Rome

Let’s start with the number, because you came here for the number. Five days. That’s what Nico says, and he’s blunt about it: not fewer than five. Now let’s talk about why — and what to do if you haven’t got five. Rome is bigger than the map suggests Here’s the thing people underestimate before…

We asked Nico — who drives a taxi in this city and watches the tourist season rise and fall from behind the wheel — one simple question. When should someone come to Rome? He didn’t hedge. He gave us a date range. From 20 September to 15 October. Here’s his reasoning, and the full year…

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, with the nuances you’d expect from any large metropolis. Rome has millions of inhabitants, and it would be stupid to pretend there’s no crime in the capital of Italy. But the situation is very much under control — particularly in the centre, where there’s a heavy and constant presence…

Let’s start with some honesty: this isn’t a Rome problem. Every capital city in the world has people working out how to take money off visitors. What changes is the specialisation — each city develops its own particular trade. So here’s what Rome has become good at, told by our friend Nico, who has spent…

You want to know what a normal day as a tourist in Rome will actually cost you — with no unpleasant surprises. Fine. We’ll tell you, with real prices, in the order you’ll actually spend them. Where to sleep: the biggest saving you can make Before the day even starts, this is the decision that…

Let’s be clear about something before we start. None of what follows is law. Nobody will fine you for drinking a cappuccino with your pizza. There’s no dress code police waiting outside restaurants. This is our culture, not our rulebook. Everything we don’t do, we don’t do because experience has taken us away from it…

Rome in August is like a beautiful woman left alone, without the attention of her partner. She’s still there. Still magnificent. But something is missing — and it’s us. Because in Italy, in August, everything slows down. Especially here. The locals move to the coast: whoever has a place by the sea goes and stays…

We asked two travellers on their way back to London a simple question: what’s the one thing you wish you’d known about Rome before coming? They didn’t say the queues. They didn’t say the prices. They said the heat. Nobody expects it. Not even us. Here’s the part that surprises people: a Roman doesn’t expect…

You’ve read it a hundred times: never order a cappuccino after 11am in Italy. Let us fix that for you, because almost everyone gets the reason wrong. Nobody forbids it. There’s no law, no ban, no barista who will refuse you — not yet, anyway. You can have a cappuccino in the late morning, in…

Most street food guides give you a list. We want to give you something better first: the reason Rome eats this way at all. Because street food here isn’t a trend that arrived with food trucks and Instagram. It’s older than that, and it comes from somewhere real. Where it comes from: the rosticceria Long…