The Spanish Steps area is one of the most romantic places in Rome, especially for couples, honeymoons, and slow city walks. Beyond the iconic staircase, quiet streets, hidden gardens, and intimate viewpoints create a softer, more personal experience of the Eternal City. Ideal for couples seeking romantic things to do in Rome or a honeymoon hotel near the Spanish Steps, this neighborhood rewards walking without a plan.

Romance, Without the Monuments

Very often, when people talk about romance in Rome, they talk about monuments. The Spanish Steps. The Trevi Fountain. A candlelit dinner somewhere expensive. And yes — of course. They’re beautiful. They always will be. But if we had to answer honestly, we would say romance in Rome has very little to do with monuments. And almost everything to do with walking. Especially around the Spanish Steps.

Walking Is the Point

This part of the city isn’t made for ticking boxes. It’s made for wandering slightly off course.

You start at the Spanish Steps because everyone does. But the magic happens when you leave them behind. When you take a street just because it looks quieter. When you follow ivy instead of signage.

Around here, romance isn’t staged. It happens when you slow down enough to notice small things — the sound of shoes on sampietrini, the way the light hits a wall at five in the afternoon, the fact that you’ve stopped checking the time.

This is what makes a walking tour around the Spanish Steps so compelling: it never feels like a tour.

Via Margutta, Always

One of the most romantic places in Rome.

If there’s one street that understands couples, it’s Via Margutta. Not in a grand, cinematic way. In a very Roman way.

The walls are soft with age. Ivy spills wherever it wants. Doors are modest. Nothing asks for attention, and that’s exactly why it works. You walk closer here without realizing. Conversations lower naturally. The street does half the work for you.

People often ask for romantic places in Rome. This one stays romantic because it never tried to be.

Gardens You Almost Miss

Rome is generous with green, but discreet about it.

Slip into Villa Borghese from a smaller entrance — not the monumental ones. Walk until you’re no longer sure where you are. Sit somewhere ordinary. That’s usually where the best conversations happen.

Later, walk up toward the Pincio Terrace. Everyone knows the view, but not everyone stays long enough. At sunset, it’s less about the panorama than the pause. The city glows. Then it fades. No rush.

Why This Area Works for Couples

Couples don’t remember Rome for what they ticked off.
They remember how it felt.

Around the Spanish Steps, everything is close enough to walk home. That matters more than people think. It means evenings end gently. It means you don’t have to decide when the day is over — it just happens.

This is why so many honeymoons quietly settle here. Not because it’s flashy, but because it’s easy. Easy to be together. Easy to get lost. Easy to feel like the city is cooperating with you.

Where You Stay Changes Everything

Romance in Rome isn’t about doing more. It’s about needing less. Staying near the Spanish Steps means mornings without planning and nights without logistics. It means going out for a walk and realizing, halfway through, that you’re already home. At Margutta 19 and Margutta 54, that’s the feeling. Not a hotel experience, but a neighborhood one. Quiet streets. Human scale. The sense that Rome isn’t performing for you — it’s just being itself.

That’s why couples looking for romantic hotels in Rome, or planning a honeymoon in Italy with Rome as a stop, often end up here — even if they didn’t plan to.

Romance, Without Instructions

Rome doesn’t tell you how to be romantic. It gives you the conditions and leaves the rest to you. Around the Spanish Steps, that usually means walking a little longer than planned. Sitting somewhere without a reason. Taking a street just because it looks nice.

That’s it. That’s the secret.

Concierge Note

Our concierge can suggest discreet walking routes around the Spanish Steps, hidden gardens, and overlooked corners — moments that work best without crowds or schedules.

Some parts of Rome don’t need to be explained.
They just need to be walked.