Rome: Spilled Milk #345

Rome in the summer is a state of mind. Embrace the heat (but know where to cool off). Plus: where to eat, drink and sleep in style.

Rome in summer is chaos and beauty in equal measure, and if you can surrender to both, it will change you. And you can still make it in time; there are 90 more days of summer in the Eternal City.

Yes, it’s hot. Yes, there are crowds. But the stones are warm with centuries of sun. The sky goes full Caravaggio at dusk. And the city, for all its eternal clichés, still manages to surprise you. Right now, in full swing, Rome is less a destination and more a state of mind: humid, glorious, mildly unhinged.

Eat your weight in fried zucchini blossoms and chase them with cold Frascati. Linger in piazzas where children play past midnight and espresso bars double as philosophy salons. Locals escape to the coast, meaning the city opens up just a bit for those curious (and brave) enough to claim it. If you travel ambitiously, spend a week here before you take off for Puglia or Capri.

Summer is when the best Roman food isn’t just in restaurants — it’s in bakeries, markets, gelaterie and on your friend’s terrace. The tomatoes are in full narcotic ripeness. The peaches drip. The pasta water boils with existential purpose.

“The Blue Food Cookbook” will be released on Oct. 28! If you’re considering pre-ordering, there’s never been a better time to get your copy through Barnes & Noble.

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And while the tourists march between monuments with checklist precision, you should drift. From Monti to Testaccio to Trastevere. From amatriciana to artichokes to aperitivo. Rome rewards wanderers, romantics and eaters who believe in divine excess.

In the end, visiting Rome in summer is like falling in love with someone difficult, beautiful and a little out of your league. You sweat, you stumble, you stay too long at lunch. And when you leave, it feels like a breakup.

But you’ll be back. Everyone always comes back.

Here are five of my favorite neighborhoods, along with places to eat, the best hotels, the best value-driven hotels and the best places to cool off when you get too warm: