The 7 hills of Rome running tour or walking tour with ArcheoRunning is perhaps the best way to explore the history of Rome and get some exercise.
Rome’s glorious past is mapped out in its monuments and ruins, which is why the city is so often called an open-air museum. Rome’s history also equates to its seven hills, home to key battles, legends and seats of power.
The 7 hills of Rome running tour with ArcheoRunning combines a walking or running tour of downtown Rome, topped off with by breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of year. Whatever your level, there’s a walking or running tour with ArcheoRunning which is right for you!
ArcheoRunning – Rome running tour guide
ArcheoRunning, founded by Isabella Calidonna, is a tour guide and events organiser based in Rome offering experiences that combine archeology and urban history with running or walking tours of Rome. ArcheoRunning Rome running tours and walking tours are adapted to every level of fitness. That means, even if you are a total beginner or fairly out of shape, ArcheoRunning still has a tour for you.
An art historian with a degree in Cultural Heritage Conservation and a post-graduate degree in Art History from the University of Siena, Isabella hails from Calabria but now lives in Rome. She is an officially licensed tour guide for Rome and a licensed guide for the Vatican Museums, as well as a certified museum educator for people who are visually impaired or on the autism spectrum. In terms of her sporting credentials, Isabella is also a national track and field coach (licensed by Fidal) and personal trainer for the Italian National Olympic Committee (Coni).
In 2016, Isabella launched ArcheoRunning to combine her passions for history and sport. As she says in her own words, ArcheoRunning tours aren’t a tough training session or a marathon: they are a wellbeing-focused, endorphin-fuelled journey through one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
ArcheoRunning tours tell the history of Rome while strolling, power walking or running in small or entirely private groups.
Her running tours of Rome are also suitable for beginners, representing a gentle jog with lots of pauses to admire monuments as you go.
7 hills of Rome walking tour with ArcheoRunning – review
I tried the walking tour version of the 7 hills of Rome tour with ArcheoRunning, and I wasn’t disappointed! The tour lasted around 5 hours in total, of which just over 3 hours were dedicated to walking between the 7 hills of Rome, with around 2 hours for a relaxing lunch at the end of it.
The ArcheoRunning 7 hills of Rome walking tour covers just over 11km and is suitable for anyone with a reasonably good fitness level, but no experience of running is required. On the tour, guide Isabella takes you on a walking tour to each of the 7 hills of Rome, pausing along the way to share fascinating facts about the history of each hill and how they shaped the history of Rome.
There is plenty of time to get your breath back as the tour makes several stops, although Isabella also uses a personal microphone with headsets, meaning that each person in the party can move at their own pace, and don’t need to be right next to the guide all the time to hear what is going on.
On our walking tour of the 7 hills of Rome, we met by the Palatine Hill and crossed Circus Maximus to reach the Aventine. These two hills encapsulate the legend of the original Roman warriors, Romulus and Remus – although I’ll let Isabella tell the full story!
From the picturesque Aventine with its attractive flora, it’s a fairly easy stroll down and then up to the Capitoline Hill, the seat of ancient and modern power in Rome. This sits right next to the Viminale and Esquilino Hills, with the tour finishing at the Celian Hill, before wandering back down to the starting point at the Palatino.
Our tour ended with a lovely lunch next to Circus Maximus at Osteria Circo, but Isabella also has plenty of other great restaurant ideas next Circus Maximus.
This is an enjoyable tour for all ages, thanks to the gentle pace of the 7 hills of Rome walking tour, although there are plenty of hills to climb, as the name suggests!
All in all, it’s a great way to get those endorphins going as you explore the best that Rome has to offer, in the capable hands of ArcheoRunning.
And if you’re interested in walking tours of Rome, and want to try a walking tour with a slightly more gentle pace, why not check out the ArcheoRunning Giro di Peppe walking tour of Rome?
Highly recommended!
Testaccina was a guest of ArcheoRunning, with the support of the Lazio Region
