‘…If I would have planned more days to spend in Rome ...’ I heard this comment so many times that I decided to write some suggestions about what you can do having a week or more in the eternal city. Rome has over 3000 years of globally influential art, architecture, and culture and it is worth discovering beautiful areas off the beaten path! Not to mention the truly beautiful surrounding!
Discover Trastevere and Testaccio which are the areas where the local millennials hang out.
Take a street tour with Antonella around Aventino hill and discover the perfectly framed view of St Peter’s Basilica from the keyhole of the impenetrable door of the Cavalieri di Malta‘s estate.
Stroll around the Garbatella and the Ostiense districts, a rundown and dreary place of working-class dwellings in the 70s which has become a cultural hotspot and a space for contemporary art. Keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and spot the random assortments of colorful murals covering walls throughout the district.
Explore EUR, the residential and business area built by Mussolini to showcase its idea of ‘new Italy’. Visit Fendi’s permanent exhibition hosted on the ground floor of Palazzo Della Civilta’ Italiana (nicknamed the ‘squared Coliseum’).
Driving for less than an hour from the center of Rome, you can visit the old roman archaeological site of Ostia Antica, the harbor city of ancient Rome with amazing mosaics.
Tour the beautiful roman villas ‘Villa d’Este’ and ‘Villa Adriana’ in Tivoli, in the Unesco World Heritage List. Enjoy the hilltop village Castelgandolfo with breath-taking views over the lake, where the Pope has his summer residence.
Choose the hotel in the center of Rome, so everything is within walking distance. Manfredi Suite in Rome and Crossing Condotti are located near the Spanish Steps; Relais Rione Ponte are near Piazza Navona; Armony Suites B&B is near the Vatican.
If you are on holiday with children, Rome can become overwhelming. Why don’t you stop few days hiking or relaxing at the beach? In less than an hour towards the South, there is the beautiful Circeo Natural Park with the spectacular golden beach of Sabaudia (20km long) and many picturesque hill-top non-tourist villages. Spend a few days at Il San Francesco which has a unique location between Sabaudia beach and Lake Paola, just below Mount Circeo.
Going towards the North, there are the beautiful beaches of Tuscan Maremma and the spectacular Tarot Garden, Niki de Saint Phalle’s esoteric sculpture garden based on the Tarot cards, near the picturesque village of Capalbio.
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