Tag: Borghese Gardens

Rome: A City for (Walking) Lovers

Rome - Borghese gardens
Take a beautiful, relaxing walk through the Borghese Gardens.

Rome has long been known as “The Eternal City” allegedly because the ancient Romans believed that wars may rage, tempests might descend, disasters could occur, but Rome would endure all – and it has to be said that looking at the city’s endurance throughout the millennia, they may just have been prescient. Rome, though, is also know as a city for lovers – in our view for walking lovers. If you want to come to love the eternal city, get yourself a pair of (fashionable) walking shoes and come with us.

 

We have visited Rome on three separate occasions at this point. The first visit found us on a group tour with a guide where we spent most of our real walking time in Vatican City and the rest of it viewing the city largely from the windows of a bus, with a walk around the Coliseum thrown in. By the time that visit was over we were certain of one thing: we had a distinct feeling of “been there, done that” about the Vatican which was now forever crossed off our bucket list, and we had no feel for a city whose streets we had not walked.

Our second visit to the city required a bit more planning since we wanted to take a private tour. We had only one day since we had arrived in Civitavecchia on a cruise ship. [As an aside: if you like to cruise, it’s a great way to get a brief feel for a city so that you can return to spend more time – and you need to note that the port of Rome which isn’t in Rome at all is an hour-and-a-half drive from the city itself.]

We booked a driver to pick us up at the port and whisk us into Rome where we picked up the guide. This driver-plus-guide is the only sensible way to do a private tour in Rome since there is nowhere to park at most of the places you’ll want to visit, and you don’t want to waste time. The driver could stop anywhere – and we do mean anywhere – drop us off and return with the click of a cell phone button. Our knowledgeable guide showed us the inside and outside of the Pantheon, many churches, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps etc. We loved every minute of it and yet we still didn’t have a feel for the city.

Then we went back on our own with three full days to conduct our own self-guided walking tour. We checked in to the Grand Palace Hotel, a beautiful, atmospheric property close to the Borghese Gardens and planned our attack.

We would set out in a different direction on each of the three days we would walk the city. We began at the Borghese Gardens because of their proximity and spent the first day exploring around that part of the city. The next day we set out to do Ancient Rome. We revisited the Coliseum, and this time actually went inside. When we arrived though, the line for ticket-buying was too long for us to waste time so we went off to the other ticket spot to gain entrance into Ancient Rome. Much to our delight, it was a two-for ticket so we then had our ticket in hand to go directly into the Coliseum when we returned. We recommend that or buy your ticket in advance.

Rome - ancient rome
It was a fantastic day to walk the hills of Ancient Rome and feel the ghosts of the past.

Ancient Rome is a must-see to get any feel for what this great city was in the days of the Roman Empire. Make no mistake, it is a Roman ruin that has not been restored, but that is its beauty. The walls are real, the cobble-stone streets are real, the tiles are real, the arches are real – none of it is the well-intentioned rebuilding that is based on some scholar’s research. We took our time and walked. Then it was into the Coliseum. Again, the ruin is in its ruinous state and it’s magnificent. To see the labyrinth of halls and cubicles that formed the underground of the “main stage” fires the imagination as we pictured the gladiators fighting one another as well as wild animals and condemned men. Just blot out the sights and sounds of the milling tourists and the sensation grips you.

 

Of course we also spent a day walking the streets of modern Rome, browsing and window-shopping at the likes of Dior and Chanel. We dined in a number of lovely trattorias and savored a new wine each evening.

Is three days enough? If you plan your walking tour well and are prepared to walk seven to ten kilometres a day, you’ll likely end up as we did – with a real sense of the ancient and the modern of the city of (walking) lover

If you have a few minutes, we’ve captured the highlights in this video…

Walking a city: The only way to get to know it

In October of this year the Tower lf London was home to a magnificent display of ceramic poppies to honor the WW I veterans. A stroll around it was the only way to appreciate it.
In October of this year the Tower of London was home to a magnificent display of ceramic poppies to honor the WW I veterans. A stroll around it was the only way to appreciate it.

We’re now ensconced back home in Toronto and walking this beautiful downtown is how we get around: how we buy groceries, how we go out to dinner, how we appreciate all it has to offer.  This last consideration is one we take to heart when we travel abroad.

In October we revisited London (the fact that our youngest son makes his more there now is an added benefit).  Every time we venture across the pond to this other marvelous city, we stay at different hotels in different parts of the city.  In fact, in recent years, we’ve stayed at five different hotels each of which is centered in a different district or neighborhood of London.  On this last visit, we stayed at the wonderful Threadneedles Hotel.  Threadneedles is located right in the heart of the “City of London”, that single square mile of real London town.  Housed in a building that was originally home to the City Bank of London, this boutique property exudes a timeless elegance that draws you into the history of this venerable city.  On each of our three days there, we headed out in the morning to walk different directions – never treading the same street twice is our motto when walking a city.

A walk through the Borghese Gardens brings you to many delightful places you simply cannot see if you don't get out and walk.
A walk through the Borghese Gardens brings you to many delightful places you simply cannot see if you don’t get out and walk.

We then flew from London to Rome, a city we’ve visited several times before, each time for only a day trip from a Mediterranean cruise.  Although we had seen the highlights of the tourist sites: the Vatican (hours and hours spent there on one visit, the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps,  the Trevi Fountain etc.) – we had never really been able to get a feeling for the city of Rome.  This visit was different.  We walked.  In fact, one day we walked eight miles!  How do we know this?  We find it interesting to always wear a pedometer when we travel.  Knowing how far we walked is the best rationalization for all that wonderful pasta we ate and Barolo we drank.

Our last stop on this visit was the magnificent city of Istanbul.  We stayed at the fabulous new Marriott Hotel in the modern Istanbul, a couple of kilometers north of Taksim Square.  Although that might seem counter-intuitive to anyone who wants to spend time walking around the old city of Istanbul where the main historical sites are located, the fact that we weren’t confined to that relatively small area was a real bonus.  We walked around the modern city to get a feel for the everyday life of Istanbul’s 15 million residents!  Although we didn’t walk around the Asian side where a large proportion of the residents actually live, the modern city of Istanbul did provide us with a sense of the

A walk through the Spice Market in Istanbul uncovers more than spices!
A walk through the Spice Market in Istanbul uncovers more than spices!

city.  Of course, sitting high above the city each evening overlooking both the old and new parts of the city along the shores of the Golden Horn with the Blue Mosque shining in the distance was an added benefit from the top floor lounge in the hotel.

Then our driver and guide picked us up to take us to the historical sites (read about our fantastic private experience in Istanbul here).  We walked through museums, palaces, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, and market streets that cater only to the locals.  We would never have had that opportunity without our guide!  But with or without a guide, walking is our recommended method for seeing a city.

Get out of that taxi or off that bus.  And for heaven’s sakes, get above ground and out of that subway or tube!  You’ll never get to know a city that way.