You love running.
You do it every day, or a couple of times a week, or maybe just every once in a while.
Now you’re in Rome, you’re on vacation, and you’re walking a lot every day to see the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the other famous sights.
Nonetheless, when you get back to your hotel, you still feel that you need to put on a sweatsuit and go on a run.
The weather is nice, you had a lot of pasta last night and you can’t wait to burn some calories, so you can have more in the evening.
Where do you go?
Here’s a list of the 5 best places to jog in Rome.
1. Lungotevere (which literally means “the road along the Tiber river”)
Right in the center of Rome is one of the most famous rivers in the world: the Tiber.
It’s the third longest river in Italy, and it’s undoubtedly the most fascinating. The history of the river and the history of the city are so closely connected that they’re inextricable. The ancient name of Rome itself, “Ruma”, means “the city of the River”.
And visitors to the Eternal City are in luck, as this historic area is also a great place to run.
Along the Tiber there is a lovely bicycle and jogging path, though you can’t really see it from street level. From one of the bridges (Ponte Sant’Angelo, Ponte Sisto, Ponte Garibaldi, and many others) you need to walk down the steps until you reach the river. The jogging path is on the west bank, or the side of Trastevere.
It is 35 km long (22 miles), but the part in the city center is only a few kilometers. If you feel like running for just 30 minutes or one hour, my suggestion is to start from Ponte Sant’Angelo (near the Vatican) and run until Ponte Testaccio. That’s a 4.2 km run (2.6 miles).
During your run, you’ll see some of the most beautiful sights in Rome, like the Tiber Island, Castel Sant’Angelo, Ponte Sisto, and many others.
2. Villa Borghese
* Note: the Italian word “villa” refers to both a park and a country house, which is usually quite fancy.
Rome has some of the most beautiful parks in Italy. One of them is in the very heart of the city, and it’s also an important historical site: Villa Borghese.
Once the property of the Borghese Family, it is now a public park that you can easily reach from the top of the Spanish Steps, or from Piazza del Popolo.
It’s about 80 hectares (200 acres), and you can jog under the beautiful pine trees of Rome, in a lovely setting that is full of elegant buildings, like the world-famous Borghese Gallery.
If you plan things right, you can watch the sunset from the Terrazza del Pincio, the scenic terrace overlooking Piazza del Popolo.
3. Villa Doria Pamphilj
If you’re staying in Trastevere, Villa Doria Pamphilj might be the perfect place to go for a run.
It’s a big park (184 hectares – 454 acres) and you can reach it easily from via San Pancrazio. It’s definitely one of the best places to jog in Rome.
During your run you’ll see beautiful landscapes, and some lovely buildings like the Casino del Bel Respiro (literally, “the country house of the good breathing” – what better place to run?)
Near the Casino there is also a wonderful maze-shaped garden.
Exploring the Villa Doria Pamphilj will allow you to discover a side of Rome that most tourists don’t get to see. But take care, as it’s easy to get lost. Don’t forget your GPS!
4. Villa Ada
If you’re staying in the center of Rome, Villa Ada might not be the easiest park to reach. But it’s definitely worth a visit.
Villa Ada is a wonderful park in the northern part of Rome city center, and it has a very “wild” feel. In the Villa there is a lovely small lake, which you can run around.
The park is about 160 hectares (395 acres), so you’ll have plenty of space to explore.
You can enter from Via Salaria 265.
5. Parco degli Acquedotti
The “Aqueduct park” is not only a lovely park, but also a very important archaeological site.
Although it is quite far away from the city center, you can reach it by taking the subway (line A) and getting off at Giulio Agricola or Subaugusta. The main entrance is on Via Lemonia.
In Roman times, many aqueducts brought fresh water from the mountains to Rome.
In the Parco degli Acquedotti, you can see the monumental ruins of some of them, in particular of the Acqua Claudia and Anio Novus.
It is a very special place to go for a run. From the park, you can see the unforgettable landscape of the Castelli Romani, the wine district of Rome.
Jogging among the ruins is a unique feeling, which you can only get in a few places in Italy.
The park is massive at 240 hectares (almost 600 acres), and it is mostly flat.
All the aforementioned parks are, of course, not only among the best places to jog in Rome, but also places where you can go for a stroll, have a gelato, or get a spritz.
6. A place where you should NOT jog: Rome city center.
Rome city center is one of the most picturesque places in the world.
If you jog for one hour, you can see almost all of the most famous sights of the city: the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, and many more.
However, the city center is not one of the best places to jog in Rome. The cobblestones make running difficult, the sidewalks are often uneven, and if you go after 8.30 a.m. it’ll definitely be too crowded.
Crossing the street can be a little nerve-racking too.
Explore the city center with a guide, or on your own, but walk, don’t run!
If you want to jog, choose one of the parks – you won’t regret it.
Giovanni Vergineo
