Roman Holiday Filming Locations in Rome: Self-Guided Tour Map
Was there ever a more romantic film than Roman Holiday?
Like the generation of movie-goers before me, I adore this film which stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her first Hollywood role. It’s one of the best loved movies set in Italy, but it also showcases many of Rome’s famous landmarks.
Follow our two cinematic heroes on a self-guided tour of Roman Holiday filming locations. And as they are all in the city centre, you can walk between most of them in a single day.
A quick note: this guide follows the story from start to finish, including how it ends. If you haven’t seen the film yet, watch it first.
About Roman Holiday
In this timeless fairy tale, Hepburn plays sheltered Princess Ann from an unnamed European country. Desperate to escape her royal duties, she spends a day with Joe Bradley, a hard nosed American reporter in Rome (Peck).
Will duty win over love?
Roman Holiday was directed by William Wyler and released in 1953. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Audrey Hepburn.
Fun fact! Gregory Peck wasn’t Wyler’s first choice for the role. Cary Grant turned it down, believing himself too old for Hepburn’s love interest. Ten years later, he starred opposite her in Charade (another fabulous movie).
Roman Holiday Filming Locations in Rome
Roman Holiday was shot in black and white across Rome, with extra scenes filmed on the sound stage at Cinecittà Studios. Here’s a map of every location in this guide. For an interactive map, click here or on the image.
These locations have barely changed in the seventy years since filming. Even the opening title sequence reads like a greatest hits reel of Rome’s landmarks.
Most of what follows can be done on foot in a day, though the Palazzo Colonna stop at the end needs planning ahead, more on that below.
1. St. Peter’s Square
The opening aerial shot of St. Peter’s Square leaves you in no doubt about where this movie is set.
The square fronts St Peter’s Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the spiritual home of Roman Catholicism. There’s been a church on this site since 326 AD, though the building you see today dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. Entry to the square and the basilica is free.
Getting there: Metro Line A to Ottaviano, then a ten minute walk down Via Ottaviano. Go early if you want the square without the queues for the basilica.
2. Vittorio Emanuele II Monument (Altar of the Fatherland)
Next comes a background shot of the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, also known as the Altar of the Fatherland.
Built between 1885 and 1927 by the sculptor Sacconi, it symbolises Italian unity. Locals have less flattering nicknames for it: ‘the wedding cake’ and ‘Mussolini’s typewriter’.
Getting there: It dominates Piazza Venezia, a short walk from the Colosseum, the Pantheon and Palazzo Colonna, so it’s easy to fold into the same day.
3. Ponte Sant’Angelo
Next up is the wonderful Ponte Sant’Angelo. Ten angels sculpted by Bernini line this beautiful bridge across the River Tiber.
Getting there: A straightforward walk from St Peter’s Square, roughly fifteen minutes down Via della Conciliazione.
4. Colosseum
You only get a brief glimpse of the Colosseum in the opening credits, but it plays a bigger role later, in the scene where Joe takes Princess Ann on a Vespa ride across the city.
It’s a fitting choice for such an iconic scene. The Colosseum was inaugurated in 80 AD with games that killed 5,000 animals, and it’s still one of Rome’s UNESCO World Heritage sites today.
Getting there: Metro Line B, Colosseo stop, right outside the entrance. Book tickets ahead if you want to go inside, and aim for opening time to beat both the heat and the queues. Ive pulled together the best Colosseum tours here.
5. Roman Forum
The Roman Forum adjoins the Colosseum and is also featured in the opening credits.
This was the centre of civic and political life in the Roman Empire. For me, it’s one of the most evocative places in the city. Its ruined columns hint at just how powerful this empire once was.
Fittingly, it’s also where the film’s two leads first meet. Walking through the streets, Joe stumbles across Princess Ann asleep near the Arch of Septimius Severus.
She’s slipped out of her country’s embassy and, dazed by a sedative, drifted off. Not realising who she is, he takes her back to his apartment.
Getting there: Same Colosseo metro stop as the Colosseum. One combined ticket covers both, plus Palatine Hill.
6. Piazza del Popolo
The Piazza del Popolo forms the backdrop for the finale of the opening credits.
This grand square was laid out in 1538 as an entrance to the city from Via Flaminia in the north. Look out for the 24 metre obelisk rising between four lion fountains, plus two of Rome’s finest churches: Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria in Montesanto.
Getting there: Metro Line A, Flaminio stop, right at the square’s edge.
7. Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini was the filming location for the exterior shots of the embassy of Princess Ann’s country.
This 17th-century palace close to Piazza Barberini houses the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, the most important collection of older paintings in Rome.
Getting there: Metro Line A, Barberini stop, a two minute walk.
8. Via Margutta 51
After finding Princess Ann by the Arch of Septimius Severus, Joe takes her back to his flat. This scene was filmed at Via Margutta 51, near Piazza del Popolo.
It’s still a lovely cobbled street, though number 51 looks a little different today.
Fun fact! The director Federico Fellini lived at Via Margutta 110 for decades.
9. Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)
Leaving Joe’s apartment, Princess Ann wanders through Rome’s busy streets and stumbles on the Trevi Fountain.
This 18th-century fountain is the grandest in the city. Charles Dickens once described it as ‘silvery to the eye and ear’.
Getting there: No metro stop right by it. Barberini (Line A) is the closest, about ten minutes on foot. It’s busy at almost any hour, so early morning or late evening give you the best chance of a photo without crowds
10. Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna
Next comes the Spanish Steps, where Joe catches up with Ann. By now he knows who she is, and he’s called in his photographer friend Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) to snap candid shots.
This flight of 137 steps links Piazza di Spagna with the church of Trinità dei Monti and is one of Rome’s most photographed spots. For centuries, Piazza di Spagna was a meeting point for the city’s writers and artists.
Getting there: Metro Line A, Spagna stop, which opens out right onto the piazza. Sitting on the steps isn’t allowed any more, so treat this as a photo stop rather than a picnic spot.
11. Via Della Rotonda
Joe persuades Ann to join him in Café Rocco, where Irving and his camera lens lie in wait. Although this café on Via Della Rotonda no longer exists, it is a stone’s throw from one of my favourite places in Rome, the Pantheon.
With its dome and perfect proportions, the Pantheon has symbolised the grandeur of Ancient Rome for almost 2,000 years. This former temple became the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres in 609 AD. It’s now the final resting place of the artist Raphael of Urbino, along with kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I.
Getting there: No direct metro stop. It’s a walkable fifteen to twenty minutes from Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps.
12. Piazza Venezia
Back to that Vespa ride. Piazza Venezia and Via del Teatro di Marcello form the backdrop for several of these shots.
Getting there: A major hub for buses along Via del Corso and Via dei Fori Imperiali, and within easy walking distance of the Colosseum, the Pantheon and Palazzo Colonna.
13. Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità)
Do you remember the so-called Roman Holiday hand scene? Joe takes Ann to see the Bocca della Verità, the ‘Mouth of Truth’.
This weathered stone face of the sea god Oceanus is set into the portico wall of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, near the Colosseum. Legend has it that the mouth snaps shut on liars who place a hand inside. In the film, Princess Ann is horrified when it appears to bite off Joe’s hand.
Audrey Hepburn’s reaction is so convincing because it was real. Gregory Peck played a prank on her, and she truly believed his hand was stuck.
Getting there: Metro Line B, Circo Massimo stop, then a short walk along the river. Queues form here quickly once the coach tours arrive, so try to visit before mid morning.
14. Castel Sant’Angelo
Earlier that day, Princess Ann has her hair cut short, and her hairdresser invites her to a dance that night on a barge moored by Castel Sant’Angelo.
Built in 130 AD as a mausoleum for Hadrian and his family, it has since served as a papal fortress, a prison and army barracks. Today it houses a museum.
Getting there: Metro Line A, Lepanto stop, then a ten minute walk. It sits between St Peter’s Square and Ponte Sant’Angelo, so it’s a natural stop between those two on the same walk.
15. Palazzo Colonna
The following day, Bradley and the Princess meet again at the embassy for a press conference.
This final scene was filmed in the Sala Grande Galleria at Palazzo Colonna, one of Rome’s oldest and largest private palaces, dating from the 14th century. The Colonna family still live there today.
Opening hours: This is the one location here you can’t just turn up to. As of 2026, the gallery opens to the public for self-guided visits on Saturday mornings from 9.30 am to 1.15 pm.
It’s also open on Friday mornings, but by guided tour and advance booking only. All other days are by private appointment. Check the official Palazzo Colonna website before you plan your visit, since hours do shift from year to year.
Getting there: A short walk from Piazza Venezia. Nearest metro stops are Colosseo (Line B) or Barberini (Line A), both around ten to fifteen minutes on foot.
Will Joe and Ann see each other again? You’ll have to watch the film to find out.
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By Bridget
Bridget Coleman is an award-winning travel blogger who is an incurable Italy addict and has travelled its length & breadth on multiple occasions. Find out more here.
To get in touch, email her at hello@flashpackingitaly.com