Free self-guided walking tour of Rome: Podtour's free audio route

What it is (and what it isn't)

It's a whole route, not a taster: eleven stops, each with its own story, told by a single voice speaking just to you, like a guide with only one client. Pop your headphones on and hear each story standing in front of what it's about.

It's free from start to finish: no price and no tip. There's no group and no departure time, it's in English and Spanish, and the app works offline if you download the route before you go. Rome will also have its own free audio introduction to the city, to listen to wherever you like before you set out.

What it isn't: it's not a tour with a guide in person, and it doesn't go inside any monument. Everything is heard from the street. Going into the Pantheon, Sant'Ignazio or Santa Maria sopra Minerva is up to you.

The route: The Pantheon, the Minerva and Piazza Colonna

Temples that changed hands. About 34 minutes of audio, about 15 minutes' walking and just over a kilometre through the historic centre, from Piazza Colonna to a stone's throw from Piazza Navona. The question underneath it all: how does the Rome of the Caesars live on inside the Rome of the popes?

1. Piazza Colonna. A downpour that saved a Roman army, told in stone on the Column of Marcus Aurelius, and three rival claimants to having brought it.
2. Piazza di Montecitorio. An obelisk that served as the pointer on Augustus's great sundial, and a balcony where the lottery was drawn.
3. Piazza di Pietra. Eleven columns of a temple to a deified emperor, built into a customs house that later became the stock exchange.
4. Piazza di Sant'Ignazio. A square laid out like a stage set, and a church with a dome that's nothing but paint.
5. The Pantheon, from the fountain. Why the frieze credits a man who didn't build it.
6. The Pantheon, from the portico. How becoming a church saved it, and what Rome had to say when a pope made off with its bronze.
7. The Pantheon, from Via della Minerva. Raphael, and his wish to rest in the Pantheon.
8. Piazza della Minerva. The convent where Galileo knelt, and the famous phrase that isn't in the document.
9. Bernini's elephant. A monument to wisdom with a message on its pedestal, and the marks the Tiber left on the church façade.
10. Sant'Eustachio. A stag's head with a cross, up on a roof, and the legend of the hunter who became a saint.
11. Sant'Ivo. Borromini's spiral, and the job Bernini got him, perhaps to get him out of the way.

What Rome's free walking tours usually cover

The most common free walking tours in Rome fall into a few families:

• The historic centre, with the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, on a walk of a couple of hours. It's the most repeated format of all.
• Ancient Rome from the outside: the Colosseum, the Forums and the Monti district.
• Around the Vatican: St Peter's Square and Castel Sant'Angelo.
• Trastevere and the old Jewish Ghetto, often on the same walk.
• Night-time walks of mysteries, ghosts and legends, which are very popular.

They're usually offered in English, Spanish and Italian, you book for free, and they run on a voluntary tip at the end, which is how the guide gets paid for their work.

Where Podtour's routes go

The free route deliberately covers familiar ground: the icons almost everyone wants to see, told through complete stories rather than a checklist. The paid routes mostly head for subjects the most common free tours only touch on briefly, if at all:

• The ones who wouldn't keep quiet: Pasquino and his satire against the popes, Caravaggio and Giordano Bruno, on Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori.
• Twentieth-century Rome, from the one-month king to La Dolce Vita, on From the Quirinale to Via Veneto.
• The neighbourhoods behind the monuments, on Monti and the Suburra and The Caelian and the Circus Maximus.
• Papal power without setting foot in a museum, from the pilgrims' bridge to St Peter's Square, on Castel Sant'Angelo and St Peter's Square.
• Rome's Jewish community, from the wall of 1555 to 1943, with time and in depth, on Rome's Ghetto and Tiber Island.
• Legends with their dates: night-time free tours tell legends too; here each one comes with where it starts and what lies beneath it, on Legends from the Capitoline to the Mouth of Truth.
• And, if you have a ticket, the Colosseum from the inside, story by story and floor by floor.

What a free walking tour does better

Let's be fair: a good guide in person offers things no audio can match. You can ask anything you like, they tailor what they say to the people in front of them, they'll give you tips on the day and, above all, you've got company. If you're travelling solo and fancy meeting people, or you love asking questions, a free walking tour is a great choice.

Podtour fits better when you want to start in your own time, stop wherever you like, replay a story you enjoyed or split the route over two outings. Also when you're travelling with children or with someone who tires quickly, or when it's hot and you'd rather head out early or late in the day. And there's nothing to stop you doing both: a free walking tour on your first day and Podtour for the rest of the trip.

FAQs

How much does the free route cost? Nothing. There's no price and no tip, and it's the full route, not a taster.

Do I need to book or start at a set time? No. Start whenever you like and stop whenever you like.

Do I need mobile data? No. Download the route before you head out and the app works offline.

Do I have to buy any tickets? No. Everything is heard from the street; going into the Pantheon or the churches along the way is optional.

What languages is it in? English and Spanish.

If you're planning your trip, our Rome guide has the practical side covered.