Are you inspired by movie and the book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia to go to Rome? Don’t wait. The food is as good as depicted in the film. That scene showing Julia Roberts diving into a plate of spaghetti is real. The film shots of carciofi [...]

If you find yourself wondering where to have lunch near the Piazza Barberini – home to the Fontana del Tritone of Bernini – make an effort to walk to a small side street that is off the busy Via delle Quattro Fontane to find this little gem of a restaurant called Hostaria Romana.
Because it is [...]

If you find yourself famished after a marathon shopping round in the Via Condotti-Spanish Steps area of Rome, you have to go to Ristorante Nino on the Via Borgognona. The restaurant seems to have been around forever and although it does attract a lot of tourists and celebrities, there are enough local regulars who make [...]

On our first night in Rome, we dined with friends at Il Bacaro, a restaurant that they recommended. Since our friends are locals, we trust their choices. But when it came time to head to the restaurant, we could not find it on our (paper) map. Thank heavens for Google Maps! We found Il Bacaro [...]

Romans have two great pasttimes: eating good food and watching people. If you want to see a truly Roman social scene at full throttle and enjoy one of the best meals you’ll ever have in the city, Dal Bolognese is the place.
Located right on the Piazza del Popolo, it is extremely popular with politicians, actors, [...]

You won’t find Al Granasso in online or paper travel guides. I discovered it after a shopping round in the area around Via Condotti. What led me to Al Granasso were two very simple rules I follow to avoid being stuck in restaurants filled with tourists (and bad, expensive food):
(1) Go to the side streets [...]

So you’ve just finished wandering inside the Pantheon, gazing with wonder at the perfect symmetry of the dome and the massive columns that, to this day, stand for the glory of ancient Rome. You’ve been walking for hours, darting in and out of churches, marveling at the Caravaggios and Berninis sprinkled across the city.
It’s lunch [...]

It’s not easy to find reasonably priced, up-to-standard accommodations in Rome. The city is extremely popular with travelers and space is limited so there are a lot of dodgy, expensive hotels but few upgraded boutique hotels that don’t cost more than 200 EUR per night. That’s why I like Kame Hall, a four-room hotel in [...]

I have been a fan of Al Pompiere for many years and come back to this restaurant whenever I am in Rome. It is difficult to find because the entrance is tucked away in a tiny side street off the via Arenula, close to the Sinagoga. You go up a flight of stairs to the [...]

Rome is one of my favorite cities because it’s a mysterious blend of history, art, architecture, fashion, design and gastronomy. However, compared to cities such as Amsterdam and Paris, there has been a dearth of boutique hotels that offer good contemporary design in intimate surroundings. That’s beginning to change.
Intown Luxury House is a lovely boutique [...]

Rome is one of the best places in the world for food. Whenever I am in Rome, I go to the local markets (the Campo Fiori is my favorite) and buy artichokes, tomatoes, beans, rucola, cherries (we’re talking about summer). And there’s nothing like spaghetti alla carbonara or all’amatriciana at a local trattoria.
For this post, [...]

There are few cities in the world that can compete with Rome when it comes to history, art, cuisine, shopping and atmosphere. The city gets thousands of visitors every year but lags behind other European cities in high quality accommodations that don’t cost a fortune. I’ve tried to put together a list of reasonably priced [...]