Top 10 things to do in Rome and where to stay
An expert guide to the best things to do in Rome and where to stay, including the best Rome attractions and places to visit, from the Colosseum and the Vatican City to the Roman Forum and Pantheon, and the best hotels nearby, including five-star hotels, budget accommodation and characterful b&bs.
The Colosseum
The biggest amphitheatre ever built and the ultimate symbol of imperial Rome. It’s every tourist's rite of passage to stroll through the crumbling stadium, once sheethed in marble, and imagine the blood-spattered gladiatorial combats, the lions that once prowled the stadium, the roar of the crowd.
Secret tip: The audio guides are worth investing in but check yours functions before straying far from the rental kiosks; not all of them work. Those with the nerve have been known to surreptitiously tag onto the end of a tour to get in via the group entrance, with its smaller queues. Otherwise, visit first thing or as late as possible in the day to dodge the crowds.
Contact: Piazza del Colosseo 1, 00184 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 3996 7700; coopculture.it)
Where to stay
Hotel Palazzo Manfredi
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
It makes no secret of its luxury cachet, this 16-room gem so close to the Colosseum that you can almost hear the lions. From the moment you step through the discreet door to be greeted like visiting royalty, the Manfredi dazzles with its tastefully glamorous décor and magnificent views. The rooftop restaurant is among the most romantic in Rome. Read expert review From £356per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Celio
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Hotel Celio has great real estate just behind the Colosseum, and is a charming and great value three-star hotel with an obvious love for the history of its neighbourhood. Playful, vintage Rome is the underlying theme, and think Renaissance revival-inspired rooms. In the summer months, the property opens its garden courtyard for tented, alfresco breakfasts. Read expert review From £76per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Pantheon
This former temple, now a church, is a must for any first visit to Rome – all granite Corinthian columns, colured marble and bronze doors. The centrepiece is the coffered concrete dome, with an oculus (circular opening) in the middle, where the light streams in.
Secret tip: Visit between 11am and 1pm, when the vision of sunrays pouring through the oculus is at its most spectacular. Also head over if it’s raining to see the water ricochet off the marble floor, before being captured by drains built into the floor.
Contact: Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 6830 0230).
Where to stay
Palazzo Navona Hotel
Rome, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
The Pantheon is within a few steps of this Scandi-style upmarket four-star. The overall vibe is cool design meets cosy living space. The glassed-in ground level speaks of a stylish lounge club – an open-plan sitting room with handcrafted design furniture, chartreuse couches and a library corner showing off an incredible collection of coffee-table art books. When it is warm, an ideal hangout is the sixth floor panoramic rooftop. Read expert review From £204per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Albergo del Senato
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
It’s so close to the Pantheon that anyone with a decent overarm technique could lob a cocktail olive into the oculus. But three other factors make the Del Senato stand out: excellent service, a delightful rooftop terrace and the pristine elegance of the suave antique décor. It’s the classic antique-filled traditional Roman hotel, except that where some of its rivals are dusty and dowdy the Del Senato is elegant and full of fresh flowers. Read expert review From £117per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Trevi Fountain
The world’s most famous fountain, a Baroque explosion of tritons, winged horses and drinking snakes, gleams bright as the teeth of the Cheshire Cat. The water glitters with thousands of coins that tourists have tossed in (it racks up to €2000 each week; the coins are collected to fund a supermarket for the poor).
Secret tip: Rome hosts more than 2,000 other fountains: the Quattro Fontane on via delle Quattro Fontane, recently restored by Fendi, and Triton Fountain on Piazza Barberini, Rome’s first fully sculpted fountain, are particularly worth a nosey.
Address: Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma, Italy.
Where to stay
Palazzo Scanderbeg
Rome, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
Palazzo Scanderbeg, two minutes' walk from the Trevi Fountain, is essentially a luxury home of private apartments. Think an upmarket urban hideaway with style simplicity that feels more private members’ club than hotel. All of the 11 rooms and suites have piazza-facing windows, bathing the light-grey coloured rooms with gorgeous morning sunshine. Master Suites have the added bonus of terraces and hammams. Read expert review From £176per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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CasaCau
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
This is the Italian dream two minutes from the Trevi Fountain, especially if that dream means acute style-acumen and normcore-chic. Each CasaCau 'Interior', as the apartments are called, are breezy open spaces with contemporary furniture and art pieces, all of which belie the palazzo’s Baroque façade. The open-space format of the apartments includes an eat-in kitchen and bedroom/living room with king-sized beds. Read expert review From £270per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill
Once most important meeting places in the world – where temples rubbed alongside brothels; streets tremored with triumphal processions and heaving markets; and squares thronged with spectators of fervid political debate and criminal trials. Despite its slightly sad, neglected state, the well-preserved ruins make it the most memorable attraction for many visitors to Rome.
Secret tip: The site is vast and badly signposted so it’s worth investing in a good guide; even if you haven’t arranged anything in advance there are usually guides looking to fill their groups last minute by the entrance. Don’t miss the Temple of Caesar, built in his memory after republicans stabbed him 23 times to death in 44 BC.
Contact: Via della Salara Vecchia 5/6, 00186 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 0608).
Where to stay
Hotel Lancelot
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
A lovely, rambling hotel run by a local family just 15 minutes from the entrance to the Roman Forum. The Lancelot makes up in warmth and charm what it lacks in cutting-edge design. Its old-fashioned elegance feels just right in the Celio, an attractive district that, despite being in the shadow of the Colosseum, is a quiet world apart from the city-centre bustle. Read expert review From £69per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Nerva Boutique Hotel
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Absolutely charming. That’s the overriding impression left behind by a stay at this cute, friendly three-star hotel which nestles right up against the Forum. A genuine welcome is extended to guests in this 19-room family-run place, which is famous for its generous breakfasts. Since a recent makeover, rooms have been more five-star than three, with chic check prints and vibrant colour schemes. Read expert review From £58per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Vatican City Part I: Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums
The world’s smallest city state and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church is mind-blowing and blister-inducing in equal measure. The Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Roman sculpture-and-sarcophagi-stuffed Vatican Museums are normally top of a first-time visitor’s bucket list.
Secret tip: Don’t miss the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museums. The Sistine Chapel is always rammed and many do not adhere to the silence rule; those who expect to take in the marvels of Michelangelo in an atmosphere of quiet contemplation will be disappointed.
Contact (Vatican Museums): Viale Vaticano, 00165 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 6988 3332; museivaticani.va); address for Sistine Chapel is 00120 Vatican City.
Where to stay
Residenza Paolo VI
Rome, Italy
7Telegraph expert rating
For those whom the Vatican City holds a particular significance, the position of the hotel, with its front-row view of St. Peter’s Basilica, couldn’t be much better. Though the price is more posh than pious, the unique location outdoes any other Vatican-area hotel. Most rooms have a view of St. Peter’s dome. The Residenza also has the proverbial foot in the door to organise Vatican visits, including to the museums, gardens and sacred scavi. Read expert review From £68per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Raffaello
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
If you want a good-value hotel with decent service within walking distance of Vatican City, look no further. It's also on the edge of the city’s ever-more trendy Monti district. As for the décor, its classic Rome three-star with a slightly wild, colourful Casanova twist. A good selection of three- and four-bed rooms makes this an excellent family option. There’s a well-stocked breakfast buffet in the rather baroque dining room. Read expert review From £48per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Vatican City Part II : St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square
The Basilica is one of the largest churches ever built, an Italian Renaissance beauty all papal tombs, neoclassical sculptures and frenziedly detailed reliefs. Those with the energy can climb the 871 steps to the top of the Basilica’s dome for 360-degree views of Vatican City. Fronting the monument is St. Peter's Square, perhaps the most famous piazza on the planet.
Secret tip:The pope holds Papal Audiences most Wednesdays on St. Peter’s Square, at 10am (tickets are bookable in advance; arrive at 8am for a good seat). He also recites the Angelus prayer and gives a papal blessing on Sundays at noon.
Contact (St Peter's Basilica): Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City (00 39 06 6982).
Where to stay
Gran Melia Rome
Rome, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
A former convent, built on the site of the suburban home of Emperor Nero's mother and a ten-minute walk to the walls of Vatican City. This enviably located hotel in the heart of historic Rome is housed in a chic and sprawling villa, complete with panoramic cityscapes, verdant gardens and an outdoor pool. There's also a spa with vitality pool. Ask for a cityscape room facing Vatican City. Read expert review From £229per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Relais Giulia
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
This is perfect for those who want easy access to the Vatican City (a ten-minute stroll across the Tiber) but also not feel too cut off from the action downtown. This secret hideaway on elegant Renaissance-era Via Giulia with 13 rooms is a haven of less-is-more taste. Traces of fresco testify to the venerable past of the palazzo, which once belonged to the Farnese family. Read expert review From £60per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Galleria Borghese
If you only visit one art gallery in Rome, make it the grand daddy of all private art collections, crammed with classical antiquities, Baroque sculptures and paintings by Titian and Raphael. Admission is at two-hourly intervals; book a tickets with specific time slot in advance.
Secret tip: Don’t miss Bernini's Ratto di Proserpina (Rape of Proserpina) sculpture. Caravaggio fans should make a beeline for Sala VIII. Although the paintings section upstairs is understandably popular, the Roman mosaics and sensational frescoes on the ground floor still merit time.
Contact: Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5, 00197 Roma, Italy (00 39 06 841 3979; galleriaborghese.it).
Where to stay
Parco dei Principi
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Unbridled luxury is the best way to describe Parco dei Principi, from its grand entrance to the spa. Though originally a project by Italian modernist architect Gìo Ponti, the hotel is a nod to the refined design of decades past. Its Baroque interiors and collection of artwork and antiques that seem to step out of nearby Gallery Borghese set the stage for a regal vibe. Its pool and wellness area are rock star-ready Read expert review From £160per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Lord Byron
Rome, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
One of those small luxury hotels that attracts fierce loyalty. The Lord Byron is a haven of tasteful elegance, with a Twenties vibe, near Galleria Borghese. The upside of its off-centre location is peace, quiet and the sense of having wandered into the private Roman residence of a wealthy collector. Rooms have bathrooms done out in Carrara marble and just a dash of Deco decadence. Read expert review From £266per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Trastevere
After a day’s sightseeing, head across the river Tiber to this cobblestoned, ivy-twined neighbourhood with slow-food trattorias, bare-brick microbeweries and graffiti-tattoed bars. Head over for for dinner and drinks as the sun sets to enjoy the street tambourine players and violinists, and enjoy an aperitivo on one of the terraces.
Secret tip: Shopping enthusiasts and antiques hunters should pop over on Sundays for the Porta Portese flea market.
Suites Trastevere
Rome, Italy
7Telegraph expert rating
Value for money, proximity to the laid-back, bohemian charms of the Trastevere district and the cachet of bedrooms done out in theatrical, trompe l’oeil frescoes are the real selling points of this five-room b&b. Helpful owner-manager Marco is a great source of tried-and-trusted local information. Rooms aren't suites in the strict sense of the word, but they are spacious, with mostly roomy rain-shower-equipped bathrooms. Read expert review From £43per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel Santa Maria
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Imagine an orange grove, with rooms, in the heart of the centro storico. That’s the best way to describe this hotel in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood, famous for its colourful street life and lively culinary scene. Based around a 16th-century convent cloister, it’s a peaceful refuge from the urban noise and bustle. The bedrooms are bright and simple with tea and coffee facilities. Read expert review From £77per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The Jewish Ghetto
Faded tangerine façades studded with memorial plaques; locals nattering in Giudeo-romanesco dialect fusing Italian and Hebrew; greasy, sugared smells wafting from Jewish bakery Boccione run by two rather curt sisters. No wonder that many visitors insist this is their favourite Roman neighbourhood.
Secret tip: Few realise how rich this area is with historic relics – including the Porticus Octaviae, a strikingly preserved complex of temples and library built by Augustus. And you don’t have to queue.
Where to stay
47Hotel
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
47Hotel may be in the heart of contemporary Rome, but its Velabro location is the epicentre of antiquity, both near the Jewish Quarter and steps away from the Colosseum. Once inside, history gives way to 47's streamlined modern design and the panoramic rooftop restaurant. The most coveted rooms are on the fifth floor – deluxe rooms and suites which each have a large, live-in balcony and a view of the ancient Foro Boari. Read expert review From £121per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Boutique Hotel Campo de' Fiori
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
There’s a playful, romantic ambience to this place that makes it perfect for couples who want to be in the heart of old Rome. Elements of Venice and Paris, as well as the Eternal City, are thown into the hotel’s warm, extrovert design mix, which uses marble, antiques, terracotta tiles, chandeliers, velvet and silk brocades and Mediterranean hues on the sponged walls to create an intimate, romantic refuge from the bustle outside. Read expert review From £64per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Piazza Navona
This magnificent square decorated by a fountain by Benini is built on what was once the Stadium of Domitian, dating back to the first century AD; today it’s a popular gathering point for Romans with its bustling terraced cafés and seasonal fairgrounds.
Secret tip: The cafés on the square are of variable quality. If you can bag a table, Bernini Ristorante does a credible spaghetti and excellent tiramisu.
Where to stay
Lifestyle Suites
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Opening your curtains of a morning to find glorious baroque Piazza Navona laid out in front of you makes Lifestyle Suites extra special. This is design with a vengeance, steering close to – though staying just on the fun side of – kitsch, redeemed by light-hearted touches, real attention to comfort and a warm, friendly welcome. Read expert review From £220per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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G Rough Rome
Rome, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Describing its ethos as 'rough-luxe', the 10-room boutique hotel places original, vintage pieces by leading Italian designers in a stripped-back historic building, leavening the mix with rich fabrics and playful contemporary art interventions. The ground-floor bar and breakfast room feels like a shabby-chic bistro. In-room massages can be arranged on request. Read expert review From £327per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
