Roman holiday- restaurants? + what to see in Rome (apart from the obvious!)

[Minitoots]

We're going to Rome 15th Feb for a long weekend- any insider tips on good places to visit other than the obvious attractions? We are an artist/designer and an architect and like lesser known, unusual places / things to do as well as seeing the sights on the tourist trail.

thanks!

[rendelharris]

Been a while (too long!) so not sure about accommodation, sure Airbnb will offer many good things. One cool place not many visit is the Torre Argentina, it's a complex of temple ruins (including the spot Caesar was assassinated) but also a cat sanctuary where volunteers look after feral cats. It's one of those places that remind you that Rome has so much history the Romans hardly see it as such!

[Minitoots]

sounds good, thanks rendelharris.

[BrandNewGuy]

Try the Testaccio district and just south of it for authentic Rome and some great buildings ? many of them old industrial buildings and converted to new uses:

http://www.archidiap.com/opera/gazometro/

https://www.mattatoioroma.it/

http://www.centralemontemartini.org/

Testaccio is just south of the Aventine Hill, which is a quiet and leafy place to stay and handy for the Colosseum, Forum etc too.

[edcam]

Go to the Trastevere district. It?s fantastic. If you can get a table, eat at Glass.

[womanofdulwich]

We stayed in the Campo Fiori area. It was lovely but really noisy at night.

[kate7]

A few suggestions.....The huge William Kentridge mural on the Tiber embankment wall, Triumphs and Laments, between Ponte Sisto amd Ponte Massimo is well worth seeing. You can also see the inside of the Palazzo Farnese ( the Carracci room is amazing) but you have to book at least a week in advance online as it is the French Embassy now, and they only allow a few visits every week. see [www.inventerrome.com]

The Villa Giulia ( now the Etruscan Museum) is an architectural 16th century gem and The Centrale Montemartini Museum in the Ostiense district, in an old power station is magnificent and is always almost empty.

[IlonaM]

Did you see the recent BBC series Rome Unpacked? If not the episodes and link to OU info about Rome is available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09l64hd

They showed some very interesting, accessible art (often off the beaten track) and areas which you might find interesting.

You can download a free OU booklet on Rome at http://www.open.edu/openlearn/romeunpacked

[Carrie]

If you are going to go to the obvious attractions e.g the Coliseum then a good tip is to actually buy the tickets at the Palatine Hill ( the ticket covers the Palatine Hill, the Forum and the Coliseum) - much shorter queues at the Palatine Hill and then you can just swan into the Coliseum bypassing the massive queues.

And if you are near the Coliseum this is somewhere else to visit http://www.culturaltravelguide.com/about-rome-san-clemente-church

Another good tip I got was to go to the Vatican at lunchtime - the queues tend to be much shorter then as everyone else is having lunch (the tour groups tend to go in the morning) - there is also a quick way down to St Peter's Basilica from the Sistine Chapel which is taken by the tour groups (and not available to general punters - the security guards are pretty hot at stopping the general public from using it)but you have to be prepared to hang around and tag onto the back of a tour group that you look like you fit in with(i.e not Japanese tourists or surly teenagers). The general route takes you out of a door on the left but the tour groups go out of a door on the right which takes you down steps and then round into the basilica without having to queue up for security checks again - you do miss seeing the famous staircase that way but might be a sacrifice worth making!

[bawdy-nan]

This place was lovely and not very busy - layers and layers of Rome

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/attractions/basilica-di-san-clemente/a/poi-sig/389439/359975

Of the touristy places:

The Capitoline Museum(s) was spectacular and VERY quiet (really recommend this)

The Galleria Borghese was absolutely worth it and worth booking in advance

The Vatican museums were hideously busy, St Peter's not so bad.

[Minitoots]

Really good suggestions everyone, thankyou.

Kate7- I just tried to book the Palazzo Farnese after seeing it on Rome Unpacked and it's already fully booked- next time! Keep the great ideas coming in!

[Ampersand]

Another vote for the Capitoline Museums and the Galleria Borghese - both of which are amazing.

If you are interested in Ancient Rome I'd also suggest the Palazzo Altemps and Palazzo Massimo which form part of the Museo Nazionale Romano which are both pretty central and not very busy and can be visited on the same ticket I think.

Also the ceiling at the Sant'Ignazio Jesuit church or for that matter the Pantheon which is close by.

It is also worth remembering St. Peter's opens at 7am so can be visited early if you are staying nearby when it is usually practically empty.

[kate7]

Another really interesting visit that requires pre booking is the ancient Roman cemetery under St Peters - http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_pietro/it/necropoli/informazioni.htm. You come up in St Pater's and so avoid the queues to the Cathedral. Do try to get to Bramante's cloister attached to the Santa Maria della Pace, which is an architectural delight; the cafe upstairs is great and you can view the Raphael in the church at eye level through a window in the cafe at he end of the corridor.

[stringvest]

How amazing, my friend lived in Rome for a while, but I never got there! I REALLY REALLY want to see the Michangelo sculptures. Its on my bucket list. My friend used to help cats. HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME.

[DaveR]

A very left field suggestion (but maybe good for architects) would be EUR - a suburb that was originally the intended site of the 1942 World Expo and consequently has a whole bunch of Fascist era "Rationalist" buildings, as well as some interesting post war areas used for the 1960 Olympics, and a couple of galleries. There are also plenty of shops and places to eat, and it's a few stops from the centre on the underground. I only know the area at all because I stayed there with friends a couple of times many years ago, and if you visit I suspect you may be pretty much the only tourists!

[Loz]

Only obvious stuff, I'm afraid.

1) We stayed here - really recommend it. http://www.bbapeaceofrome.it

2) If you are going, buy tour tickets for the Colosseum and Vatican online before you go, you'll save a lot of time in queues for the Colosseum and unless you book ahead, you may not get into the Vatican.

3) If you do the Vatican, in the far right corner of the Sistine chapel (after you see the famous ceiling), there is a door that tour groups use, which takes you directly to St. Peters Basilica. There is usually a guard on it, but not always, and you can often slip in with tour groups. We managed it and it was well worth it as it saves you having to go out the Vatican, walking around and standing in the long line for security (again).

[bawdy-nan]

We were expecting Rome to be very expensive (eating wise) but found it surprisingly cheap. The ice-cream's lovely and v cheap and you can get very good meals for not a great deal. We stayed in Trastevere and found some lovely restaurants including a place to get pizza by weight (you can sit down and there;s drinks too). It was incredibly delicious and incredibly cheap (fed a family of 4 for 20 euros) http://www.pizzerialaboccaccia.it/ This was a nice eat-in pizza placehttp://darpoeta.com/ This place was good value and delicious https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/restaurants/trattoria-da-lucia/a/poi-eat/389059/359975

If you're looking for something quite extraordinary - one of the best evenings we had was in a restaurant where the waiters perform a ribald kind of cabaret... hard to explain really but def worth a look. Went there by accident. Cencio La Parolaccia: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1049551-Reviews-Cencio_La_Parolaccia-Rome_Lazio.html

[Minitoots]

Once again, thanks for all these really useful tips - very good to hear about unusual restaurants too as it's a birthday treat.

They should start a separate 'travel tips' section on the forum!

We'll need a month to see everything rather than 4 days!

x

[spark67]

Trastevere a great place to visit in Rome !

[Sazzle30]

Book a private tour of the Coliseum this is the legit direct site http://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket.cfm?office=Colosseo%2C%20Sotterranei%20e%20Terzo%20Ordine&id=0&evento=6

And the Vatican museum tour at night http://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-in-notturna.html

To eat or if you can do the tastings (wine lots of wine, cheese, meat) is well worth doing

http://www.roscioli.com/

[Minitoots]

the Vatican tour at night sounds good, Sazzle30 but according to the web link they don't do them in the winter - they start again in April. the other ideas are good, thanks. I'll just have to go back for the Vatican at night!

[Seabag]

I?ve eaten here, it?s a place I?d go back to. They cook beef over a wood fire among other things. It?s pretty much attended by local and residents of the city.

I like the formality of it, not starchy, but waiting staff have a professionalism about them. Don?t be put off if you feel they?re a little cold, they warm to you after a while.

https://goo.gl/maps/ZcR758At77v Dal Toscano Restaurant

Via Germanico, 58-60, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

+39 06 3972 5717

[BJL]

If you like great ice cream, try Giolitti - http://www.giolitti.it/en/

[Siduhe]

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