City trip to Rome: here are the best insider tips 2025.

Rome is for me like Paris. I can go there a hundred times without ever getting tired. I have even lived there – just four months, but still – and I always long to go back. I often get questions from people who want insider tips on what to do when in the world's most beautiful city, so here they come. All tips are personally experienced and tested during my city trips to Rome.

1. Stay in Rome: here's where you should sleep

I haven't tested all the hotels in Rome – there are simply too many and since we have lived there, we often stayed with friends when we returned – but I have one hotel that meets all our expectations. So if you stay there, you don't need to look further. The hotel is called **Hotel Forum**. It's not hip, far from it. So if you're looking for that, skip this hotel. But it is classic, you can get there by car (something unique in Rome since you can't drive into the centro storico without permission) and when you step out of the hotel, you are right at the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum. It is also affordable, has a rooftop bar, and you have breakfast in a fantastic open dining room with a view of the ancient ruins.
hotelforum.com

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

In Rome, you obviously eat well, but keep in mind that Roman cuisine originally is a “poor man's food” where a lot of offal and other “rated” meat parts are used. The Romans were not rich and made use of the meat that others considered less valuable. The funny thing is that they cooked the food so well that eventually even the Pope started asking for the “poor man's food” because he had heard so much good about it.
I don't exactly get happy from calf intestines, kidneys, cow stomach, or any of the cow's stomachs, so keep your culinary lexicon close when reading the menu.

That said: you can eat incredibly well in Rome. If you want to eat traditionally, you should go to Checco er Carettiere in Trastevere – Rome's “Jordaan.”.
checcoercarettiere.it – I love their courtyard the most. I have already booked and know what I will order.

Another favorite is Gusto (gusto.it), which you find just behind the shopping streets. If the weather allows, I would book a table outside, fuori. Then you sit nicely on the terrace. Inside there is a pizzeria and a slightly more formal part, choose what suits the moment. Perfect if you want something less traditional and a bit more modern. Tip: they also have nice gifts. We received an apron from our friends in Rome several years ago and we still use it.

Then a personal favorite: Trattoria Monti in the Monti area (yes, we actually named our dog after this place). I'm going there this summer, it's been a while since I was there, so I don't know if everything is exactly as before, but when I was there, the place was run by two brothers and their mother. She cooked with what she found at the market that day and the brothers served all the good food. We have taken friends there who since then always return when they are in Rome.
Trattoria Monti, Via di San Vito 13.

For a drink: sit at Campo dei Fiori – you can sit there for hours and enjoy the city's spectacle.

3. Culture in Rome: sights you must not miss

Colosseum + Palatine

Of course, you want to visit the Colosseum. The line to get in is long. My tip: buy a ticket to the Palatine (one of Rome's seven hills, right by the Colosseum) and you will get entry to the Colosseum at the same time and skip the long line. Thank us later. If a gladiator comes up and offers a picture, say no. He happily poses with you and then demands 50 euros. Thank us later II.

Galleria Borghese

Galleria Borghese is perhaps the most beautiful museum I have ever visited. You see works by Bernini, Caravaggio, Lippi, and more, and then you can stroll in the beautiful park.

The Vatican and the Pope's palace

A bit embarrassing, but I have never visited the Sistine Chapel. The line was too long and unfortunately, I don't know any shortcuts. But just stepping into Vatican City and entering the basilica is an experience you won't forget. The grandeur, the beauty, the nuns, and the priests – it's fantastic. And maybe you go there early and tell me how beautiful the Sistine Chapel is in reality.

Santa Maria Maggiore

A beautiful, large church near Termini (and near Trattoria Monti – perfect to combine) where you see beautiful mosaics, a staircase by Bernini, and the graves of several popes: Clement VIII, Clement IX, Nicholas IV, Paul V, Pius V, and Sixtus V. The famous artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini and the saint Jerome are also buried here. While you're there, take the opportunity to go into an AS Roma store and buy a shirt of your favorite player.

Castel Sant’Angelo

Perfect after a walk in Trastevere: cross the bridge to **Castel Sant’Angelo**. The fortress plays a big role in *Angels and Demons* and in the final act of the opera *Tosca*. It was built after a procession where they prayed to God to stop the plague, when the archangel Michael is said to have appeared and put his sword in the sheath, which was interpreted as the epidemic would end. To thank God and the archangel, Pope Pius II had the chapel built. As I remember, it was free, and you get a fantastic view of the city.

Piazza Navona, Fontana di Trevi & Pantheon

Visit Piazza Navona, throw a coin in the Fontana di Trevi, and watch the magical light in the Pantheon.

4. Extra tips for your city trip to Rome

• Rent a Vespa and drive up to Gianicolo – my favorite place on earth.
• Explore Testaccio, which used to be a slaughter district but is now a really cool area.
• Shopping around Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti.
• Drop your jaw when you step into Piazza del Popolo.

Summary: your city trip tips for Rome

• Stay at **Hotel Forum** – central and classic, maybe we'll see each other there.
• Eat at local favorites: Checco er Carettiere, Gusto, and Trattoria Monti, order ravioli with truffle.
• Skip-the-line tips to the Colosseum via the Palatine, you will thank me.
• Visit Galleria Borghese, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Castel Sant’Angelo, and take lots of pictures.
• Vespa tour, Testaccio, shopping, and a magical Piazza del Popolo moment – there is a fantastic restaurant there that you must not miss.