Don't waste your time when you're on holiday in Rome. Find out the over-hyped spots to avoid (and where to go instead).
Bog-standard tourist restaurants
After a morning of all-out sightseeing, it's tempting to flop into any nearby restaurant. But if you must eat close to a major tourist haunt, make sure you follow a recommendation. Otherwise you risk ending up eating a substandard, overpriced meal — a travesty in this city of divine cuisine. This is particularly true around the
Vatican, so beware.
Via del Corso
This tacky shopping street is crowded and hectic — the kind of place you go on holiday to avoid. Usually shopping in Rome delights precisely because the city's not dominated by chain stores. That is, apart from
Via del Corso, which is full of Italian and international chains selling run-of-the-mill clothes and consumer products. Seriously, there's so much more to do in Rome than shop at Accessorize or Diesel.
Campo de' Fiori after a football match or at New Year's Eve
Campo de' Fiori is one of Rome's liveliest and most beguiling piazzas. Surrounded by bars, at night it's a busy nightlife hub, attracting a younger, less-dressed-up crowd than the sophisticated bars elsewhere in the
centro storico. It's also where football supporters tend to congregate after games, so often can be a flashpoint of any trouble that kicks off — if a big match is on, avoid. Likewise, on New Year's Eve the piazza fills with people sloshing beer and throwing bottles about — more Eurotrash than
Dolce Vita. Don't let these caveats put you off Il Campo altogether though — on an ordinary night it's great.
Inadequate ice-cream parlours
Rome has some of the world's best ice-cream. This is easy to sample if you follow a simple rule: at any parlour, check out the pistachio flavour. Is it bright green? If so, move on. If you want the real, delicious deal, look out for places where the pistachio is a soft ochre colour. You know, something like the nut itself. If the pistachio looks right, it's likely the other flavours are likewise made using real, fresh ingredients and your gelato will be so much nicer.
Termini
As in many cities, the area around Rome's central station is not the nicest, and it's clustered with third-rate budget hotels. That said, there are some gems here too, such as
The Beehive, plus the area harbours Rome's best ethnic eats. However, it's also got more than its fair share of resident shady characters (take care wandering at night). To feel yourself immersed in Rome's beauty, it's much better to stay in the
centro storico — for example, around
Campo de' Fiori, Spagna or
Barberini.
The Suburbs
Apart from the fascinating Fascist-era suburb of
EUR, Rome’s suburbs tend towards faceless, if not highrise 1960s blocks, which hold little interest for the visitor.
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