Best place for breakfast
I love the Rosati in the Piazza del Popolo. Since it was pedestrianised it has become one of the great squares in the city. Arrive early and you can watch Rome waking up. I love focaccia and prosciutto panini, which they do beautifully at the Rosati.

Best coffee bar
In the Via Condotti you'll find the wonderful Antico Caffe Greco tucked away between the boutiques. It is full of history, with red velvet chairs and marble tables; Byron, Keats and Casanova went there. Also famous for its coffee is the Sant' Eustachio behind the Pantheon, but they put sugar in everything, which can ruin your cappuccino or espresso if you don't have a sweet tooth.

Best lazy lunchtime restaurant
Piperno in the Jewish quarter is great for traditional vegetables including vignole - a mixture of braised peas, broad beans and artichokes - and deep-fried whole artichokes. It's full of local families who are there to enjoy the food and the company.

Best street for window shopping
I love the tiny, eccentric stores. The route running from behind the Corso to the Piazza Navona has everything from food shops to small boutiques, with lots of off-the-wall stuff - I can spend a whole day wondering around there.

All-time favourite shop
I love all the great little food shops with prosciutto, salami and mozzarella and sausages hanging from the ceiling. There are too many to choose one.

Best for a memorable evening meal
Al Moro is a small, traditional restaurant which isn't fancy but serves delicious food. The speciality is tripe a la romana and they do wonderful pastas (try taglierini with porcini or white truffles in autumn). For me, the most delicious thing to eat in Rome is puntarelle - thinly sliced chicory shoots dressed with anchovies, garlic and red wine vinegar - which we have in our cookbook.

Favourite art gallery
The Lorcan O'Neill gallery shows contemporary art in a beautiful street near Trastevere. In a traditional city that is full of classic art, sometimes you want to see something modern.

Best bookshop for browsing
I like Feltrinelli. It is a big brand like Borders, with lots of energy in the shops.

Favourite part of town
It's tragic that the most beautiful square - Piazza Navona - has become the dumping ground for cheap stalls selling trinkets and people doing caricatures. I like the area from the Palazzo Farnese along the Via Monserrato. It is a beautiful medieval street, small and narrow. You can come behind and go to the Palazzo del Popolo from there.

Best street for houses
The magical thing is all the roof terraces. Just keep walking around, looking up (though not while trying to cross one of the incredibly busy streets) and you will see them.

Best park to people-watch
The Borghese Gardens are beautiful. Everybody goes there, from young lovers to families. You can row on the lake, and the Villa museum has sculptures by Bernini and Canova. If you want to people-watch in the evening over a drink, try the gardens of the Hotel de Russie. It's in the heart of the city near the Spanish Steps but it has a peaceful courtyard and lush terraced gardens.

Best building
St Ivo alla Sapienza, a small hidden church by the architect Borromini - a real gem with Arabic spirals in the dome. Not many people know it.

How to find them
The Rosati Piazza del Popolo 5
00 39 06 322 5859

Antico Caffe Greco Via dei Condotti 86
06 679 1700

Sant' Eustachio Piazza Sant'Eustachio 82
06 68 80 20 48

Piperno Monte De' Cenci 9
06 68 80 66 29 Vicolo delle Bollette 13 (Trevi Fountain)
06 678 3495

Galleria Lorcan O'Neill Roma
1E Via Orti D'Alibert 06 68 89 29 80

Feltrinelli Via V.E. Orlando 84
06 482 7878

Hotel de Russie Via del Babuino
06 32 88 81

· For more information contact the tourist board, the APT (Azienda di Promozione Turistica di Roma), Via Parigi 11, www.romaturismo.it.