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Italy : Rome - December 2007

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Romans like to get into the festive spirit nice and early, starting off with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December. Vibrant street markets sell nativity scenes, while designer stores roll out the red carpet. Avoid the pre-Christmas chaos of Rome’s centro storico with a gentle tour of the ‘Eternal City’s’ backstreets. Matt Barker gets the map out

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).

SAN LORENZO

Rome’s up-and-coming university quarter sits just around the corner from the hub of Termini station and has an enjoyable artsy air.

Culture vultures – Artifizio (33/a Via dei Latini) has a city-wide reputation for its cutting-edge clothes design, most of which is created by graduates of the nearby college of fashion. Claudio Sanò (67a Largo degli Osci) specialises in handmade leather bags.

Must eat – A one-time favourite haunt of Pier Paolo Passolini, Pommidoro (44 Piazza dei Sanniti, tel. ) serves local game, just right for cold-weather eating. Meanwhile, Arancia Blu (55/65 Via dei Latini, tel. ), is that rarest of beasts – a Roman vegetarian restaurant.

GHETTO AND SANT’ ANGELO

Across the river from Castel Sant’Angelo and down into the ghetto district lies a network of side streets and busy squares.

Sleep soundly – One of Rome’s best hotels, with prices to match, is St George Roma (62 Via Giulia, , stgeorgehotel.it, rooms from €350). The less expensive Hotel Rinascimento (122 Via del Pellegrino, tel. , hotelrinascimento.it, rooms from €150) is handily close to Campo dei Fiori.

Must eat – Roman street food is an underrated treat. Frattelli Paladini (29 Via del Governo Vecchio, tel. ) is the place for a piazza bianca. For a more leisurely meal, Il Pagliaccio (129a Via dei Banchi Vecchi, ) is one of the city’s finest restaurants, but booking (and a credit card) is essential.

Shop til you drop – Via del Governo Vecchio is a cobbled street full of antique stores and vintage clothes shops. The pick of the bunch must be Seconda Mano (No.85) and Abiti Usati (No.35).

REPUBBLICA AND VIA NAZIONALE

The grandeur of Via Nazionale and its offshoots tend to get overlooked, but they’re worth exploring.

Sleep soundly – Exedra (47 Piazza della Repubblica, , boscolohotels.com, rooms from €327) is set in a sweeping 19th-century palazzo. A little further down the price scale, Hotel Lirico (31 Via del Viminale, , hotelirico.com, rooms from €155) is a smart bolt-hole.

Culture vultures – Palazzo delle Esposizioni (194 Via Nazionale), the city’s largest exhibition space, has just reopened after five years of restoration work, and current shows include a Stanley Kubrick tribute. Teatro dell’Opera (1 Piazza Beniamino Gigli) is a grand old opera house that stages regular performances.

Dance the night away – ‘Groovy’ is surely the only way to describe Micca Club (7a Via Pietro Micca), a loungey, jazzy venue with live music, DJs and burlesque shows. It also hosts a Sunday retro market and has its own radio station.

OUTSIDE ROME

The hill town of Tivoli is a popular summer day trip, but it’s still worth a look out of season, when you can discover its rich heritage pretty much by yourself. Trains depart regularly from Rome’s Tiburtina station and take just under an hour.

Sleep soundly – The regal splendour of Villa D’Este (1 Piazza Trento, Tivoli) dates from the 1550s, and the garden is dominated by fountains. The anarchic sprawl of Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa) sits just outside Tivoli – there’s a regular bus service from the train station – and is the size of a large village. The new Roma & Più Pass (romapass.it) allows holders to visit the myriad sights and attractions dotted throughout the countryside around Rome and along the coastline for reduced prices.

Compiled by Matt Barker