Rome, Italy

The Spanish Steps

While Rome may not have been built in a day, you can certainly savor a taste of this ancient metropolis in just 72 hours. Centrally located in Italy’s Lazio region, which borders the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Italian capital is traversed by the wild and winding Tiber River and is capped by seven hills. One, the Palatine Hill, is the site of the legend of Romulus and Remus, orphaned twin boys raised by a she-wolf. The brothers are credited with discovering this fertile farmland in 753 B.C. and later naming it after the ruling and murderous brother Romulus. Today, ancient Rome co-exists with the modern and constantly evolving communities of "New Rome.” This successful juxtaposition of millennia makes it a fascinating city that never fails to bewitch the visitor.

Rome’s main Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumiciano is served by almost all major airlines, with some budget airlines like easyJet flying into Ciampino Airport (which is actually closer to the city center) from European cities including London, Geneva and Berlin. The informative site Aeroporti di Roma (www.adr.it) explains how to reach the city center, usually by train into the main station, Termini. Public transportation in Rome is limited to two metro lines, A and B (www.metroroma.it), both of which efficiently serve major attractions and monuments including the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps and the Vatican. Buses are also a primary means of getting around the Eternal City.

Hotels abound in Rome, although you should be prepared to pay top dollar for a well-located hotel of even moderate quality. A wide spectrum of mid- to high-end hotels exists in the cobbled streets around the Spanish Steps, or Piazza di Spagna. Near the Villa Borghese and the elegant, tree- and café-lined Via Veneto, the legendary 19th-century Hotel Eden is venerated for its peaceful location and fine rooftop dining. Rates begin at €450. At Hotel Hassler, the sublime view and luxurious lodgings run upwards of €500 per night. A few steps off of the Piazza Trinità dei Monti is the more affordable Hotel Gregoriana, where each room has its own original décor and breakfast is served on a pleasant, panoramic roof terrace. Expect to spend roughly €250. The aptly named Hotel Art, located near Piazza del Popolo, offers cozy rooms in a stylish atmosphere starting at €350 per night. Art lovers will also want to settle in at the Raphael, whose lobby features works by Picasso and Miro and whose third floor was recently redesigned by Richard Meier. Rooms start at €350.

Hotel Art

While most budget hotels are clustered around the up-and-coming Esquilino and San Lorenzo neighborhoods that flank the main train station, there are a growing number of small hotels and guesthouses in more centrally located neighborhoods. We especially like the youthful Beehive for its yoga classes and complimentary Internet access. Another such establishment, the Hotel Margutta is located on a quiet street between the famous Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo. Small but clean rooms cost around €140.

You may also choose to reside in the equally vibrant neighborhood surrounding the Pantheon. The sophisticated Albergo del Sole al Pantheon affords a direct view of the ancient pagan temple for €200 or more. Also in this centrally located area is the historic Albergo Cesàri, where painters, writers and other illustrious figures of yore were housed while visiting and working in Rome. Rooms start around €150. Similarly affordable prices can be found at the Casa di Santa Brigida, an actual convent run by the sisters of the Saint Brigid order. This comfortable convent hotel is located off the stately Piazza Farnese and just steps away from the bustling Campo dei Fiori, famous for its morning market, popular restaurants and boisterous nightlife. A night here goes for around €150.

DAY 1

Inside the Pantheon

Breakfast in Italian hotels is usually included in the room rate. If you feel like mixing with the locals, however, stop in at the counter of your standard neighborhood bar and grab a quick coffee and a cornetto, a croissant-like pastry filled with marmalade or chocolate. For a more inspiring experience, take a walk to the famous coffee mecca, Tazza d’Oro, near the Pantheon. Be sinful and order your granita di caffè, or sweetened coffee ice, with panna, or thick whipped cream. Coffee beans and other café souvenirs are available for purchase in the boutique. Equally renowned is the subtly sweet—and secret—Grancappuccino at the Caffè Sant'Eustachio, located in the Piazza Sant'Eustachio directly between the Piazza Navona and the Piazza della Rotonda.

Begin your day with an exploration of ancient Rome at the nearby Pantheon, a domed and colonnaded structure so massive it appears to sink right into the surrounding Piazza della Rotonda. Heavy bronze doors extend into a huge, cylindrical interior illuminated by the open oculus in the center of the vast dome. Built under the Emperor Hadrian as a Roman temple during the second century, the Pantheon was later transformed into a Catholic church.

Piazza Venezia

To continue trekking among the ruins of ancient Rome, take the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele II until you reach Piazza Venezia. Here you’ll see the huge and shockingly white monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy, who completed the unification of Italy during his reign from 1861 to1878. Sarcastically referred to by Romans as “the wedding cake” or “the typewriter,” this nationalistic altar also served as a pulpit for Mussolini during the fascist regime in the 1920s and 1930s.

Behind the monument stretches the immense Roman Forum, the civic, economic and social core of ancient Rome. The Roman Forum is a spectacular, sunken archeological treasure that extends from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. It is flanked on one side by the verdant Palatine Hill, a vast expanse of ruined arches, columns and palaces carpeted in thick green vegetation and bordered by the mythical Roman racetrack, the Circus Maximus.

The Roman Forum

On the other side of the Roman Forum you’ll find the elevated Imperial Forums, which include Trajan’s Market, a remarkably well-preserved section of commercial structures that allow for a glimpse of everyday life in ancient Rome. If the Colosseum was the first sports stadium, many consider Trajan’s Market the first shopping mall.

Nearby is the comparatively contemporary Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains, or San Pietro in Vincoli, where Renaissance art aficionados will revel in Michelangelo's statue of Moses, created in 1515. A bit farther west of the Cavour metro stop is the Via di San Vito where you can have lunch at the satisfying Trattoria Monti. Or try the authentic Al Cardello, which is wedged in the medieval patchwork of streets between the Colosseum and Via Cavour. Alternatively, enjoy a light meal at any of several area wine bars, such as Cavour 313 on Via Cavour and the miniature Al Vino al Vino on Via dei Serpenti.

The Colosseum

If you decide not to dedicate the rest of the day to exploring Rome’s remarkable ruins, you can still travel back a few millennia with a visit to the Colosseum. This great elliptical amphitheater is an architectural and engineering wonder due to its clever design and efficient use of space. The Colosseum was erected during the reign of Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72 and inaugurated in A.D. 80 by his son Titus. With enough seating for 50,000 spectators, the arena was the epicenter for entertainment in ancient Rome—gruesome gladiator games are the most famous, while mock naval battles created by flooding the arena floor still astonish historians.

On the opposite side of the Roman Forum near the Tiber River, Giggetto al Portico d'Ottavia is an authentic Jewish-Roman restaurant in a neighborhood that was once the Jewish ghetto. Lunch on intensely flavorful, rich cooking based on simple, inexpensive ingredients, the star of which is the Roman artichoke, or carciofo alla giudia.

Isola Tiberina

Walking along the Via del Portico d'Ottavia towards the Tiber will lead you to the little island of Tiberina, where you can find the very good, classic Roman restaurant called Sora Lella. Traverse Tiberina in order to reach the unconventional neighborhood of Trastevere (“Across the Tiber”), where the ancient artisanal vestiges of this genuinely Roman enclave mingle with its modern, Bohemian inhabitants. Before traipsing through its cool, dusty streets and among its ochre-hued homes, stop for a pizza at the popular Dar Poeta—arrive early or be prepared to wait. The success of this inexpensive pizzeria has less to do with the pie than with the infinite roster of toppings. If you see only one major attraction in Trastevere, let it be the medieval mosaics of the beautiful Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere, the oldest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

For evening entertainment, stay in the neighborhood and dine at I Vizi Capitali, an above-average wine bar and restaurant. Or snack on complimentary aperitivo, or happy hour treats, at the rustic Enoteca Ferrara wine bar. Afterward, move on to enjoy the live jazz at Stardust, a small and unique bar located on a tiny street in the same district. If you just want to have a drink and soak up the Roman atmosphere, find Le Ombre Rosse, located in the nearby Piazza Sant'Egidio.

Continue to Day 2

* Photos by courtesy of A.P.T. of Rome. Rome map by James Riswick.