When in Rome!
I had never been to Rome and have recently returned from a 4-night visit, and boy, was I missing out! Even in the 38-degree heat, I loved roaming around the streets—it’s such a beautiful place. You will be walking a lot to get around, so just make sure to bring your comfy shoes. My main issue with the trip was that I didn’t have enough time to try all the food places on my list, but technically, you can’t qualify that as an issue.
Being the food enthusiast that I am, I must say I was quite at home in Rome. The pastries hit different there (especially those filled with pistachio cream). Speaking of home, we stayed in a delightful Airbnb in Monti. It was within walking distance of most places we wanted to go—a lively Roman village with very pretty streets.
As I said, I still have many more restaurants to try in Rome (what a great excuse to go back). I’ll keep this list short and sweet with my top tips for when in Rome. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
My Must-Do’s:
Book your tours/tickets in advance – The queues are insane, and I have to say, being able to skip the line at the Colosseum was incredible. I don’t think we would have ended up going in if we had to wait out in that heat—it was SO hot, and the queue was SO long. The tickets for everything book out quickly, so I recommend trying to do it as far in advance as you can.
Get up early one morning – We decided to get up early to visit the Trevi Fountain before it got really crowded. It was definitely a good idea, plus the streets were so quiet—it was lovely to explore them before the hustle and bustle began again!
Book a cooking class – We booked a pasta and tiramisu cooking class. It was great fun, and don’t worry, you don’t need any prior cooking experience!
Go to a rooftop bar for sunset – There are so many rooftop bars to choose from. A lot of them are walk-in, but if you want to go to the big names near the tourist attractions (The Court, Oro Bistrot, Terrazza Boromini), you do need to book quite far in advance! The best sunset view we got was from the Monti Palace Hotel on their Tiziano Terrace.
Eat at an authentic Italian restaurant – Similar to the bars, a lot of the restaurants are walk-in, though some will have large queues. We managed to get a seat without queuing at a restaurant that was recommended to me, Mimì e Cocò, and it did not disappoint! The carbonara was 10/10.
Eat traditional Roman pizza – There is pizza everywhere (of course, it’s Rome!). We got ours from Trieste Pizza, which was recommended by our Airbnb host, it was beside us and really reasonably priced. Two words: burrata heaven!
Eat Italian Salad– We were lucky to be so close to Urbana 47. It was a great all-rounder and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With lots of different options, you’ll be sure to find something everyone is in the mood for, and they do great cocktails too! I’m still dreaming about the salad of the day I got there; apricot in a salad is a dream come true for me.
I can’t go without mentioning that we went to see Coldplay while we were there—it was an absolutely incredible concert! The venue was fabulous and well-organized, easy to get water when needed! Bring cash if you want to get drinks/snacks from the people who walk around with coolers; it saves you queuing at the bar. If you’re ever going to a concert in the Stadio Olimpico, you will definitely need the comfy shoes I mentioned earlier. Because of the massive crowds, it is impossible to get a taxi anywhere near it, so you’re best to get home by foot or to try and get a taxi when you are a good distance away – Coldplay was most definitely worth the walk home!
Thanks for reading,
Natalia x
Natalia’s Travel Tips 
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