Does anyone have any recommendations of rooftops where we could grab a drink, lunch, or dinner with a view of the city in Rome, Florence, or Venice? I am traveling with my daughters and they are all about a great view. I have looked up places but am having a hard time making reservations. We are in Rome June 27-29th, Florence June 29th-July 2nd, and Vience July 2nd.
Florence--
Go into Rinascente Dept store on P Repubblica, take escalator to top floor, follow signs to terrace. Enjoy!
FLORENCE:
https://le-strade.com/firenze/terrazze-aperitivo-a-firenze/
https://www.firenzetoday.it/cibo/mappe/guida-migliori-terrazze-firenze.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/it/mangiare-e-bere-a-firenze/drink-con-vista.html
https://ilreporter.it/sezioni/estate-firenze/aperitivo-con-vista-terrazza-firenze/
I know there are a lot more fancy and enjoyable places in Florence for rooftop dining (after researching a trip for someone else and finding many of those links Roberto included), but I ALWAYS go to the top of la Rinacente too :)
Florence - if you are going for aperitivi, be prepared to wait in line for a table on the rooftop terrace at La Rinascente. I think we waited 30+ min in Sept 2022 around 6 pm. They take bookings for supper (but TripAdvisor reviews on supper are decidedly mixed.) I’m going back soon with first-timers to Florence…we booked supper in order to skip the line. I think they will love it, even if the food might be just so-so. Hoping it doesn’t rain! For bookings, see “prenotazioni” email address at bottom of this page: https://www.toscanino.com/toscanino-firenze/
Venice - stunning view from Settimo Cielo atop Palazzo Bauer but alas it’s closed until 2025 for renovations. Other ideas at https://www.therooftopguide.com/rooftop-bars-in-venice.html
for Rinacente, I always end up there for afternoon drinks, I think we were there around 3 or 4, but it was full (I think they had to pop upstairs to check to see if anything was available and several groups were leaving when we arrived but got filled within 5 min or so), so maybe there would be a bit of a wait, but hope you get lucky! (if someone has to stand there, maybe you could take turns shopping! haha) But the other "proper" bars/restaurants (cuz Rinacente is SMALL) might be better depending on your food/drink desires (I would probably just go for drinks there).
But also, you mention not being able to make reservations......it is very possible that the places you are looking at don't release reservations over a month out. I know when I'm in "vacation planning mode" I want to get everything booked and get frustrated when I can't arrange plans when I would like to in advance, but when I am at home, I'm like "of course this restaurant wouldn't have reservations available more than a month out!". So I would see what the current availability goes until and see if that is the case, but if they are very popular, who knows, they could have them a year out.
Albergo del Senato hotel has a great rooftop bar above Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon, with nice views across Rome in all directions. Some pictures near the end of this online album...