On a recent trip to Italy, the Frill Seeker Girls packed three travel guides: a well-known standard with several maps, a hip pocket guide, and a detailed step-by-step city tour. However, it was between the day trip suggestion paragraphs that this FSD lady found her favorite Rome spots.

When we turned the corner at the Trevi Fountain, while my travel partner (and photog) was floored by the amazing tiny shops and excess of gelato, I was just amazed that a beautiful fountain so enormous in stature could be hidden behind winding streets and miniature signs.

Just a short walk away, the Spanish Steps are just as beautiful- and just as hidden, if not more so. Flanked by common buildings and a meek fountain. Though they’re little more than just steps, they provide a sunny, calm spot for natives to sit and read a book, have lunch, and people watch.

Hop on a bus up the street from these attractions and skip over to the Vatican Museum: look for the enormous, imposing walls- can’t miss it. Inside the museum is a teeny tiny courtyard many people whiz by on their (long) walk to the Sistine Chapel, but this little yard has so many trinkets, statues, and art that I couldn’t help but stop and sit awhile.

The Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and the courtyard of the Vatican Museum are surely mentioned in ever guide you can read, but they rarely take center stage when paired against the Colosseum and other ancient ruins, or even the city’s infamous restaurants. And maybe this is rightfully so, after all, the Colosseum is more than a place of historical relevance, it was basically the start of civilization as we know it, a mecca of architecture, and something that not everyone gets to see in their lifetime. But is it unfair to sound the trumpets of $20 historical attractions and slip references to these native hot spots under the radar?

What do you think? What are your favorite spots in Rome? Are they in the mainstream tour books? And while you’re thinking about it, be sure to visit youtube.com/frillseekerdiary to see our video of our favorite Rome attractions!