Hotels, restaurants and things to do in Rome

From Cosmopolitan

Ah, Italy. Where the pasta is plenty, the prosecco is cheap and the sun is (more often than not) shining.

What better part of Italy to explore than its capital? There's an impressive building which turns your head on every corner, world famous monuments like the Colosseum and the aforementioned dreamy food and wine.

With a flight time of just over two hours from the UK, and some pretty cheap deals through airlines like Easyjet, Ryanair and Vueling, it's pretty straightforward, and very worth it, to take a long weekend in the Eternal City.

Here's what you need to know:

Where to stay:

The Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is in an ideal location, around a 10-15 minute walk from must-see hot spots like the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain but not so slap bang in the centre of the city that you feel overwhelmed.

The five-star-hotel dates back quite far - like a lot of the buildings in the city - and first opened in the 1890s. But, do not fear, one thing it is not, is a stuffy old hotel. It's decorated gorgeously, the bed insanely comfy and the waterfall-style shower dreamy.

The best thing about the hotel, however, is the rooftop terrace where breakfast is served in the morning and drinks and dinner in the evening (the mojitos are fab). The views are incredible and look out over the Vatican including St Peter's Basilica. Non-hotel guests often come to the terrace in the evening because it's got that good a reputation and it is a very worthy contender for a strong Instagram post. The breakfast is really nice too with the classic options as well as yoghurts, cereals (with a variety of milk options), fruit and tons of danish pastries.

The hotel is just down the road from the Villa Borghese gardens, a huge stretch of green land leading to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the Spanish Steps and nearby Piazza. There's lots going on in the gardens too, when we were there there was an actual gelato festival taking place. There's also plenty of nearby restaurants, coffee shops, cute little boutiques and souvenir shops if you fancy a browse.

What we did...

When it comes to history and culture, it's difficult to find a European city that rivals Rome, as you can be sure to find a gorgeous Piazza or ancient ruins of some sort on practically every street (or Via, as the locals say).

Let's start with the Colosseum, where gladiators use to fight (often to the death) in front of the Emperor in Ancient Rome. Right next door is the Forum, which are ancient Roman government buildings.

For sightseeing, we suggest you grab a Roma Pass. You can get one for 48 hours, for €28, or 72 hours, for €38.50, and with that you get free transport on the metro and some buses and two free museum tickets - including the Colosseum. To be honest, it's worth doing for the Colosseum alone as the queue will be way shorter using your pass.

Make sure you also stop by the Trevi Fountain, which is so incredibly beautiful that you'll probably go there more than once. It gets very crowded but is so worth seeing, plus you can make a wish and throw a coin in just like Mary-Kate and Ashley did in When In Rome and Lizzy McGuire did in her eponymous movie. Right?!

Head to the Spanish Steps too which are oh-so Instagrammable and lead down to the fancy shopping district of Piazza di Spagna where you can window shop to your heart's content.

It may be considered a separate country but the Vatican, geographically speaking, is in Rome too, of course. However, because of this it's not included in the Roma Pass. Nevertheless, it is still worth the visit to see the magnificence of St Peter's Basilica. As a heads up, if you do want to go inside the building - which is well worth it for the Michael Angelo roof painting in the Sistine Chapel - it could be worth pre-booking a tour or pass as queues can go on for hours. Which, let's face it, no one wants to deal with in the Italian heat.

What we ate...

What didn't we eat, frankly?

Let's start with the classics. Good, strong, hearty, yummy Italian food.

Emma Pizzeria, found near the artistic Piazza Navona, had the most incredible starters called Suppli - which are a traditional Roman street food dish of fried rice balls with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Dreamy. Their pizzas were thinner, which is in line with Roman tradition, but darn good, and the house Prosecco is top notch. Most restaurants in Rome have outdoor seating on the street, we'd recommend going for this option but booking ahead as people were getting turned away it was so busy when we went.

If you fancy treating yo self for one of your lunches or dinner, then Per Me is the place for you. Nestled away on an adorable cobbled street, the outside of the restaurant is covered in greenery and, on a first impression, it looks so pretty that you just know the food is going to be good, too. It's Italian in style but a lot of it is small plates; the tasting menus you can choose range from four courses to ten. Imagine. Ten. Other than that, they have the traditional Italian style of a first course of pasta or risotto (basically the greatest idea ever) and then fancy fish, which seems to be a speciality of theirs so definitely worth going for. The dessert selection is also off the charts. When we went, even the bread melted in our mouths. I mean, come on.

If you're there for a few days and fancy just one break from the pizza, pasta and risotto offering, Rome is a cool and trend-setting city just like any other so there's plenty of alternative cuisines too. We headed to Temakinho Rome Borgo near the Vatican which is a fusion of Japanese and Brazilian. Trust us, it works. The restaurant is four/five floors and an avid Instagrammers dream with the colourful terrace, palm tree wallpaper and floral-decorated sushi. The sushi is amazing, particularly the tempura prawn rolled in avocado, and there are multiple flavours of caprinihias - our favourite was passion fruit.

As far as snacks go - an essential part for any weekend away, really - there is so much gelato you could have one after every meal and believe me we wouldn't judge you. One of our favourites was Venchi Gelato - which has a few spots across the city - including one with a wall of dripping chocolate.

If you're all gelato-d out but fancy a sweet option, another place you can get your fix is Pompi, which sells little boxes of Tiramisu. There's a huge selection of flavours, from hazelnut to strawberry, and then you can walk around Rome with your box of Tiramisu living your best life.

Where we drank...

In the land of Prosecco and Aperol Spritz, there are plenty of places to stop for a beverage but we had a couple of favourites.

First stop is Enoteca Il Piccolo, a very casual hidden away gem near the Piazza Navona. There's about four tables inside and then just a sprinkling of seats and small tables plotted around outside. The Aperol Spritz' are amazing and only €6, quite a bargain for a cocktail in a capital city, we'll tell ya.

Next up is Salotto 42 which is found smack bang opposite the Roman ruins of the Temple of Hadrian. You cannot get more Rome than drinking a glass of prosecco on the street while gazing across at a Roman monument.

So, erm, when can we go back?

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