TRAVEL: CLT to Rome

The red-eye from Charlotte to Rome gets you to Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino International Airport in about nine hours. Chances are good your hotel room won’t be ready, but you’ll arrive just in time for a proper Italian breakfast of maritozzi and a cappuccino. The cobblestone piazzas, ancient fountains, and famous statues should be enough to push you through the jet lag—and a scoop of afternoon gelato is never a bad idea.

The Eternal City is a magnet for museumgoers, foodies, and fashionistas, and you could try to experience it on something like a budget. But that would defy the richness of this place. Here are some attractions beyond the well-trod Colosseum and Trevi Fountain.

STAY

Hotel Eden is just around the corner from Via Veneto, Rome’s most famous street from the Dolce Vita era. Any room will suffice, but a junior suite with a terrace that overlooks the gardens is as dreamy as the marble bathtub. Baroque fanatics should check into Sina Bernini Bristol, a 19th-century palace that epitomizes bygone glamour. The Trevi suite is best for spying on hidden corners of Rome from above, including a bird’s-eye view of Piazza Barberini and its Fontana del Tritone, a 17th-century fountain by Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Inside, classic works dot the terra cotta-hued corridors, and the first floor, aptly named the “Birth of Baroque,” has untouched historic charm. Soho House members can book a room at Soho House Rome, but nonmembers can still reap the hotel’s perks, which include the famous Cowshed Spa, a stunning rooftop pool, and 360-degree views from 10th-floor restaurant, Cecconi’s Terrazza. The hotel is tucked away in the artistic San Lorenzo quarter, but it’s a quick taxi ride from the city center. 

St. Peter’s Basilica, a spectacular sight at sunset, is one of the numerous landmarks visible from Hotel Eden. Courtesy, Dorchester Collection

EAT

Reserve a table at RHINOCEROS Le Restau & RoofBar, a boutique hotel, art gallery, and secluded rooftop restaurant and bar established by famed fashion designer Alda Fendi. After dinner, check out the art downstairs. Il Vizio blends Japanese and Mediterranean cuisines with dishes like Mazara Red Prawn Tartare (the pink grapefruit is key) and Fettuccine with deer ragu and hazelnuts. Beppe e i Suoi Formaggi—meaning Beppe and his cheeses—is a tiny cheese-focused shop, enoteca, and eatery in Rome’s Jewish Quarter, where cheesemaker Beppe Giovale drives his cheeses to Rome weekly from the Piemonte. Rome’s Carbonara King, Luciano Monosilio, helms Follie, where the Alice in Wonderland-like experience entails a Cacao and Liver Macaron one minute and his famous Carbonara the next. Southerners will find familiar dishes at Ciampini Roma, like a BLT with Lemon Granita Tea (Italy’s version of an Arnold Palmer). Satisfy your sweet tooth at Come il Latte, a gelateria where the owner makes flavors daily. 

The restaurant and bar at RHINOCEROS Le Restau & RoofBar, established by fashion designer Alda Fendi; Courtesy

How to spot genuine gelato, according to Valentina Petraroli, one of the city’s best food guides:

• Look for flat containers. Good gelato comes in flat containers, sometimes covered with a lid. Big mounds usually mean the gelato is full of air and not as good.
• Beware of too many flavors. If a gelateria has an exorbitant number of flavors, they’re most likely industrially produced.
• Note the color of certain flavors. Banana should be white; pistachio should be dull versus kelly green; and a good mint should be light green, not neon.

Find the best flavors at Gelateria Fatamorgana and Gunther Gelato Italiano.

PLAY

If you’d rather enjoy Borghese Gallery when it’s not overrun with tourists, book a 9 a.m. ticket in advance and have the space practically to yourself as you admire works by Caravaggio, Canova, and Raphael. Afterward, get lost in Villa Borghese’s massive public park and gardens. Find a mix of classical sculptures, Imperial frescoes, and Hellenistic baroque-style statuari at Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo. Peruse vintage shops and hip stores like L’Archivio di Monserrato and Atelier Bomba, and visit Patrizia Fabri Hats, the oldest hat workshop in Rome. If you want to venture outside the city, cool down on the Etruscan Coast, where Romans go to recharge. Book a train ticket on Omio, the hippest transportation search engine, and arrive in under an hour. Santa Marinella Beach is open to the public, or you can check out BeyondRoma’s beach day package, available May through September, which includes umbrellas, sunbeds, and access to a resort’s facilities for the day.  

JENN RICE is a Durham-based culinary arts and travel journalist whose work has appeared in Food & Wine, Vogue, Wine Enthusiast, Thrillist, Condé Nast Traveler, and more.