Thursday, September 18, 2014

Villa Borghese: Enjoy the Outdoors in Rome

Rome, park, rowboats
Taking a row in the lake surrounding the Temple of Aesculapius

Most tourists head to Rome for the ancient sites, churches, and charming but narrow streets. When you've had enough and just need a breath of fresh air and open space, head to Villa Borghese. This 148 acre park near the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo is the perfect place to run free and enjoy the outdoors in Rome, especially for kids. For centuries, it has been an oasis of greenery in a bustling metropolis.

Formal landscaping and classical statues at Villa Borghese with plenty of napping space on the surrounding grass

A Brief History

Originally a vineyard on the outskirts of town, Cardinal Scipione Borghese began remaking Villa Borghese into a landscaped park in 1605 with the idea of creating the most grandiose gardens Rome had seen since ancient times. If you're like me, when you hear "Villa" you imagine a house. But in this case, "villa" refers to the entire park. His house, called "Galleria Borghese" and located within the park, holds his magnificent art collection.  I highly recommend visiting it. The aristocratic family opened the park to the public on Sundays and public holidays, thus securing its place dear in the hearts of the people of Rome. The city became Villa Borghese's official owner in 1903, and it truly became a full-time public park. In 1911, it was the site of the World Exposition, and a few of the pavilions are still standing.

Numerous "secret gardens" dot the park such as the Aviary as seen from the Galleria Borghese

Take out a Boat at Lake Gardens

The first stop during our visit to Villa Borghese was the Lake Gardens to take a boat out for a row (top picture). Fun for the kids, I think it would also be a highly romantic excursion for a couple. This part of the park was redone in the 19th century to make it less formal and more in the style of a proper English park. The Temple of Aesculapius in the center of the artificial lake is purely a landscape feature, not from ancient times, and on top of all that, Greek.

Boat rentals are €3 per person for 20 minutes, even if you are sharing a boat. Children under 1.10 meters are €1,50.

water fountain
Refilling bottles at a very ornate drinking water fountain

Outdoor Fun

We explored this park for hours and did not get around to seeing half of it. There is so much to do! Some people were jogging or playing with their families while others simply put down a blanket and took a nap in the shade. Bicycles seemed to be everywhere. (Take a picture of the park map at the entrance for bike rental locations.) Rollerbladers and skateboarders zipped by us, too. We even saw a miniature train making its way along the paths.

Care for a pony-drawn wagon ride?

Surrey without a Fringe on Top

We finally decided to rent a bicycle surrey from the stand on Viale dell'Orologio for an hour as the best way to corral all the kids together and not get separated while exploring this vast park. With hubby at the steering wheel, the rest of us crammed in and started pedaling away. This claimed to seat 6 people, but that's counting that front basket holding our backpack as a kiddie seat.

Exploring via bicycle surrey

One popular place to take bicycle surreys for a spin is the 200 meter (220 feet) long Piazza di Siena hippodrome which is the home of Rome's international horse show. If you're lucky enough to be there at the same time as another bike, go ahead and see who's faster. If you want to tire everyone out on a bumpy ride, go around a second time.

Villa Borghese
Riding around the Piazza di Siena. That's us in the highlighted circle.

Most of the pathways around Villa Borghese are an easy ride on pavement. You do need to watch out for stairs and be prepared for the occasional turn around if you reach a dead end.

Villa Borghese
View from the back of the bicycle surrey.

We were able to cover a lot of ground this way and came across sites that I'm not sure we would have reached on foot (because we are lazy). One grand building caught my eye. Built as a residence in the 19th century, it is the Casina Valadier restaurant and looked like the type of place that is better suited to a romantic dinner for two than a raucous meal for five. So, on we pedaled...

Casina Valadier

On a terrace on Pincian Hill near the Piazza del Popolo entrance, we came upon one of the best views of Rome I encountered during our trip to the Eternal City. I bet it's absolutely gorgeous at sunset. What struck me is the lack of high rise buildings and the abundance of cupolas that spread out into the distance. With its muted colors, I truly felt as if I could have been looking back in time.

Villa Borghese, Pincio, Rome
View from Pincian Hill

Still Get a Dose of High Culture

Villa Borghese is not all gardens and greenery, though. You can also get your fair bit of high culture here in this place nicknamed the "Park of Museums." For classical and Baroque art, visit the acclaimed Galleria BorgheseBe sure to make advance reservations as walk-up tickets are usually unavailable. Villa Giulia, built in 1553 as the summer home of Pope Julius II, houses the pre-Roman times, Etruscan era collection of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco as well as a cafe in the conservatory for your dining pleasure.The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna displays 20th-century Italian art with an adjacent terrace cafe. And if you had actually wanted to visit England instead of Italy, sooth your pain with a stop at the full-scale replica of London's Shakespearean Globe Theatre

Galleria Borghese houses classical and Baroque art


For the Kids

In addition to all these exciting activities, Villa Borghese has a small conservation zoo called Bioparco di RomaCasina di Raffaello is a perfect little playroom for the preschool crowd which includes a toy store, chalkboard tables, and a library of Italian children's books. The adjoining playground looked like so much fun, too, and I wished that my own kids were still young enough to have a go at it. The Cinema dei Piccoli is the world's smallest purpose-built cinema according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It shows children's movies in the afternoon, but they are dubbed in Italian with no subtitles. A marionette theatre has shows from September to December and February to July.

Ride the carousel on Viale dell'Orologio

Do you like to escape to a big public park when visiting a city? What's your favorite one?





This post is part of the following link-ups. Check it out for more around-the-world travel inspiration.

38 comments:

  1. I LOVE going to Villa Borghese when I'm in Rome, and you did such a good review of the place and didn't leave out any of the "secret" family spots that I thought only Italians knew about. This post was excellent and made me want to go back to Rome as soon as possible!

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  2. It looks gorgeous! It's so nice to find places like this in the middle of a city. I love the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, & I usually end up there every time! As you say, sometimes you need to escape the hustle and bustle.

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    1. Funny that you mentioned it. My girl wanted me to do a comparison post of the boats of Villa Borghese vs Jardin du Luxembourg.

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  3. We went there once - just for the reason you noted: to get some outdoors and space when in the heart of Rome. This brought back wonderful memories of a trip that is now too far in the distant past and needs to be repeated!

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  4. Amazing! I will have to add this to my list of places to visit when we are there!

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  5. I am SUCH a fan of big public parks when visiting a new city, and almost always make it a point to visit! It's great to grab some of the local food from a nearby market and make a picnic, and then spend time exploring and people-watching the locals!;-) I love that you guys did the bicycle surrey, so cool!

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  6. I love your favourite view of Rome too. Who would not? I feel like sitting and looking over the roof tops all day. Having a large park in a City is such a wonderful thing. I guess that Central Park NYC was my favourite park visit because of it's iconic status, but I love the wild rambling sections of Hampstead Heath in London too. They are all good and fantastic with kids. :)

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  7. Thanks for the intro to the Villa Borghese, Michele! I'm surprised to read about the Greek temple -- a lovely find.
    I just noticed your question -- I haven't seen Newsies but the Lion King is quite impressive.

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  8. We saw one of the must incredible sculpture shows at the Villa back in 2008. One of the highlights of our trip to Rome!

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  9. The park is beautiful, the view of Rome from Pincian Hill is spectacular ... and the whole family riding in the four wheel bicycle must have been a lot of fun!

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  10. Beautiful photos but they are making me really sad that I didn't have time for Villa Borghese when we were in Rome. I think I'm going to have to plan a return trip and make it top priority!

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  11. Nice shots. We took a stroll through the park along with a ton of Romans on a Sunday afternoon during our first trip to Europe back in 1999.

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  12. Looks like you guys are having an amazing time. I'm jealous. We are way overdue for a return to Rome!

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  13. We didn't have enough time in Rome to spend a day here, but it looks like a wonderful day and break from touring. LOVE that photo of the view of Rome - spectacular!

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  14. Michele, I think this is an important post. So many people just go from tourist site to tourist site. They don't slow down to relax, take in a park, rent a bike surrey (which I'm definitely doing next time I have the opportunity), and see things a little more slowly. I think this is one of the advantages of traveling with children. When I'm traveling with kids, we take more breaks, we play, we look for parks and playgrounds. It's fun! Great post!

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  15. Beautiful! I really enjoy escaping the city and exploring a park.. Especially one as beautiful as this! That view you found looks absolutely stunning!

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  16. I didn't realize Villa Borghese offered so much for everyone especially the kids and just how beautiful it was. We were so close but we never made it to Villa Borghese since the kids weren't with us. That view of Rome is beautiful. Thanks for all the ideas for our next visit. We love parks in the middle of the cities and some our favorites are Jardin du Luxembourg, Central Park and any one of London's parks.

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  17. Villa Borghese is so beautiful isn't it? We spent a lovely few days in Rome earlier this year and it was a fabulous place to spend the day! :)

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  18. I remember how large the park was trying to walk all the way from PIazza del Popolo....I loved the tour of the palace and seeing how rich cardinals lived and worked their way to the top of the chain...I might want to revisit again this October.

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  19. Love this oasis of greenery amidst the bustling city. That bicycle surrey definitely looked like a fun way for your family to expire the site, Looks so much fun that I wish I can join.Wished I did that and discover Casina Valadier. Love you shot of the view from Pincian Hill.

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  20. Riiiiiiight another reason to go back to Rome I say. I just loved the visions of you corralling all the kids like wild horses onto the bike.

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  21. The park looks amazing, I love that secret garden you showed us.

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  22. How BEAUTIFUL!!! We didn't manage to visit during our four day trip. We'll have to see it next time when we return for Rome and northern Italy!

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  23. Wow, somehow I completely missed this park, despite wandering around that area for several hours! Yet another reason to go back and visit again. It looks lovely! Thanks for linking up to #WeekendWanderlust!

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  24. I didn't get to go here when I was in Rome, but I'll add it to my list for next time! Looks amazing! Thanks for linking up to #WeekendWanderlust :)

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  25. I've not yet visited Rome but I very much love parks and green spaces so I would definitely include this on my places to see. Thanks for sharing :)

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  26. This looks like a place I would definitely like to go in Rome. It reminds me a lot of some of the big parks in Paris and we always include a couple of them on our Paris visits to break up all the museums, food, and historical sights.

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  27. I somehow would never have thought of a lovely green space like this being in Rome!

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  28. Some friends visited Borghese this last summer and raved about it , so it's wonderful to read your review and see more of what they talked so highly of!
    It's on my list for when I finally get to Rome :)

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  29. Beautiful park, which I didn't get to when I was in Rome. I great reason to go back! Looks like you had a fun day, and the view from Pincian Hill is gorgeous!

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  30. This park reminds me of Parc Guell (sp?) in Barcelona. I love the dynamic with the mix of ages and the myriad of activities. I'd heard of this place but hadn't appreciated that this one offered so much!

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  31. Hi it's Christa, host of the Sunday Traveler, I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for joining in on the fun! I love how parks are full of activity, fun and relaxation in Europe they really make them family friendly destinations. I now have a few places to add to my Rome list, thank you!

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  32. I visited Rome a few years back and never heard of this park. We stayed at the very top of the Spanish Steps. I wished I knew of it back then. My husband doesn't like going to the very touristy places, so this would of been perfect for him. Thanks for linking up to #WeekendWanderlust.

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  33. Oh my, and me wasting my time with the so crowded main attractions... thanks for opening my eyes! :)

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  34. First i have see villa Borghese ,it was with my father, staying near your hotel,after 20 year, go back Rome and see again, nice place.

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  35. awesome blog! i want to share my experience with you guys if you are looking for apartment or room for rental or wants to rent out out your place have you tried PlaceMatch Singapore . i found it to be useful in finding my place.hope that helps!!
    cheers Aqsa Rao

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  36. What a lovely day trip, looks like there was something for everyone. Your pictures are gorgeous too!

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