Travel to Rome, Italy

City by City is presented by Carl F. Bucherer, fine Swiss watchmaking. What do we imagine when we talk about Rome? The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Vatican and of course the Colosseum, the largest amphitheatre ever built by the Roman Empire, where the imperial Romans held vast public spectacles and gladiators fought and died. Rome is well-known for the grandeur of its imperial past and with the Vatican and over 400 churches in the central city as the center of the Catholic Church. But who doesn’t love the modern cosmopolitan site to Rome, with fabulous art, hotels, designer shops and restaurants. When shopping in Rome, here’s a big tip, go to TAD. TAD has been called a new kind of stylish department store, but it’s more like an old marketplace miraculously transposed into a modern super hip two-storey emporium. Browse the different sections offering home furnishings, handpicked accessories and luxury items, from flowers to perfume, music to fashion straight out of Vague Magazine. James: The TAD stands for in Italian, Tendence Antique Debolece which in English translates to trends and weaknesses, it’s a family business which began largely with furniture and in the past six or seven years, we’ve kind of boomed into fashion. Textiles, they have their own line. Need a haircut? Get it here. A pick-me-up, try the lovely café. Centrally located, TAD offers an intriguing variety of chic shopping opportunities and more, all under one roof. Rome is known for its classical architectural style. In the Trastevere neighborhood, it’s a delightful contrast to step in to this unassuming exterior and enter the startling Ripa Hotel. This eight-storey chic design hotel is a feast for the eyes, featuring modern art, a splash of colors and contemporary furnishings in the most stylish sometimes it seems the most futuristic of settings. Alessandra D’Amico: We are located in the heart of the city. It’s modern and minimalist style. We have executive rooms, junior suites to presidential suite to avant-garde room and essential one. Spacious rooms offer a host of fine design details from the furnishing to the linens continuing the modern theme, the Ripa offers a café and restaurant, serving creative Mediterranean cuisine, performances and yes, more art. Now for one of our favorite bars in Rome, Freni e Frizioni, which means brakes and clutches, is also located in the arty Trastevere District. It’s a former auto mechanic shop reclaimed as a trendy aperitivo bar. Order drinks between 7:00 and 11:00 and help yourself to a substantial free buffet spread. Mathilde Marinai: This is a place where you come and have your aperetivo, which is a small meal accompanied by an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink before your dinner. Inside, we have lots of things that we’ve modeled the place and it is now very trendy, very artistic and which is pretty much our target. Here, guests enjoy a relaxed, convivial atmosphere with dangling chandeliers, vintage furniture and cool music. In warm weather, the hip young crowd spills out onto the adjoining plaza for merrymaking and people watching well into the most. Sometimes, location is everything and other times, it’s just pat of the magic. Located across the street from the Colosseum, the Royal Art Café is a wonderful restaurant, bar, hotel, live music venue and club. With multiple levels, the art café offers street-level dining including outdoor tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Upstairs, a terrace affords stunning views of the Coloseum and Roman Forum. There’s live music too with themes varying from jazz to hip-hop to international music. If you're having too much fun, why not stay there as well. The Royal Art Café has it all, a vibrant, creative vibe, live music, fashion shows, exotic and Mediterranean food, and yes you certainly can't beat the view. Do all roads lead to Rome? If you're lucky, yours will. Rome has been attracting visitors for well over 2000 years. Let yourself fall under the spell. There’s so much to see, to sample, to savor, don’t even try to fit everything in. The best approach might be to keep back in a café and watch this rich, wonderful, chaotic, fascinating city unfold around you.