Lesser thought of things to do in Rome

[rousseau]

I'm going to be in Rome from September 23rd through to the 27th and am now about ready to do some research on what we want to do in the city. We've both been before and are familiar with the obvious attractions, including the Borghese Gallery which we've bought tickets to.

What I'm wondering about is what kind of stuff people like in the city that you won't find with a quick Google search. For one thing, we want to do at least one over the top meal when we're there so any restaurant recommendations would be welcome. And secondly, cafes, bakeries, parks.. anything that the locals like, and tourists usually don't make it to. At some point I would also like to find a patio and drink wine for a few hours.

 

[DBT]

Santa Maria di Trastevere is a sunny little square with a cathedral surrounded by cafe's and restaurants. It's a great spot to hang out for a while, have lunch, sip a class of wine. It's worth a visit.

 

[ronburgundy]

My trips are always centered around food and drink.

Obviously there is much great wine to be had, but If you are into craft beer, go to the amazing pub called "Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa", which translates into "When I die, I want to be fermented". It is also commonly referred to as "The football pub". Great selection of smaller breweries from Italy, Germany and Denmark and fun good folks. Right across the narrow street is "Bir & Fud" which has all local micro brewery beers and excellent small plate dishes and wood fired pizzas (not pricey, but high quality stuff local foodies enjoy). Both are in a fun neighborhood with more local flavor than most tourist areas.

If you want a dish you won't find on a menu in the US, find a place that serves a dish called La Pajata. (Warning: Not safe for Vegetarians or people squeamish about organ meat, or who think that eating a baby animal is somehow more cruel than an adult).

The dish is pan fried intestines of a young unweaned calf or lamb that has only every consumed its mother's milk and are still filled with the milk of it's mother. The milk basically curdles inside the intestine, so you wind up with something like a milk sausage.
It's actually kinda delicate in flavor and not as intense as it sounds (less so than most organ meat). I only tried the lamb version, which I suspect is better just because sheep/goat milk is more interesting than cow milk. We actually had it at one of the only places that served it 10 years ago during a ban due to mad cow fears.

More generally, reserve plenty of time just to walk around the city. There is so much history, great architecture, and ruins all over the place (and ferel cats) And the gloriousness of real Italian gelato cannot be overstated.

 

[Tharmas]

Can't say much about lamb guts, but I heartily agree with the suggestion about real gelato. We stayed at a hotel near the Spanish Steps, which I'm sure is already on your list, and walked and walked all over.

 

[rousseau]

My trips are always centered around food and drink.

Obviously there is much great wine to be had, but If you are into craft beer, go to the amazing pub called "Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa", which translates into "When I die, I want to be fermented". It is also commonly referred to as "The football pub". Great selection of smaller breweries from Italy, Germany and Denmark and fun good folks. Right across the narrow street is "Bir & Fud" which has all local micro brewery beers and excellent small plate dishes and wood fired pizzas (not pricey, but high quality stuff local foodies enjoy). Both are in a fun neighborhood with more local flavor than most tourist areas.

Thanks for this. The beer bar sounds like an interesting idea. Not sure whether I'd want to hit up a beer or wine bar, though. Maybe both?

What should I be looking for if I want real gelato?

 

[rousseau]

Obviously there is much great wine to be had, but If you are into craft beer, go to the amazing pub called "Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa", which translates into "When I die, I want to be fermented". It is also commonly referred to as "The football pub". Great selection of smaller breweries from Italy, Germany and Denmark and fun good folks. Right across the narrow street is "Bir & Fud" which has all local micro brewery beers and excellent small plate dishes and wood fired pizzas (not pricey, but high quality stuff local foodies enjoy). Both are in a fun neighborhood with more local flavor than most tourist areas.

Good news, looks like this bar/area is only a ten minute walk from our Airbnb.

So right now a rough itinerary for us looks something like this:

Sunday
- arrive at airport / get to Airbnb
- get settled in / eat something
- maybe check out that beer bar and neighbourhood

Monday
- tour around checking out all the ancient sites
- in the early evening check out a nice restaurant / bar / club, have some fun

Tuesday
- spend the early part of the day visiting The Vatican
- Spend later part of the day just walking and wandering about Rome, in and out of shops
- maybe an overly nice meal that night

Wednesday
- Borghese Museum
- More wandering around the city??

Still some more research to do. If we're to reserve plenty of time walking about the city are there any neighbourhoods we just have to check out?

 

[DBT]

Take a scenic stroll along the banks of the Tiber, stop at a cafe, lunch, a glass of wine....

 

[ruby sparks]

Good news, looks like this bar/area is only a ten minute walk from our Airbnb.

Depending on which direction your airbnb is from that bar area, you might try Villa Doria Pamphili Park. It's 15 minutes walk west from that bar ("Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa") to the eastern end of the park. My wife and I were in Rome for 5 days last month. That park (Rome's biggest, I think?) was a lovely calming respite from the hustle and bustle. It's pretty much away from the main tourist areas and amazingly uncrowded (see my pics below). The villa itself appears to be unoccupied and in a bit of a bad state but is nicely creepy (see monochrome pic). If you're into history, it was the site of an important battle involving Garibaldi in 1850. That said, if you're only in Rome for a few days, you may not want a respite option. You may want to dive in. You would need good, dry weather for the park also.

We enjoyed the collosseum and Forum (joint ticket, one is close to the other) and the Pantheon (a must-see, imo, especially as it's free).

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I hope pics work here. If not you can google Villa Doria Pamphili.

All that said, the Villa Borghese park, as you may already know, is fab and closer to other attractions, and it may sate your appetite for walks in parks.

ETA: A pic of the park in case mine don't view.