Gay Guide to Rome: Everything you need to plan a fabulous trip!

Coming Out is the most popular gay bar in Rome, going strong since 2001. It's an institution in Rome's gay scene located on Gay Street. This is the place where everyone will likely start their night, particularly on weekends. The crowd is a mix of gay travelers to Rome along with local gay guys.

There are themed nights at Coming Out, the most popular are Tuesday nights for karaoke, and drag nights on Sundays. By day Coming Out is a cafe resto/bar. By night it morphs into a glorious gay cocktail bar.

My Bar is located next door to Coming Out on the gay street and is another institution on the Rome gay scene. A typical night out here will involve the crowds from both bars congregating and merging into one on the street outside creating a fun gay street-party vibe.

Like Coming Out, My Bar is a cafe by day and then by night morphs into a bar. It has a stage and a small dance floor where its resident DJ spins out commercial house music. My Bar also hosts the occasional karaoke night with a few hot exotic dancers.

We love Company ROMA. It's the main gay bear bar in Rome. The guys here are super friendly, so you can expect zero attitude, and just a great night out! Note that Company bar is not in the gay area of Rome and requires a 10-minute cab ride from Coming Out/My Bar if that's where you're starting your night.

Later in the evening Company becomes a dance venue with guest DJs who feature a mix of music – “Back to 90s” on Saturday is our favorite. They have themed nights like “Cruise on Monday”, and “Furry Friday”… note that every night out here becomes super cruisy later on in the evening!

We love Yellow Bar. It's not only one of the coolest gay hostels to stay at in Rome, the bar is popping. It's a gay cocktail bar with a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks to its hostel guests, it attracts a very international crowd making it really easy to make new friends. We highly recommend coming here if you're traveling solo in Rome.

Yellow Bar has live music every day and also hosts a range of events including karaoke nights, DJ sets, and performers like Tonika. In terms of location, it's fairly far out from the city center – around a 15-minute cab ride north of the gay street.

Freni e Frizioni is a very hip bar located in the heart of the Trastevere district, just by Piazza Trilussa, overlooking the beautiful Politeama Square. If imported beers and tasty Martinis are your thang, then you need to head here. It has a highly-rated kitchen by day, which is worth checking out for its pizza/pasta menu.

The crowd is more mixed than the other gay bars we went to in Rome but no less welcoming. In terms of location, Freni e Frizioni is also quite far out from the gay street – around a 15-20 minute cab ride to the west.

Fruits and Vegetables is the literal translation of this gay club – a play on the diversity of men you can expect to find. The main gay events that take place here are the men-only parties on Saturday evenings like Men2Men and Gorillas XXX. House and techno music rule the school at a Frutta e Verdura night out.

The crowd is made up of hot men – hot torsos everywhere you look… who become nuder and nuder, and sweaty, as the evening progresses… Expect lots of cruising here!

Qube itself is not a gay club but it's the venue that hosts ad hoc gay parties on Fridays. Muccassassina is the main gay party at Qube where the cool young trendy queer kids come to party on weekends. It's been going strong since 1990 and has become a pillar in the gay scene of Rome.

Spread out across 3 dance floors in a rugged building in suburbian eastern Rome, it feels more Berlin-like here, which we love! Music is a generous mix of rock, disco, techno, and my favorite, pop. A night out at Muccassassina can get pretty popular so expect a long queue if you arrive later.

Oh, we love a gay night out at Alibi! On the one hand, it has a romantic rooftop garden for chilling out in the warm summer months, on the other it has two floors each with a different club room. Latin music and reggaeton pop are the main music you'll boogie to at Alibi and we're not complaining!

House, soul, disco and the occasional pop hits also feature in the DJ's set list. The main parties happen at weekends, but it gets pretty busy, so unless you come early, expect to queue for a bit before you're allowed in.

Just a few steps from the Trevi Fountain is Pane e Salame, one of the best places in Rome for delicious panini sandwiches and charcuterie boards. It's rare to find somewhere to eat in Rome that's delicious, fast and affordable, but somehow they manage it! It's often very busy but the lines move fast.

This is a great spot for lunch, with some wine while enjoying the outdoor seating area, if you can get a table. We recommend the incredible cheese, mushroom and truffle cream sandwich or one of their yummy meat and cheese platters to share.

Calling all the carnivores! Bufalero is not a place for vegetarians as they specialize in amazing burgers and steak but if you love a bit of meat (ahem!) then you will adore this place. The service and vibe are outstanding here as well, but it's the juicy cuts of meat and towering burgers that really shine.

The only downside is that Bufalero is not terribly central, but my oh my is it worth the short uber if you want some truly mouthwatering steak or burgers!

While Bono Bottega Nostrana may seem like ‘just' another panini place, this restaurant has a very different vibe to our other favorite above. Bono Bottega Nostrana specializes in rustic panini sandwiches and charcuterie boards, in a classy little location that looks gorgeous.

Along with the sandwiches or charcuterie boards, they also serve lovely fresh juices, pizza, cups of fruit, decadent desserts and fabulous cocktails, so this is a great spot for dinner and a nightcap. It's also ideal if you've been exploring the Vatican as it's so close, make sure you save room for the tiramisu!

Vuliò is another excellent restaurant just outside Vatican City, but this one is on the opposite side near the entrance to the Vatican Museums. Here they concentrate on Apulian street food, also known as the cuisine from Puglia, and their dishes are amazing!

Along with delicious panini and platters that many eateries in Rome serve, here they also offer delights such as soup, salads and homemade desserts (both the tiramisu and strawberry cheesecake are great!). They also do homemade fries and excellent coffee.

When we say this was our favorite spot in Rome for fresh handmade pasta – we mean it! Pasta e vino literally means ‘pasta and wine' and that is what you get here, although it's the most incredible handmade pasta using recipes from the grandmothers of this family restaurant.

The only issue you may have is choosing between creamy carbonara, amatriciana, or classic parmigiana. They also strive to use organic ingredients all sourced locally, plus we haven't even mentioned the wine and desserts yet… one word – sublime!

The remnants of ancient Rome are scattered throughout the city today and the Colosseum is perhaps the most famous monument in Rome. It was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world, constructed in 72AD, completed in 80AD, and often used for gladiator contests and other spectacles.

Very close by is the Roman Forum, a series of ruined governmental buildings surrounding a plaza. This forum was once the heart of everyday life in Rome and is still impressive in its ruined state. In between the Forum and Colosseum is Palatine Hill, where the ruins of imperial palaces can be explored.

These three open-air museums are best explored together as part of a guided tour, so you can hear all the history of why they were so important while also enjoying their beauty.

The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi in Italian) is easily one of the most famous fountains in the world, as well as the oldest Baroque fountain in Rome. Construction of this magnificent fountain was finished in 1762 and it features a main theme of taming the waters, with statues of the Greek Titan Oceanus and hippocampi.

It's always super busy with tourists coming here to throw a coin in the waters, legend has it that if you throw a coin over your left shoulder then you will return to Rome someday. Around 3,000 euros are thrown in every day and the money has been used for projects to help Rome's needy, so you can feel good about partaking in this tradition.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican is the full name of the main church within Vatican City, which is usually just called St Peter's Basilica. Even if you're not a big fan of the Catholic Church (we hear you!) this is still an incredible building to see when in Rome.

St Peter's is the largest church in the world (by interior measurements) and one of the most famous examples of Renaissance architecture. It's believed to be the burial site of Saint Peter (one of the disciples of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome) and where the Pope holds many important liturgies throughout the year. Partly designed by Michaelangelo, a visit to this incredible building is a must while you're in Rome!

Along with St Peter's, a visit to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel is also a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you're in Rome. The Vatican Museums house a vast collection of treasures belonging to the Catholic Church, and it's quite something to walk the marbled floors while seeing hundreds of old paintings, sculptures and other treasures.

The Sistine Chapel is most famous as the location where a new pope is chosen, plus it features an incredible ceiling fresco by Michaelangelo depicting The Last Judgement. It does get very busy because it's so famous, so it's worth buying your ticket beforehand online, which also gets you a queue jump. We recommend this option which includes a guided tour.

The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (known as Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II in Italian or Altare della Patria “Altar of the Fatherland”) is one of the most impressive sights in Rome. It was built in honor of Victor Emmanuel II, who was King of Sardinia and later became the first king of an independent, united Italy since the 6th century.

This impressive construct was built to resemble a neo-classical Roman forum and stands in the center of what was ancient Rome. There is also an altar to the Goddess of Rome and a shrine to the Italian Unknown Soldier within the monument.

The final famous building in Rome (last but definitely not least) is the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple which is now a Catholic Church. It was built by emperor Hadrian around 126 AD on the site of an earlier temple which had been built during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD).

Even though it was built more than 2,000 years ago, its dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome! And as impressive as it is to see from the outside, the interior is even more stunning, with circle and square patterns repeated throughout. It's also free to visit so you have no excuse not to.

Not far from the Pantheon is the beautiful open plaza of Piazza Navona, which contains some pretty quirky homoerotic statues! This plaza was originally a stadium where ancient Romans came to watch games, but it fell into ruin and was then turned into a public space during the 15th century.

There are two beautiful fountains at each end of the plaza and one in the middle, which is where you can also enjoy looking at some buff sculptures wrestling dolphins or fighting an octopus – which kinda reminds us of Hentai… This plaza also hosts a charming Christmas market each year!