Eleven of Rome's best gelaterie, from Giolitti by the Pantheon to Come il Latte near Termini, grouped by area so you can find one near you, plus how to spot good gelato anywhere in the city.
The short answer: by the Pantheon, go to Giolitti, open every day of the year from 7:30am to midnight. Near Piazza Navona, Frigidarium on Via del Governo Vecchio stays open until 1am. In Trastevere, Otaleg. And for the most careful modern gelato, kept in covered wells and made in small batches through the day, Come il Latte near Termini.
Good gelato is easy to find in Rome once you know what to look for. Natural colours are the first clue: real pistachio is a muted olive-brown, banana is a pale grey-cream, and nothing should glow. Gelato kept level in the tub, or out of sight in covered metal wells (pozzetti), is a better sign than tall, decorated mounds piled up to catch your eye. A short list of flavours that changes with the season usually beats a wall of 50. None of these is a rule, and the gelaterie below break one or two, but together they'll steer you away from the tourist traps.
Pick the gelateria nearest whatever you're seeing that day (our Rome things-to-do list has the sights). Most don't publish prices. For a meal first, see the best pizza in Rome or the best restaurants in Rome.
Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The most visited corner of Rome has some of its best gelato too, if you pick carefully. Giolitti, between the Pantheon and the Chamber of Deputies, began as a dairy in 1890 and has made gelato and pastries on this street for over a century. It's a grand old place with a large Liberty-style room, and it's open every day of the year. It's also on our Trevi Fountain guide, about eight minutes' walk east.
Order: the classic creams and nut flavours; the shop says it uses Sicilian pistachios. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: every day of the year, 7:30am to midnight, and later in summer, so it doubles as a breakfast stop. The catch: it's a grand café as much as a gelateria; for the most modern gelato, go to Come il Latte.
Founded in 1890 as a dairy; this shop beside the Chamber of Deputies has a large Liberty-style room to sit in. About 3 minutes' walk from the Pantheon. Also carded on our Trevi Fountain guide.
Frigidarium, on Via del Governo Vecchio, a few minutes west of Piazza Navona, has made its own gelato since 1988 and stays open until 1am, so it's the after-dinner stop for this part of the centre.
Order: the house flavour, Frigidarium (caramel, gianduia and Pan di Stelle biscuits), or the pistachio, made with Bronte pistachios. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: 10:30am to 1am (its website doesn't list closing days).
Making its own gelato since 1988. About 4 minutes' walk west of Piazza Navona; open until 1am.
Gelateria del Teatro, on Via dei Coronari, the antique dealers' street between Piazza Navona and the river, makes its gelato with seasonal fruit and named-origin ingredients, and its lemon uses organic lemons from the Amalfi Coast. It's also carded on our Castel Sant'Angelo guide, five minutes away across Ponte Sant'Angelo.
Order: a seasonal fruit flavour or the Amalfi lemon. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: hours aren't published online.
It doesn't publish opening hours online. About 5 minutes' walk from Piazza Navona, and about 5 minutes from Castel Sant'Angelo across Ponte Sant'Angelo.
Campo de' Fiori and Via Giulia. Fatamorgana, created by gelato maker Maria Agnese, makes gelato from natural ingredients, with traditional flavours always on and unusual ones (herbs, spices, flowers) alongside. Its most central shop is on Via dei Chiavari, round the corner from Campo de' Fiori; there are others in Monti and Trastevere.
Order: one classic and one of the unusual flavours. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: hours aren't published online.
It doesn't publish opening hours online. Other Rome branches: Piazza degli Zingari 5 in Monti and Via Roma Libera 11 in Trastevere. About 3 minutes' walk from Campo de' Fiori.
Neve di Latte, on Via dei Banchi Vecchi near Via Giulia, makes what it calls natural gelato: certified organic ingredients, milk from Upper Bavaria, lower in sugar than usual, with vegan and gluten-free flavours. This branch is the one in the historic centre; other branches include Piazza Cavour, Flaminio, Via Veneto, Via Nomentana and Monteverde.
Order: a cream flavour, to taste the milk. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: 11am to 10:30pm, and to midnight on Friday and Saturday. The catch: for the bistro menu, go to the Via Nomentana branch instead.
The Banchi Vecchi shop is listed as a gelateria; the Via Nomentana branch is a bistro and gelateria. Other branches include Flaminio and Via Veneto. About 6 minutes' walk from Campo de' Fiori.
Trastevere. Trastevere gets busy after dark, and these two are open late. Otaleg first opened in the Colli Portuensi area as a "gelateria acquario", with the gelato made in a glass-walled laboratory in full view. Its recipes are built by subtraction, with no additives or unnecessary sugar, and new flavours appear every day. The Trastevere shop is on Via di San Cosimato, in the southern half of the neighbourhood covered in our Trastevere guide.
Order: whatever is new that day, plus a classic to compare. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: daily, noon to midnight. The catch: it's a walk south of the busy streets round Santa Maria in Trastevere.
On Via di San Cosimato, in the southern half of Trastevere. Otaleg also has a shop in Monteverde.
Fiordiluna, on Via della Lungaretta near Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, has made gelato since 1993 and calls itself a pioneer of organic and fair-trade gelato, with no synthetic additives and ingredients from small, known producers. It's now run by gelato maker Eugenio Morrone.
Order: a fair-trade chocolate or a seasonal fruit flavour. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: daily, 8am to midnight.
Making gelato since 1993, with organic and fair-trade ingredients. About 3 minutes' walk from Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Termini and Esquilino. Fassi, the Palazzo del Freddo near Piazza Vittorio, is the old-timer: the Fassi family opened its first shop in Rome in 1880 and bought this building in 1924. It's the one gelateria on this list that publishes its prices. Guided tours, any day by booking, show the historic laboratory and its old machines.
Order: a cone or cup in one of three sizes, or a frulletto, gelato blended into a drink with cream (€3.50). Spend: small €2.20, medium €2.70, large €3.50. Open: hours aren't published online. The catch: it's off the main sightseeing routes, about 4 minutes from Vittorio Emanuele Metro.
The Fassi family has made gelato in Rome since 1880 and in this building since 1924; guided tours of the historic laboratory run any day of the week, booked in advance. It doesn't publish opening hours online. Metro: Vittorio Emanuele (Line A), about 4 minutes' walk.
Come il Latte, on Via Silvio Spaventa off Via XX Settembre, is our pick for the most carefully made gelato in Rome. It keeps its gelato in covered metal wells, away from light and air, and makes only what it needs through the day, like a restaurant kitchen, remaking a flavour when it runs out. The milk and eggs are fresh, the vanilla pure, the pistachio Sicilian and the hazelnuts from the Langhe.
Order: the fior di latte or pistachio, in a cone. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: hours aren't published online. The catch: with covered wells you can't see the gelato, so you choose from the flavour labels.
Gelato kept in covered wells, made in small batches through the day, with no preservatives or artificial colours. It doesn't publish opening hours online. About 7 minutes' walk from Repubblica (Line A).
Prati and the Vatican. Gelateria dei Gracchi, on Via dei Gracchi, has made gelato in Prati since 1999. It does the opposite of Come il Latte: it shows its gelato in open tubs, to show its quality and freshness. It uses fresh Italian milk and natural ingredients, says its gelato contains no preservatives, colourings or gluten, and has flavours for people with lactose intolerance. It's the gelato stop after the Vatican Museums, about 15 minutes' walk away.
Order: a seasonal fruit flavour and a nut cream. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: daily, 11:30am to midnight; the Via di Ripetta branch near Piazza del Popolo closes at 8pm on Monday and Tuesday and 10pm the rest of the week. The catch: the Via dei Gracchi shop is on a residential street in Prati, not by the main sights.
Open since 1999. Another branch is at Via di Ripetta 261, a few minutes from Piazza del Popolo, and a third on Viale delle Provincie. Metro: Lepanto (Line A).
The Aventine. Torcè started in EUR and has a branch on Viale Aventino, a few minutes from the Circus Maximus. Gambero Rosso's gelato guide has given it its top award, Tre Coni, for the seventh year in a row, and it's known for experimenting with new flavour combinations alongside the classics.
Order: one of the experimental flavours. Spend: prices aren't published online. Open: every day, noon to 9pm. The catch: it's outside the historic centre, by the Circus Maximus.
Open every day, noon to 9pm. Metro: Circo Massimo (Line B), about 5 minutes' walk. The original shop is on Viale dell'Arte in EUR.
Pantheon: Giolitti (every day of the year, 7:30am to midnight).
Piazza Navona: Frigidarium (until 1am) or Gelateria del Teatro on Via dei Coronari.
Campo de' Fiori and Via Giulia: Fatamorgana on Via dei Chiavari, Neve di Latte on Via dei Banchi Vecchi.
Trastevere: Otaleg on Via di San Cosimato, Fiordiluna on Via della Lungaretta, both open to midnight.
Termini and Esquilino: Come il Latte off Via XX Settembre, Fassi near Piazza Vittorio (from €2.20).
Vatican and Prati: Gelateria dei Gracchi.
Circus Maximus and the Aventine: Torcè on Viale Aventino.
Late at night: Frigidarium until 1am; Giolitti, Gracchi, Otaleg and Fiordiluna until midnight.
Natural colours. Pistachio should be a muted olive-brown green, banana a pale grey-cream, strawberry a soft pink, mint white or pale. Bright, uniform colours usually mean colourings or flavour bases.
Flat, or hidden. Gelato piled into tall, decorated mounds with fruit stuck on top is made to catch the eye. Good shops keep it level in the tub, or in covered metal wells (pozzetti), as Come il Latte does, to protect it from light and air.
Short and seasonal. A short list of flavours that changes with the season, and fruit flavours that match what's in the market, are good signs.
Ordering. Choose a cone (cono) or cup (coppetta) and a size, then the flavours; ask how many flavours your size allows.
Prices. Fassi publishes its prices (€2.20 small, €2.70 medium, €3.50 large); the other gelaterie here don't.
Dietary needs. Gelateria dei Gracchi says its gelato is gluten-free, and Neve di Latte offers vegan and gluten-free flavours. Elsewhere, ask whether a sorbet is dairy-free, and ask about the cone separately. For eating gluten-free across the city, see our gluten-free Rome guide.
Gelato fits round any walk in the centre; for the full list of sights, see things to do in Rome, and for the Pantheon itself, our Pantheon guide. To budget the trip, see what a trip to Rome costs.
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