I visited Rome for the second time in April, and this time I was accompanied by my mother. When planning to walk around Rome, I was considering my mother’s condition who had diabetes and not accustomed to walk for long distance. The total distance of the walking route was 5 kilometers, not too far but my mother complained our 2.5K walking route in Barcelona. It was tricky to propose 5K distance walk to her but in the end we agreed to combined it with dinner and several stops whenever she felt tired.

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I”d prefer to have a night walking because I always loved a city view at dark. Mostly because of the lighting and the atmosphere were different than during the day time. The temperature at night was usually cooler (especially when you were in Rome) and the lights at night made architectural structures looked stunning. Additionally, it could be less tourists wandering around the city. However, unfortunately, it was not the case when you were in Rome.

The sunset in Rome during the spring started at around 20:00 (8 pm). We left at around 19:30-ish from our hotel at Via Degli Scipioni to our seven point of interests…

I have written a short post about the colonnades in St. Peter Square. The square was built in between 1656 and 1667. Stunning square it was. The first image was taken during our 5K walks when the sunset, meanwhile the second image was taken on the late evening on our last day in Rome. The square was still busy in the evening!

Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square)

Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square)

We walked to the direction of Castle Sant’Angelo and made a stop at Piazza Pia where we saw the St. Peter’s Basilica from the distance. The view was stunning. Whenever you walked to Sant’Angelo, never forget to turn back to see this view. I almost missed it because I got distracted by the view of Ponte Sant’Angelo and Tiber River. Piazza Pia itself was full of souvenirs stalls and food vendors.

St. Peter’s Basilica from Piazza Pia

Ponte Sant’Angelo and Tiber River

Castle Sant’Angelo or Castle of the Holy Angle used to be the tallest building in Rome. It was built as a mausoleum for the Roman emperor Hadrian. Ponte Sant’Angelo, a bridge that span over the Tiber River had 10 angels statues along its sides. Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons fiction book named the Castle as a meeting location for the Illuminati, interesting imagination 😉

Castle Sant’Angelo and Ponte Sant’Angelo

Castle Sant’Angelo

The Palace of Justice was next to the Castle. It was built in 1888 and 1910 to house the Supreme Court of Italy and inspired by the Renaissance and Baroque. From its bridge, we saw the Basilica of St. Peter and Ponte Sant’Angelo. Many photographers with their tripods were ready to capture the sight when the sun went down. It was certainly a popular spot for photography lovers!

Palace of Justice

the Basilica of St. Peter and Ponte Sant’Angelo

Piazza Navona was named as a must square to visit when in Rome. The square was crowded with street vendors selling souvenirs and restaurants along its sides. It had beautiful fountains with Romans buildings surrounding the square. We stopped for dinner in this square. The food was great but not recommended if you were on tight budget. The most expensive meals and drinks we had when in Rome!

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona

Piazza della Rotonda was a square that house a famous landmark in Rome: Pantheon. No surprises that this square was still busy at night. There was a restaurant with open terrace next to the square where you can enjoyed the view of Pantheon at night. Pantheon was well known as an influential building of ancient Rome. It used to be a temple dedicated to all Pagan Gods and Goddess.

Piazza della Rotonda

Pantheon

Unfortunately this amazing fountain was on renovation during our visit. I missed visiting Trevi Fountain ten years ago, and as well on the second visit. Maybe it was a sign to visit Rome again someday 🙂 Despite of all these unlucky moments, the building nearby to Trevi Fountain was pretty with the night lighting, so why not taking its picture 😉

Trevi Fountain

A building near to Trevi Fountain

The Spanish Steps was crowded with tourist for 24 hours, I guess! I have never seen it empty. It has 135 steps and built in 1723–1725. Fontana della Barcaccia was a fountain of a sinking boat. According to RomeOnSegway,  it was based on a legend of a fishing boat carried all the way to this spot on a massive flood of the Tiber River in the 16th century.

Spanish Steps

Fontana della Barcaccia

After the seventh point of interest, we walked to Spagna metro station which was just a short walk from the Spanish Steps, to return to our hotel. This walking route was proven as friendly for older people who were not accustomed to long walks. My mother enjoyed the walking route and she did not make any complaints of how far it was (maybe because we made stop for a delicious dinner at Piazza Navona 😀 ).

This post also written to participate on Jo’s Monday Walk. Please take a look at her blog for interesting walking weekly stories, I am sure they will inspire your next travels!

TIPS:

If you stay at the center of Roma, you can start from Spagna Metro Station then go to the direction of Spanish Steps. Once you arrive at the last stop, St. Peter’s Square, you can return to the center of Rome via Ottaviano Metro Station or buses at Piazza del Risorgimento (the Piazza is on direction to Ottaviano Metro Station).