This is one of Rome’s institutions. At walking distance from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, this ancient coffee shop is renowned for having the best coffee in town. Order a macchiato from the bar, add a little cornetto al cioccolato if you are feeling naughty and feel the Roman vibe.

Piazza delle Coppelle is one of the most animated piazzas in the centre of Rome, packed every night with the after-work drinking crowd. Pull up a pew and order some aperitivo (a selection of miniature pizza slices and bruschetta) and a glass of spritz and you will soon feel like a true local. The restaurant is also very good, but the cherry on the cake is the naughtily named secret bar, ‘Le Derrière’, which you can access through a cupboard or the concealed door in the adjacent street.

Jerry Thomas is the ultimate speakeasy. The snug atmosphere, red velvet furnishings, bearded bartenders and amazing cocktails mean Jerry Thomas has nothing to envy, even at the coolest Brooklyn drinking dens.

A few steps from the Pantheon, nestled on the beautiful Piazza di Pietra just across from Hadrian’s temple and its famous columns, Salotto 42 is the place for a proper Roman after-dinner rendez-vous. Their moscow mule, served in an actual mule, will rock your world. When in Rome, do as the Romans do… It would be rude not to.

If you’re after for a local night out, this should be your spot of choice.

If you are looking to shake things up in the heart of Rome, the place to do so is the Music-Inn. The ground floor is a bar and sometimes jazz club which flows outside onto the piazza, while the subterranean nightclub pumps out house, dance and techno beats.

More than just a café, this is a Roman classic in its own right. Serving up great spritzes and negronis, this charmingly retro and unpretentious hangout is still the place to come, pull up a seat at one of its chequered tables and nonchalantly watch the world go by.

This iconic hotel is the kind of place you have to go once in your life just to imbibe the languid peace of the hotel’s heavenly gardens and grottoes. Raise a glass at sunset with the signature Stravinskij spritz before enjoying a plate of the gratifying cacio e pepe ravioli.