Via Veneto winds its way uphill from Piazza Barberini to Piazzale Brasile, passing the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception and Palazzo Margherita—now home to the U.S. Embassy—along the way. Stars like Audrey Hepburn, Tennessee Williams, and Coco Chanel would once gather at the landmark Harry’s Bar, Café de Paris, and Doney Cafè that line the street. Today you can trace this route with a walking, Segway, or hop-on-hop-off bus tour of Rome’s most iconic sights by day or night. Film buffs can opt for a La Dolce Vita tour that hits on locations featured in Fellini’s most famous work, and art-and-architecture aficionados can take a tour focusing on the city’s most remarkable streets and squares, including Via Veneto and Piazza Barberini.
Via Veneto is located in the historical city center of Rome just above Piazza Barberini, one of the main bus and metro hubs in the city. A number of bus routes and metro line A have stops in the square.
Via Veneto can be busy with traffic during the day, so the best time to visit is later in the evening when traffic dies down, the palazzi are beautifully lit, and the restaurants and cafès are bustling with chic customers.
Considered one of Rome’s most important baroque squares, Piazza Barberini sits atop Rome’s Quirinal Hill and is home to two 17th-century fountains designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The ornate Palazzo Barberini dominates the square, originally the residence of the powerful Barberini family and now home to the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, with a collection of works by Raphael, Filippo Lippi, Titian, and Caravaggio.
