Rome: Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita

Overview

Gelato, a Vespa and a fountain at midnight

Roman Holiday (1953) is a day in Rome told as a love story, and seventy years on you can still follow it place by place. On this tour you ride the film's Vespa route past the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia, put your hand in the Mouth of Truth, walk down the Spanish Steps where Princess Ann ate her gelato, and look into the courtyard of Via Margutta 51 from the street. You see the Trevi Fountain twice: once by day, and once late at night, the way Fellini shot it for La Dolce Vita.

One full day goes to Cinecittà, the studio where Ben-Hur, Fellini's films and the series Rome were made. You take the studio's public visit, with its costumes and props, and a guided tour of the full-size Ancient Rome set. Chiara Rinaldi, born in Rome, leads all five days, and you stay four nights in one hotel near the Spanish Steps, so every Roman Holiday location is a walk away.

Itinerary

Rome film tour: day by day

A private van for the airport transfers, a Vespa with a licensed driver (or self-drive for licensed riders) on the ride, the Metro to Cinecittà, and walking in the center. Ticketed times shift with the season; your final timetable comes two weeks before departure.

Day 1RomeArrive in Rome, the Trevi Fountain at night

• Our driver meets you at Fiumicino airport for the 45 to 60 minute drive to the hotel near the Spanish Steps.
• Check in from 2 p.m.; bags can be left earlier.
• At 7:30 p.m. Chiara meets the group for dinner in a trattoria near the Pantheon.
• Around 10:30 p.m. a walk to the Trevi Fountain, quieter and lit as in La Dolce Vita, with a coin over the shoulder.

Meals: dinner

Day 2RomeThe Roman Holiday Vespa ride

• 8 a.m. meet the Vespa team: most ride as passengers with a licensed local driver, while licensed motorcycle riders may take their own scooter. Helmets provided, safety briefing first.
• Ride the film route: Piazza Venezia, the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus and the Aventine, about 2 hours 30 with photo stops.
• Stop at Santa Maria in Cosmedin for the Mouth of Truth, then along the Tiber to Castel Sant'Angelo, where Ann and Joe danced on the barge and fought the secret agents.
• Lunch in Trastevere, then a free afternoon.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Day 3CinecittàA day at Cinecittà

• 9:30 a.m. Metro line A from Spagna to Cinecittà, about 25 minutes.
• Cinecittà si Mostra: the history of the studio from 1937, the Hollywood on the Tiber years of Roman Holiday and Ben-Hur, Fellini's costumes and the head of Venusia in the garden.
• Guided tour of the Ancient Rome set with a studio guide, about 1 hour 30, in English when scheduled; Teatro 5, Fellini's stage, from the outside on the way.
• Lunch at the studio cafe, the Italian Museum of Moving Images, then back to the center for an evening aperitivo on Via Veneto.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Day 4RomeRoman Holiday on foot

• 9 a.m. Via Margutta: number 51, Joe Bradley's courtyard, from the street, and the plaque at Fellini's home at number 110.
• The Spanish Steps, where Ann eats her gelato: walk them, then the view from Trinità dei Monti. Gelato, standing up, in a side street.
• The Trevi Fountain by day, basin ticket included, and the street where Ann has her hair cut.
• Piazza della Rotonda, where Ann and Joe sit at a cafe in front of the Pantheon, then the farewell dinner in Monti.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 5RomeDeparture

• Breakfast and checkout by 11 a.m.
• Transfer to Fiumicino airport, timed to your flight; allow 3 hours before an international departure.
• Staying on? We can book extra nights at the same hotel and timed tickets for the Vatican Museums.

Meals: breakfast

On screen

Films and series on the Rome film tour

The productions behind the stops on this tour, where they filmed and what you see there today.

Filming spots change over time: storefronts get new owners, sets are rebuilt and some interiors were shot on stages elsewhere, so your tour leader tells you on the day what is still there.

Hotels

Hotels on the Rome film tour

4 nights, rooms with private bathroom, breakfast every morning. We name the class and the area; the exact hotel, or a similar one, is confirmed with your booking.

What is included

What the Rome film tour price includes

Meals: daily breakfast, 2 lunches, 2 dinners. The price is per person sharing a double or twin room. Flights to the start of the tour and home are not included.

• 12 things in the price
• 4 hotel nights
• Daily breakfast, 2 lunches, 2 dinners
• 8 productions on the film list

Dates and prices

Rome film tour departures and prices

Price per person sharing a double room. Single room: +$560.

• $250 deposit

  Confirms your booking after the free 72-hour hold. The balance is due 60 days before departure. See the booking terms.

• Guaranteed means it runs

  A guaranteed departure goes ahead whatever the final numbers.

• No surcharges

  The price you book is the price you pay. No fuel surcharges after booking.

• Free date change

  Move to another date of this tour up to 30 days before departure, once, at no fee.

Before you book

Straight talk about the Rome film tour

What the days are really like, so there are no surprises.

• Pace and walking

  Easy to moderate, 2 of 5. Four to five miles a day on foot in the center, on cobbles and with stairs at the Spanish Steps and in the Metro.

• What can change

  Filming, events and closures can move a stop or close an interior on the day. Your leader swaps in another location nearby and tells you why.

• Inside or outside

  Museums, studio tours and open businesses you enter as a visitor. Working businesses that ask for quiet, and every private home, are seen from the public street or not at all.

• Getting there

  Flights are not included. Plan to land in Rome by mid afternoon on day 1 and to fly home from Rome after lunch on the last day.

Practical information

Before you go on the Rome film tour

Your travel pack, with ticket times and hotel addresses, arrives two weeks before departure. Weather, airports and the best months are on the Rome page.

• Weather

  Spring and fall run 60 to 80 F by day. Late evenings at the Trevi Fountain can be cool from November to March, so bring a layer for the night walk.

• The Vespa ride

  Wear closed shoes and long trousers. Self-drive riders must bring their motorcycle license and an International Driving Permit; without both you ride as a passenger.

• Rules in the center

  No sitting on the Spanish Steps and no wading in fountains; both are fined. In churches cover shoulders and knees.

• Money

  Cards work in most places. Keep coins for the Trevi Fountain and for coffee at the bar, which is cheaper standing up than at a table.

• Your phone

  Watch Roman Holiday again before you come. Chiara carries a tablet with the scenes, but matching a frame from memory is half the fun.

Tour FAQ

Rome film tour: questions and answers

More answers on the FAQ page and in how to book.