Fathom Favorites: Rome

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Rome can feel like a living museum, with something interesting at every step. And crowds, crowds, crowds. The truly magnificent sites are worth the round-the-clock gawking, though savvy travelers can find a reprieve from the masses by hitting the open-air sites in the early morning and late at night, or just walking a piazza away from the touristy areas. Do leave plenty of time to break for scooter drives, coffee, and another scoop of gelato.

Fathom Favorites are designed as easy-to-use, tightly edited lists. For Rome, we’re sharing a mix of ancient classics, new crowd pleasers, local standbys, and surprising twists, like:

• the perfect spot for prestige cocktails and Colosseum views
• a delicious, minimalist Jewish-Roman kitchen
• archaeology tours with a modern Indiana Jones
• a hidden gem for Roman and Egyptian art

If you’d rather a set plan you can follow step by step, you’ll want to buy our 3-day itinerary, A Few Days in Rome. (Annual subscribers, reply to this email to get it for free.)

Andiamo!

Restaurants

Al Moro — waiters in formal jackets only offer what's in season.
Armando al Pantheon — popular for very good reason.
Canova Tadolini — unlikely bistro filled with Canova sculptures. 
Da Cesare Al Pellegrino — a modern look; a traditional menu.
Emma — outstanding pizza, with great wine/food shop. (Souvenirs!)
Er Buchetto — divine porchetta near the opera house.
Ercoli — restaurant and deli in former theater.
Flavio al Velavevodetto — cozy Testaccio trattoria serving classic dishes. 
Ginger — healthy-ish restaurant that feels very L.A.
La Pergola — Rome’s only 3-Michelin star, with views to match.
Luciano — considered the world’s best carbonara.
Ninù — Mediterranean menu in architect’s former home.
Pianostrada — female-run vintage-style bistro and cooking lab.
Pierluigi — tradition meets modern seafood at tables in the piazza.
Roscioli Salumeria — for charm, eat at the deli counter.
Renato al Ghetto — beloved kosher hostaria in Jewish ghetto.
Sora Margherita — serving Roman classics since 1927. 

Note: If you see a long line, move on. Please skip TikTok traps like Da Fortunata, Da Enzo, Tonnarello, Two Sizes, All’Antico Vinaio, and Nannarella. You’re welcome.

The rest of this article — the best bars, pizzas, caffès, sites, shops, big splurge and good value hotels, and more — is for subscribers only. Sign up for our reader-supported newsletter Way to Go for your all-access pass.