8 Days in Rome--off the beaten path recommendations

Quartiere Coppede neighborhood
Nero’s Golden House
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and its museum
Vatican Grottoes
Villa Borghese
Piazza Bueno Aries and the Chiesa Santa Maria Addolorata
Galleria Sciarra

Rooftop Bars:
Terrazza Montemartini
The Rooftop Bar of the La Renascenta department store

Are a few spots.

Places I have been and recommend:

Buco della serratura dell’Ordine di Malta (Knights of Malta Keyhole) I thought it was super cool, no one there the day we visited.

Basilica Papale San Paolo fuori le Mura (St. Paul's outside the walls) You can see St. Paul's chains here, not too hard to get to, and not so busy.

Hope to visit in May:

Vicus Caprarius-the Water City. Part of the old aqueduct system, near Trevi Fountain.

There is a small area of Roman ruins in the Jewish Ghetto that is not exactly unknown but not frequented by most first-timers/short-timers to the city. It contains the remains of the Portico of Ottavia, and the repurposed Theater of Marcellus, and there is a pedestrian route through it (see the red dotted lines on the map in the link below) and signs posted throughout to tell you what you're looking at.

https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/portico-octavia

More on this area:
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/theatre-marcellus

This is an interesting church in this same area; a very visible example of Roman temples converted to Christian church.
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/basilica-di-san-nicola-carcere
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/templi-repubblicani-di-san-nicola-carcere

Also interesting were the residences scattered throughout; nothing like pieces of ancient Rome literally on your doorstep!

The national gallery of modern art --- I was so surprised how much I liked this art gallery!

Montemartini museum —- ancient Roman marble statues in an old factory

Garbatella neighborhood — interesting architecture and history, could be done after the Montemartini museum

The non-catholic cemetery and the pyramid in Testaccio. Also see the market in Testaccio and go to the hill and look for where the broken pots that make up the Testaccio hill are exposed.

The swarming of the starlings in the evening. We saw it through the open ceilings of the Baths of Diocletian, but I'm sure there are other cool places to see this incredible phenomenon, like a rooftop bar in the area. Here's a video of this "murmuration of starlings" that gives you some idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4f_1_r80RY

The funerary inscriptions and their translations in the underground passageway between the two buildings of the Capitoline museum —- read them all but especially the ones for children. Also, seeing the Forum from the balcony of the Capitoline museum will help with making some sense of all the scattered ruins.

We really enjoy eating at the Mercato Centrale in the Termini train station --- I don't know exactly what the etiquette is there, but it seems like you can get food and drinks from anywhere and take it to any open table. We usually sit at the wine bar and get pizza from Bonci's, but there are many, many choices.

The national Roman museum at the Palazzo Massimo, mostly for the frescoes.

That Knights of Malta Keyhole looks super cool! Officially added to our itinerary. Been to Rome 3x so we're always looking for off the beaten path experiences. Thanks CJ!

John, if you haven't been up to the Villa del Priorato di Malta gate with the keyhole, you probably haven't been to Santa Sabina either? A very old and interesting lady, that one. Also walk to the end of the orange garden (Giardino degli Aranci) next door for a nice view. All 3 are very close together. LOL, took me awhile to line up my shot of the dome through that keyhole!

https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/savello-park-or-orange-garden
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/basilica-saint-sabina-allaventino
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/villa-magistrale-sovereign-order-malta-aventine

Lovely, Kathy! Thanks for this. Added! :)

A visit to Ostia Antica will consume an afternoon, but is well worth it. Easily accessed by public transit from Rome. Much less crowded than major sites in Rome. Check it out on the web and see if it holds any interest.

We plan to visit the keyhole on the Aventine again also plus vespers at Chiesa di Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino for vespers (monks chanting in Gregorian chant) at 7:15 pm. Both of those are close together. And then hopefully a sunset shoot from the Giardino dell Aranci park overlooking the city. Then dinner at Trattoria Perilli at the foot of the Aventine (Testaccio) where we had a fabulous artichoke pasta 21 years ago.

Apologies for taking so long to come back here and thank all of you! Truly appreciate the suggestions. We are actually taking the students to Ostia Antica as part of the program and I have never been, so very much looking forward to that.

The keyhole at the Knights of Malta is one of my favorite Roman surprises. We went there with our girls when our youngest was 5 and she was very frustrated that she had to be lifted up to look through it. We're going back this summer - she's now 16, taller than me - and it was at the top of her list of things she wants to see. It's one of the few things she remembers well from that trip when she was 5.