Rome for The Night Owls: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Aperitivo in a former mechanic's workshop, a cocktail and the buffet, with the crowd spilling onto the square above the river.

A Sardinian-Roman kitchen on the square behind the basilica, spaghetti with bottarga and a carafe; the tables outside are the ones to wait for.

The blues cellar since 1984, a band most nights and a bar that does not watch the clock; membership at the door, a few euros.

Pastries, pizza bianca and a proper coffee near Largo Argentina, for those who were up until five. Go before the cornetti sell out at midday.

The oldest jazz club in the city, a cellar near the Vatican where Chet Baker played; dinner at the tables or a stool at the bar.

Techno and house in a converted warehouse on the Ostiense club street since 1996; the night runs until the trains start again.

Sunday lunch at paper-covered tables on the square, cash only and no bookings; gnocchi because it is Sunday, and the owner's handwriting on the bill.

Sunset over Piazza del Popolo and St Peter's dome from the balustrade, with half of Rome and an accordion; the best free seat in the city.

A speakeasy with a password from the website and a door that stays shut without it; the cocktails are the city's best and the membership is for the year.

The maritozzo bar that opens before dawn for taxi drivers and the last of the night; cream brioche and a coffee at the counter.

The square empty and the fountain running, the twelfth-century mosaics catching the morning light inside; a bench and an hour of nothing.

Roman stews stuffed in a pizza pocket from the stand on the square, eaten on the steps with the river below; then tram 8 and the airport.