London Toolkit 
Paris Toolkit Walk 1 - around Villa Borghese
Walk Rome's largest green space finishing at the Spanish Steps
 |
Entertainment: Villa Borghese, Rome |
On this page
Sightseeing |
City of Rome tours |
Day tours from Rome |
Villa Borghese walk route overview
Villa Borghese is the largest public park in Rome and a great safety valve to escape the noise and bustle of the city of Rome.
There is much to see and do, but the only real A list attraction for visitors is the Borghese Gallery.
For many, the main aim of coming to Villa Borghese is just to chill out for an hour or two, to ponder and reflect over your sightseeing trip to date and largely regroup for what is ahead.
A stroll in the park is a great vehicle for this.
Within this context, the route of this walk just covers all the main areas of interest in an efficient manner.
There are plenty of maps scattered around the Villa Borghese where you can improvise on this broad template.
| Sightseeing in Rome | |
Most visited sights in Rome |
|
Rome's best ... |
|
Rome sightseeing |
|
Rome tours |
|
Day trips from Rome |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Rome |
Main sights Rome |
Rome's best ... |
Rome sightseeing |
Rome tours |
Day trips from Rome |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The length of this walk if you just walked without stopping or taking a break would probably be no more than 45 minutes.
The terrain is for the most part flat with well made surfaced paths.
However there is so much of interest on the way you will probably take far longer.
Refreshments of all types are scattered all over the Villa Borghese from formal restaurants to ice cream vendors.
Hiring a bike is a popular activity, including bikes accommodating four, with quite a few hire stations scattered around the park.
You could do the walk by bike, there is a hire station just inside the start of the walk.
This walk is the most eastern of our series of 8 Rome city walks outlined on the map below.
From the Spanish Steps you can connect with walk 2 of the series that connects the Spanish Steps with the Trevi Fountain.
Walk 1 - A circuit of Villa Borghese
Walk 2 - Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain
Walk 3 - Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon
Walk 4 - The Pantheon to Trastevere via Piazza Navona
Walk 5 - The Pantheon to Vatican City via Piazza Navona
Walk 6 - A walk above and around Trastevere
Walk 7 - Trastevere to Capitoline Hill & Museum
Walk 8 - The Pantheon to Colosseum via Roman Forum & Capitoline Hill
Walk 9 - The Appian Way (outside Rome City Centre)
Getting to the start: Spanish Steps or Porta Pinciana Gate
 |
Cinema dei Piccoli |
The entrance to the park of Villa Borghese we use is at the top of Via Veneto at the Porta Pinciana. If you are lucky enough to be staying in this most exclusive hotel district start here, or you could just choose to walk up the Via Veneto from Barberini Metro and make this part of the walk, (the 95 bus also does this journey).
Otherwise, start at the Spanish Steps where the walk finishes and make it a circular walk.
From the top of the Spanish Steps turn right in front of the Chiesa di Trinita dei Monti church and follow the main road as it kinks slightly left and becomes a long straight road almost immediately passing the Intercontinental Hotel on your left.
Turn left at the first junction onto the Via Di Porta Pinciana which as it names implies takes you to the Porta Pinciana itself.
Once there, take care negotiating the busy road junction here to the Villa Borghese.
Starting out on your walk through Villa Borghese
There is a large map of the Villa Borghese that marks around 90 places of potential interest in the park. Whilst few may be of particular interest to you at this stage it does ensure there is always something to take your eye not far ahead wherever you stroll.
This page just has focus on the logistics of the walk. If you want to treat this walk as serious sightseeing, then you will need to bring a good guide book along with you.
 |
Villa Borghese Gallery |
Note the wide path signposted right to the Galleria Borghese as it is described on the signposts.
This entrance area is a relatively busy area where there is a restaurant and a major bicycle hire point. Straight ahead on the right is the Cinema dei Piccoli pictured on this page. It is listed in the Guineas book of records as being the smallest purpose built cinema in operation in the world with just 63 seats. The cinema shows kids films and is fully air conditioned.
Retrace your steps and follow the marked wide path to the Borghese Gallery. It is a dead straight wide path called the Viale del Museo Borghese. Eventually you arrive at the front entrance of the Borghese Gallery, the most famous attraction in Villa Borghese. Unless you have pre-purchased tickets you will almost certainly have a long, long wait for entrance.
Facing the Borghese Gallery turn left with the gardens of the Borghese Gallery on your right. In addition to the hired bicycles watch out for the small tourist train shuttle and the small electric public bus, route 116 that comes along here.
 |
The Museum of Modern Art |
 |
Globe Theatre: Villa Borghese |
You just walk on autopilot straight until you come out onto a public road by the Rome Zoo.
Keep following the path/road on the left hand side of the road past the main entrance to the zoo on your right. You will see a well worn dirt path going down left away from the road that joins a dirt track about 100 yards away.
Join this track as it goes through trees and eventually brings you out again to join the main road at a junction of paths from within Villa Borghese, where the number 3 and 19 trams pass along.
Follow the main road ahead following the tram lines and you soon come to the imposing Museum of Modern Art on the right hand side of the road.
Directly opposite the Museum of Modern Art there are wide steps going up that eventually come out at a car park. Here take the first hard surfaced path going left (Via Madama Letizia).
Shortly over on your left you will notice the boating lake, so veer off the main path here over to the boating lake, a pleasant spot to take a rest, or even hire a boat!
Make your way around the lake passing the boat hire facility and veer right soon picking up another path that runs parallel to Via Madama Letizia, the Via del Lago.
This in turn comes to a major path/crossroads where we turn left onto the Viale Canonica.
Just along here on your left is a full size replica of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, very similar to the one in London. This is fully working theatre that is only open for viewing when they put on a Shakespeare play.
You now retrace your steps along the broad Viale Canonica and basically just keep going straight. You cross a main road and soon after come out right above the Piazza del Popolo, where there is a popular viewing platform at the Piazza Napoleone onto the ancient city below.
You can if you wish descend down to the Piazza del Popolo next to Flaminio Metro station via a flight of steps to the road below.
Or you can follow the path on the edge of Villa Borghese that becomes a lightly trafficked road that soon brings you out at the top of the Spanish Steps, by Spagna Metro with good views across the city below all the way.
