Coffee & tea

Just a few steps from the Colosseum Monti district is definitely one of the trendiest and fashionable zones in the city center. Tons of new places are opening here and each one of them is innovative and particular.

2periodico Cafè is now one of my favourites because it is actually a living room in the square! It’s not only a common trendy bar, it’s a coffeeshop, a tearoom, it’s a showroom where you can find vintage objects and I’m pretty sure that I have seen some books around.

A place like this must have a strange and cool design in fact its furniture is chacterized by many sofas, armchairs, junk dealer’s chairs, old advertising signs… to provide a unique and cosy atmosphere.

There’s no need for a specific time to go there, you can have breakfast, lunch, enjoy the Italian tradition of an aperitivo or just a coffee or beer whenever you like!

Plus getting there is really easy because it’s at less than a one minute walk from the Metro Cavour on line B.

Written on their business card is: Books to search, strange and scarce things and unusual objects. Nothing More True.

Invito alla lettura is…well I don’t even know how to categorize this store because here you will find a large selection of used books, magazines from the 60′s, vintage and retro objects, used vinyls, CD’s, tapes, posters and much more… I love spending hours here trying to find something unique and special and having a taste of previous years.

A few months ago they set up a super-nice cafeteria inside with many tables and sofas where you can spend hours surrounded by this amazing retro atmosphere. Plus prices are incredibly cheap compared to the others bars in the zone because there isn’t a service charge, and the staff is really nice and will do everything to make you feel comfortable. So I highly suggest a visit here even if you just want a cup of coffee or tea.

Trastevere neighborhood is a very popular destination for Roman nights, and this is one of my favorite spots for its typical British style and its cheap prices.

I admit that I go there mainly for that in fact there is a very long happy hour(s) from 11:00 to 22:00 so you can buy drinks at a reduced price. (€ 3 glass of wine, € 3.50 for a pint of beer).

But cheap prices don’t mean a cheap or poor place, as a matter of fact this pub is well-decorated following the traditional British style with wood furniture and many paintings on the walls.

I love this place because it’s actually frequented with a mixed Italian and international crowd, the staff is really nice and there isn’t a cover charge. There are big sitting rooms inside and also some tables outside, but I prefer sitting at the bar counter.

No problem if you don’t drink alcohol or you just want some hot drinks especially in the winter. I heard that the hot chocolate here is really good.

In recent years Rome has gained importance in the contemporary arts area, with the openings of Maxxi and Macro Museum. MACRO means Museum Art Contemporary of ROme and it has two buildings, one in the Nomentano zone (which is the main one) and the other one in Testaccio called Macro Future (but this one only has particular exhibits).

An extension to the main one was recently added by the French architect Odile Decq that gave it a futuristic look.

I love this museum for many reasons, for it’s strange structure with an open roof where they usually put art installations and because there are always great temporary exhibitions besides the permanent collection. A well-stocked bookshop is present too, where it’s possible to find many architecture/art books and many design objects.

But here is the fun part: don’t forget to go to the bathrooms. I know it sounds strange but try to wash your hands and see what happens, white sinks turn red! Damn strange architects!

There is also a restaurant (Mon – Fri & Sun 12:30 – 15:00) and a cafeteria on the roof (Tue – Sat 11:00 – 19:00) with private access on Via Nizza 138.

Getting there: Tram lines 3 and 19 stop at Regina Margherita/Nizza.

Eataly is a new temple/shopping mall of Italian food that opened last summer. Here you will find every sort of food or drink that Italian cuisine has to offer. Their motto is “Life is too short for drinking and eating in a bad way”. I could not agree more.

First of all I really appreciated the fact that this was a useless and abandoned huge structure and now it’s a brilliant example of converted modern architecture. Secondly because there are a lot of restaurants, bars and lots of spots where you can buy the top quality Italian food, a huge selection of wine and beer, kitchen tools, t-shirts with nice and funny slogans and there is even a culinary school. Let’s show what Italians are good at!

Eataly is developed on three floors and every floor has restaurants and food markets everywhere so every field of Italian cuisine is filled. Prices are mostly affordable except for the restaurant at the last floor that one is really exclusive.

Wanna eat pasta, pizza, meat, fish, chicken, traditional roman food, vegetables, a gourmet panino or the real piadina from Emilia Romagna? Don’t worry there is a single restaurant for each of them. But let’s not forget the beer bar, wine bar, two coffee bars, the bakery, chocolate and gelato spots.

Metro B stop Piramide then follow indications for the Air Terminal orFr 1,3 stop Roma Ostiense.