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City walk Rome — Centro Storico, Italy

Rome Historic Center: Ancient Rome to the Baroque Heart

A single unforgettable day on foot, from the Colosseum through the Forum to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Rome Historic Center: Ancient Rome to the Baroque Heart
Photo: FeaturedPics · CC BY-SA 4.0
Duration
1 days
Distance
5 km
Difficulty
Easy
Best season
April–June and September–October

Rome rewards walkers more than any other capital. In a compact loop through the centro storico you cross two thousand years in an afternoon — from the blood-and-spectacle world of the Colosseum and the ruined temples of the Forum to the theatrical fountains and domes of the Baroque city.

This route strings the essentials together in the order that makes sense on foot, so you are never doubling back. Wear shoes that can take cobblestones, and leave room to get pleasantly lost between the marked stops.

Getting there. From Fiumicino airport take the Leonardo Express train (~30 min) to Termini, then Metro Line B one stop to Colosseo, where the walk begins.

Permits & tickets. The Colosseum needs an advance timed ticket (€18 combined with the Forum and Palatine, valid 24h). The Pantheon now requires a small timed ticket (€5). Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona are free.

Good to know:

Day 1

Ancient Rome to the Baroque center

Colosseum → Piazza Navona 5 km

A single continuous line through the oldest part of the city, from the Colosseum to Piazza Navona.

Segments

  1. The Colosseum 0.3 km

    Colosseo metro station → Colosseum interior

    City streets

    Begin inside the Flavian Amphitheatre, finished in AD 80 and still the largest ever built. Walk the tiered stands, look down into the arena, and picture the crowds of fifty thousand. The Arch of Constantine stands right alongside. Allow about 75 minutes.

  2. Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
    Roman Forum & Palatine Hill 1.2 km

    Colosseum → Via dei Fori Imperiali

    Ancient paving and gravel paths

    Follow the Via Sacra through the political and religious heart of the empire — the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Saturn and the Senate house — then climb the Palatine, the hill where Rome was said to have been founded. Around 90 minutes.

    About this place

    The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum, is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

    Read more on Wikipedia ↗

    Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a · CC BY-SA 3.0

  3. To the Trevi Fountain
    To the Trevi Fountain 1.3 km

    Roman Forum → Trevi Fountain

    City streets

    Cross Piazza Venezia beneath the vast white Vittoriano, then wind through side streets to Rome's grandest Baroque fountain. Toss a coin over your shoulder to guarantee a return. About 45 minutes including the walk.

    About this place

    The Trevi Fountain is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

    Read more on Wikipedia ↗

    Photo: NikonZ7II · CC BY-SA 4.0

  4. To the Pantheon
    To the Pantheon 0.6 km

    Trevi Fountain → Piazza della Rotonda

    City streets

    Step into the best-preserved building of ancient Rome. Its unreinforced concrete dome, open to the sky through a single oculus, has stood for nearly nineteen centuries and shelters the tomb of the painter Raphael. About 30 minutes.

    About this place

    The Pantheon is an ancient 2nd century Roman temple and, since AD 609, a Catholic church called the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs in Rome, Italy. It is perhaps the most famous, and architecturally most influential, rotunda.

    Read more on Wikipedia ↗

    Photo: NikonZ7II · CC BY-SA 4.0

  5. To Piazza Navona
    To Piazza Navona 0.4 km

    Pantheon → Piazza Navona

    City streets

    End in a piazza shaped like the ancient stadium it was built over, centred on Bernini's theatrical Fountain of the Four Rivers with the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone behind it. A perfect place to stop for a coffee and watch the city.

    About this place

    Piazza Navona is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as "Circus Agonalis".

    Read more on Wikipedia ↗

    Photo: NikonZ7II · CC BY-SA 4.0