Curving up from Piazza Barberini to Villa Borghese, Via Vittorio Veneto is the spiritual home of la dolce vita – the Rome of the swinging '50s and '60s that was epitomised in director Federico Fellini's eponymous film. Sadly, the atmosphere of Fellini’s Rome has long gone and the street today, while still a gracious sweep, has the feel of a tourist trap.
Luxury hotels occupy many of the towering street-side palazzi, and waistcoated waiters stand on the tree-lined pavement, tempting passers-by into their overpriced restaurants. The huge building on the right as you walk up is the US embassy.