City trip Rome: these are the best insider tips 2025

Rome is for me like Paris. I can come here a hundred times and never get bored. Even though I lived there – four months, mind you, but still – I keep longing for it. I often get questions from people for insider tips about Rome on where to go when they are in the most beautiful city in the world, so I give them. All personally experienced and tested city trip Rome tips.

1. Sleeping in Rome: where to sleep

I haven't tested all the hotels in Rome – because there are so many and because we lived there and often stayed with friends when we were there – but I have one that meets all our expectations. So when you're there, you don't need to look any further. The hotel is called Hotel Forum. It's not hip, far from it. So if you're looking for that, I would skip this hotel. But it is classic, you can get there by car (a rarity in Rome, because you can't enter the centro storico without a vignette) and when you step out of the hotel, you're immediately at the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum. It's also reasonably priced, it has a rooftop bar, and you have breakfast in a great open space with a view of all the antiquities.
hotelforum.com

2. The best restaurants in Rome according to a local (me)

In Rome, you naturally eat well, but be careful: Roman cuisine is originally a ‘poor’ cuisine, which uses a lot of organ meats and other “rejected” meats. The Romans were not rich and thus used a lot of meat that was considered inferior. The funny thing is that they prepared it so deliciously that at one point the pope also asked for the ‘poor’ food because he heard so many praise stories about it.

I’m not very happy with calf intestines or kidneys, tripe, or any of the cow’s stomachs. So keep your culinary dictionary handy when looking at the menu.

That said: you can eat exceptionally well in Rome. If you want traditional, I would go eat at Checco er Carettiere in Trastevere – that's the Jordaan of Rome.
checcoercarettiere.it – I find it the most fun on their patio. I've already made a reservation and can already think about what I'm going to eat.

Another favorite is Gusto, gusto.it, which you find just behind the shopping streets. I would – weather permitting – reserve outside, fuori, so you can enjoy the terrace. Inside you have a pizzeria and a more formal section. Choose what fits the moment. It's the perfect choice if you're in the mood for something less traditional and a bit hipper. Tip: they also have nice gifts. We received the cooking apron years ago from our friends in Rome and we still use it.

Then a personal favorite: Trattoria Monti, in the Monti district. I actually named our dog after it. I'm going there this summer and haven't been there for a while, so I don't know if what I'm writing is still exactly the same, but in my time it was run by two brothers and their mother. Mother cooked with what she found at the market that day and the brothers served it all deliciously. We've taken people there who go back every time they are in Rome. Trattoria Monti, Via di San Vito 13.

You can enjoy drinks at Campo dei Fiori – you can sit there for hours and watch the spectacle of the city.

3. Culture in Rome: must-see attractions

Colosseum + Palatine

Of course, you want to go to the Colosseum. The line to get in is long. My tip: buy a ticket for the Palatine – one of the seven hills on which Rome is built, near the Colosseum – and then you immediately have access to the Colosseum and skip that long line. Thank me later.
If a gladiator approaches you and offers to take a photo with you, say no. Because he will pose very nicely with you and then later casually ask for 50 euros. Thank me later II.

Galleria Borghese

The Galleria Borghese is perhaps the most beautiful museum I have ever been to. You see works by Bernini, Caravaggio, Lippi, and more, and you can immediately enter the beautiful park.

The Vatican and papal palace

A case of blushing: I have never been to the Sistine Chapel. The line was too long and unfortunately, I don't know any shortcuts. But just walking into Vatican City and entering the church is an experience you won't forget quickly. The grandeur, the beauty, the nuns and priests – it's amazing. And maybe you'll go very early and tell me how stunning the Sistine Chapel really is.

Santa Maria Maggiore

Beautiful, large church near Termini station (and near Trattoria Monti – maybe you can combine it) where you see beautiful mosaics, a staircase by Bernini, and where various high-ranking individuals are buried: Clement VIII, Clement IX, Nicholas IV, Paul V, Pius V, and Sixtus V. The famous artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini is also buried here, as well as Saint Jerome.
If you're there, I would definitely walk to one of the AS Roma stores to buy a shirt of your favorite football player.

Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Angels)

Perfect if you've walked through Trastevere. Then you walk over the bridge to Castel Sant’Angelo. This fortress plays a big role in the Bernini Mystery and in the last act of the opera Tosca. The fortress was built after a procession in which people begged God to put an end to the plague epidemic. Then the archangel Michael is said to have appeared, sheathing his sword – which would be a sign that the epidemic would stop. To thank God and the archangel, Pope Pius II had this chapel built.
In my memory, it's free, and you have a great view over the city.

Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain & Pantheon

Go to Piazza Navona, throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, and take a look at that beautiful light in the Pantheon.

4. Extra tips for your city trip to Rome

• Rent a Vespa and ride to Gianicolo – that's really my favorite place on earth.
• Tour to Testaccio, where the slaughterhouses used to be but is now a very cool neighborhood.
• Shopping is done around Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti.
• Let your jaw drop when you walk up to Piazza del Popolo.

In summary: your city trip Rome tips

• Sleeping at Hotel Forum – central and classic and who knows, you might see me there having a good time
• Eating at local favorites: Checco er Carettiere, Gusto, and Trattoria Monti, take the ravioli with truffle
• Skip-the-line tip for Colosseum via Palatine, you're going to be so grateful
• Visit to Galleria Borghese, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Castel Sant’Angelo and take photos!
• Vespa trip, Testaccio, shopping fun, and Piazza Popolo moment, by the way, there's a great restaurant there, can't miss it