Ferrari Roma Spider Tour Review: From Troyes to Château de Montmélian & the Heart of Paris

The Ferrari Roma Spider is an Olympic gymnast of a car: elegant, agile, powerful, and perfectly proportioned. I decided the only way to truly get to know it was to take it on a 1,000-mile tour through the heart of France, visiting medieval Troyes, the Château de Montmelian, and finishing in the whirlwind glamour of Paris. Along the way, I stayed in some of the finest properties France has to offer, including La Maison de Rhodes (5 Star) and Le Champ des Oiseaux (4 Star), a duo that proves luxury can be intimate, authentic, and full of character.

First Impressions: Celeste Met and a Red Roof

From the moment I eased the Roma Spider out of the garage, it was obvious this car wasn’t going anywhere quietly. The colour — a light Tiffany blue officially known as Celeste Met — has history in its veins. First seen in 1953 on the Ferrari 375 America, this aquamarine metallic hue once graced Ferrari’s earliest road cars and now returns like a charming aristocrat rediscovering the dance floor. On the Roma Spider, it’s both historic and fresh, elegant yet cheekily playful. Paired with the red fabric roof, it drew more stares than an A-list actor in a yoga retreat. The combination reminded me of a two-tone teddy boy suit I once bought on the King’s Road from Vivienne Westwood in the 1980s — light blue with a defiant red waistcoat. Stylishly rebellious, unmistakably sophisticated, and just a little outrageous — rather like the Roma Spider itself.

The first leg of the journey began in suitably civilised fashion — meeting my colleagues in the Flexiplus Lounge at Le Shuttle. We fortified ourselves with the food of the gods: macarons, ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches, and enough pastries to make a Parisian baker blush. Then came that small thrill that never fades — driving directly onto the train. There’s something delightfully surreal about parking a Ferrari next to a Bentley GT and a classic Porsche 911, and then hurtling beneath La Manche in just 35 minutes, all while seated comfortably in your supercar. Le Shuttle runs all night, with up to four departures an hour, making it the fastest, most effortless dash to France imaginable — and word has it, the service is set to become even more luxurious soon.

At a petrol station in France, thirty admirers mobbed me, and three strangers approached to congratulate me, as if I had personally designed the car. Everywhere, phones appeared like magic, capturing the Roma faster than I could blink. In Place Vendôme, during the height of fashion week, I received a near-standing ovation while exiting the basement car park. I felt like royalty—and indeed gave a little royal wave as I roared out of the square, scattering models and tourists like chaff in the wind.

Coupe vs Spider: Linen Shirt or Italian Suit?

For context, I had reviwed the Ferrari Roma Coupé previously, and while it was magnificent, the Spider brought something extra.

See the in-depth Ferrari Roma Coupé Review here.

So, let’s address the question of Coupé vs Spider — or, as Ferrari purists like to murmur, “cappello o niente cappello, amico?

The Roma Coupé has a fixed hardtop and a slightly lighter chassis, clocking in at around 1,472 kg. It’s the purist’s choice — sleek, refined, and fractionally quicker from 0–200 km/h (9.3 seconds). The Roma Spider, meanwhile, adds a meticulously engineered fabric soft-top that folds gracefully in 13.5 seconds at speeds up to 60 km/h.

To accommodate the convertible mechanism, the Spider’s chassis includes structural reinforcements in the sills and rear bulkhead, resulting in a modest weight gain of 84 kg. But let’s be honest — that’s roughly the mass of a passenger with excellent taste in Champagne.

Performance? Virtually identical. The Spider reaches 0–200 km/h in 9.7 seconds, only four-tenths slower than the coupé. In return, you gain the pure theatre of open-air driving — that soundtrack of wind and V8 symphony that no coupé can replicate.

The active rear spoiler remains, subtly re-tuned for aerodynamics, and the cabin is identical to the coupé’s “dual cockpit” design — a masterstroke of symmetry and leather craftsmanship. The only addition: a discreet control for the wind deflector, because even Ferraris acknowledge that expensive hairstyles deserve protection.

In the Spider, I felt more connected to the car than ever—emotionally, practically, and aesthetically.

Touring Troyes in Style: La Maison de Rhodes & Le Champ des Oiseaux

My adventure began not in Italy, but in the medieval city of Troyes, France — a honeycomb of cobbled lanes that once hosted the Counts of Champagne. It’s the kind of place where time politely stopped in the 16th century and never restarted. Medieval timbered houses lean precariously and cathedrals boast an astonishing 40% of the world’s stained glass. Navigating these streets in the Roma Spider was nothing short of thrilling. The car moves like a greyhound leaping out of the traps, agile enough to slip between buildings where one would think only a bicycle could pass.

I stayed at La Maison de Rhodes (5 Star) and Le Champ des Oiseaux (4 Star), adjoining properties run by Julie and Kamil, who treat guests like family—albeit a family with impeccable taste and a devotion to excellence. The hotels are a symphony of history: 15th and 16th-century oak beams, sun-bleached façades, marble and terracotta floors, stained glass casting bird-shaped light across cream-daub walls, and ceilings supported by beams the size of bridge girders. Each room is a story, each corridor a memory, each window a view over the medieval town and the winding Seine.

Dinner was a revelation. We tried the local wine, L’Amoureux, made by Julie’s uncle, which paired perfectly with fresh river trout. The Prunelle de Troyes liqueur, distilled from sloe berries in ancient copper alembics, arrived later, tasting of marzipan and tradition. I spent time wandering the Marché des Halles, sampling oysters at Au Petit Charlot, and exploring cobbled streets lined with 15th-century cafés and patisseries. The restaurathon—a three-course journey across Simone’s, Octave, and Valentino—was particularly memorable. Remarkably, it is the same chef who presides over all three restaurants, appearing magically at each stop like a rabbit out of a hat to greet us and ensure the exact same meal is flawlessly executed. Truly, the chef owns these restaurants in every sense, orchestrating a culinary symphony with astonishing finesse.

Read the in depth review of La Maison de Rhodes & Le Champ des Oiseaux in Troyes here.

The Drive to Château de Montmelian

After Troyes, the Roma Spider and I continued south to the Château de Montmelian, where I stayed with my uncle and his wife. The Château is a lesson in aristocratic French hospitality, where en famille dining is peppered with family anecdotes, both tragic and hilarious, and the wine flows with generosity and precision. Touring the château grounds in the Roma Spider was pure joy—the car’s fluid handling and responsive steering making the twisty, rutted roads a delight rather than a challenge.

Here, the Spider’s dimensions shone: perfectly proportioned, neither too large to intimidate nor too small to underperform. The Celeste Met paint caught the sunlight filtering through the ancient stone walls, turning every corner into a photograph worthy of our luxury magazine cover.

On long stretches, the Spider purrs contentedly at 2,000 rpm, sipping fuel (relatively speaking) and offering the sort of comfort that would scandalise Enzo Ferrari’s ghosts. The cabin is hushed, the seats cosseting, the infotainment elegant and intuitive — though one suspects true Ferrari owners are too busy listening to the exhaust note to ever use Spotify.

Paris: Place Vendôme, Peripherique, and Celebrity Status

The final leg was Paris. Navigating the Place de l’Étoile roundabout and the peripherique tested even the Roma Spider’s poise, yet it danced between lanes like a ballet dancer riding lightning. Renaults and Peugeots were mere obstacles to display Ferrari finesse. Surrounded by Boucheron, Chaumet, Dior, and the Ritz Paris, the Roma Spider looked utterly at home. The Celeste Met paint reflected the stone façades like liquid sapphire, its soft red roof complementing the gilded balconies. It was as if Ferrari had designed the car specifically for this moment — the curves echoing the square’s own Baroque perfection.

Lunch at the Cercle de l’Union Interalliée on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré provided a moment of calm amidst Parisian chaos. This club, created in 1917 to foster relations between Allied officers and political leaders, retains a sense of history and exclusivity that perfectly complements the Ferrari experience. My cousins and I traded stories, laughter, and gentle family misbehaviour across courses, each bite mirrored by reflections on the car and the journey that brought us here.

The Roma Spider: Perfection in Motion

I have driven countless supercars, but the Ferrari Roma Spider hits every note, and yes, in the right order (thank you Morecambe & Wise). The combination of size, handling, aesthetic, and performance is flawless. It felt connected, responsive, and entirely natural—a car that does not demand attention but commands it effortlessly. Its Celeste Met colour, combined with the red roof, may have helped, but the car’s essence is its balance of elegance, power, and everyday usability. Even fuel economy—around 25 mpg on tour—was surprisingly reasonable for such a masterpiece.

The Ferrari Roma Spider fits around you so perfectly—like a second skin stitched by angels—that you miss it the very moment you leave it. A companion, a statement, and occasionally a celebrity in its own right.

Le Shuttle: A Stylish Farewell

As all good journeys must, this one ended at Calais. With a Flexiplus ticket, I boarded Le Shuttle, stocking up again on macarons, sandwiches, and drinks in the Flexiplus lounge. Crossing under the Channel became a final indulgence, a moment to reflect on a tour combining history, family, luxury hotels, and the perfect car.

I’ve driven countless supercars, yet the Roma Spider is exceptional. It is not just a machine; it is an emotional experience. The colour, the size, the handling, the poise – everything is just right. The coupé may be pure but the Spider is a warrior-poet. It flits through history, Parisian traffic, and French medieval streets alike, leaving admiration and envy in equal measure. Touring in the Roma Spider is a combination of thrill, comfort, and outright joy – a car that connects, entertains, and transforms.

Ferrari Roma Spider OTR Price: £213,583

With Options: £270,556

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/ferrari-roma-spider

La Maison de Rhodes and Le Champ des Oiseaux

https://www.maisonderhodes.com/en/

LeShuttle

https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en

Cercle de l’Union Interalliée

https://union-interalliee.fr/en

Ferrari Tours

For Ferrari owners, the Ferrari Tour offers access to extraordinary driving events in stunning locations. Here, passion, performance, and hospitality converge in a manner that perfectly mirrors the experience of driving the Roma Spider itself: elegant, exhilarating, and unforgettable.