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Italy : Rome - October 2007

Country Code: Dial for Italy

Not only is Rome a city of timeless beauty and layered history, but its streets teem with restaurants, bars and boutiques. Nancy Alsop shows you where to scoff, shop and quaff, taking you on a whistle stop tour of the ‘Eternal City’s’ classic hotspots, as well as a few little-known gems

Getting around

Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport

Bus: The Terravision bus is cheap (about €15 for a return), but the timetable less frequent – there’s approximately one bus every two hours and the journey takes 45 minutes.
Train: The Leonardo Express runs every 30 minutes into Termini station. The journey takes 35 minutes and costs €11.
Taxi: The journey from the airport to the city centre takes 50 minutes. Expect to pay around €40-60.
Tourist information: The main office is at 11 Via Parigi (, www.romaturismo.com).

Centro Storico

Vatican City has as much to offer the religiously devout as the aesthetically minded.

Sleep soundly – Escape the tourists at Hotel Bramante (24 Vicolo delle Palline, , hotelbramante.com, rooms from €160). It’s set in a 16th-century building, close to St Peters, but seemingly far from the crowds.

Culture vultures – The Sistine Chapel (Vatican Museum, Viale Vatico) is undoubtedly a must-see but don’t neglect the Vatican’s other masterpieces, from the museum’s ancient sculpture of Laocoon (Vatican Museum, Viale Vatico) to Michelangelo’s moving Pieta (Vatican Museum, Viale Vatico)

Must eat – Dino & Tony (60 Via Leone IV, tel. ) serves inexpensive, rustic cuisine at its best – hearty helpings delivered with Roman brusqueness.

Must drink – Make a beeline for Tastevin (16 Via Ciro Menotti). It boasts a superb wine cellar with well over 1000 Italian and French vintages, and serves delicious antipasti.

Shop til you drop – If religious memorabilia isn’t your thing, check out Via Cola di Rienzo where you can find a brace of delis.

Testaccio

The Testaccio market quarter is salt-of-the-earth Rome – and the hub of its burgeoning club scene.

Culture vultures – For quiet reflection, visit the resting place of Shelley and Keats at the Protestant Cemetery (6 Via Caio Cestio) near Piramide.

Must eat – Offal is a speciality at Checchino dal 1887 (30 Via di Monte Testaccio, tel. ).

Must drink – Bar del Mattatoio’s (3 Piazza O Giustiniani) is usually packed with committed clubbers.

Dance the night away – Fake (64 di Monte Testaccio) plays host to international DJs, spinning everything from electronica to hip hop.

Trastevere and Aventine

With its cobbled streets and homely trattorie, Trastevere is irrefutably charming.

Sleep soundly – Hotel Santa Maria (2 Vicolo del Piede, tel. , htlsantamaria.com, rooms from €165), provides a stylish respite from the bustling, café-lined streets.

Culture vultures – Pay a visit to Basilica Di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (Piazza Santa Cecilia), the 9th-century resting place of martyred St Cecilia, patron saint of music.

Must eat – Cave Canem (11 Piazza San Calisto, tel. ) does the best pizza in Rome – and it’s cheap. But get there early – crowds descend at 8pm, after which there are long queues.

Must drink – You’re spoiled for choice but Romans make (often mysterious) distinctions between the abundant bars. Ombre Rossi Caffé (12 Piazza Sant’Egidio), is currently in favour, perhaps because it boasts a vast selection of aperitifs and liqueurs.

Shop til you drop – La Cravatta Su Misura (12 Via Santa Cecilia) makes bespoke ties using wool and silk.

Compiled by Nancy Alsop