I found the secret to avoiding the crowds in Rome in summer

Overwhelmed by the heat and crowds, this traveller discovered a way to leave the heave behind during peak season.

The last time I visited Rome at the height of summer was during the European heatwave of 2023. 

Temperatures reached 38C on this ill-fated day in late July, yet my friends and I decided it would be an excellent idea to walk nearly 20,000 steps and then cruise around Villa Borghese on an open-air cart, despite the nagging heat.

I was staying in separate accommodation to my pals and late in the night, I fell ill with what I assume was heatstroke. I spent the next day – my 40th birthday – alone and sick in bed. Cue the pity party.

Heat is not the only downside to visiting Rome in summer; you have to contend with overcrowding, too.

An obvious solution would be to visit during the shoulder seasons and avoid the heave and heat altogether. But if you’re still partial to some of that European summer goodness, you need to think outside the box.

Vespa tours are ubiquitous in Italy, and many companies have similar experiences: food, street art, night-life, wind in your hair. Upon doing further research, I find a tour operator offering something a little different and sign up for a Countryside Vespa Tour with local company Scooteroma.

The tour takes place in a rural area of Lazio known as Castelli Romani, which has long been the summer retreat of aristocratic Roman families. It’s also home to the papal summer residence, although I’m an atheist so that bears no relevance to me.

Jenny Hewett on her countryside tour with Scooteroma.

The tour begins with getting the hell out of Rome. Or the centre of Rome, I should say. I take a 40-minute train ride to the scenic lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, where I meet my Vespa driver and tour guide, Marco.

Set atop a hillside overlooking volcanic Lago Albano, this is Rome’s low-key answer to Lake Como, and in the centre town sits the soft-yellow papal summer palace, though it was not in use during the tenure of Pope Francis as it didn’t fit with his image of being “for the people”. Marco tells me there are not many hotels in this area, which makes it less of a target, for lack of a better word, for tourists.

After learning about the history of the town (it’s older than Rome), we enjoy a tortina (pastry) and coffee and then cruise along the country roads, past summer villas dotted among Italian cypress trees and neighbourhood trattorias and chioscos.

The town of Castel Gandolfo overlooking Lago Albano.

The food tradition is long and deep here, with local towns known for their porchetta. We stop in Marino to learn about its wine history and see the Fontana dei Quattro Mori (Fountain of the Four Moors). Then it’s back onto the scooter to check out Grottaferrata, one of the most affluent villages in the area, to marvel at the ancient mosaics and frescoes at its medieval-era Byzantine abbey.

I notice a couple of tourists exploring the Old Town in Castel Gandolfo, but nothing like what you’d see in Rome. However, when we get to Grottaferrata and walk over to chiosco Porchetta da Lele for a casual lunch on a picnic bench, I hear nothing but Italian accents and see local kids using their pocket money to buy porchetta panini.

There’s a freshly roasted whole pig in the deli window and Marco points out items for our antipasti platter, including artichokes, olives, salami, crisp crackling, porchetta and pecorino.

Antipasti feast from Porchetta da Lele. Picture: Jenny Hewett

The final stop is Frascati, where we zoom past the Italian gardens of Villa Aldobrandini, more chioscos, a piazza and a cathedral, before I hop on the train and am back in the chaos of Rome in under an hour.

If you need reprieve from the crowds in Rome, even just for a day, this is how to do it. When in Rome, they say.

The writer travelled at her own expense and with the help of Scooteroma. 

Originally published as I found the secret to avoiding the crowds in Rome in summer