Eleven rooftop and terrace bars in Rome, from Cielo Bar at the top of the Spanish Steps to a Colosseum-view terrace, with the view, a cocktail price, hours, booking and dress code, and which ones close for the winter.
The short answer: for the classic view of domes and terracotta roofs, go to Cielo Bar at Hotel de la Ville, at the top of the Spanish Steps (cocktails €25 to €26), or Il Giardino Bar on the Hotel Eden's sixth floor, which lists the same hours every day with no seasonal closure (signature cocktails €28 to €35). For the Colosseum, book The Court at Palazzo Manfredi. For a cheaper sunset drink, Terrazza Nainer looks over Piazza del Popolo and the Pincio for €20 a cocktail.
Most of Rome's rooftop bars are on top of hotels in the centro storico (historic centre), and every bar here takes outside guests through public bookings or walk-ins. Cocktail prices include VAT (sales tax); where a bar adds a service charge, the card says so, and a coperto (cover charge) isn't allowed in Rome. If you're planning the rest of the day, things to do in Rome covers the sights you'll be looking at.
Season matters. Several Rome terraces close for the winter: Etere at Palazzo Ripetta runs only from 1 April to 31 October, and The Roof at The Rome EDITION is marked seasonally closed. Sunset is about 5pm in early November and 4.40pm in December, so a winter aperitivo starts early. Not drinking? The free Pincio terrace above the Spanish Steps and the Janiculum hill above Trastevere give you the view for nothing.
Around the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo. The hill above the Spanish Steps is where Rome's grand hotels cluster, and their rooftops look west over the centro storico to the dome of St Peter's. Il Giardino Bar is on the sixth floor of the Hotel Eden, a Dorchester Collection hotel near Via Veneto, beside the hotel's Il Giardino restaurant and its Michelin-starred La Terrazza. It's the safest winter pick on this list: the hotel lists the same hours every day, 7am to 12.30am, with no seasonal closure. To stay at one of these hotels, see luxury hotels in Rome.
View: across the rooftops of the centre from above the Spanish Steps. Drinks: the Roma nel Tempo list is €28 to €35 (Sun… Set! is €28, Eden Lumina with Ruinart champagne €35), alcohol-free €22 to €25, and a Beluga Gold Martini for €60. Book: yes, online. Dress: smart casual, so no caps, ripped jeans, sportswear, shorts or flip-flops. Winter: daily hours, no seasonal closure listed. Metro (subway): Barberini on Line A, about 10 minutes' walk. The catch: it's the most expensive cocktail list here.
Smart casual: no caps, ripped jeans, sportswear, shorts or flip-flops. On the sixth floor, about 10 minutes' walk from Barberini Metro (Line A).
Cielo Bar is the rooftop of Hotel de la Ville, a Rocco Forte hotel on Via Sistina, a minute from the top of the Spanish Steps. The hotel describes the view as St Peter's dome, the Pincio and the gardens of the Villa Medici rising above a sea of terracotta roofs, and the food menu is shaped by chef Fulvio Pierangelini.
Drinks: signature cocktails are €26 (the Sky Spritz, the Campidoglio Margarita), modern classics €25 to €26, mocktails €23, and small bites start at €15. Food: the all-day menu runs noon to 10.30pm. Hours: noon to midnight, every day. Winter: no seasonal closure is listed, and the hotel is selling a New Year's Eve Midnight Toast on the rooftop to welcome 2027, but it doesn't say whether the terrace is covered or heated. Metro: Spagna (Line A). The catch: €26 is a lot for a spritz, though the view is the reason you came.
The hotel names St Peter's dome, the Pincio and the Villa Medici gardens in the view. A minute from the top of the Spanish Steps; Spagna Metro (Line A).
Zuma Rome is the Japanese restaurant group's Rome branch, on the top floors of Palazzo Fendi above the corner of Via Condotti. The lounge bar and terrace is the most clubby place on this list, open late, and it has the widest price range.
Drinks: cocktails run from €16 (the Nigami Sour) to €23 (the Zuma Paloma), with the Zuma Negroni at €20; menus are labelled as samples. The nomikai rooftop aperitif, with snacks from €10, runs 6 to 7pm (Zuma lists it as every day in one place and Saturday to Thursday in another, so don't count on a Friday). Hours: lounge bar and terrace 6pm to 1am, to 2am on Friday and Saturday. Book: online, though walk-ins are welcome for after-dinner drinks at the bar. Winter: Zuma lists no seasonal closure. Metro: Spagna, 7 minutes. The catch: it's a busy scene rather than a quiet view.
Walk-ins are welcome for after-dinner drinks at the bar. On top of Palazzo Fendi, 7 minutes from Spagna Metro (Line A).
Terrazza Nainer is a cocktail terrace on top of a building at the Piazza del Popolo end of Via del Babuino. On one side it looks at Villa Borghese and the Casina Valadier on the Pincio, on the other over Piazza del Popolo and the rooftops towards the Vittoriano. It has the cheapest flat-price cocktail list here.
Drinks: the Rooftop Vibes cocktails are €20 each (Cherry Negroni, Passion Spritz, Basil Smash), any international classic is €20, and champagne cocktails are €25. There's a €3 per person charge for service. Also: a brunch at the weekend. Book: online. Winter: the site doesn't publish opening hours or a season, so check before you go. Metro: Flaminio (Line A), 4 minutes. The catch: with no hours online, you can't plan a sunset visit without asking.
Looks over Villa Borghese and the Casina Valadier on one side and Piazza del Popolo on the other. 4 minutes from Flaminio Metro (Line A).
Around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The terraces here are lower and closer to the domes, so the view is of rooftops, bell towers and the dome of the Pantheon rather than a skyline. Divinity Lounge Bar & Terrace is on top of The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, two minutes from the Pantheon.
Drinks: the Phase cocktail list, built around the Pantheon's light through the day, is €22 to €24 (Oculus and Prism €22, Incipit €24). Hours: 11.30am to midnight daily, with a DJ sunset aperitivo on Saturdays from 7 to 9.30pm. Book: you can't, unless you're a group of more than 8 (through the events office); tables go to whoever turns up. Winter: no seasonal closure is listed. The catch: on a fine evening you may wait for a table.
No bookings: tables go to whoever turns up. Groups of more than 8 book through the hotel's events office. Two minutes from the Pantheon.
Jim's Bar is the rooftop of the Singer Palace Hotel, in a 1930s Art Deco building off Via del Corso that was once the Italian headquarters of the Singer sewing-machine company. The cocktail list is a collaboration with the hatmaker Borsalino, and every drink is named after someone who wears one.
Drinks: signature cocktails are €24 each, from the Miriam Leone (Grey Goose, dry vermouth, onion) to the Robert Redford (dark rum, vanilla, amaro), with a 15% discretionary service charge added to the bill. Hours: the bar is listed from noon to midnight; the hotel's Le Terrazze restaurant is on the same roof. Winter: no seasonal closure is listed, and the hotel runs a festive-season programme. Getting there: a few minutes' walk north of Piazza Venezia. The catch: the 15% service charge takes a €24 cocktail to about €27.60.
In a 1930s Art Deco building that once housed Singer's Italian headquarters. A few minutes' walk north of Piazza Venezia.
Terrazza Borromini sits at the top of Palazzo Pamphilj, the palace on the west side of Piazza Navona. There are two levels: the Terrazza Borromini restaurant, and above it La Grande Bellezza, a rooftop with tapas, grills and sharing plates, signature cocktails and reworked classics.
Drinks: the bar doesn't publish its prices online. Hours: the rooftop opens from noon until late. Book: by phone (+39 06 68 21 54 59), email or the contact form. Winter: no seasonal closure is listed. Getting there: the entrance is on Via di Santa Maria dell'Anima, the street behind the piazza. The catch: with no prices online, you won't know the bill until you sit down.
Two levels at the top of Palazzo Pamphilj on Piazza Navona: the Terrazza Borromini restaurant, and the La Grande Bellezza rooftop above it. Book by phone (+39 06 68 21 54 59) or email.
Mater Terrae is the restaurant and bar on the roof of the Bio Hotel Raphaël on Largo Febo, a minute from Piazza Navona. Everything is organic and vegetarian, as it has been since 2013, and that includes the cocktails.
Drinks: organic signature cocktails are €24 (the Tintoretto with gin, cardamom and port; the Frida with tequila, mezcal and pineapple). Hours: the Bistrot Bar, with the cocktail menu, is open noon to 11pm every day; the gourmet restaurant serves lunch and dinner only. Book: online. Winter: no seasonal closure is listed. The catch: the menu is vegetarian, so it's no place for a meaty bar snack.
The restaurant and bar on the hotel's roof are organic and vegetarian, as they have been since 2013. A minute from Piazza Navona.
Facing the Colosseum. The Court is the cocktail bar of Palazzo Manfredi, on Via Labicana. It isn't on a roof: it's a walled terrace above the Ludus Magnus, the gladiators' training school, looking straight at the Colosseum. For a drink with that view, it's the one to book.
Drinks: you're asked to order at least two cocktails, €55 a head in total, either one of the bartenders' two-drink routes or any two from the menu. Hours: 6pm to 1.30am, every day. Book: required. Dress: smart casual; men may wear tailored shorts with a polo or collared shirt. Age: no under-18s. Metro: Colosseo (Line B), 5 minutes. The catch: the €55 minimum makes it a planned treat, not a quick drink.
Booking required, no under-18s, smart casual (tailored shorts are fine for men with a polo or collared shirt). Faces the Colosseum and the Ludus Magnus; 5 minutes from Colosseo Metro (Line B).
Closed for the season. These two terraces are shut for the winter. Etere is the rooftop bar of Palazzo Ripetta, a hotel near Piazza del Popolo, and its season runs from 1 April to 31 October: 4pm to midnight in spring and autumn, 6pm to midnight from June to mid-September.
Drinks: signature cocktails are €22, and the Cocktail Experience (a cocktail or glass of wine with the chef's small bites, 6 to 8pm) is €28. Book: by email or phone. Winter: closed November to March; the hotel also has an indoor bar, the Baylon Cocktail Bar & Bistrot. Metro: Flaminio (Line A), about 8 minutes. The catch: it's closed for five months of the year.
Book by email (etere@palazzoripetta.com) or phone (+39 06 3222381). The hotel also has an indoor bar, the Baylon Cocktail Bar & Bistrot.
The Roof is on the seventh floor of The Rome EDITION, a hotel off Via Veneto, with a dining terrace and a travertine plunge pool. In season it serves lunch, dinner and a sunset aperitivo, with a Riviera-style menu of fish and grills. The hotel's page currently marks it seasonally closed.
Drinks: signature cocktails are €23 (Limoncello Basil Smash, Twisted Spritz), alcohol-free cocktails €18, served from noon to 11pm in season. Because of the pool, drinks come in polycarbonate glasses. Winter: closed; the hotel has two indoor bars, Jade Bar and Punch Room. Metro: Barberini (Line A), 3 minutes. The catch: no reopening date is published yet.
Seventh floor, with a travertine plunge pool; because of the pool, drinks come in polycarbonate glasses. 3 minutes from Barberini Metro (Line A).
Domes and terracotta at sunset: Cielo Bar at Hotel de la Ville, or Il Giardino Bar at the Hotel Eden.
The Colosseum: The Court at Palazzo Manfredi (book, €55 for two cocktails). The Hotel Forum's rooftop bar, which looks over the Imperial Forums, is covered in where to stay in Rome.
Near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona: Divinity (walk-in only), Terrazza Borromini or the Hotel Raphaël's Mater Terrae.
On a budget: Zuma's €16 Nigami Sour, or Terrazza Nainer, where every cocktail is €20 (plus €3 a head for service). Cheaper still: buy a drink at street level and watch sunset from the free Pincio terrace or the Janiculum.
A late night: Zuma, open to 2am on Friday and Saturday, or The Court, open to 1.30am. For more after dark, see Rome at night.
November to March: Il Giardino Bar and The Court list daily hours with no seasonal closure, so they're the surest bets. Etere is closed until 1 April, and The Roof is seasonally closed.
What a drink costs: €16 to €35 for most cocktails at the bars here (the Hotel Eden's Beluga Gold Martini is €60), and most hotel rooftops sit at €22 to €26. Read the bottom of the menu for extras: Terrazza Nainer adds €3 a head for service, and Jim's Bar adds a 15% discretionary service charge. Tipping isn't expected in Rome beyond that.
Booking: book for sunset at the famous rooftops, especially from Thursday to Saturday. The Court requires a booking; Divinity takes none, so arrive early.
Dress: smart casual at the grand hotels. The Hotel Eden asks for no caps, ripped jeans, sportswear, shorts or flip-flops. In summer, cover beachwear and gym kit.
Winter: from November to March, check whether the terrace you want is open before you cross town. Sunset is about 5pm in early November and 4.40pm in December, so aim for 4pm. In summer it's around 8.45pm late in June.
After the drink: for a cocktail bar at street level, see the best bars in Rome; for dinner nearby, see the best restaurants in Rome; for a whole day of sights around these views, our 3-day Rome itinerary. And for what a trip adds up to, see the cost of a trip to Rome.
Stop reading lists.
Start the trip.
Tourli turns any guide into an actionable day plan — pinned to a map, walking directions and offline access included. One tap to save every place on this page.