Less than a year ago, in early May 2018, the Duke and I traveled to Italy. Apart from Venice and Florence, we also visited Rome. The more days you can spend there to explore it the better, but 3 full days were quite enough for us to get a good flavor of this beautiful ancient city. Keep reading, for some tips and info that might get handy if you are planning a trip to la Città Eterna any time soon!
The Room
Just like in Venice and Florence, we stayed in an AirBnb instead of a hotel. The apartment was situated in a very central and touristic area near the Fontana di Trevi. We mostly got around the city on foot or by cab and we did not use the public transportation at all. The apartment was very pretty and spacious but sometimes smelled bad due to the very old sewer system under the city, so I am not going to suggest this one either.
The Food
Here you can find a place to eat any time of the day, it's not like in Venice that most restaurants and osterias close by 11pm! The best and most delicious was in Trastevere, Ombre Rosse, where you should definitely order pinsa and beer. Another one that I would suggest for great pasta dishes is near Piazza Navona and is named Cantina e Cucina. We had the most delicious pesto spaghetti ever!
The Gelato
I only had one gelato in Rome, since it was constantly raining and was a bit cold. You will find the gelateria right in front of the Fontana di Trevi and it is named Don Nino.
The Vatican
We visited the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica the first day of our stay in Rome. We spent almost an entire day inside the Vatican Museums and it wasn't enough! The buildings, the exhibits and their proportions are out of this world! You need days (maybe a whole week...) to see them all. My favorite exhibitions were the Greco-Roman, the Cappella Sistina and I think I stopped breathing when I stepped out the cathedral and saw the Saint Statues on the Colonnades of St Peter's Square floating above our heads. It's surreal!
Trastevere
On our second day, we decided that we should not to visit any museums and monuments and just stroll through the famous area of Trastevere. It is magical! But trust me, you have to see it with your own eyes. The cobblestone streets, the old colorful buildings and the famous vespas give "Roman Holiday" vibes all around.
Villa Borghese
On our third and final day we visited the famous Villa Borghese, a landscape garden containing a number of buildings, museums and attractions. We rented a golf cart for two hours and drove around the gardens. My favorite was the Temple of Aesculapius with wooden boats rowing around and ducks floating and diving on the little pond in front of it. So dreamy and romantic!
Other attractions
We saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Castel Sant' Angelo only on the outside, either there was no time or we were too tired.
Piazza di Spagna is very beautiful and looks so exotic with the palm trees. We also had our tea at the Babington's Tea Room, a little expensive but it was worth it. Pretty decor, very polite waiters and delicious menu. It is right beside the Spanish Steps, those that Audrey Hepburn was flirting with Gregory Peck at the Roman Holiday movie.
We managed to see Piazza Navona only for couple of minutes just before it started raining heavily and we had to ran for a shelter. We didn't take a single photo of the famous square and we got soaking wet!
Last but not least, Piazza del Poppolo is huge with extremely expensive -but not so beautiful- cafes around it, which we were not willing to pay, so we just passed through it.
You can see more photos from our trip to Rome over at my Instagram feed and my Instastories.
Feel free to ask me, if you have any questions, I will be happy to help.
xoxo
|barefoot duchess|
Photos by The Duke and myself
