Visiting Rome on a Budget: Cheap Fun in the Eternal City

Rome. For over two millennia one of the great centres of human achievement. A city of magnificent culture and art, music and poetry. A place renowned the world over for its churches, museums and monuments. Home of the most exclusive designers and the most haute restaurants. The spiritual heart of the world's most popular religion. A playground, in short, for the rich and the refined, where wallets are emptied quicker than a Roman downs his morning espresso.

There is, however, another Rome. This is the Rome of the Romans, a teeming and vibrant metropolis that is remarkably young in spite of its antiquity, a place where culture is often free and fun is mercifully cheap. A Rome of parks and sunshine, of bars and bustling trattorie. To really understand Rome, you must do so from the streets. You must get to know it with your feet, traipse its alleys and navigate its squares.

So if you’re heading to the Eternal City in 2025 but don’t want to spend the earth, then follow us as we veer off the beaten path to uncover a Rome that only the locals know. From famous masterpieces to hidden haunts, discover how the best things in life really are free - or not far from it.

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The bustling market of Campo de'Fiori

For the skint traveller, Rome possesses one great advantage - this is not a place where culture lies dead and dormant in dusty museums. It lives in its churches and squares, where many of its greatest masterpieces have remained untouched for hundreds of years. Through them we can chart an alternate course through the city's history, without ever having to part with a single cent.

At the heart of Roman life is the piazza. The city's narrow and winding streets miraculously open out into these great public spaces hundreds of times and more all across its great expanse, and here Romans of all walks of life meet to chat, gossip and watch life go by. Foremost amongst them all is the magnificent Campo de'Fiori. In the dark shadow of the heretical philosopher-monk Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake here in 1600, old women come to buy fresh vegetables and flowers from the morning market, boys play impromptu games of football, and locals exchange stories outside its bars over a glass of wine.

The amazing interior of the Pantheon

A few hundred yards away and we find ourselves in Piazza della Rotonda, site of the Pantheon, ancient Rome's most wonderfully preserved monument. Feel the contours of this distant world traced onto the landscape of our own as you gaze upward at a dome so perfect that it must be fake, and glimpse the sky through its central oculus, reputedly made by fleeing pagan demons when this temple to all the gods was converted into a Christian church. These days you will need a ticket to go inside, but it will be the best €5 you’ll ever spend.

Stop off at the church of Sant'ignazio, beautifully located in a picture-perfect little Baroque square, and admire the ingenuity of its cash strapped patrons; when it was time to add the magnificent church’s dome, the funds to complete the building had unfortunately run out. Undeterred, the enterprising Andrea Pozzo simply painted an illusionistic dome onto the still flat ceiling, thus saving face and the Jesuit coffers.

Rome, you see, has always been a city where with a little imagination being short on money is no obstacle at all.

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Il Tazzo d'Oro is renowned for making some of Rome's best coffee

But in the Eternal City, culture is not only to be found in paintings and monuments. For Romans, to whom coffee and its ritual approaches the status of religion, every bit as important is the burning question of where to get your daily caffeine fix. Take a break from high culture, and join the debate of which bar serves the city's best coffee by sampling espressos at great rivals Caffe Sant'Eustachio and Il Tazzo d'Oro, the two main contenders for this coveted crown. Take advantage of an old city tradition and drink them standing at the bar, where you'll pay little more than a euro despite their storied reputations.

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The chiaroscuro world of Caravaggio in San Luigi dei Francesi

Suitably caffeinated, enter the violent and fascinating world of Caravaggio in San Luigi dei Francesi, where two of the finest masterpieces ever painted by this dark master of the Italian Baroque hang today, unmoved for over 4 centuries. Imagine the impact these turbulent and dramatic images of death and conversion must have made on the first waves of faithful pilgrims that flocked to see them, and marvel at the fact that you can wander right up to these paintings for free, paintings which would be the highpoint of any art gallery in the world.

Though you might not know it from the guidebooks, violence is in fact all over Rome. Trek out to the Caelian Hill, a tranquil corner of the city largely unchanged for centuries, to uncover one of the bloodiest pages in the history of Italian art. A devastating array of painful torture and miserable death assails your senses as soon as you enter the all but abandoned basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo, a fascinating snapshot of a Rome that few visitors ever get to see.

Continuing your exploration of Rome's most picturesque areas, clamber up Rome's leafiest and most picturesque hill, studded with orange trees and sprawling villas. This is the Aventine, where time seems to have stopped sometime in the 5th century A.D. Drink in stunning views over the city; explore the beautifully preserved early Christian church of Santa Sabina, and experience a wonderful illusionistic surprise courtesy of the mysterious Knights of Malta - take a peek through the keyhole of their priory and you’ll be rewarded with an amazing secret panorama of St. Peter’s.

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Lazy days on the boating pond at Villa Borghese

The churches and monuments of the city are not the only way to uncover the culture of this city however. On a long and lazy summer afternoon, there can be nothing better than whiling away the hours in one of the city's leafy parks, watching the world go by in the shade of Rome's ever-present and iconic pines. Arm yourself with the finest meats and cheeses the Roman campagna has to offer from a nearby supermarket or deli (search for alimentari in google maps and you’ll soon find somewhere), and head to the magnificent Villa Borghese for a picnic. Try your hand at boating in the tiny pond, a masterpiece of 19th century pastoral fantasy, or just soak up the sun in this scarcely believable oasis of calm in the heart of Rome's bustling urbanity.

If the weather isn’t picnic worthy, fear not. Cheap lunch options are plentiful in Rome. For foodies on a budget, one of the best options is a trip to the city’s superb covered market in Testaccio; a cornucopia of fresh produce and ready-to-eat delights await, including the city’s best sandwiches at Mordi e Vai. Termini Station, meanwhile, is home to the fashionable Mercato Centrale, which is also full of great wallet-friendly choices like Trapezzino.

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Flying high - Bernini's Saint Teresa of Avila

If you have had enough of lazing about, head south from the Villa Borghese to the little church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, where you can admire one of the high points of the Baroque imagination, Bernini's bewitching sculpture of Saint Teresa in Ecstasy. In this potent mix of sexuality and devotion the great artist brings out the complexity and contradictions of Catholic spiritualism more profoundly and poetically than the pages of any history book.

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Bar dei Brutti is at the heart of San Lorenzo's nightlife

Like any great city, Rome comes alive at night. Forget the clubs of the center, with their exorbitant entrance fees and D-list celebrities. Instead, venture a little further out and enjoy the evening as real Romans do. Head east, beyond Termini railway station to the historically radical and working class areas of San Lorenzo and Pigneto, where you'll find a bottomless supply of bars and live music venues, packed with the chatter of young Romans. You can’t go wrong in south-of-river Trastevere either: stop off for a beer at super-traditional Bar San Callisto to feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the 1960s - with prices to match.

Wherever you go, follow those lilting local voices and you can't go wrong. You might find yourself sharing a spritz with students from nearby Sapienza university in San Lorenzo's main square, Piazza della Immacolata, or enjoying a aperitivo in the great film-maker Pier Paolo Pasolini's favourite hangout in Pigneto, Necci.

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Foodie delights are guaranteed at Osteria Bonelli

Rome was recently ranked as the best foodie city in the world, and it’s in the suburbs that you’ll find some of the finest restaurants serving up Roman classics at unbeatable prices. For a real treat, continue your adventure a little further eastwards in the Tor Pignattara neighborhood. Not many tourists make it out this far, but bag a table at magnificent Osteria Bonelli and end your cheap day in the Eternal City surrounded by the chatter of locals feasting on the best that Roman cuisine has to offer.

The joy of Rome lies in the unexpected, in the surprises that await around every corner. The museums and monuments of the Eternal City are of course second to none, but there is far more to Rome. These suggestions of ours are only the beginning. We didn’t even touch on some of the Eternal City’s most famous - and free - monuments, like the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps, Saint Peter’s Basilica and Piazza Navona. But then, we’re pretty sure that you’ll find your way to those hotspots one way or another. Start to follow your feet and you'll soon learn more of Rome’s history, see more of its art and understand more of its people than you could possibly imagine, all on a shoestring budget!

For 25 years, Through Eternity have been organizing itineraries showcasing the best of Rome led by our resident expert guides. If you're planning a visit to the Eternal City this year, be sure to get in touch to help plan your perfect trip!

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