Planning to do this the first day we get to rome, but during the day rather than at night. Our hotel is very close to the spanish steps, so I am thinking that it might be better if we do this walk backwards starting at the spanish steps, and then we could eat dinner in campo de' fiori and take the 116 bus back to piazza di spagna. Anyone who has done this walk: did you find it to be more uphill going from campo de' fiori to piazza di spagna or the other way around? If we do it the normal way, we will take the bus to campo de'fiori and then to the walk going towards the spanish steps such that we will end up close to our hotel, and then we could eat dinner near the spanish steps? andy suggestions? Another idea i had was to do the walk backwards and continue on to trastevere and eat dinner there, and then take the bus back to piazza di spagna. Any advice would be great!
Posted by
San Leandro, CA, USA
632 posts
My favorite nightime walk is to start early in the Piazza del Popolo, and walk down the Via del Corsa...turn at the Monument of Victor Emmanuel II and return to the Trevi Fountain...then walk back to the Spanish Steps...you can eat at a number of places along the way...all price points...with tourists, yes, but also with a lot of Italians. My last visit to Rome was several years ago on the first of November and the city was filled with pilgrims and Italian tourists for All Saints Day.
Posted by
Asheville, NC, USA
32 posts
You can do the walk during the daytime, but you shouldn't miss the walk at night! (It's hot during the day and not nearly as engaging.) You can walk it any old way you want to and it will be wonderful. Just be sure to include gelato at some point! Gelateria della Palma near the Pantheon has 100 flavors. Rose gelato was exquisite. The view of the Vatican from the Capitoline (Campidoglio) after dark is great. Hanging out at the Trevi Fountain after dark is way better than daytime.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
I've done it and it's fabulous. Doing it during the night makes all the difference. I would suggest that you not try to eat too near the Spanish steps as the area around there is mostly full of overpriced tourist places. Trastevere on the other hand is filled with the sort of small local cafes that caused me to fall in love with Rome last summer.
Posted by
OP
new york
55 posts
do you think the walk would be just as good if we do it backwards? I think then we could maybe eat in trastevere and walk back once it is dark outside or just take the bus. I don't want to do this late at night cause I want the kids to get some sleep since we will be seeing ancient rome the next morning. I have been to rome before but my family has not, so I thought this would be a really good walk to do the first day!
Thanks for the advice!
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
The walk is pretty flat, even if you continue on to Trastevere. You probably won't notice any difference going either direction, so do whichever is more convenient. The one advantage of walking to Campo de Fiori is that the Pantheon will likely still open at that time, whereas it will be closed on a night walk back.