10 Rome's best parks
Strolling through Rome's parks is one of those little pleasures you can enjoy on your holidays. Especially in spring and autumn, when nature is at its most beautiful, don't miss them!
Image inside the Villa Borghese Park | ©Wvllvam
Rome's parks are little works of art in themselves. Places where nature and art blend together to become little havens of peace where you can relax during an intense day of sightseeing in the city centre. Do you want to know some of the most beautiful parks? Read on!
1. Villa Borghese
Of all the parks in Rome, the most important is Villa Borghese. One of the largest in Europe and a must on your route through the Italian capital when you feel like relaxing for a while. It's very close to the historic centre, so you won't have any trouble getting there.
Villa Borghese is a beautiful park where nature and Rome's art blend perfectly. Inside you will see magnificent monuments, sculptures and fountains surrounded by centuries-old trees and gardens that will leave you in awe. In particular, both the gardens of Villa Borghese and the sculptures of Villa Borghese will leave you fascinated.
You can take the opportunity to visit it if you have tickets for the Borghese Gallery (which is inside) or if you are travelling to Rome with children and you are going to visit the Rome Zoo or you just want to play outdoors.
Useful information
- Address: Piazzale Napoleone I, 00197 Roma
- How to get there: By metro, line A station Spagna or Flaminio.
2. The Orange Garden
The Orange Garden is one of Rome's most emblematic parks. You'll find it tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, in a little corner tucked away on the Aventine Hill. It's the perfect place to go when you want to disconnect for a while from the hustle and bustle of the city centre and enjoy nature at the same time.
I recommend you take your camera with you because the Jardim dos Naranjos has beautiful panoramic views of the city from its viewpoint.
It is a very beautiful park, frequented by Romans and tourists alike. As you enter you will see a path guarded by huge pine trees that will take you to the terrace from where you can see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza Venezia, the Trastevere neighbourhood and the rest of Rome at your feet.
A tip? Go to the Orange Garden at sunset - it's a romantic place to enjoy it!
Useful information
- Address: Piazza Pietro D'Illiria, 00153 Rome RM, Italy
- How to get there: By metro, line B, Circo Massimo station.
3. Villa Ada
The former hunting ground of the House of Savoy is now one of Rome's largest parks and one of its main green lungs. When the weather is good, Romans often go to Villa Ada to get some fresh air and disconnect from their daily routine for a while.
The park is full of pine, oak and cork oak forests, so on hot days it's a delight to stroll in the shade or have a picnic. It's also a good place to go to sunbathe by the lake on days when the summer in Rome gives you a break, to play sports or to listen to live music as open-air concerts are sometimes organised there.
I recommend you go to Villa Ada if you visit Rome in autumn with your camera as the park becomes very colourful and beautiful with the changing of the leaves of the trees. You can even take pictures of the rabbits or squirrels you see running around.
Other activities you can do in Villa Ada are visiting the Temple of Flora, the Catacombs of Priscilla or the Bunker of Benito Mussolini.
Useful information
- Address: Via Salaria, 267, 273/275 Roma
- How to get there: By bus, line 92 from Termini Station. Get off at via Nemorense stop.
4. The Park of the Aqueducts
Walking around Rome is like being in an open-air museum. Not only in the city centre but also in its parks.
This is the case of the Park of the Aqueducts, so called because it has a lot of ancient Roman and Papal aqueducts that supplied water to the Italian capital. Today you can see seven of the eleven that once existed, such as the Anio Vetus, the Anio Novus and the Acqua Felice (still in operation). It's like taking a trip back in time to the past!
I recommend you visit it if you go to Rome in spring, when the cherry trees in the park are in bloom. There are fields of crops and cattle grazing in the surrounding area, which gives the landscape an idyllic look. You will get some beautiful pictures of your trip to Rome.
Useful information
- Address: Via Lemonia, 221, 00174 Roma
- How to get there: By metro, line A, Giulio Agricola and Subaugusta stations.
5. The Pincio Terrace
Make the most of your visit to the Spanish Steps or Piazza del Popolo to see the Pincio Terrace, one of Rome's most beautiful parks in the centre of the city.
Already in the 19th century it was one of the most visited gardens by the aristocracy and, although time has passed, it is still a very popular place for Romans to go for a walk among its tree-lined avenues and have a good time.
In addition, the Pincio Terrace has a viewpoint with one of the best panoramic views of the city and from here you can enjoy beautiful views of Castel Sant'Angelo (a place worth visiting), the Vittoriano, St. Peter's Basilica and Piazza del Popolo.
This is another of the most beautiful viewpoints in Rome to go to enjoy the sunset for its romantic and special atmosphere.
Useful information
- Address: Salita del Pincio, 00187 Rome.
- How to get there: Walking from Piazza di Spagna or Piazza del Popolo.
6. The Municipal Rose Garden
If you love photographing flower gardens, behind the Circus Maximus and just a few metres from the Colosseum you will find Rome's Municipal Rose Garden. Its location is not fortuitous as it was once the site of a temple in honour of the goddess Flora.
It is not one of the most popular parks in Rome but it is one of the most beautiful where the rose is the absolute protagonist, with more than a thousand varieties from all corners of the world!
I recommend you go during the spring, when the roses are at their peak and the air is impregnated with their aroma. The perfect combination for lovers of botany and photography!
Useful information
- Address: Via di Valle Murcia, 6, 00153 Roma
- How to get there: By metro, line B, Circo Massimo station.
7. Regional Park of Appia Antica
If you've been to the city a few times and Rome's parks are too small for you, you can always head to the outskirts to explore the Parco Regionale Dell' Appia Antica, the largest urban park in Europe.
Inside the park you can explore the Via Appia Antica, the first Roman road in history that linked Rome to southern Italy.
I recommend renting a bike at the information point at the start of the walk. During the ride you will have fabulous views of the landscape full of cypress and pine trees on both sides of the Via. It is also lined with shrines, pantheons and halfway along it are the catacombs of Sebastiano.
Useful information
- Address: Via Appia Antica, 42, 00178 Rome.
- How to get there: By bus, line 118 bus from the Colosseum or Piazza Venezia.
8. Villa Doria Pamphilj
On the outskirts of the city, on the Gianicolo hill in the Monteverde district, lies Villa Doria Pamphilj, Rome's largest park. It is famous not only for its size and lush vegetation, but also for the palaces and fountains that decorate it.
It is therefore a very nice place to lose yourself for a while in its groves to relax and disconnect from everyday life. In fact, many Romans go there for sports, meditation, picnics or a photo tour, especially in spring or autumn when the nature of Villa Doria Pamphilj is at its best.
Some of the most beautiful corners of the park are the Belvedere Lake, the Theatre Garden, the Venus Fountain or the Bel Respiro Casino. Don't forget your camera when you visit this place because it will be one of the most beautiful landscapes you will admire in Rome.
Useful information
- Address: Via di S. Pancrazio, 00152 Roma
- How to get there: By bus, line 870 stop Via Pancrazio
9. Villa Torlonia
Villa Torlonia is one of the smallest of Rome's parks, although it is full of great scenic beauty where nature blends in with the neoclassical architecture of the buildings that decorate it.
So much so that it did not go unnoticed by the dictator Benito Mussolini, who made Villa Torlonia his residence until 1943. After the Second World War it fell into a period of neglect, but after the city of Rome acquired the villa, it was converted into a public park and the old buildings there recovered their lustre and were transformed into museums.
Some of those you can see surrounded by holm oaks, carob trees or centenary chestnut trees are the Casino Nobile, the Casino dei Principi or the Casina delle Civette.
Useful information
- Address: Via Nomentana, 70, 00161 Roma
- How to get there: By metro, line B, station Bologna
10. Villa Celimontana
Another of the most beautiful parks in Rome that you can see on your holiday is Villa Celimontana. A place that surprises you with the great variety of plants that grow in its gardens. If you are passionate about botany, there is no doubt that this is another of the city's parks that you will enjoy visiting.
But in Villa Celimontana you will not only enjoy nature, but like many other Roman parks, it also has some small architectural jewels to amaze tourists. In this case, a beautiful 16th-century mansion, which is currently the headquarters of the Italian Geographical Society. If you have the opportunity and time to spare on your trip, you can visit it.
Useful information
- Address: Via della Navicella, 10, 00184 Rome.
- How to get there: By metro, line B, Colosseo station.