Tridente and Trevi - Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Via del Corso ברומא

In a nutshell: the Tridente is the fan of three streets (Via del Corso, Via del Babuino and Via Ripetta) that opens out of Piazza del Popolo, and it packs an outsized share of Rome's icons. The Spanish Steps climb from Piazza di Spagna to Trinità dei Monti, with the Keats-Shelley House on the corner and the artists' lanes of Via Margutta behind. The Trevi Fountain is the city's most celebrated fountain, a baroque spectacle built around a coin toss. Via del Corso and the Quirinale cover the grand shopping avenue, the President's palace and the piazzas and gardens between Piazza del Popolo and the Pincio. The churches and museums gather the quarter's chapels, palaces and collections, from Santa Maria del Popolo to the Cripta dei Cappuccini. And when hunger strikes, the eating and drinking page lines up the best trattorias, coffee bars and gelato. From here you can reach the historic centre with its Pantheon and piazzas, ancient Rome, the Vatican and the green sweep of Villa Borghese on foot. It is also the most crowded part of the city: plan for early starts and late evenings.

Highlights of the Tridente

• ✦Trevi Fountain - hurl a coin over your shoulder into the Eternal City's best-known fountain; the old promise is that you will one day return.
• ✦Spanish Steps - climb the grand staircase from Piazza di Spagna up to Trinità dei Monti, snapping photos the whole way.
• ✦Palazzo del Quirinale - the president's official residence, open by guided tour, with a glimpse of the gardens.
• ✦Palazzo Barberini - the mansion of one of Rome's most influential families, now an art museum with a celebrated staircase.
• ✦Luxury shopping - brace your wallet along the city's grandest retail avenues, from Via del Corso to Via dei Condotti.

Getting around

The main sights sit close together, and walking is the best way to travel: it is how you discover the picturesque corners you would otherwise hurry past. The only real enemy is the summer heat, so carry water and pace yourself.

• ✦Walking - nearly everything in this chapter is within a comfortable stroll of everything else.
• ✦Metro - Line A serves the area well: Spagna and Barberini stations put you right by the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Quirinale.
• ✦Bus - buses fight brutal traffic but still work; useful routes run along Via del Tritone and Via del Corso.

Where to stay in the Tridente and Trevi

The map listings in the source chapter point to a range of options across the two areas. Around the Tridente: Casa Fabbrini in Campo Marzio, Fendi Private Suites and Hotel de Russie. Around Trevi and the Quirinale: Hotel Modigliani, La Controra, Night & Day, Palazzo Scanderbeg and the Radical Hotel. Most sit within easy walking distance of the metro and the main sights.