A local’s guide to Rome: 10 top tips

Contemporary Rome’s best bars, restaurants and culture are found in the southern neighbourhoods of Testaccio and Garbatella, a world away from the city-centre gladiators in plastic armour

‘How do you cope with the tourists?” is a question that you get used to when living in Rome. But the truth is, for most of my time there, I hardly saw them. My first apartment was a stone’s throw from the Vatican, which meant that the local shops all sold rosary beads and holy water rather than bread and milk. But after learning that lesson, I quickly abandoned the centre in favour of the city’s more lively, and liveable, neighbourhoods.

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