A few steps from the MACRO Testaccio, this place is dedicated to alternative economies. Organic café and restaurant, organic store, small fair trade designer stands, bookstore... Another facet of Rome, between hipster and bobo.
Largo Dino Frisullo. +39 06 5758272. www.cittadellaltraeconomia.org.
For a 100% Roman experience, opt for one of these rooms in an apartment converted into a chic hostel in an apartment building. The friendly Ercole leaves you the keys and, in addition, gives you his good addresses. From €49 for a double without breakfast. For this price, you have to book well in advance!
Via Carlo Alberto 13. +39 340 9258503. www.bluehostel.it.
The second gallery of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome (MACRO) is nestled in the old slaughterhouses of the city. We discover beautiful surprises such as, for example, last year, the organic bamboo sculpture of the twins Doug + Mike Starn. You could even climb it!
Piazza O. Giustiniani 4. +39 06 67 10 70 400. www.museomacro.org.
It is a restaurant but we stop there at the counter for a drink. Former workshop of the sculptor Adamo Tadolini, a pupil of Canova, then of his family, one is literally surrounded by monumental statues. A real museum!
Via del Babuino, 150 A/B. Phone. +39 06 32110702. www.canovatadolini.com.
… and in its sumptuous French-style park, a meeting place for joggers, lovers or Romans and their children. A picnic there is a must, as is a visit to the Borghese Gallery-Museum (online reservation) where you can marvel at the masterpieces including the statue of Pauline Bonaparte by Canova.
Piazzale Scipione Borghese, 5. www.galleriaborghese.it.
Great finds guaranteed! If the Japanese melt on vintage (and original) Louis Vuitton bags, we prefer lamps, telephones, old typewriters and vintage computers. On the walls, some works by famous artists – the owner being a gallery owner.
Via dei Coronari, 137. +39 06 6821 0187.
This 1938 café serves the best espressos in town. We swallow them at the counter, elbow to elbow with the Romans and tourists, in a noisy atmosphere of clashing cups and percolators. Essential.
Piazza Sant'Eustachio, 82. Tel. +39 06 68802048. www.santeustachioilcaffe.it/fr/.
