Rione XIII
Ivy on ochre walls, across the river from everything else.
Trastevere means 'across the Tiber', and for centuries it was the part of Rome outside the walls of the centre. It still feels that way: lower buildings, steeper lanes, more ivy, and a street culture that carries on until the early hours.
It is also the most easily spoiled part of the city. The streets near the main square are full of tourist menus. A few minutes in any direction, the neighbourhood belongs to the neighbourhood again.
One of Rome's oldest churches, with a facade of gold medieval mosaic. Inside, the apse mosaics glow even on a grey day, and the square in front has a fountain and benches.
The hill behind Trastevere is the best place to see all of Rome at once. Go up at dawn or at sunset, and walk down through the park.
The quiet side of Trastevere. Courtyards, workshops, and a few places where the same family has made the same thing for generations.
Cross the Tiber on foot in the evening. The river is lit, the plane trees are black against the sky and the centre looks like a stage set.
We name a place only when we have checked that it is still trading, and show the date. Where we have not, we tell you what to look for.
Via dei Vascellari 29
A small, family-run Roman trattoria on a side street. Its own website says it does not take reservations, so phone before you go.
Checked 4 October 2026. Da Enzo al 29
What to look for
For supplì and fried things, look for a hatch or a counter where Romans stand and eat from paper.
What to look for
If the menu is short, handwritten and in Italian first, the kitchen is probably cooking what it bought that morning.
Walks
from€79per personClimb the Gianicolo before Rome wakes, watch the haze lift off the domes, then walk down into Trastevere for breakfast at the counter.
Food
from€129per personAperitivo on a quiet piazza, then a long Roman supper in four stops across Trastevere, with a guide who has known the owners for years.
Next neighbourhood
Monti
