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 Fellini's eponymous film. However, 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 streetside 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.
