. 🙂 I still have to find out if Castroni also delivers abroad – keep your fingers crossed for me.
Next stop was the historic Rome with the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus and we then moved on to the Piazza Venezia. If you are in this area, it is easy to walk over to Trastevere, another district of Rome.
Last, but not least we also visited the Vatican:
To get around in Rome, I would recommend to buy hop-on, hop-off bus tickets, as the two metro lines only serve the upper part of the city. There are several providers and they all have almost the same routes. We selected Gray Line (pink buses labeled “I Love Rome”), as they have a high frequency and during summer months, they also offer night rides. 48h valid tickets are a good deal as they only cost slightly more than 24h ones. Most companies let you buy tickes on the bus, so there is no need to buy them online beforehand. We paid EUR 29 each and could use the bus for two days and also during their night rides (last bus was around 10.30pm).
Cuisine
As we had breakfast included, we didn’t look for full lunch, but rather for a snack. In the Spanish Steps area, we found the Ciampini Bistrot to provide splendid focaccia (the classic one which is basically pure pizza-dough baked and then topped with wathever you want) and good coffee too at – for this area – reasonable prices.
They have tables to sit outside on two sides, so your chances are good to find a space in the shades. I personally loved the ginseng coffee:
As most cafés in Rome, they offer snacks to go with your wine during aperetif hours (usually during approx. 5-7pm). Waiters might not always be the fastest ones, but remember you are in Italy and on holidays, so just take it easy. 🙂 Ciampini has another venue, which is just one street from the Bistrot away, but prices are 20-30% higher (EUR 3.50 for espresso instead of EUR 2.80). Admittedly, we spend all our midday breaks at this bistrot, as we just felt so comfortable and the location was unbeatable.
Ciampini Bistrot
Via della Fontanella di Borghese, 59, Rome
Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs 9.30am-11pm, Fri-Sat 9.30am-midnight, Sun 11am-midnight.
When in Rome, you definitely have to get an ice cream. There are many providers and many opinions where to get the best one. A big favorite for me is Fatamorgana – which is also a favorite among the locals. They have several locations, however we always went to the venue at Via Laurina (in the shopping district). A cup with two flavors and optional whipped cream costs EUR 2.50. Their flavors change from day to day and they have some great creations, like peach with wine, zabaione or belle hélène. Flavors are intense, but taste natural and the ice creams are not overly creamy or sugary.
Gelateria Fatamorgana
Via Laurina, 10, Rome (for other locations check the website)
Opening Hours: daily 12pm-midnight.
As we saw many Italians go into the Venchi ice cream shop, we also tried it once. Venchi is also a chocolate shop. Theiy offer less variety than Fatamorgana, prices were higher and whipped cream would have cost extra. Plus we noticed some tension among the staff, none of them seemed to be happy to be working there. All in all, I wouldn’t go there again. The ice cream was good, but also pricey (two flavors for EUR 3.50).
Venchi
Via della Croce, 25/26, Rome
Opening Hours: daily 10.30am-10pm.
On the first night, we went to La Terrasse for dinner, mainly because of the fantastic view over Rome:
The restaurant is located in the Sofitel hotel and serves French/Italian cuisine. They offered a nice variety of bread and grissini with olive oil to start the evening. As amuse bouche we were served smoked salmon with horseradish.
As an appetizer, we had crab meat with salmon caviar and aspargus with a poached egg. Presentation of the dishes was flawless, but the aspargus dish was missing an additional dimension of flavor. Maybe some mustard on the poached egg would have given it an edge.
The appetizers were followed by tagliatelle with cheese sauce and shrimp tartare and a tenderloin medallion with roasted duck liver and jerusalem artichoke and potato millefeuille. The portion was generously sized and the duck liver almost too much, but the flavor combination of both dishes was great.
For dessert, we opted for an assiette gourmande (chef’s mini-dessert selection) and Tiramisù. There are two dishes that I am very, very picky about: Risotto and Tiramisù. The presentation of this Tiramisù was innovative, unfortunately the lady fingers were not soaked enough in coffee/liquor. The mascarpone cream was very tasty though.
All in all, I can recommend this restaurant. Food is worth its price and service was impeccable. You mainly go there for the view; so make sure you get a table reserved at the window or on the terrace.
La Terrasse
Hotel Sofitel, Via Lombardia 47, Rome
Opening Hours: daily 12-3pm and 7-10.30pm.
Reservation recommended, online reservation possible.
On our second night, we spoilt ourselves with a visit to Michelin starred Per Me – Giulio Terrinoni: read the review here.
On our last evening, we opted for a restaurant serving tradtional Romanian food: La Trattoria Sora Lella. Although a bit touristy, it is also popular with locals and located on the island to Trastevere. We ate the traditional Italian way, which means pasta first and then a meat dish. On the left you see homemade gnocchi all’amatriciana (a tomato sauce with bacon) and tagliatelle with fish sauce. I loved the gnocchi and the sauce was creamy, but not too salty (a risk factor with this pasta sauce), my travel companion was also very happy with his choice.
For the second course, we were served Roman-Style Veal tripe with tomato sauce and involtini with tomato sauce and bell peppers. For the fillet and steak eaters among you, just know that the traditional Roman kitchen is not about prime cuts, but more about offals and parts that only become tender after hours of cooking. You are rewarded with great flavor though!
For dessert we shared a portion of zabaione ice cream with locally harvested strawberries.
Service was attentive and the dishes were all spot-on. However, the atmosphere was rather busy, so I woudn’t recommend this place for a romantic dinner. We also left quite soon after finishing the dessert. It doesn’t invite you to stay much longer.
Trattoria Sora Lella
Via di Ponte Quattro Capi, 16, Rome
Opening Hours: daily 12.30-3pm and 7.30-11pm.
Reservaton recommended, online reservation possible.
Rome also offers a lot in terms of bars and clubs. A cool bar for all gin lovers out there is the Gin Corner, located in the Hotel Adriano. They have an incredible waste selection of gins and the bar is nicely decorated. I wouldn’t necessarly spend the whole night there though, as it still has the atmosphere of an hotel bar.
The Gin Corner
Hotel Adriano, Via di Pallacorda, 2, Rome
Opening Hours: daily 6pm-midnight.
Conclusion
Rome is a city that is always worth a trip. There is so much to see that you just have to visit it several times. My advice would be to not overplan and to just spend some hours sitting in a nice café and watching the bustling city. There is hardly something more relaxing than that.
Travel Tips
- For the main attractions, usually tickets can be purchased online in advance. I highly recommend it.
- Do not travel in July and August. Not just because of the heat, but because many stores and restaurants are closed during this time.
- Uber: I looked up the fare from the hotel to a restaurant and it was EUR 14, on high times more like EUR 20. The taxi charged us EUR 9 for the same ride. Ask the concierge in your hotel to call you a taxi. The official taxis offer fair prices. Uber is not always the answer.
- I found romewise.com a helpful source for restaurant and bar ideas.
