Piazza Navona: A Walk Through Old Rome

Piazza Navona: what to see in the square

Piazza Navona is a long oval square with three fountains and a Baroque church, and you can see all of it in about half an hour. Turismo Roma says the square follows the outline of an ancient stadium. The name Navona comes from the Latin word for games.

The fountain in the middle is the Fountain of the Four Rivers. Gian Lorenzo Bernini made it. It holds an obelisk and four river statues. The city's tourism office says Bernini was asked to design it for the Jubilee of 1650.

The other two fountains are not Bernini's. Giacomo della Porta made the Fountain of Neptune. The Fountain of the Moor is named for its statue of an Ethiopian man fighting a dolphin. Turismo Roma does not say who designed it, so we name no maker. Many guides say "three Bernini fountains." That is wrong, and the official page names three different hands.

The church on the long side is Sant'Agnese in Agone. Carlo and Girolamo Rainaldi began it, and Borromini finished it and changed it a lot.

Key Takeaway Piazza Navona has three fountains but only one, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, is by Bernini, and the stadium of 86 AD lies 5 to 6 metres under your feet.

Step 1: Start with the fountains and the pasta

The best way to enjoy the square is to walk its whole length once, then stop for food. Start at the Fountain of Neptune at one end. Walk past the Four Rivers in the middle, and end at the Moor.

If you want to sit on the square, a cooking class is one way to do it. The pasta and tiramisu class on Piazza Navona is run by IPM COETUS SRL. It meets at Ristorante Tucci on the square and takes 2.5 hours for up to 10 people. Free cancellation is shown on the listing. The price is from €54.4 per person, rated 4.9 from 851 reviews. It is not suitable for children under 7, vegans or people with gluten or lactose intolerance.

A tour is not needed to see the square. You can do the walk above on your own for nothing. Take the class only if you want a meal and a table with a view.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

Pro Tip Come at sunrise or after dinner. By day the square is the most crowded place on this walk, and after dark the fountains are lit.

Step 2: See what is underneath Piazza Navona

Under Piazza Navona lie the remains of the Stadium of Domitian, a Roman stadium built in 86 AD. The tourism office says the remains sit 5 to 6 metres below the current street level. It says you can see them under a building in Piazza di Tor Sanguigna and in the basements of Sant'Agnese in Agone.

The square is an oval because the houses stand where the stands once were. The square follows the perimeter of the old stadium.

A separate underground site is open to visitors. We could not open its official page, so we give no price or hours here. Check them on the site itself before you go.

Step 3: Add Campo de' Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto

Campo de' Fiori is the market square just before Piazza Navona on this walk, and the Jewish Ghetto lies a short walk from it. Turismo Roma says the market runs "in the morning" and gives no exact hours. A statue of the philosopher Giordano Bruno stands at the centre, who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1600.

To walk between the two squares, you cross Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The tourism office gives no time for it and only says Campo de' Fiori is "a few steps" away.

Food is the easy reason to add this step. The Trastevere and Campo de' Fiori street food walk is run by Hili srl and takes 2.5 hours. It is from €44.1 per person, rated 4.9 from 4,720 reviews, and not suitable for vegans or people with gluten intolerance. For the Ghetto, the Trastevere and Jewish Ghetto street food walk is run by Rosy Smart City Tours and takes 2 to 2.5 hours. The price is from €49 per person, rated 4.7 from 173 reviews. It is not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments.

If you want to go inside, the Jewish Museum of Rome says it is closed on Saturdays and during Jewish holidays. From 1 November to 14 January it is open Sunday to Thursday from 10:00 to 16:00 and on Friday from 9:00 to 14:00, per its days and times page.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

If you are searching for a free walking tour in Rome, note that we list only tours with a fixed price. Things to Do in Rome's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 36 walking tours, from €19.9.

Step 4: Walk on to the Pantheon, then decide on Trevi

You can walk from Piazza Navona to the Pantheon and on to the Trevi Fountain in one outing. Turismo Roma gives no walking time or distance between these stops, and we will not invent one. Plan a slow walk with stops. Every stop on this route is in the pedestrian old centre.

The Pantheon is the first stop. The Pantheon of Rome costs €7 for a full ticket since 1 July 2026, says the Ministry of Culture. It is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00 with last entry at 18:30. Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month and for under-18s. There is no skip-the-line option, and entry is in order of arrival. If you still want a reserved slot and an audio guide, the Pantheon entry ticket with app is run by 1 City Tour and is from €7, rated 4.5 from 10,525 reviews.

Trevi is the last stop. Since 2 February 2026 the city charges €2 to enter the basin next to the fountain, daily from 9:00 to 22:00. The ticket is for the basin area, not for the whole square. Tickets are sold online, at civic museums and infopoints, or at the entrance by card only, per Turismo Roma.

The three-coin custom is a tradition, not a rule. The city's Trevi notice does not mention coins, so we give no rule for it.

The night walking tour in a small group is another way to do the route. It is run by Global Experiences by Carpe Diem Tours Group and takes 2.5 hours. The price is from €25 per person, rated 4.8 from 1,053 reviews. The listing says it does not include entry to any attraction and is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

The best way to see an old square is to walk through it twice, once in daylight and once at night.

Where to sleep near Piazza Navona

If you want a bed on the route, two hotels with a Booking.com score of 8.0 or more sit close by. The Hotel Albergo Santa Chiara is by the Pantheon, a 5-minute walk from Piazza Navona. The FOUR Suites Pantheon is near Campo de' Fiori. For more areas, see where to stay in Rome.

When Piazza Navona is the wrong choice

Piazza Navona is the wrong stop if you have only an hour and want one big sight, because the square is a place to stroll and not a sight with a gate. This is also the wrong stop at midday in summer, when crowds fill it. Come early or late. A visit to the underground ruins is the wrong choice for a rushed day, since we could not confirm its hours.

If you came for the Trevi coins, know that the fountain now has a €2 basin fee, and plan your timing.