We closed out our 2025 Europe leg (Leg 17 if you’re counting along) with eight nights in Rome. We’d loved our time in Rome in 2021 and were eager to return. Last time we stayed in the neighborhood of Monteverde, which we loved, but even then we thought we’d like to try staying closer to Villa Borghese park in the future. We succeeded in booking an Airbnb (review below) just a 15-minute walk away in the tiny neighborhood called Quartiere Coppedè.
We had to book something much smaller than we typically prefer in order to be in this neighborhood at our price point, but since our stay was only a week, we figured we could handle it. The apartment was also just a 10-minute walk away from another large park called Villa Ada, and about that distance to another pair of parks. The many extensive parks may be our favorite thing about Rome.
Travel, Arrival and Airbnb
After returning the car we rented to tour Tuscany at the train station in Perugia on a Monday, we took a train to Rome. The trip was direct and took about three hours. We purchased our tickets, as always, through the Trenitalia app. It was a pretty easy and comfortable travel day from what I recall nine months later, though it was long since it started in San Gimgiano and involved a two-hour drive and returning the rental car before even starting the train portion. We got off at the Rome Tiburtina station, which was closest to our Airbnb, and got a taxi at the stand out front. The driver spoke a little English and as we drove toward our Airbnb, commented on what a special neighborhood we’d be in and that we’d like it a lot. We were feeling really good about our choice.
The Airbnb was accessed with a lockbox and when we walked in, we found it to be even smaller than we’d thought in the kitchen/living space, but the bedroom and bathroom were both quite spacious. And that was all there was to it, those three rooms. We were a little concerned because our friend Mark from Marseille was going to visit us on the weekend and would have to sleep on the tiny pullout sofa bed, but we knew we’d make it work. Luckily Mark is low-maintenance.
After our long travel day, we spent our first evening in Rome in. We took a few photos of the heart of Quartiere Coppedè, picked up groceries at the Conad across the street, and enjoyed a simple meal in. From what I understand, what makes the neighborhood special is its very elaborate architecture and the famous Fontana delle Rane (frogs fountain) in the little piazza that was around the corner from our apartment. We saw lots of tourists stopping to take photos and it certainly was very charming.
Balancing Work and Sightseeing
After three totally touristic days in Tuscany and anticipating our friend’s arrival at the end of the week, we knew we’d need to spend much of our first few days in Rome catching up on work. But we still managed to get out to some favorite parks, starting with Villa Borghese on Tuesday and a picnic in Villa Ada on Wednesday. For our picnic, we picked up some fresh bread at a local bakery a couple blocks up on our street called Panis 1890. We were delighted when they also gave us some free samples of their famous pizzettes, tiny pizzas (that are just crust and sauce). Very tasty!
We enjoyed another picnic on Thursday, this time with excellent paninis from Forno Lucarelli that we took to another nearby park called Villa Paganini. Park picnics were a favorite part of Rome for us in 2021 and we loved them just as much in 2025. This time we chose to take the afternoon off for sightseeing, so after fortifying Chad with a macchiato and me with a tea, we headed to Villa Borghese park where we’d hoped to visit Galeria Borghese. Unfortunately, the museum was completely sold out, not just for that day but for the entirety of our stay. We should have booked our tickets a couple of weeks or more in advance. Next time we’ll know better and fit that museum in. It will be a good excuse to revisit one of our favorite parks.
Instead, we visited another museum in that park, Museo Carlo Bilotti, which had the added benefit of being free. It was actually quite good with an exhibit of beautiful abstract art on the ground floor and a permanent collection of 20th century art upstairs including a very impressive collection of works by Giorgio de Chirico, an early 20th century artist we both like. The abstract art downstairs was by a Roman artist, Piero Mascetti, in case we ever want to look him up in the future. The best part was seeing the progression of Chirico’s career through the decades. Bilotti was clearly a big fan of his work.
After the museum, we wandered down to the Piazza del Popolo and through some of the more touristy parts of the city. We Our day off also included a gelato, aperitivo, and a fantastic rustic Italian meal out in our neighborhood at Osteria del Rione. I believe we stopped by there earlier in the day to claim a reservation because the restaurant only has a few tables. It was well worth it and also a great value with a set price menu that included starter, pasta, dessert, and wine for around 20 euros each. The servings were large and we took some pasta home.
Solo Time and Friend Time
Our friend Mark arrived on Friday afternoon and we enjoyed some sightseeing and a picnic with him over the weekend. I also took the opportunity to experience some solo sightseeing while Chad was occupied with his friend. I took the train on Saturday morning to the town of Ostia on the coast. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day, though very windy. I walked on the beach and the pier and through the town and then stopped for lunch with a view, shrimp and arugula pizza.
Then I took the train back toward Rome but got off at the stop for Ostia Antica, ruins of a Roman city that Chad and I had visited on our first trip to Rome in 2010. These were some of the first big ruins Chad and I had the opportunity to visit and while we’ve been through ancient ruins from many cultures since, they’re still very impressive. I had a lovely time walking through the ruins, reading the descriptive signs, and picturing Roman times. I’d put a trip out to Ostia and Ostia Antica on any Rome itinerary that is more than a couple of days.
After Ostia Antica, I took the train the rest of the way back to Rome and met up with the guys. They’d had a good day sightseeing too, though struggled in some places with the crowds. The Vatican was having a Jubilee year throughout 2025 which brought lots more tourists to the city.
On Sunday, we all hung out together and walked around some of the main Roman sights: the colosseum, the Roman Forum, etc. We stopped for pizza in Trastevere, the hip neighborhood between the touristy part of Rome and our old neighborhood of Monteverde. Then we walked up the hill to Monteverde to revisit our favorite park from our prior stay, Villa Pamphili.
On Monday we had a chill day and a picnic in Villa Borghesi before Mark flew back to Marseille, and Chad and I enjoyed one last Italian dinner out before departing for Missouri the next day.
Summary
Rome remains one of our favorite cities and we hope to go back again in not too many years for a full monthlong stay (our 2021 stay had to be shorted to 2.5 weeks due to work stuff). It was great to fit in some time there on this leg and especially to enjoy it with a good friend. We’ll definitely be back!
Airbnb Review – This apartment worked out really well for my husband and me for a week in Rome. The wifi worked well and the kitchen had the basics you’d expect. We loved the neighborhood – lots of restaurants around and good access by bus to other parts of the city. The best part was the proximity to several great parks. Communication with the host was ok. There were a lot of automated messages, but good information. The biggest downside is that the host was only willing to provide one set of keys and a key is needed to exit the gate, which made it awkward to go out separately.