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Latteria Borgo Pio
The marble bar at this veteran cremeria (a dying breed of bar selling farm-fresh milk) has been propping up espresso-guzzling, cornetto -munching locals since 1912 (the wooden fridge is even older). Catch up on local gossip beside the poker machine, or kick back with the paper and panini on the postcard-worthy street.
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Le Coppelle
Pose at Le Coppelle and partake in some 21st-century dolce vita . The recently refurbished bar has partially taken over the pretty piazza as its salon, with leopard-skin chairs and lipstick-red sofas on which to recline, watch the beautiful and the damned, and drink a cocktail (around €10 ).
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Le Jardin Du Russie
Perhaps you can't afford to stay here but you should splash out for a drink in what is surely one of the most enchanting bars in the city. It's set in the courtyard of the Hotel de Russie (a favourite of visiting celebrities), with terraced gardens and sun-shaded tables, and is impossibly romantic in a kind of 19th-century-traveller way.
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Libreria Del Cinema
Ponder Pasolini over peppermint tea at this intimate café, set snugly inside a hip cinema bookshop. Filled with the chatter of local directors, actors and writers, the bookshop itself boasts an arty selection of DVDs, as well as a busy cultural calendar. Check the website for upcoming screenings, readings and discussions.
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Linari
Spot this by the crowds of old-time locals. It has the busy clatter of a good bar, with excellent pastries, splendid coffee and bar-side banter. There are some outside tables but you'll have to fight the elderly ladies of the neighbourhood to get one.
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Max's Bar
Max's unthreatening, friendly vibe is what has endeared it to so many men for so long. An institution in gay Rome, it's an informal place favoured by the young, old and everyone in between. Between drinks you can take to the dance floor and bop your cotton socks off to mainstream house or American pop.
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Metaverso
The smallest, friendliest place on the Monte Testaccio strip, cellar-club Metaverso packs in a cool, alternative crowd, and plays mostly hip-hop and electronica, with the occasional foray into out-there stuff like acid house. Projections of old movies in the arched interior make it doubly hip. Admission is around €5 and drinks are cheap.
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Miscellanea
Subtitled the 'international students' pub' this is a spartan place. An American-student magnet, it's tucked down a cobbled alley near the Pantheon, and has spindly tables and chairs outside a pub-bar interior. A media (large) beer costs around €4 .50/.50 before/after .
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Ombre Rosse
One of the cornerstones of the Trastevere drinking scene, this bar sits on a pretty piazza under a shady tree, the sought-after outside tables surrounded by hanging flower baskets. A great place to watch the world wander past.
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Oppio Caffè
This new American-style bar sports a modern look with a glass and metal bar, Plexiglas chairs and flat plasma screens on bare brick walls. A favourite of the city's aperitif set, it's a great place to snack while sipping on cocktails and listening to DJs spin lounge, jazz and house. From the terrace there are great views of the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
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Palatium
Drop those Valentino shopping bags and refuel at this sleek, kosher showcase for Lazio's bumper produce. Explore lesser-known local drops such as Aleatico, and snack on local artisan cheese, olives and salami. Lunch is served from to and dinner from to .
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Qube
Rome's multilevel clubbing giant has retro, live disco and death rock on Thursdays; gay night Muccassassina (www.muccassassina.com in Italian) on Fridays; and hip-hop, disco revival and electro on Saturdays.
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Qube Off
With three floors, Qube is Rome's largest disco. Thursday is Radio Rock night; Saturday is UnderG.R.A.und, with hip-hop and R & B, disco revival and minimal, electro and techno. Rome's biggest gay and lesbian one-nighter, Muccassassina ('cow assassin'; www.muccassassina.com), takes place on Fridays. It's run by Circolo Mario Mieli, who also organise Gay Pride. In July and August it moves outdoors - check the website for the current location.
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Rashomon
No Euro disco trash here, just unadulterated indie, new wave and electronic beats, both live and DJ spun. Past guests to have hit the decks include German electro meister Marek Hemmann, Denmark's Jonas Koop and Holland's genre-busting Legowelt.
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Rive Gauche 2
Inexplicably named after Paris's legendary left bank, this is one of the most popular pubs in San Lorenzo. Nearly always full of students, foreigners and assorted friends, it's a vibrant and animated spot that creates a genuinely infectious buzz. Be warned, however - it's a big place, gets very full, and has only one tiny loo.
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Rosati
Historically Rosati, overlooking the vast disc of the piazza, was the hang-out of the left-wing chattering classes. Authors Italo Calvino and Alberto Moravia used to drink here while their right-wing counterparts went to the Canova (06 361 22 31; Piazza del Popolo 16; ; -midnight ;) over the square. Today basking tourists are the main clientele at both.
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Salotto 42
Slinky and quietly fashionable on this extraordinary piazza, this bar is as close as you'll get to a sitting-room experience in the city centre. With oversize flock wallpaper, armchairs and soft sofas, coffee-table books lining the walls and an aquarium on TV, it's run by a glamorous Italian-Swedish couple. Aperitivo (from to ) is mainly Swedish.
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Sciam
Kick back kasbah-style, where under a mass of coloured-glass lanterns, ex-pats and trend-sensitive locals sip mint tea (there's no alcohol), munch on meze, or smoke sishas (around €7 ) over a languid game of backgammon.
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Shaki
Shaki is a sleek wine bar with outside tables along a cobbled street, plum in the centre of the designer shopping district. It's consequently pricey for what it is but ideal for a flop to watch the fashion hits and misses wander past. Of the light meals, salads are the best bet, with fresh ingredients. There's another branch at Via del Governo Vecchio 123, near Piazza Navona.
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Skyline
An American-style gay bar in San Lorenzo, Skyline is just the place for those boys who've got it and feel the need to flaunt it. The uniform and nude torso theme nights are popular with hunky bears, while bodies of all shapes turn their attention elsewhere as they cruise on the balcony.
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Société Lutèce
A group of Turin trendsters opened Société Lutèce and it's one of Rome's hippest bars - boho, cool, and art-school rather than dressed-up and glitzy - like their other venture in Trastevere, Freni e Frizioni. The music's genuinely funky, aperitivo tasty, and the effortlessly good-looking crowds spill out onto the piazza outside.
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Stardust
Stardust was a Trastevere institution, a tiny low-lit bar with a sultry atmosphere, boho crowd, and occasional live music. Atmosphere and all, it's been shifted to just off Piazza Navona. The new Stardust is larger but remains intimate, with a series of red-and-black rooms decorated by blown-up works of Iranian photographer Arash. Punters hang out on the cobbled street, while music veers from Velvet Underground to Vivaldi. Charismatic owner Anna hopes that live jazz gigs will restart once soundproofing has been completed.
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Stravinsky Bar At Hotel De Russie
With its lushly planted terraces, potted orange trees and love-to-please-you waiters, it's hard to beat Hotel de Russie's chichi courtyard bar for that garden-party vibe. Order a 'de Russie' martini, slip on some shades and scan for checked-in stars.
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Supperclub
Is it a bar? Is it a restaurant? Is it a cabaret joint? No, it's the Supperclub! Resembling its cousin in Amsterdam, but with less reefer, here you recline on white divans, eat a violin-serenaded dinner, and then strut your designer-clad stuff in the disco.
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Tastevin
Tastevin's tiny, cool interior is a great escape on a summer's day and it has an exceptional collection of 1005 Italian and French wines, including an excellent choice of Barolo and Brunelli. While you drink you can nibble on cheeses and salamis, tuck into a daily hot dish or chomp on a choice of salads.
