restaurants in Rome

Not a terrific area for good restaurants. How fancy? The Hotel Hassler has an excellent one but it is a bit rich and upscale/fancy for my taste. I was fortunate to attend an event there once and very much appreciated the quality of the food.

A 10 minute walk away is La Buca di Ripetta, which we like very much. https://labucadiripetta.com/?_gl=1%2Afnbkv1%2A_ga%2AODQ4ODQzMDkxLjE3Mjc4ODAzMDM.%2A_ga_9W3RNJ7LN7%2AMTcyNzg4MDMwMi4xLjAuMTcyNzg4MDMwMi4wLjAuMA..#trattoria. Much more accessible pricing, IMO. Do reserve as it is smallish and they have online reservations. It is quite close to Piazza del Popolo.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. Now, I'm trying to figure out what exactly I need to see and buy tickets for. I've not been back to Rome in over 10 years and my husband has never been there. Do you have recommendations on what to see? There is so much information out there.

Katherine

That depends on what interests you: art (what period?), history (what period?), churches, contemporary life (markets, cool neighborhoods, etc.)? When is your trip? Some sights require pre-planning because of high demand.

• Tickets for the Vatican Museums sell out early--sometimes very early. There are some special parts of the Vatican that are separately ticketed, with limited access, so visits to them also must be arranged ahead of time. St. Peter's Basilica itself doesn't require a ticket, but there's a usually-very-long security line everyone must go through unless they take a combination Vatican Museums/St. Peter's tour (at a much higher cost than basic entry to the Museums).

• Colosseum tickets are tricky, especially if you want to see the lower or upper level.

• Tickets for the Borghese Gallery also sell out.

• As an active archaeological site, the Domus Aurea is open only Friday-Sunday, I believe, and those tickets usually must be purchased well in advance.

I'm sure I haven't covered all the places for which it's smart or necessary to buy tickets ahead of time, but there are many, many things to see in Rome for which you can simply walk up and buy a ticket. There are also many lovely churches that are free.

Any good guidebook will cover the most significant general-interest sights in Rome. You need to buy one--or visit your local library--and do some reading to identify places that seem most intriguing to you. Rick's guide has some good walking tours you can take by yourself if you don't want to look for a commercial walking tour.

Probably the biggest thing with sights, is the need to pre-purchase tickets, no more just showing up and getting in to the most popular. The main ones seeing this is the Vatican Museum (with the Sistine Chapel), the Colosseum, and the Borghese Museum. The Pantheon now also requires a ticket, where before it was free. But St. Peters requires no advance action, and many smaller sights are still walk up and get in.

I also imagine you are talking about a 2025 trip; be aware that all of 2025 is a Jubilee year for the Church, so crowds are expected to be even greater, depending some on the particular group being recognized (more info here: https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo.html )

For restaurants, there are plenty of blogs, read through them, if the style of place matches your taste, you can find some gems. Just be cognizant of the date of the review, if over a year or two old, find updated info. Time Out, https://www.timeout.com/rome Always is a good resource, quality picks, ranging from down-to-earth to high class.

Thank you both for this information. We are actually leaving Oct 9th of this year! I wil check everything out you both have sent me.

katherine

Katherine,

Rick Steves’ Rome guidebook has some great itinerary ideas. Worth getting your hands on and taking along on the trip for reference. I like to get my guidebooks digitally somI don’t have to carry the weight and I heavily highlight and bookmark.