Roman Holiday was not the first film shot on location in Rome, but it was the one that made the city a character. When Paramount sent director William Wyler and a young, unknown Audrey Hepburn to the Italian capital in the summer of 1952, they created something that transcended cinema — they created a travel itinerary that millions of people have followed ever since. Every major location from the film is still standing, still visitable, and still immediately recognisable to anyone who has seen the picture.
The genius of Roman Holiday as a location film is its simplicity. Princess Ann and Joe Bradley do not visit obscure corners of the city. They go to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Mouth of Truth, and Castel Sant'Angelo — the greatest hits of Rome, strung together by Vespa rides and falling in love. The effect is that watching the film feels like flipping through a perfect travel guide, and visiting the locations feels like stepping inside the film. No other movie has achieved this symbiosis between story and place so completely.
Today, retracing the Roman Holiday route takes about half a day on foot, or less if you rent a scooter in the spirit of the film. Begin at the Spanish Steps in early morning, when the piazza is quiet enough to imagine Hepburn's princess dozing on the travertine. Walk south toward the Mouth of Truth, where the queue of tourists recreating Gregory Peck's famous gag stretches down the portico. End at Castel Sant'Angelo by the Tiber, where the film's bittersweet party scene was shot on a barge. Bring the film with you on your phone — watching scenes at the actual locations is one of the great pleasures of Old Hollywood travel.