Springtime in Rome

Our six-day itinerary, with lodging, sights, gelati and meals!

My mother is from Rome, so I’ve been visiting the city since I was a baby, when my grandparents and other beloved family members still lived there. The names of its streets and piazze are deeply familiar to me, as they have peppered the conversations between my mother and her family for decades. When I was in college, my mother moved back to Rome for three years, which allowed me to get to know the city better on my own. I took Max there for the first time when Hugo was a toddler. It was springtime and we stayed at a lovely hotel near Piazza del Popolo and spent four days criss-crossing the city center. It was our first trip away from the baby and it felt like we were levitating.

We wanted to take Hugo to Rome for his tenth birthday, but it didn’t work out and would have been complicated to leave Bruno behind. Instead, we chose the week before Easter this year to take the boys for the first time. They are nearly 12 and 7 and we are in magical territory for traveling. As long as we take periodic breaks for ice cream or wild runs in an open park or judicious returns to the hotel to doodle around for a bit before dinner, we can basically expect them to keep up with us as we walk—from Campo de’ Fiori to the Colosseum, from the Basilica di San Clemente to the Jewish ghetto. On our first day in Rome, we walked more than 23,000 steps and there were no complaints! (Real talk: We did not keep up this pace; in fact, each day we walked a little bit less and on the last day, it was less than 10,000 steps, also because it was raining.)

If you’re planning a trip to Rome and would like to know where we stayed, what we saw and where we ate, all the details are here:

1. Lodging:
   Upon the advice of my aunt and uncle, we stayed at the cloister of the order of Saint Bridget. The location was incredible, on the corner of Piazza Farnese. We were just steps from Campo de’ Fiori as well as the Ponte Sisto that goes to Trastevere. It was affordable (you can stay in many different cloisters in Rome for much less than you would pay for a hotel room) and very clean and lovely. It might be slightly more spartan than a proper hotel, but only slightly. We had two rooms, each with its own bathroom, just across the hall from each other. A simple breakfast was included (crisp Roman rosette and an excellent coffee machine were on hand in the dining room each morning) and we could hear the nuns singing when we got ready in the morning.
   

2. Itinerary:
   Rome is a sprawling, miraculous city and you could visit fifty times and always find something new to discover, but since this was our boys’ first time, I wanted to focus on the city center and the “greatest hits,” trying to do as much as possible on foot. Except for a cab ride to a department store in the pouring rain on the day before we left, we succeeded!

   

   Yes, those are our children.

   Day 1: After breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the Gianicolo and marveled at the view over the city, giving our boys a view from the top, so to speak, to begin. From Gianicolo, we walked to Teatro di Marcello and the gorgeous Tempio di Ercole Vincitore, then to lunch in the Jewish ghetto. Thus fortified, we set off for the Foro Romano and Campidoglio, where my parents got married a long time ago. We took breaks along the way, resting on park benches, in bookstores and letting the boys run wild whenever it was safe. (If you were at Campidoglio while two little boys were reenacting WrestleMania at the base of the main statue, my heartfelt apologies.) In the late afternoon, we returned to the Brigidine to rest before dinner, then walked over the Ponte Sisto into the farthest reaches of Trastevere for dinner. We, of course, had to walk all the way back after dinner, but the kids loved the nighttime crowds and energy of Trastevere and dancing in front of the live musicians playing in Piazza San Calisto in the dark.

   
   Day 2: After breakfast at a cafe in our neighborhood, we walked to Piazza Navona. It was early Sunday morning and hardly anyone was out. We tried to explain to the boys how rare it was to see the square without crowds of people; when we returned later in the afternoon among throngs of people, they understood. From there, we walked to the Pantheon, which is now a ticketed landmark with long lines, even at 9:00 am on a Sunday. We dutifully stood in line to show the boys the inside of the rotunda and to pay tribute to Raffaello, who is buried there and who they feel they “know,” as he is Urbino’s most famous son. After the Pantheon, we went to the Fontana di Trevi, which was, as usual, ridiculously crowded. We had a grand time people-watching and cop-watching. The blond, capped Roman cop who whistles and yells at the gelato-licking tourists who dare to sit on the monument for their photo op—chef’s kiss. On to the Spanish Steps and down Via Condotti so the kids could visit the Lego store, which we agreed to for a measure of goodwill (it worked!). Even so, they started lagging as we made our way to Piazza del Popolo and there was no convincing them to enter either of the churches to see the Caravaggios. Clearly it was time for a lunch break. After lunch, we walked to a deserted Piazza Cavour, which randomly enchanted the boys. They ran around on the grass for at least an hour while Max and I rested on a park bench. Afterwards, we made our way back to the crowded city center, which was unpleasant everywhere we attempted to go. So we beat a retreat to the hotel before we went to Trastevere for a simple sandwich dinner.

   

   Day 3: After breakfast at the hotel and a visit to Campo de’ Fiori for pizza and tangerines to save for lunch later, we walked to Largo di Torre Argentina to count the cats (a fun little game to keep kids entertained while you look at the excavations from above), the Vittoriano and down via dei Fori Imperiali to the Basilica of San Clemente. My friend Alizah Holstein, the author of the upcoming My Roman History, which is available for pre-order now, had recommended this church to me and I must, in turn, recommend it to you, but with the caveat that you should visit it with a guide who will help navigate the multiple layers of history hidden behind the assuming little church. We ate our pizza and tangerines on a park bench outside San Clemente at midday and then walked back to the Colosseum, where we met up with friends from Berlin who had organized a guided tour. (Valeria was our tour guide.) This was a big hit, despite the crowds, and we rewarded the kids with copious gelati in the Monti neighborhood afterwards. We said goodbye to our lovely friends, walked to the Trinità dei Monti, collapsed at a cafe to have a tea and cool our heels, then walked over to the ghetto for dinner again.

   

   One tiny corner of the breathtaking ceiling at Doria Pamphilj.

   Day 4: A day of constant rain, but nothing could stop us. We first had breakfast at a bar near our hotel, then walked to the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, an utterly mind-blowing collection of art still privately owned by the Pamphilj family in an exquisite and ornate palazzo. We got audio guides and made sure the boys had their notebooks and pens in case of boredom and, thus armed, we managed to spend a few glorious hours marveling at all the priceless paintings and sculptures and frescos. Incredible. (At some point, we gave the boys our phones and allowed them to disappear into the gallery to take pictures of the paintings they liked best, something we’ve never done before, which bought us a bit more time, even if we weren’t entirely sure where the boys had gone to. I suppose this isn’t a tip for everyone, but maybe for some.) From Doria Pamphilj, we walked to have lunch near the Fontana di Trevi. But afterwards, when we attempted to make our way to Saint Peter’s Cathedral, the boys went on strike, so we surrendered and separated; I took the boys home via Via del Pellegrino, stopping for some window shopping and gelato, while Max walked to Saint Peter’s for a bit of alone time. After recuperating in the hotel, I got to duck out for some shopping in the twilight on my own, then we went over to Trastevere again for dinner.

   
   Day 5: On our last full day, we had breakfast at a cafe in our neighborhood, but the pouring rain portended bad news for a day on foot. We first went to Arco degli Acetari, which was around the corner from us, then ducked into the Museum Leonardo da Vinci Experience for a few hours, which the boys loved. The rain continued, unabated, so we took a taxi to the Rinascente department store, where we had a fancy second coffee and spremuta at the bar on the top floor (hot tip: very clean bathrooms!). We noodled around the clothing floors, waiting for the rain to stop. We walked to a very disappointing lunch, the only truly bad meal of the trip, and then headed back indoors to the Palazzo Barberini for some more art. (Galleria Borghese was partially closed, which is why we skipped it.) It was tough to enthuse the children for much more art at this point—“too many suffering Christs on the cross!” said Hugo—so we did the time-honored trick of moving through the museum as fast as possible and then gave up. The afternoon we filled with one more gelato stop, a bit more aimless wandering around the beautiful city and then a quick and easy meal around the corner from our hotel. Before bed, we packed our bags.

   

   Carciofiiiii, order them wherever you see them.

   Day 6: Our train to the Marche left at midday, so we didn’t have much time to see anything in the morning. We had a leisurely breakfast at our local bar, then walked over to Roscioli for packed sandwiches (the only time we saw the place without a line, fwiw). We took one last stroll through the market stands at Campo de’ Fiori and bought fruit for the trip. Then we said goodbye to the nuns and took a cab to Termini and had a fun little chat with the taxi driver (who said to warn everyone to avoid Rome in 2025, because it’s the Jubilee and they’re expecting millions of pilgrims (non un milione, milioni!, she repeated for effect)). In the train as it shuddered out of Rome, I ran through all the things we didn’t do and that I’m putting on the list for next time: la Fontana delle Tartarughe, Musei Capitoline, Galleria Borghese, Villa Farnesina, Giardino degli Aranci, the Aventine keyhole, the Roman forum…and so much more.
   

3. Where and what we ate:
   
   NB: This is not an exhaustive list of Rome’s best restaurants. This is just the random selection of places that I chose for our family that made sense for our locations and itinerary and that we liked. I left out places we did not enjoy (there were a few). I’m just as susceptible to online reviews as the next person, but I try to entertain the idea of a bad meal every once in a while; not every experience on a trip has to be the most optimal possible. You never know what you’ll discover this way and who knows, maybe your own taste also counts for something.

   

   

   1. Pizza Margherita at Seu; 2. Torsello d'indivia at Al Pompiere; 3. Some of Antica Birreria Peroni's dishes; 4. The vegetable display at Der Belli; 5. Two kinds of strawberries at Der Belli; 6. Dar Filettaro di Santa Barbara

   Caffè Perù - A little bar next to our cloister that had excellent coffee and breakfast pastries (and pizza rossa if you’re not a sweet breakfast person) and a very fun, grungy, old-school vibe (it’s been there since 1933). The walls were hung with paintings of Rome on pieces of cardboard boxes by Rachele del Nevo. If you’re traveling with kids in Italy, make sure to introduce them to the concept of cappuccino d’orzo - an uncaffeinated cappuccino made with barley coffee that you can order for them while you drink your morning coffee at the bar. To keep our kids’ spirits up in the morning, we almost always stopped somewhere for a mid-morning bar visit for a drink and a cornetto even if we’d already had breakfast earlier.
   
   Barnum - If Third Wave coffee drinks are more your thing than a crowded Italian bar, or you want perfectly laminated pastries that look like they come from Copenhagen or a certain French pâtissier’s Instagram account, or you want to sit down and have some eggs and bacon or bagels for breakfast, then Barnum is the place for you. There’s almost always a line, though you can skip it if you just stand at the bar like anywhere else, and the pastries are indeed insanely good. (The cappuccino, while delicious, suffers from the same fate as any other Third Wave coffee place because it is served lukewarm rather than scalding hot, as is my preference, so be forewarned.)
   
   Forno Campo de’ Fiori - If you’re in the neighborhood, this is a great, old-school bakery that churns out delicious slabs of pizza al taglio. On the day that we knew we’d be on foot at lunchtime, we bought a selection of slices, wrapped up in paper, in the morning and toted them with us. My favorite is the spicy tomato one without cheese, but make sure to have tissues on hand when eating for oily fingers and the dollops of delicious tomato sauce that ooze out when you bite in.
   
   Ristorante Al Pompiere - An institution in the Jewish ghetto, on the beautiful little Piazza delle Cinque Scole, al Pompiere serves up classic Roman fare. I especially loved the torsello d’indivia (thanks to Elizabeth Minchilli for that tip!), half a head of curly endive cooked until tender with anchovies and garlic. And Max wants me to mention that the fried baccalà, light as air, was the best we had on this trip.
   
   Sora Margherita - I don’t think I’ve ever been to Rome without having at least one meal at Sora Margherita, a teeny-tiny, very simple restaurant on the same piazza as the more elevated Al Pompiere. We ended up ordering a second plate of the concia di zucchine after the first one because we couldn’t get enough. After lunch, we were sitting in the piazza in the sun to digest for a minute and I looked up and through an open window to see a white-smocked art restorer working on a ceiling fresco in the apartment over Al Pompiere. Magical.
   
   Seu Illuminati Pizzeria - The best pizza of my life?! Truly. This was a completely lucky find that we stumbled upon online after searching for a pizza restaurant in Rome within walking distance of Piazza Farnese. It’s located in a very residential neighborhood, but is worth the walk from wherever you’re coming from. There are two separate pizza menus to choose from, a “classics” one and a far more untraditional one. On this trip, we stuck to the classics, but I can’t wait to go back and try some of the more daring combinations. The pizza crust was delectable and the flavor and quality of the toppings was fantastic. The atmosphere was fun and boppy; we absolutely loved it.
   
   Antica Birreria Peroni - An oldie that I’ve known about since my mother used to come here with her work colleagues, this is a very traditional and very bustling place near the Fontana di Trevi that serves cheap and cheerful food from a sprawling menu. (If you come in the right months, you lucky duck, they’ll have pomodori con il riso, rice-stuffed tomatoes, on the menu). If you’re lucky, you won’t have to wait for a table and the food comes quickly, a godsend when traveling with hangry children. Not everything we ordered was great, but we loved the broccoli ripassati, the swordfish stewed in tomato sauce and the octopus and potato salad.
   
   Er Pizzicarolo - When the idea of a full restaurant meal at dinnertime is too much to take, but you still need to eat a little bit of something, head to this tiny spot in Trastevere that makes delicious sandwiches (normally sized, fyi) with high-quality meats and cheeses, deliciously seasoned cooked vegetables and perfectly crusty bread. A delightful discovery.
   
   La Buca di Ripetta - Near Piazza del Popolo, when our kids were about to melt down one day, we collapsed into this place for lunch. It was a little fancier than we wanted, the portions smaller and everything a bit too precious, but it turned out to be delicious. The puntarelle were perfectly sauced, the carbonara was outstanding, even my very simple pasta e ceci hit the spot. If you’re in the neighborhood and you need to eat, mark this spot.
   
   Osteria Der Belli - For me, the best meal of the trip. I could have simply ordered a plate with a selection of every vegetable dish on the menu and been completely happy. The service was lovely, the food was delicious, and the vegetables perfectly cooked and seasoned. A dream! We treated our kids to two different plates of strawberries for dessert: regular strawberries, sliced and sugared, and wild local strawberries, tiny and fragrant. If you’re in Rome during strawberry season, don’t snooze on ordering them wherever you see them on the menu.
   
   Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara - Another place I’ve been visiting for decades, this tiny hole-in-the-wall next to the church of Santa Barbara is a Roman institution and churns out fried baccalà in record tempo. The menu is short but sweet, the “napkins” are pieces of butcher paper, the service is harried but kind. We had dinner here on our last night in Rome, our hearts full.

   Gelato:
   This is a very short list of the places we especially liked. There are a million gelaterie in Rome. Personally, I try to avoid places where the ice cream billows out of the containers in big, comical swoops—it’s usually a sign of industrially produced gelato that isn’t great.
   We particularly loved:

   1. Pellegrino Gelateria Monteforte (my tip: the vegan dark chocolate!)

   2. Gelateria Fatamorgana (my tip: the passion fruit with crunchy black seeds!)
   3. Gelateria Santa Maria Maggiore (Max loved the hazelnut and pistachio so much he finished one cone and then went back and had a second one!)

   

   Inject it into my veins.

I hope this is helpful to you and thanks for letting me share; it was a magical, healing trip for us after a long and difficult winter. And if you have any tips you’d like to share on Rome, or tips on traveling through a city like this with kids, or questions, please head to to the comments!