Nobu Hotel Roma

The property brings Nobu's signature blend of Japanese restraint and contemporary hospitality to Rome's Ludovisi neighbourhood, part of Municipio I, the city's historic and administrative heart. Step outside and you're immediately within the fabric of the Eternal City: Via Veneto sweeps past just blocks away, its Belle Époque cafés and embassies still echoing the dolce vita glamour of the 1960s. The Tiber winds through the valley below, its banks lined with umbrella pines and ochre palazzi.

This is a city built on 28 centuries of continuous habitation, where Baroque fountains spill into medieval piazzas, where you can trace the curve of an ancient aqueduct and then turn the corner into a modernist wine bar. The Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Borghese Gardens all lie within walking distance.

Vatican City, an entire sovereign state enclosed within Rome's boundaries, sits three kilometres west. Fiumicino airport is 23 kilometres southwest, connected by the Leonardo Express train and taxi.

Start at Kohaku, the on-site Japanese Contemporary restaurant where the kitchen elevates familiar izakaya staples with exceptional precision: gyoza filled with seasonal ingredients, ramen bowls built on deeply flavoured broths, fish grilled over the yakimono, each plate a study in balance. For the city's apex dining experience, book a table at La Pergola, Rome's only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, 3.8 kilometres away, where Chef Heinz Beck interprets Mediterranean tradition through a contemporary lens in a newly refurbished dining room clad in Travertine marble. Acquolina, just over a kilometre north near Piazza del Popolo, holds two stars for creative Mediterranean cuisine delivered with impeccable, dynamic service.

The Historic Centre of Rome, a UNESCO site two kilometres south, encompasses the Forum, the Colosseum, and layers of imperial grandeur. Walk to Mercato Nomentano or Campo Marzio, both just over a kilometre away, to see Romans shopping for pecorino, puntarelle, and carciofi alla giudia.

Rome rewards visitors in spring and autumn, when temperatures hover between 15 and 26 degrees and the city's ochre walls glow in soft, slanting light. May brings wisteria tumbling over garden walls and café tables spilling onto cobblestones. September and October offer warm days and cooler evenings, ideal for long walks through the historic centre without the pressing heat.

Summer stretches from June through August, with highs reaching 31 degrees in July; the city empties as locals flee to the coast, leaving streets quiet but the sun relentless.

Winter is mild by northern European standards, rarely dipping below freezing, though rain arrives frequently from October through March and the city takes on a silvered, contemplative quality.