Honeymooning in Rome and Florence in May 2019

rome isnt for everyone....but it is one of my favorite cities on the planet.

i could easily spend the entire 5 days(and nights) wondering trastevere.
its already been a 'discovered' by the guidebook crowds...but it is still the place where you can almost randomly a shop and find the best pizza of your life there. (generally ordering the specials of the day from mom/pop shops=gold)

Just got back from honeymoon in Italy. 2.5 days in Rome before heading down to Ravello, positano and Sorrento. We had a blast in Rome and went in not expecting much. Suggest hiring a car for a 3-4 hour tour of the hot tourists spots on day one, then go back to what you liked most. We enjoyed the Vatican breakfast tour, but left the colosseum tour early. Go to Airbnb events in Rome and find the bike tour with Guilia. Best thing we did.

Florence:
—Da Nerbone, a lunch counter inside the Mercato Centrale food market. Tuscan food, inexpensive, very traditional. Order at the counter, sit at a nearby table, people-watch and enjoy ribollita, bollito, porchetta, etc.
—Santa Maria Novella perfume/toiletries shop and museum: high-end bath & toiletries brand in a cool old building with a shop & some small exhibits on the history of the industry. Right near the church of Santa Maria Novella on via della Scalia.

Rome:
My personal list is long, but aside from the obvious, here are a few smaller but very interesting things—
—church of San Clemente, via Labicana. It’s a Norman Catholic Church full of gorgeous gilded mosaics, atop an earlier church, atop a first century Roman house, atop a secret temple site (mithraeum), with an underground stream. You get to see everything from a beautiful church to an ancient Roman site, all in one place.
—church of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, by Borromini....the complete opposite of most Baroque churches (which are over the top with decorations, colors, layers). All white interior shape is a Star of David, and it’s an incredibly harmonious, rhythmic place. It has odd hours, though, so it requires a bit of luck and planning to visit. Very near Piazza Navona, though, entered through a courtyard at the Sapienza (university).
—the Scavi tour, which I post about every time someone on TD is headed to Rome. Requires long advance notice to secure tickets, but well worth the effort. You descend far below St. Peter’s Basilica to visit the first century Roman cemetery where St Peter was buried. It’s also incredibly cool to approach the Swiss guards at the edge of the public square with your tickets and be waved into the non-tourist parts of Vatican City.

Rome has an over abundance of terrible, touristy food, but there are still a few gems in the historic center. Aforementioned Roscioli (bakery, cafe, cocktail bar), plus Armando al Pantheon, Cafe Sant’Eustachio, the Bar del Cappucino on via Arenula (killer AM cappucinons, right by a busy bus stop, so full of actual Romans and not tourists), the Antico Forno in the Campo di Fiori for pizza bianca, Pizzeria Via Florida for very inexpensive but good pizza al taglio, PIzzarium (Gabriele Bonci’s original pizza al taglio place on via della Meloria).....or, for a complete detox and change of pace, the bare bones little Vega Food run by my friend Shue (vegan Indian food & fresh juices, via di Monte Giordano).

I posted a nighttime gelato crawl on a previous thread about Rome.

I dug up my previous post with a nighttime gelato crawl itinerary and am reposting here for OP. The Italians love a good passiegata, an evening walk either before or after dinner. You walk, sightsee, people watch, digest your dinner, and enjoy life at a walking pace. So mark off an evening for a stroll around Rome to see monuments lit up and eat gelato along the way. (Note: you can get two flavors in a small cup, so pace yourself or you’ll fill up early during this walk.)

Here's a sample walk after dark/sights/gelato itinerary:
--start out at Gelateria dei Gracchi, via di S. Pantaleo, 61. It is near piazza Navona. Everyone in your party should get a small, with two different flavors, to maximize tasting potential, and then walk to piazza Navona. Walk slowly, eat gelato, enjoy the fountains lit up at night and the general silliness of Navona after dark: teens on school tours, elderly couples strolling, street performers, confused/jet lagged tourists, etc.

--while in Piazza Navona, go to the restaurant/ice cream shop Tre Scalini's takeout counter and get a "tartufo", which is a semi-famous chocolate ice cream truffle. One is enough to share; find a convenient bench in Navona and enjoy.

--stroll toward the Pantheon, along the via degli Straderari (look for the "book fountain" on the right, set low on a wall on your right) until you get to the Caffe Sant'Eustachio. It's open until 2 am most nights; either have a cheap & quick stand up espresso at the bar to keep you going, or (more expensive) sit outside in the little piazza and have a coffee granita (con panna, or with cream). Look at the facade of Sant'Eustachio church across the little piazza, with the stag...he's the patron saint of firefighters b/c he & family were roasted alive inside a metal bull (early martyrs of the Christian church).

--keep strolling toward the Pantheon, go around to the front and sit on the steps of the piazza della Rotunda’s central fountain. Enjoy the view of the facade--the doors will probably be closed, as it's not open all night....the structure is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Those Romans were genius with concrete.

--if you're ready for more gelato, stand with your back to the Pantheon and follow the street dead ahead and to the left--via della Rosetta. Turn right at the next corner and you're directly in front of LINK /, an establishment that kicked off the artisanal gelato movement in Rome more than a decade ago. My favorite flavors from San Crispino are the meringue flavors: lighter than gelato, more of a semi-freddo with crispy meringue bits. Or the fig & walnut.....

--now head toward the Trevi fountain. You can follow the narrow, tourist choked via dei Pastini, or you can go a block deeper and follow via delle Colonelle to piazza Colonna to via dei Sabini, emerging at the side of Trevi. It's pretty at night, and it is usually less crowded.

--from Trevi, turn toward the river and head to Piazza Venezia....where the ugly-during-the-day monument to Vittorio Emmanuele (aka the white marble typewriter) is much more attractively lit at night. If you can hold more gelato, Gelateria Aracoeli is close by... to your right and down a bit as you face the monument.

--from piazza Vittorio Emmanuele, walk back in the general direction of Navona via the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, passing in front of the Scholar's Lounge (Guinness, because gelato alone is not a balanced diet) and Il Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuits. Il Gesu is noted for being the first baroque style church in Rome, as well as a relief on the facade depicting a Jesuit with his foot on the neck of a Protestant. If it is still open, go inside and marvel at the over the top baroque interior...so much lavish decoration, you won't know where to look first.

--Still need a gelato nightcap? Keep going up the Corso until you hit Largo Argentina...the large hole in the ground (excavation) functioning as a stray cat sanctuary. Look down into the hole on the via Arenula side, near the mid point, and you'll be gazing at the actual spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated (the curia of Pompey's theatre). Go about a block up via Arenula to Gelateria Artiginiale Corona Roma, a sister shop of the aforementioned Aracoeli.

--continue up via Arenula toward the Tiber, you can look at the river by night & head into Trastevere for more fun...or walk a little bit downriver to cross the Ponte Fabricio, the oldest bridge in Rome (built in 62 BC) over to Isola Tiburina.

It’s not more than a couple of miles in all, but it’s a lovely walk at night.

What in particular did you not enjoy about Rome?

Rome is easy to dislike...if you stick to the tourist trail and only see the schlocky side of mass tourism. But it is stupendously well endowed with art, ancient sites, and has been continuously occupied for millennia. So there’s a density and gravity to it...there is always a deeper layer, or something beneath, or a repurposing.

We are considering adding another leg of the trip, making it three Italy sites. I have been looking at other Tuscany locations as well as Naples

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We are considering adding another leg of the trip, making it three Italy sites. I have been looking at other Tuscany locations as well as Naples

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I can’t recommend enough especially for a honeymoon with 2 cities involved to get into a small town or country side. I prefer really small towns that will have a baker, butcher, small grocery, etc.

Really enjoy the scenery and get away from
People especially crappy tourists. Lot of great biking and hiking in Italy. Doesn’t have to be extreme. There’s plenty of history and sites to see outside of the big cities too. Possibly even look into renting a car for 2-3 days or more just to tour around aimlessly. You can google great drives and find some nice paths to take.

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nvm

Carry on

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Rome is ridiculously hot and chaotic. It is disorganized. It is a beehive. It is an absolute grind.

I probably wouldn't have disliked it as much if the rest of Italy hadn't been so wonderful.

I would not think of Rome as a Honeymoon destination. I think you have to spend more than a few days in Rome to appreciate it. Like 10-15 days and take it at a relaxed pace.