Totally Rome
Monti — neighbourhood guide
Rome's oldest rione — vintage shops, wine bars and the best base near the Colosseum.
What Monti is
Rome's oldest continuously inhabited neighbourhood, Monti sits just north of the Colosseum — historically a working-class district, once notorious enough to be called the Suburra, now the most fashionable rione in the historic centre, with independent boutiques, wine bars and a genuinely local feel that survives despite the gentrification.
What to see
San Pietro in Vincoli holds Michelangelo's Moses, five minutes from the Colosseum and rarely crowded. Santa Maria Maggiore's mosaics are a short walk east. The neighbourhood itself — its small piazzas, its vintage shops on Via del Boschetto — is worth simply walking through without a specific destination.
Where to eat and drink
Piazza della Madonna dei Monti fills with locals for aperitivo from early evening — sit on the fountain steps with a drink from a nearby bar, the classic Monti evening ritual. Via del Boschetto and Via degli Zingari have the highest concentration of good small restaurants and enotecas.
Why base yourself here
Ten minutes walk from the Colosseum, well-connected by metro, with significantly better food prices than the tourist-facing streets immediately around the ancient sites. One of the best-value, most character-rich bases in central Rome.
