My wife and I will be travelling to Rome in early March. However, we will be staying at a hotel on Via Nazionale that does not have an exercise or fitness center.

Does anyone have suggestions for parks that are jogger-friendly? Or a daily-use hotel gymnasium or palestra?

Hi gilber-
I suppose you can run up and down the steps at Spanish Steps or the Victor Emmanuel Monument?

I usually get so exhausted walking miles and miles in Rome that I don't feel I need more exercise.

Hope somebody else can help!

yk......


you took the words right out of my mouth! A week in Rome always means a 5 pound weight loss...even with the food and wine!

You will be getting plenty of exercise just touring around Rome - you probably won't have the need for "artificial" workouts.

Run in the park around Villa Borghese, it's truly beautiful and when I was there it seemed to be their "Central Park."

I agree with yk and jody, I lost 5 lbs when in Rome with all the walking, and I ate a lot more than I do at home.

I'm in agreement with the majority. You don't need any fitness place to get a work out in Rome. Walking and more walking to see the sights. Besides there is so many beautiful things to see in Rome I would not waste one second on worrying about exercise.
Ciao.
Llowe

I lost weight just walking around Rome. We started out around 8AM and came back to our hotel and collapsed around 6PM every evening till we could get our second wind for dinner. Who knows how many miles we actually walked. But it was a lot. I wouldn't worry about exercising.

Clearly, most of those who have replied here don't get it and they probably don't belong to a gym. A runner needs to run.

Gilber20, the closest park is Villa Borghese but it ain't that close. You may want to check with your hotel because some of Rome's "palestra" offer day passes and the service and experience is worth it. Many Italians run and work out and I love to do it with them. You can also check Rome's Yellow Pages under "Palestra." There are numerous listings.

i can relate. i am a swimmer and feel (my body and mind) like crud on vacation because my body although exhausted still wants and needs to swim.

As a runner, I understand your need to run. Walking about sightseeing does not equate running.

The Rome Marathon is in March. Use this link and ask the Italian Runners Club or the Rome Marathon Organization where to run. I am sure they can suggest routes, or perhaps you could join one of their early morning group runs. What a great experience that would be.

http://www.maratonadiroma.it/eng/contacts_en.stm

Also google the site for Rome Marathon. It does have an English link. It will give you more info. Good luck.

We stayed near Campo dei Fiori, and just ran a few blocks to the river and then along the river - there are nice, wide, smooth sidewalks, and if you go early in the morning, hardly any people . . . and great scenery!

I do exercise at home, but I don't feel I need a "formal" exercise program while abroad as I find the heavy duty walking is sufficient for me.

Hi All,
I'm a big walker so I know what you guys are talking about, but my husband is different. He needs to work out 4-5 times a week, but can't do extensive walking due to the 9 knee surgeries he's had from football injuries.
There must be a gym or club in Rome somewhere that you can pay a fee to work out in for a day?

Totally understand the need to run. When we were there in March, around the time of the marathon, the in-room magazine was focused on where to run in Rome. The number one suggestion was Villa Borghese but it wasn't convenient to the hotel. We stayed near St. Peter's, so I ran around the oustside of the Vatican Museum, colonnade and some of the neighboring streets. The streets are a little tricky because of the unevenness. I think Queenie's suggestion is a good one - local roadrunner clubs are usually great resources and I can't imagine Rome's is any exception. Good luck!

I think this is an old thread, but for what it's worth, I ran the Rome marathon last March and did both my pracitce runs and post Marathon jogging in Doria Pamphili Park in Trastevere- It was a glorious place to run IMO, I found a section that was good, but there are other spots with lots of picnickers.

Any information on the "daily-use hotel gymnasium" Some great insight on places to get a run in. In response to those who get their work outs in sight seeing,Yes I need to get a work out in in Rome.