Part of rVacation.com Network

The Spanish Steps

135 steps of 18th-century theater connecting Piazza di Spagna to Trinità dei Monti: Rome's grandest place to arrive.

The Barcaccia • 135 Steps • Trinità dei Monti

Explore → Get Early Access

Your Perfect Roman Experience

135 Steps

Twelve flights from the square to the church

Best Light: Golden Hour

Warm sun on the facade, then blue hour

Nearest Metro: Spagna

Line A, right at the foot of the steps

Fountain: The Barcaccia

Free drinking water from an ancient aqueduct

🧭 Why Visit

The most famous staircase in the world, 135 travertine steps rising in a slow curve from Piazza di Spagna to the church of Trinità dei Monti. Bernini's boat fountain sits at the bottom and Keats's last window looks on from the corner. Come at sunrise, when the stone is empty and gold, or stay for the evening, when the whole square gathers to watch the light go.

🏛️ A Little History

The steps were built between 1723 and 1725 to a design by Francesco de Sanctis, paid for with money a French diplomat had left decades earlier. They solved an old problem, how to link the French church on the hill to the Spanish square below, and turned a muddy slope into the grandest outdoor staircase in Rome. The Barcaccia at the foot came a century before, from Pietro Bernini, father of Gian Lorenzo.

💡 Did You Know?

John Keats died in 1821, aged 25, in the pink house at the foot of the steps, now the Keats-Shelley museum. Since 2019 sitting on the steps has been forbidden and the rule is enforced, ending three centuries of people using them as the city's front stoop. You can still climb them and photograph them, you simply cannot sit.

The Arrival

Piazza di Spagna

Where Rome's grandest staircase begins, at Bernini's boat fountain in the square below.

The Spanish Steps rising from Piazza di Spagna to Trinità dei Monti under blue sky.
Piazza di SpagnaThe classic arrival: Bernini's Barcaccia in the foreground and the whole staircase climbing to Trinità dei Monti under a hard blue summer sky.
The Barcaccia boat fountain lit at night at the base of the Spanish Steps.
The Barcaccia After DarkPietro Bernini's boat-shaped fountain still runs at the foot of the steps, fed by the ancient Acqua Vergine, with Via dei Condotti lit behind it.
Crowds by the Barcaccia with Via dei Condotti lit at night, Piazza di Spagna.
Toward Via dei CondottiFrom the fountain the view runs straight down Via dei Condotti, the luxury spine of the Tridente, glowing after sunset.
135 Steps

The Climb

Twelve flights curving up to the church, in every light from winter dusk to high summer.

Nearly empty Spanish Steps at dusk in winter, lamps lit, the church above.
The Steps in WinterOff season and near empty at dusk, the staircase shows its true shape, the flights curving up to the twin bell towers.
People climbing the sunlit Spanish Steps toward Trinità dei Monti.
Climbing to the ChurchBy day the terraces fill with people resting on the way up to Trinità dei Monti.
The Spanish Steps at blue hour with lamps lit and the church glowing above.
Blue Hour on the StepsAs the sky deepens the lamps come on, and the climb to the lit church becomes the best show in the Tridente.
At the Top

Trinità dei Monti

The French church and its Roman obelisk crowning the hill.

The floodlit twin towers of Trinità dei Monti and the obelisk at blue hour.
Trinità dei MontiThe French church crowns the hill, its twin bell towers framing the obelisk, floodlit against a deep evening sky.
Trinità dei Monti church glowing in golden evening light above the steps.
Golden Hour on the FacadeLate sun turns the church and the retaining wall to warm gold, the quietest and most flattering light of the day.
The Sallustian obelisk in front of Trinità dei Monti against a blue sky.
The Sallustian ObeliskA Roman-made obelisk stands before the church, raised here in the late 18th century, its hieroglyphs copied from imperial Rome rather than Egypt.
Over the Rooftops

The View from the Top

What you climb the steps for: the piazza and the Tridente spread out below.

View from the top of the Spanish Steps over Piazza di Spagna and the rooftops.
The View from the TopFrom the terrace the city opens out over the piazza and the ochre rooftops of the Tridente running toward the river.
Dusk view from the top of the Spanish Steps over the lamplit piazza.
Dusk over the PiazzaAt dusk the lamps trace the piazza below while the last light holds on the western rooftops.
Ochre rooftops of central Rome at twilight from the top of the steps.
Rooftops at TwilightThe Tridente's rooftops run out toward the river as the sky turns from blue to amber.
Wide panorama from the top of the Spanish Steps over the piazza at dusk.
The Whole SweepA wide frame takes in the terrace, the piazza and the rooftops in a single sweep at dusk.
Golden Hour and After

Light on the Steps

The square at its best, from sunset over the rooftops to the floodlit church at night.

Orange and pink sunset over the rooftops of Rome from the Spanish Steps.
Sunset from the TerraceThe sky over the rooftops burns orange and pink as the sun drops behind the western hills of the city.
Pink sunset sky with a contrail over rooftops from the Spanish Steps.
The Last ColourA single contrail catches the last colour of the day above the terraced houses west of the square.
People gathered on the Spanish Steps at dusk looking over the piazza.
Sitting Out the EveningBefore the 2019 ban, evenings meant the whole staircase filling up to watch the piazza. Today you take the same view standing, or from the benches below.
Trinità dei Monti floodlit at night above the Spanish Steps.
The Church Lit UpAfter dark the floodlights pick out every cornice of Trinità dei Monti above the pale sweep of the steps.
The lit Trinità dei Monti up the crowded Spanish Steps at night.
The Steps at NightLooking up from the piazza, the lit church floats at the top of the dark staircase, busy well into the night.
The Neighbourhood

Around the Steps

The square that gives the steps their name, and the palaces around it.

The Spanish flag and coat of arms on the Embassy to the Holy See, Piazza di Spagna.
Why They Are the Spanish StepsThe square and the steps take their name from the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, on the piazza since the 17th century. Its flag still flies over the corner.
Baroque palazzo with a papal flag on Piazza di Spagna.
Palazzo di Propaganda FideOn the south side of the square stands the Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, a Holy See palace with facades touched by both Bernini and Borromini.

Live Prices & Availability

Powered by GetYourGuide

Stay Nearby

Some links may earn us a commission at no cost to you — we only recommend places we would stay.

Visiting the Spanish Steps

  • Go at first light or last light. Midday bakes the travertine and packs the steps. Sunrise gives you the staircase almost to yourself, and the hour before sunset gives you the warm facade and the square's evening buzz.
  • Do not sit down. Since 2019 sitting on the steps brings a fine, and officials do enforce it. Take your photos on your feet, and rest on the benches in the piazza or up on the Pincio terrace instead.
  • Drink from the Barcaccia. The boat fountain at the base runs with cold, clean water from the Acqua Vergine, the aqueduct that has fed this corner since antiquity. Bring a bottle.
  • Climb to the top for the view, then keep going. The terrace by Trinità dei Monti is free and one of the best in the centre, and the Pincio gardens just beyond open onto an even wider sweep over the rooftops.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you sit on the Spanish Steps?
No. Sitting, lying down, or eating on the steps has been prohibited since 2019, and the ban is actively enforced with fines. You are free to walk up and down and to take photographs, you just cannot sit.
How many steps are there?
135, arranged in twelve flights that widen and narrow as they climb. They were built between 1723 and 1725.
Why are they called the Spanish Steps?
For the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, which has sat on Piazza di Spagna since the 17th century. The steps themselves were French-funded and lead up to a French church, Trinità dei Monti.
What is at the top?
The church of Trinità dei Monti and its obelisk, and one of the best free viewpoints in Rome. From the terrace you look out over the piazza and the rooftops, with the Pincio gardens a short walk beyond.

Explore More of Rome

📷 Gallery

Terrazza del Pincio

Rome's balcony above Piazza del Popolo, and the city's favourite place to watch the sun go…

📷 Gallery

The Aventine Hill

Rome's quietest hilltop, where everyone comes for a keyhole and stays for the view

📷 Gallery

The Imperial Fora

Caesar's Forum and the Best Free Ruins in Rome

📷 Gallery

The Pantheon

Rome's best-preserved ancient building: a 1,900-year-old temple whose unreinforced concrete dome has never been surpassed.

📷 Gallery

Giolitti

The oldest gelateria in Rome, in the family since 1890, a few lanes from the Pantheon

📷 Gallery

Basilica di San Clemente

Rome stacked three deep: a medieval basilica over a 4th-century church over a Roman house where…

Continue Your Italian Journey

Explore more destinations in our Italian travel network

🎨 Florence 🚤 Venice 👗 Milan 🍕 Naples 🍝 Bologna 💕 Verona 🍷 Tuscany 🌊 Amalfi Coast 🏘️ Cinque Terre 🌋 Sicily 🇮🇹 rItalian

More journeys: 🌺 rHawaii ✈️ rVacation 📷 rPhotography 🍽️ rDining

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tours and stays we would book ourselves.