Trastevere and Jewish Ghetto Self-Guided Audio Walk: Tiber Island, Santa Maria and Ponte Sisto
1 hour and 15 minutes
About this experience
After the Tiber flooded Rome in 1870, the city walled its river in, and in the same decades the riverside was remade: a Roman bridge rebuilt, another cut down, the old Ghetto cleared, an avenue driven through Trastevere, a fountain moved across the river. Start at the Portico d'Ottavia in the former Jewish quarter, where the deportation of 16 October 1943 is remembered, then pass the Theatre of Marcellus and cross Ponte Fabricio, built in 62 BC, onto the Tiber Island. Wind through Trastevere past the Anguillara tower to Santa Maria in Trastevere and its gold mosaic, the church of the stair, Porta Settimiana and Piazza Trilussa, and end on Ponte Sisto with Saint Peter's dome upstream. Twelve stops, about 1.7 km and 75 minutes, at your own pace, in English. No entry tickets needed.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Audio guide
- English
- Guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 12 stops, 1.7 km, 75 minutes Stops at Portico d'Ottavia, Theatre of Marcellus, two Roman bridges GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A morning from Sunday to Thursday, when the old Jewish quarter is open and Trastevere's lanes are quiet; the walk is all outdoors and works at any hour in daylight. The Jewish Museum of Rome is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays and closes early on Fridays. Trastevere, Piazza di Santa Maria and Piazza Trilussa are lively and crowded in the evening. Around 15 and 16 October each year a commemoration is held of the 1943 deportation at the first stop. Getting to the start: no Metro station is close. The nearest is Circo Massimo on line B, about fifteen minutes on foot along Via del Teatro di Marcello; Metro C's Piazza Venezia station is not open. Most visitors walk from Largo di Torre Argentina, about seven minutes away along Via Arenula. Several buses stop nearby; check the ATAC or Roma Mobilità journey planner, because tram services, line 8 included, have been reported disrupted this autumn. Checked 8 October 2026. The Jewish Museum of Rome, beside the Great Synagogue close to stop 1, is the way to visit the synagogue. In October it opens Sunday to Thursday from 10am (to 5pm until 24 October, last entry 4.15pm; to 4.30pm from 25 October) and Friday 9am to 2pm (last entry 1.15pm); it is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Check prices and holiday closures on museoebraico.roma.it. Checked 8 October 2026. The Gianicolo: from Porta Settimiana (stop 10), Via Garibaldi climbs about 600 metres and 30 metres of height to the square of San Pietro in Montorio, and a little farther and higher to the great Acqua Paola fountain, about 50 metres above the river in all, for a wide view over Rome. The road has a narrow pavement and buses. Buses 115 and 870 also run up the hill; check ATAC before you rely on them. Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a few minutes' walk from Piazza in Piscinula (stop 6), off the route. Check its hours before you go. The walk ends a few minutes from Campo de' Fiori, across Ponte Sisto, on our Historic Center walk. It begins a short walk north of the Mouth of Truth, which our Aventine and Circus Maximus walk passes on its way up the hill. Drinking fountains: there are nasoni, Rome's free cast-iron drinking fountains, at Piazza in Piscinula (stop 6), on Via della Lungaretta and in Piazza di Santa Maria. Bring a bottle. There are three short flights of steps: down from the lane at the Theatre of Marcellus (no handrail; the step-free way is back down the lane to the bridge), down on the Tiber Island between stops 4 and 5, and eleven steps up from the river road into Piazza in Piscinula (both with handrails). Step-free ways round the last two are not confirmed. The streets are paved with small, uneven cobbles. The river roads (Lungotevere) carry fast one-way traffic. Cross them only at the lights: by Ponte Fabricio (a zebra with a push-button light mapped; ground check pending, so make sure the traffic has stopped), by Ponte Cestio (two stages, with a refuge island), and from Piazza Trilussa onto Ponte Sisto. Viale di Trastevere is crossed at the lights at Piazza Sonnino, one carriageway at a time. Most of Trastevere's lanes, including Via della Paglia, Via della Scala, Via di Santa Dorotea and Via Benedetta, have no pavement and carry slow one-way cars, delivery vans and mopeds. Keep to the wall, especially at Porta Settimiana, where Via Garibaldi starts. Around 15 and 16 October each year (in 2024, on both days) a commemoration is held of the deportation of 16 October 1943 at Largo 16 Ottobre 1943 (stop 1). Expect a ceremony, police and press, and possibly closed areas; if the square is closed, start from stop 2 or 3. Checked 8 October 2026. The Anguillara tower (stop 7) is due for a restoration whose works may start in mid-October; it may be under scaffolding. Checked 8 October 2026. Pickpockets work the crowds on Via del Portico d'Ottavia, on narrow Ponte Fabricio, in Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere and in Piazza Trilussa and on Ponte Sisto in the evening. Keep bags closed and in front of you. The palace on top of the Theatre of Marcellus is private, and the island's hospital is working: stay outside, and keep noise down by the hospital doors. Churches on the route are not entered as part of the walk; if you go in, avoid services and cover shoulders and knees. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Portico d'Ottavia: A Gate to the Ghetto
Largo 16 Ottobre 1943, facing the Portico d'Ottavia, 00186 Rome, Rome
A Roman gateway turned fish market, a church and a corner of the Ghetto, on the square named for 16 October 1943.
- 2Day 0
Theatre of Marcellus: A Palace on Top
Via di Monte Savello, facing the Theatre of Marcellus, 00186 Rome, Rome
Roman arches carrying a Renaissance palace, on a theater finished under Augustus and named for his nephew.
- 3Day 0
Ponte Fabricio: The Bridge of Four Heads
Ponte Fabricio, mid-span on the footbridge, 00186 Rome, Rome
A Roman bridge of 62 BC, its builder's name cut four times in its arches.
- 4Day 0
Piazza di San Bartolomeo: The Healing Island
Piazza di San Bartolomeo all'Isola, Tiber Island, 00186 Rome, Rome
The small square of the Tiber Island, where a temple of the healing god once stood and a hospital still works.
- 5Day 0
Ponte Cestio: The Broken Bridge Downstream
Ponte Cestio, island end of the bridge, 00186 Rome, Rome
A Roman bridge rebuilt in 1892, and, trees allowing, a view downstream to a lone ancient arch in the stream.
- 6Day 0
Piazza in Piscinula: The Tiniest Bell Tower
Piazza in Piscinula, facing the bell tower of San Benedetto in Piscinula, 00153 Rome, Rome
A tiny Romanesque tower over a square. The city calls it the smallest in Rome, with a bell cast in 1069.
- 7Day 0
Via della Lungaretta: The Street Cut in Two
Via della Lungaretta at Piazza Sidney Sonnino, by the Torre degli Anguillara, 00153 Rome, Rome
A medieval tower of the Anguillara counts: an 1888 cut that split Trastevere's old main street in two.
- 8Day 0
Santa Maria in Trastevere: Gold Above the Square
Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, north edge facing the church, 00153 Rome, Rome
A medieval gold mosaic above the square. The city calls the church probably Rome's first official place of Christian worship.
- 9Day 0
Piazza della Scala: The Church of the Stair
Via della Scala at the mouth of Piazza della Scala, by Santa Maria della Scala, 00153 Rome, Rome
A plain travertine church of the stair, whose friars turned down a Caravaggio.
- 10Day 0
Porta Settimiana: A Gate Dressed as a Fortress
Porta Settimiana, at the junction of Via della Scala and Via Garibaldi, 00153 Rome, Rome
A city gate rebuilt in 1498, at the foot of the road up the Gianicolo.
- 11Day 0
Piazza Trilussa: The Fountain That Crossed the River
Piazza Trilussa, south side by Via Benedetta, facing the Fontana di Ponte Sisto, 00153 Rome, Rome
A Baroque fountain from across the river, taken apart for the Tiber walls and rebuilt here in 1898 with what was left.
- 12Day 0
Ponte Sisto: A Pope's Bridge for Pilgrims
Ponte Sisto, Trastevere end of the footbridge, 00153 Rome, Rome
A footbridge built for the Jubilee of 1475, with a view upstream to the dome of Saint Peter's.
Meeting point
Portico d'Ottavia, Rome Largo 16 Ottobre 1943, facing the Portico d'Ottavia, 00186 Rome, Rome, Lazio, IT
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Trastevere and Jewish Ghetto Self-Guided Audio Walk: Tiber Island, Santa Maria and Ponte Sisto
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.