Roman Holiday: A Weekend in Italy’s Capital

The Eternal City conjures up a myriad of wild and colourful dreams. Roman Gladiators, Michelangelo, La Dolce Vita. All yours from the seat of a Vespa, scooting by The Trevi Fountain after your first espresso of the day.

But the problem is not what to do in Rome, it's what to leave out.

The city's renowned excess of art and beauty and history comes with a price: cultural overload, museum fatigue, call it what you will. For example, the route to see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel masterpiece is through endless Vatican Museum corridors and galleries, decorated vividly by some of Italy's greatest artists: but there comes a point where you just can't look at another painted angel. Pace yourself, culture vultures, don't try to witness the Renaissance in one weekend. Strolling around the city centre, taking in The Pantheon, the Coliseum, it's clear The Wonders of Rome are going to be around for a very long time yet.

The real magic is to be had hanging out with the present day Romans, who like nothing better than shopping, partying and arguing (about anything!). It's a good place to go out of season, when the crowds are less oppressive.

How to get here

In the Middle Ages pilgrims from Canterbury walked and rode horseback the 1600 kilometres to Rome, nowadays it's easier. There are dozens of direct flights from the UK. Alitalia, BA, and Easyjet all fly into the main airport at Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) where the fast and frequent express train takes you into downtown Termini Stazione in 30 minutes. Ryanair also fly, but to Ciampino, where there is no direct service - best bus is Terravision (€8), or taxi (fixed price €30, includes 4 passengers and all luggage). Airfares can be cheap if you look and book ahead.

Don't even think of driving in Rome for a weekend, even the local tourist board describe it as "not very pleasant". The two-line metro is fast, cheap and frequent and a very good way to organise a weekend trip. Buses are everywhere with easy to understand routes. Taxis are plentiful and around the city centre economic.

Buy a Roma Pass, which for €23 gives unlimited public transport travel for a weekend (three full days) plus free access to two from a selection of museums and galleries and a variety of other discounts. The pass is not valid for the airport express trains (confusingly, the Weekender inadvertently used it here twice!) and comes with a map plus details (in English) of all the sites covered. Available from all tourist offices and online here.

Walking around Rome city centre is a joy. Streets are narrow and mostly cobbled so stilettos don't really work (during the day). A booklet "Passeggiate Romane" details 18 different itineraries to reveal the many layers of Rome's unique past and is one of many available from Rome and Lazio Tourism. 

OK. WE'RE HERE.

Like any other capital, Rome is a sprawling mix of suburbs, neighbourhoods both cool and staid, and a downtown mix with a busy nightlife. In a weekend, you don't have time to see it all, so stick to the centre. During the day use Piazza Navona and the Pantheon as your central focus, at night seek out nearby Campo dei Fiori or over the river to Trastevere. Like London, the centre is slowly depopulating as residential prices go up and commerce takes over but there's still a vibrancy in among the markets, offices of state and churches to satisfy the most curious of travellers. And in among this riotous assembly of opulent facades and decorative wizardry are shops. Thousands of them, with stylish clothes and shoes at more than affordable prices.

STAY WHERE?

In the city centre there are hotels aplenty, tourist board recommendations here.

A better bet is an apartment, where you become part of the neighbourhood, if only for a few days.

HomesinRome is a young agency - actually they are a group of apartment owners letting out their own properties - with about 35 central locations on their books. In Via di San Marcello they have a house for 8, a converted industrial store given the full makeover on 4 floors, with 4 double bedrooms, plenty of space and a private elevator to a full size roof terrace where barbecues, lounging around and candlelit dining would make for a brilliant spring or summer break.

The entrance is straight off the narrow cobbled street, with Berlusconi's Political Party HQ at one end, and a converted beer store turned birreria at the other. There's history aplenty here, it's an elegant, neat place to stay. The tiny coffee bar next door serves killer espresso (90 cents for a tiny mid-morning shot) and in winter a dark, unctious hot chocolate that is so rich and thick you nearly need a spoon to eat it. Loud and friendly, it's one of hundreds in the area.

Inside the apartment, the kitchen is fully equipped, the vast living room is too, with every digital receiver you might want on holiday (plus WiFi), all under a double height ceiling which floods the place with natural light. Three bedrooms upstairs are all ensuite (plus one in the basement) and emphasis has been placed on clean lines, uncluttered decor with marble floors, and light. In winter it's warm, in summer it's cool.

The roof space is vast, with a second full dining area and lounge cushions spread around near the huge barbecue.

For a group of friends or a large family this is a perfect vacation home, walking distance to shops on Via Corso, the Trevi Fountain, and ten minutes from the market at Campo di Fiori which overflows every day with fresh, bounteous produce from the surrounding countryside. The agency chauffeur picks you up at the airport and they now have a growing second business looking after homes outside Rome too.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, 1, 2, 3....

(1) Baroque and Roll

You can't escape the history, and even a smattering of knowledge - from the Renaissance to the Baroque - helps explain this truly fabulous city.  For example in Piazza Navona there is a fountain by Bernini, where four figures shy away from an adjacent church facade, made by his contemporary and great rival Borromini. It's a breathtaking wonder up close, and illustrates the ferocious competitiveness between them that has become one of Rome's legends. It was they who created much of the glory of Rome that we see today and their ability to transform space into something of wonder is unrivalled. The wealth of the Catholic church fuelled their passion and creativity in no small measure.  Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Bernini's Colonnades in St Peter's Square are masterpieces, although other architects should not be missed (such as the Church of San Ignazio di Loyola by Orazio Grassi it's breathtaking interior bizarrely topped by an entirely false cupola, an optical illusion) (see recommended books).

Personalised guided tours are available. Recommended is Doctor Paolo De Santis, a young enthusiast whose passion for the Baroque knows no bounds. He will pick you up outside your front door and provide an entertaining and educational tour of the 'hood. Email Paolodesantis7@hotmail.com for tailored rates.

(2)  Shop till you drop

Within walking distance is some of Rome's greatest shopping. Start with Via Condotti, an ancient thoroughfare which is dead straight, leading away from Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps, Metro Spagna) and surrounded by a myriad of small streets lined with shops, dominated by very expensive fashion (a children's fur coat anyone?) but peppered with some of the city's most interesting food stores, antique merchants and gift shops. For an hour, it's a rewarding wander.

Then try the market at Campo di Fiori which is a riot of fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables every day. It's everything you might imagine a city market to be, packed with the best of everything, at the peak of perfection, and in season. Equally importantly, wander off down Via di Monserrato or Via dei Cappellari, tiny streets where you'll find dozens of tiny shops, studios and artisans.

But of the thousands of shops which you can wander by in Rome, two demand special attention. Via di Corso is the main drag and houses a Rome tradition (since 1870). Schostal isn't just an outfitters, it's a time machine where ladies will escort you to the underwear/hankie/sock counter, check your size, ask which colour, shade or texture you require and wrap your individual purchase at the till by the door. It's all very fifties, with elegant assistants, wooden framed glass counters, and as fine array of gentleman's requirements as you'll see anywhere. Gap it ain't.

The other gent's outfitter worth mentioning is Gammarelli's in Via di Santa Chiara who make the most delightful socks and bespoke wear run-up in a tiny back shop. Most notable for one customer, The Pope, who has all his gear knocked up here, as do cardinals and ecclesiastical bods the world over. HIS hat is in the window.

(3) The Art of Rome

You could spend your life traipsing around Rome gawping at the greatest art the world has ever seen, but in a weekend you don't have time. Michaelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are a must but unfortunately they're inside the Vatican Museum (€14, they don't take the Roma Pass) and it is never quiet. The designated route is along a succession of fabulous corridors, (the Map passageway is especially impressive) and in the Chapel itself Vatican employees shout at anyone having the temerity to produce a camera (see weekender pictures, above) It is, however, worth the wait, the journey, the crowds, the noise and the cumulative angst. Being probably the most awesome artwork you will ever see (the alternative is a private tour after hours. Prices apparently start at €4000). 

Next door, St Peter's Basilica is as opulent as you would expect the largest church in Christianity to be. It can hold 60,000 worshippers and is decorated with such overwhelming lavishness mere words cannot describe it (Literally - just listing the artworks and statues would take pages). Bernini's masterpiece outside, St Peter's Square, is now often dominated by Vatican TV's massive jumbotron screens, which generally show colourbars when the Holy Father isn't addressing the faithful from his balcony on Wednesday mornings.

Away from the hordes of The Vatican, but still with queues, the best museum is The Capitoline (opened in 1734, oldest in the world) where works by Caravaggio, Bernini and Titian inspire awe.

In a weekend, Rome's best aspect is a wander through it's small central streets and take in The Pantheon, a truly wondrous building, the Piazza Navona which was once a racetrack, and Piazza de Venezia for Vittorio Emanuele's magnificent monument and Napoleon's mother's house. Plus The Colosseum, the Circus Maximus...........

In fact Rome is one gigantic, living, breathing open-air art gallery. There's little need to queue up for anything. Three excellent tourist board publications are "Discovering Rome's Art Masterpieces", "The Streets of Rome" and "Passeggiate Romane", all in English.

LET'S DO LUNCH

Cheap and cheerful

Wandering around the morning market at Campo di Fiori mould make anyone hungry. The square is bordered by cafes and bars, which at night turn into hangout central for Rome's cutting edge youth who like nothing better than drinking beer and, well, hanging out. The Okiba Mozzarella Bar (second branch) is here and is very good if you like mozzarella cheese with everything (proper stuff, delicious) but more comfortable is Magnolia, an unassuming family joint with a €12 menu that includes wine and offers bruschetta followed by spaghetti scoglio or a daily special. Friendly staff and good food. About €30 for two.

Moderate and noisy

Hidden away in Via di San Marcello (see 'stay where?') is L'Antica Birreria Peroni, a vibrant, hugely popular local hangout which for many years was a storehouse for Peroni Beer. It now serves four on draught (hardly anyone drinks wine, despite being €3.50 per carafe) and very good, cheap food. The street suffers from a few tourist places but this isn't one of them. On Saturday lunchtimes it's positively heaving, but a few beers at the tiny, cramped bar pass the time as you await your name reaching the top of the waitlist. All manner of house specials supplement the main menu which specialises in Wurst - dozens of different kinds of Germanic sausage, including a rather suggestive, phallic, presentation for birthday boys and girls . Antipasti is €6, Veal Milanese €7. Service best described as, er, "Roman", but highly recommended.

Reasonable and authentic

There are countless 'enotecas' (wine shops) here but near Via Condotti on Via Frattina is Palatium, Enoteca Regionale, which features food and wine from the surrounding area   Lazio. Small tables downstairs or more room up, the menu walks you through the local stuff, Monte San Biagio Sausages with Cannellini Beans, salt cod with endive plus vegetarian options and several kosher dishes. It's smart and very narrow, with Lazio wines by the glass from a specialised wine list. The recipes are all historic, the produce strictly controlled, all categorised DOP, DOC, whatever. It's in a hit and miss, over-priced area so should be regarded as a safe bet, with always something interesting on the menu.

WHAT'S YOURS?

Coffee and Tea

Forget everything you ever learned in Starbucks. Coffee perfection is to be found in Rome. Start at the cash desk where you will pay 90 cents for a (standing) position at the bar. (sitting at table, being waited on, involves indeterminate supplements). Proceed to the counter, hand your receipt over, and order your coffee which will be made in front of you. It will be tiny. And black. Take sugar. Enjoy. Be gone in 5 minutes or engage your neighbour in conversation. Two or three of those per morning set you up nicely. Start with a cappuccino by all means, but don't even think of ordering one again after 10am. Among many hundreds of coffee bars in Rome, opposite the Pantheon is La Cassa Del Caffe which in summer serves the most delectable coffee granita, a heavenly ice with a flavour as far removed from Slush Puppy as it's possible to get. Historians should also visit Caffe Greco on Via Condotti for a sip of literary greatness. As well as a very expensive coffee.

If the craving for a good cup of British Tea gets too much, one must head to The Spanish Steps where Babingtons, as determinedly English as any tearoom in The Shires, will serve you one of dozens of varieties with crumpets, scones and hot buttered toast. 4pm afternoon tea with a copy of The Times. You could be in Okehampton.

DINNER IS SERVED

"Romantic" developed from the word romanic, literally, 'of the Roman people', and while in Rome 'cena per due' can be a shared pizza by a fountain, sometimes something more special is called for.

The Spanish Steps can be oppressively crowded in daytime, less so at night. Despite being the longest and widest staircase in Europe it's sometimes difficult to actually see. Up top, away from the melee, is not only the church Trinità dei Monti, which the steps were built for, but one of Rome's more discreet hotels, The Hassler, whose restaurant Imago is on the sixth floor. There are better restaurants in Rome, but they don't have what is here, a panoramic vista over what appears to be the whole cityscape. It is a superb view, twinkling and sparkly in the dark, spectacular as the sun goes down on a summer evening. A window table is a must.

The Weekender walked in on a midweek night and was offered a table 'inland'. After politely refusing and starting to leave, we were offered one by the window. The view was sensational, rivalled only by the next table where an improbably handsome Italian businessman and Japanese associate were entertaining a lady of the night, a spectacularly pneumatic, bewigged, tattooed, woman with appropriately bizarre make up dressed in a concoction of lemon yellow and shocking pink chiffons. The other tables were occupied by more discreet, less flamboyant diners.

The wine list goes all the way to the 'Super Tuscans', Italy's most expensive reds, but also includes some very reasonable wines from Puglia and less important regions. It's very well selected and expertly presented by a young sommelier who knows his stuff.

Lady's menus do not have prices, which are high, to say the least. We resisted the encouragement to have several courses, and had one fish (sole fillet) which was excellent, and a porcini risotto, which was as good as rice and mushrooms get. In fact it was perfect. Despite our parsimony we were presented with all manner of little freebies before and after and treated with charm by the staff, up to and including the bill process, which excludes the tip. It has to be added in cash and we had very little (€10) but it didn't seem to dampen their enthusiasm to make our night jolly.

Expensive, but very good food and worth it for the view.