Exploring Rome By Foot

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when in Rome, the best way to see the sights is to WALK just like the other tourists do! And that’s just what we did!

Rome is a big city with a grand culture and many historical sites. There are so many things to do in Rome, it can be difficult to know where to start. But whatever you do, don’t let this deter you from getting around by foot, especially on a lovely day.

The “Classic” Sights of Rome

We started our Classic Rome walking tour at 8:00 in the morning when it was not yet crowded and headed to the first point of the tour itinerary – The Vatican.  The line to enter St. Peter’s Basilica was starting to build up and we were glad to be there before it got too long.

After admiring the beauty and grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica, the next stop was Castel Sant’Angelo (also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian) which is located in Parco Adriano, a few meters away from The Vatican ground and St. Peter’s Square. We took a brief walk around the castle before moving on to the other highlights of the Eternal City.

Walking at a leisurely pace, it took us around 20 minutes to get to the Column of Marcus Aurelius. It is a magnificent column in the middle of Piazza Colona, with intricate details of the story of Marcus Aurelius’ battles. On the top of the column is the statue of St. Peter.

The walk from Piazza Colona to the famous Via dei Condotti was not a short one but was worth the time. Via dei Condotti is like New York’s 5^th Avenue, where the rich and famous shop for opulent merchandise such as leather goods and bags from famous fashion brands.  From there, we headed to the Spanish Steps and the nearby Trevi Fountain. Like many tourists, we flipped some coins into the fountain and made a wish!

The walking tour was almost done, and the sun was already high around the time we reached Piazza Venezia.  The nearest attraction is The Vittoriano, an impressive marble monument in honor of Victor Emmanuel, the 1^st king of the unified Italy.

From here, we were going on to do the Colosseum and Ancient Rome Tour so we walked down along Via Monte Tarpeo to reach the Roman Forum.

The Roman Forum is a very well-known attraction because you can find some of the oldest buildings of the ancient city amongst the remaining structure. And not far from here are the Arch of Titus and Rome’s ultimate tourist attraction – The Colosseum.

It was already past noon by this time but we were still bursting with enthusiasm as we stood next to The Colosseum.  We sat outside and took in all the beautiful sights around us.

My advice to anyone wanting to explore Rome’s most famous sights is to do it on foot. It was a long but worthy walk that my family and I would not have missed for the world!