3 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Rome, Italy

Tucked on a side street off the medieval Piazza delle Erbe, the Osteria del Vecchio Orologio offers top-quality Tuscia specialties in a warm and informal atmosphere. It's a member of the Slow Food Movement, with a menu that changes according to the season.

This fraschetta around the corner from Palazzo Chigi is great for people-watching, which you can do while enjoying a platter of cold cuts and assorted cheeses, washed down with a carafe of local Castelli wine. Order your own appetizers and slices of porchetta at the counter near the door, snag a table on the patio, flag down a waiter if you want to order pasta, and then settle into the rustic setting surrounded by Roman families who've abandoned the city for the day to enjoy the local food.

Halfway down the main street on the left is the town's most historic inn (where Byron stayed when visiting the area) with a wine bar and café at street level and a full restaurant on the second floor.  It also has several small apartments and rooms available to rent by the night in the village center.