Dominated by the majestic Seven Hills and countless ville(parks), Rome is a wonderful medley of art, history and culture threaded by bounties of nature. Tourists, locals, romantics, joggers – no one can defy the lure of the city’s gloriously adorned parks and gardens.
Surprisingly, it is easier to find a cluster of green amidst this bustling urban chaos, i.e. Rome. If you go for a passeggiata around the Eternal City, you’ll find yourself soaking in the last rays of sunshine in one of its many verdant gardenspeppered with iconic historic relics and artefacts or simply lost admiring swaying ivy on sun-kissed terracotta edifices in the middle of the greens.
Surely, Rome has many little hearts of green worth exploring – pack a picnic, grab your significant other and go for a walk – these parks and gardens offer a shady respite from the noisy humdrum of city life.
Villa Borghese
Dotted with serene walkways, wooded glades, grassy banks, an artificial lake with rowboats and several other stunning buildings and follies, Villa Borghese is Rome’s third largest park, located right in the heart of the city. It’s a mere coincidence that Villa Borghese is heart-shaped too!
The Galleria Borghese Museum is the key attraction. It houses an encompassing as well as intriguing art collection dating back to the beginning of the 17th-century. Exotic artworks by eminent artists, including Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio and Titian are displayed here. Other major attractions worth visiting are Piazza di Siena horsetrack, the Museu Carlo Bilotti, the National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia and the Pincio terrace – they will surely transport you back to the heydays of the 19th-century.
A Quick Tip– If you want to admire some of Bernini’s best know work then you should definitely check out the Borghese Gallery. Make sure to book your tickets in advance as the gallery allows a max of 200 people in at a time. If you want to then experience the best of Bernini’s architecture then the Vatican City is where you will find it so check out our best Vatican City tours! They help you admire all the beguiling artworks in the city without wasting time and effort.
Villa Doria Pamphili
Seated in a quaint neighbourhood of Monteverde, Villa Doria Pamphili is touted as the biggest landscaped park in Rome. Amidst the hustle and bustle, this sliver of green is like an oasis laden with manicured gardens, lush meadows and towering umbrella pines.
The park once belonged to the papal Pamphili family; they treated it as a hunting resort.When the Pamphililine perished in the 18th century, the pope gifted the property to Prince Giovanni Andrea IV Doria, the spouse of a Pamphili daughter. The centrepiece though, however, is the pompous Casino del BelRespiro – a 17th-century villa with perfectly landscaped parterre gardens. It’s an absolute beauty to behold!
Parco degli Acquedotti
Towering Roman pines against ancient aqueducts is a vision crafted to perfection! To view such stunning vistas and soak in the grandeur of nature and heritage, we recommend a walk along Parco degli Acquedotti. The suburban nature escapade offers a great way immerse yourself in the splendour of Rome’s iconic aqueducts.
The well-preserved ancient aqueducts jutted across verdant hills exhibits a standing testimony of incredible engineering of that time. If you want to explore the natural wonders of Rome minus the crowd, this is the place to be! Saunter along the endless stretches of the Aqua Felix and some fragments of the aqueduct called Aqua Claudiain sheer solitude – when the dusk sets in, and the slanting Tuscan sunrays intensely fall on the park, the ambience turns magical!
The Vatican Gardens
The gardens of the Vatican City are definitely some of the least accessible gardens in the area of Rome, however they are also some of the most beautiful, pristine and well kept due to the lack of visitors and attention to detail.
The Vatican City State is only 108 acres and the gardens take up just over half of that space. Booking in advance is necessary as only a small amount of visitors are allowed to stroll through these wonderfully green pathways. As the gardens are within the Vatican walls they were designed to be the Pope’s private oasis within the not so often welcoming city of Rome.
Rome’s temperate climate allows the Vatican Gardens to play host to many different types of plants from all over the world. Together with the mix of beautiful greenery, small fountains and amazing views of the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, not to mention lack of crowds, the Vatican Gardens are a relaxing yet fun activity.
Although a visit to the Vatican Gardens are a great way to see a different view of the Vatican, our Vatican and Sistine Chapel tours are the best way to experience the great Roman gems coupled with interesting facts, history and anecdotes! Our Vatican Highlights Tour does not wonder into the Vatican Gardens itself but we do have some great views of the gardens while on tour.