Spend Valentine’s Day in Rome

Spend Valentine’s Day in Rome with Way to Stay

The 14th of February, the day where we show our loved ones how much they mean to us. Buying chocolates, cards or taking your partner out to dinner are the usual Valentine’s Day ideas. Why don’t you do something different? Book a trip to Rome!

Rome, also known as the Eternal City, is the perfect place for you to spend your Valentine’s break. It was called the Eternal City because people believed that no matter what would happen to or in this beautiful city, Rome would continue on.

What a great metaphor for love, don’t you think?

Visiting Rome for this special day, means being in the city that started this celebration. Many early Christian Martyrs were named Valentine, those honoured on 14th of February are called Valentine of Rome. Saint Valentine was martyred in 269 and added to the calendar of Saints by Pope Gelasius in 496. He was buried on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia, a road leading to Rome.

His relics are now kept at the Church of Santa Prassede in Rome, and his flower-crowned skull is shown at the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.

According to Legends, what makes this day so romantic is the love note Valentine left for his love. J.C Cooper writes that Valentine was jailed for aiding persecuted Christians, and for denying converting to Roman Paganism, he was executed. Legend has it, that after healing his jailer’s daughter who was blind, he wrote his first ever Valentine´s card to her once she could see again before he passed away.

For a very gloomy and dark event, it has created a day to celebrate your love for your partner and it only seems fitting to visit the place where it all began.

Rome has a variety of things to see all year around, so you will be spoilt for choice in this city! Here are a few Valentine’s Day ideas for you to get all Rome-antic! Like what we did there?

1 – Rent a Vespa

Recreate the scenes of “Roman Holiday” starring Audrey Hepburn and rent a Vespa for you and your loved one to explore Rome together.
Ride around the Colosseum, the narrow alleys and all the Hollywood movie sets that film all the classic romantic movies.

If you aren’t qualified to drive, but still want to get up close and personal in this experience, there are many options for you. Rent a bike, take a seat in a chauffeured Fiat 500 or have a private guide in a 3 wheeled buggy. Anyone can join!

Bici and Baci Tours offer you tours around different parts of Rome on scooter, bicycle, Fiat 500 and even a Segway! 2017 is a big year for Bici Baci, it is their 20th Anniversary and have some exciting new tours including 3 new food tours!

2 – Have a picnic on Aventine Hill

Being one of the 7 hills, upon which ancient Rome was built and having a rather beautiful panoramic shot of the city, Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden) on top of Aventine Hill is a great place to spend your day.

Get away from the city, bring some local food, a blanket and your loved one and have a picnic. In an intimate setting, you can watch the sunset over Rome and spend some quality time with your partner.

3 – Visit Trevi Fountain

You can’t come to Rome and not visit the Trevi Fountain, even when it’s not Valentine’s Day. Why visit during Valentine’s Day? We are so glad you asked! You need to visit Trevi Fountain because it is where the classic movie La Dolce Vita was filmed, where the most romantic scene was filmed in this very fountain!

To make it a bit more romantic, throw 3 coins into the fountain. Thanks to the film “3 coins in the Fountain”: if you throw 1 coin in, it means a return to Rome, throw the 2nd means new romance and a 3rd… marriage.
It depends on the level of superstition you have, but it is a lovely Valentine’s Day idea and gesture for your stay in Rome.

4 – Have Dinner at Trastevere

It has been named as Rome’s favourite neighbourhood: Trastevere; which in Latin means beyond the Tiber. Head across the river to get a perfect chance of escaping the crowded city centre and finding some hidden gems!

Come night time, Trastevere opens up its lively bars and nightclubs, but also its authentic and traditional cuisine.

This charming district of Rome, along with its winding streets, makes it the perfect place for a romantic evening.

5 – Walk around Villa Borghese

During the day, take a walk around one of the biggest public parks in Rome. What makes this park different? It has a perfect mixture of English landscape nature and Roman architecture. Being only a 5 minute walk from the Spanish Steps, you can be in a quiet haven in no time!

In the garden, you will also find buildings, fountains and monuments created by different architects and artists. Walking around Rome can take its toll on you, mellow things down and sit down with your loved one and watch the old city from one of the many lookouts.

You can also rent a boat in the lake or take a look in the gallery.

Still not had enough of Rome yet? Book yourself a Rome Tour with The Roman Guy, visit the Vatican City, Colosseum Arena Floor tour and more! They also organize Valentines Getaways as part of their Italy Trip Planning service if you want to make your weekend that bit more special!

For all you single people, we have not left you out! If you are lucky enough to be in Rome, Florence or any other Italian city, forget San Valentino, you can celebrate San Faustino. You must have had enough of seeing all these Valentine’s Day Ideas articles and gift ideas, so here are some ideas for you!

Valentine´s Day can be a very unwelcoming and unnecessary day for those without a partner; in 2001 Italians adopted the Feast of Saint Faustino. A day to celebrate people who are single, so no one feels left out!
All thanks to San Faustino, the patron of all singles.

You can find many social events, mainly in apartments or bars. It is a great chance for people to get together and just have some fun. Originally, it was meant as a joke to make fun of Valentine’s Day but tradition has stuck!

 For more information on the ultimate Valentine’s Day in Rome visit www.waytostay.com.

Thank you Way to Stay for this great article!