Villa Borghese

Villa Borghese is the green heart of Rome: roughly 80 hectares of umbrella pines, formal gardens, fountains and museums spread across the hill above Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps. Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the great art patron and nephew of Pope Paul V, laid out the estate in the early 17th century as a party villa and a showcase for his collection; the city opened it to the public in 1903.

That collection still hangs where the cardinal put it, in the Galleria Borghese, arguably the most concentrated dose of beauty in Rome. Bernini's Apollo and Daphne and his David seem to move in the marble, Canova's reclining Pauline Bonaparte scandalised her era, and the walls carry six Caravaggio canvases along with works by Raphael and Titian. Entry is strictly by timed reservation, so book your slot well before your trip.

The park itself is made for slow hours: rent a rowing boat on the little lake beside the Temple of Aesculapius, cycle the avenues, or wander to the Pincio terrace for the classic sunset panorama over Piazza del Popolo toward St. Peter's. Families gravitate to the Bioparco zoo and the puppet theatre; art lovers can add the Etruscan museum in Villa Giulia and the national gallery of modern art on the park's northern edge.

Reach the park from Metro Line A: Spagna station has a direct entrance near the top of the Spanish Steps, and Flaminio serves the Piazza del Popolo side. Late afternoon is the sweetest time, when the light lengthens under the pines and the Pincio fills for sunset.

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