1. Start your day outside CaffਠVittorio Emanuele in Piazza Maggiore with a cappuccino and brioche (they'll also give you a glass of water to go with it), and watch the world unfold.

The last time I was in Rome I stayed in Testaccio, as recommended by a Roman friend. You'll love it, she told me, and she was right.

If Rome has Testaccio, Milan has Isola. Both are areas that have been subject to renewed urban interest, and both have the atmosphere of a village where creatives and locals live side by side.