An expert, self guided Rome city center itinerary for independent visitors who want to see the best of Rome and learn fun facts and curiosities without a tour.
Rome city center is very much an open air museum and there is nothing more pleasant than immersing yourself in, nose in the air, strolling at leisure around its historic center.
However, like all museums, Rome truly comes to life when you become privy to the many stories, legends and curiosities it hides, and Rome has so many!
I am always reminded of this when I walk around Rome with visitors or sometimes even local friends: you may have seen and admired a Rome fountain hundreds of times, but once you discover a fun fact or legend about it, you’ll cherish it even more.
The good news is that you do not need an expensive tour to get an insight about Rome. If you prefer to walk around in your own time and still learn and have fun with local stories, I can help!
In this guide, I share my favorite itinerary around Rome city center, with my recommended stops and fun facts about the top sights you’ll see along the way.
Why this itinerary, what will you see: in Rome city center there is something to see at every corner, and usually many more things in between, so much so that the key skill for itinerary planning here is selecting what of these infinite things are priorities, not just how to see what is there. I am from Rome and I selected items on this self guided Rome city center itinerary so that you will see the most famous sights in this part of Rome (let’s say the ‘must- see’), a variety of things form different eras, things that have funny stories and things that I believe will allow you to savor the soul of Rome, so that even in a short time you ca get a sense of that the city is about and the richness and variety it offers.
Please note: this itinerary does not cover the Colosseum area, the Spanish Steps nor the Vatican. If you need an itinerary to see everything in a day, I recommend you read my how to see Rome in a day article instead.
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Rome city center itinerary map
This is the map showing the exact Rome city center itinerary I recommend. It starts from Piazza Venezia and the following stops are in alphabetical order.
For some reasons, it didn’t allow me to use more than a certain set of letters so once you are in Piazza Navona, it stars with A again – not sure how to change that! But this doesn’t affect the itinerary at all nor the explanations, you can ignore the letter markers entirely.
How long does this Rome city center itinerary take
if you were to walk this Rome city center itinerary without any stops I would expect the walk to take a little over an hours. With all the stops, churches etc I would however allocate 2/3 hours.
If you have kids, I have kids’ walking itineraries covering this area but divided into shorter routes and with info cards written in a child friendly tone. You can get them on Etsy here and they also also part of my Best of Rome with kids guide Amazon.
Stop 1: Piazza Venezia or Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain start: if you start this itinerary very early in the morning, you can start from the Trevi Fountain rather than Piazza Venezia (the subsequent stops stay the same). I recommend Piazza Venezia at other times as Trevi can get awfully overrun and therefore, at busy times, I do not believe is a good stop; I worry it would actually make you start your tour on the wrong foot!
Piazza Venezia is one of the most famous squares in Rome and it is dominated by a large, white building in neoclassical style: Il Vittoriano or the Altar to the Fatherland (Altare della Patria)
Il Vittoriano was built between 1885 e il 1911; it was dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, first King of Italy, and it now a stands a symbol of patriotic sentiment and pride.
At present, il Vittoriano is a a museum and also the home of the altar to the unknown soldier: if you look at the top of the main staircase, you’ll notice the soldiers manning an ever burning flame, and you may even get the small ceremony of the changing fo the guard which happens once per hour!
Good to know: you climb to the top to see the views, the first two terraces are free. You can find here >>> my guide to the Vittoriano.
Via del Corso
Turn your back to the Vittoriano and leave Piazza Venezia walking long Via del Corso, the only one busy road will walk along during this itinerary.
Via del Corso is one of the most important streets in Rome as while now it just a commercial street, it was no less than the main entrance route into the city!
The road goes from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia. As you walk along it, stay on the LEFT side and make sure you peek into the inner yard of Palazzo Doria: leave the visit to the gallery for another day, but do see the yard as it’s truly worth it (if budget allows, a coffee or a drink at the bar here is quite a treat)
Fonatana del Facchino
Leave busy Via del Corso and turn left onto Via Lata. Onto your right, on the wall, you should see a small fountain, with a carving of a man with a barrel.
This is calle Fontana del Facchino (Facchino means porter).
This fountain may seem odd and insignificant even, but it is actually one of a series of statues that hide an interesting story and makes you tap into the very soul fo the city of Rome: the talking statues of Rome.
For many centuriues, Rome was governed by the strict rule of the Pope and especially in the XIV-XVI centuries, there was a lot of malaise and discontent in the city that could not be freely expressed.
To bypass the lack of freedom of speech, people came up with a solution: in secret, when no one could see, they would attach written satyrical notes agains the current rulers onto specific statues, as if they staues themselves where the ones criticising it. Fontana del facchino is one of them!
Follwowing this itienerary owe will meet another the of them Pasquino (the most famous, but he is further in our walk!)
Collegio Romano and Sant’Ignazio
Walking on Via Lata, you will quickly find yourself in a large piazza with a big school building on your right and an infinite number of parked cars in the center.
While this may not seem an impressive site, the large building on your right is Collegio Romano, the ancien seat of the Jesuits university, founded in 1551 by Sant’Ignazio di Loyola.
Turn to your right, walk under the little arch you see on via del collegio romano and then left so you are on Piazza Sant’Ignazio.
Piazza sant’Ignazio is a small and pretty square worth seeing in its own right, but if you are soinlcide I do recommend you enter the church as it has something rather special!
As you enter, look up to the frescoed ceiling and notice the figures of the angels (there is a mirror also to her you see better): it looks as if there were represented in 3D but of course they are not, it us just a clever use of perspective.
Even more, walk a little further into the church and notice the dome: just like the angels, the dome is tricking you are it is not a dome at all! Its is a flat ceiling painted to give and impression of a third dimension and space!
Pantheon
Follow the crowds and find yourself in front of the first main site you’ll see today: the Pantheon!
The Pantheon is one of the most fascinating building sin Rome.
The Pantheon is an ancient Roman building originally built in the I century AD. Originally a pagan temple to all gods, the Pantheon became a church in the XVI century and it still now operating as such: it’s name is the Church of Santa Maria ad Martyres
The pantheon is such a complex building with an interesting story. I recommend you visit it inside. Learn how to get tickers here >>> guide to Pantheon tickets.
The Pantheon has a unique architecture and it is worth seeing both outside and inside. Outside, I recommend you notice two main elements:
The large columns: unlike many other columns in Rome, these columns are not decorative pillars, they are so big because they are actually supporting the weight of the structure. Not many in Rome and this large!
The inscription at the top of the facade, which reads: M Agrippa, LF, cos tertium fecit (Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the first time, made this) basically the signature of hte person who sponsored this build and its year of construction.
If you get inside, I recommend you pay attention to:
The Oculos, aka the round dhole at the center of the room
The little holes on the floor juts beside it, which are the draining system for rainy days
The proportion of the structure: this may not be immediately evident to the naked eye but the pantheon is bull to to that inside it has at the proportion of a perfect sphere.
The notable tombs of Italian Royals and Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael).
Piazza della Minerva
Look at the facade of the Pantheon, then walk along its left side and you quickly find yourself on a small piazza with a statue of an elephant in the center: Piazza della Minerva.
There are two things to notice here:
The statue of the center of the piazza, with the little elephant. This may seem a funny and insignificant statue, due to its theme, but it is actually by Bernini, one of the giants of Rome architecture form Baroque times and has a funny story attached to it.
The stunning church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which has several impressive works of art, including a statue by Michelangelo.
You can find here >> my guide to Piazza della Minerva which contains the funny story about Berninis’ elephant
Piazza Sant’ Eustachio
Walk along the back of the Pantheon and reach Piazza Sant’Eustachio , a small square with cute cafes, a frescoed building and a church.
Three things here are worth noticing:
Sant’Eustachio il Caffe – if you love coffee, this is considered the best coffee in Rome so if you want a caffeine fix, it is worth getting it here!
Look up to the top of the church of Sant’Eustachio and notice the stag head: this stag commemorated the conversion of Eustace to christianity, which happened when a Cross appeared to him while hunting, in between the antlers of a stag
Now turn the opposite way and look up: look for a spiral looking dome.
That dome is the top of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, a famous church by architect Borromini, one of the great artist that shaped the appearance of Rome in the Baroque era. (You can get a great view of the facade of Sant’Ivo later int his itinerary)
San Luigi dei Francesi
Walk to your right and up along Via della Dogana Vecchia and reach a large church. This is San Luigi dei Francesi. Enter and seek out the chapel to the bottom left of the church: here you will find the incredible cycle of St Matthew by Caravaggio!
Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza
Now face the church and take Via del Salvatore, to its left side. Turn left, pass the Senate and walk a few meters.
If you are lucky, you will soon find a large wooden door opening onto an inner yard: if open, step in and look at the stunning facade and dome of St Ivo alla Sapienza, the same one you spotted before. If it is closed, to not worry, there is much more to come!
Piazza Navona
Cross the road and walk along the small street Corsia Agonale right into Piazza Navona.
Piazza Navona is one to the most famous piazzas in Rome, and it is basically an open air museum in its own right.
Among the many things to notice here, you want to pay attention to: the large size and shape of the square (there is a special reason for that!), the three fountains, especially the one in the center (Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini) and the church of Santa Agnese in Agone by Borromini.
Bernini and Borromini where rivals and the story of how two of their major cations happened to be one in front of the other is quite funny. I recommend you read it in my guide to Piazza Navona here !
Campo de’ Fiori
Look towards santa Agnese in Agone, then leave Piazza Navona via the small street at the end of the piazza to your left (behind the Fontana del Moro), Via della Cuccagna.
Cross Corso Vittorio and walk straight ahead until Campo de’ Fiori, a large bustling square you’ll quickly recognize it by a busy market, many cafes and, in the center, the tall statue of a hooded figure.
Campo d’ Fiori is now very touristy, as you will quickly discover by hte offering and price on most of the market stalls
However, it is one of the best known pizzas in Rome, it is very different in feel from most others (it is more similar to medieval squares you find in other cities) and also Is significant because of the statue in its center.
The hooded man you see is Giordano Bruno who lost his life on the stake in this very place to due to his ideas about the functioning of the universe, ideas perceive as heretics by the Church.
Jewish Ghetto
Walk along via via dei Giubbonari (a nice shopping street), the cross Largo Arenula and enter the neighborhood just in front of you: you are now in the Jewish Ghetto of Rome.
This area of Rome has a long and significant history that can be worth exploring with a specialised guide. Even if you don’t however, I recommend you look out for a few things here there are of significant interest:
Pietre d’inciampo, Stolpersteine – these are commemorative plaques with a very special meaning. Each of them has carved the name of Jewish victims of the nazi-fascist persecutions. The stones are there to symbolically make you ‘stumble’ and pay attention so that the memory of those events doesn’t fade.
The pietre are not unique to Rome and were created in 1995 by artist Gunter Demnig in several parts of Europe: Rome has many of them in several spots, although this area has a particularly high concentration of them.
Portico d’Ottavia: in Rome, ancient history and modern history are side by side! Portico d’Ottavia is an ancient Roman portico, later used as a fish market and now an interesting archaeological site.
Piazza Mattei: a lovely small square with some cafes and a pretty fountain in the center with a legend attached to it (read it here)
You can read my introduction to Rome’s Jewish Ghetto here.
Torre Argentina
From Piazza Mattei, turn your back to the cafes and walk ‘out’ to reach Via delle Botteghe Oscure.
To your right, you will see Piazza Venezia, the end of our loop but first, look a the Piazza right in front of you: Torre Argentina.
Tis piazza is significant as it is home to impressive Roma ruins from the Repubblica era and it is the place where Julius Caesar was murdered. The archaeological area has recently been restored and open to the public: you can either admire it from the outside or walk in for a visit – tickets are available on the spot.
If you love cats, you will love to learn that here you also have a cat sanctuary, a shelter taking care of stray cats. You find it in the corner of the square to your left, coming from the ghetto. You can visit for free but donations are appreciated.
You can read my guide to Piazza di Torre Argentina here.
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