Orient Express La Minerva
The square in front has an elephant by Bernini carrying an obelisk. The Pantheon is a minute's walk. Travellers have been staying in this house since 1811.
- Class
- Five-star hotel
- Opened
- 1811
- Rooms
- 93 rooms, 36 of them suites
- Area
- Pantheon
Rome this week
What sets Orient Express La Minerva apart
Behind the Pantheon
The hotel stands on Piazza della Minerva, directly behind the Pantheon and beside Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the church that holds Michelangelo's Risen Christ.
The roof
The bar and restaurant on the roof terrace look straight at the dome of the Pantheon, close enough to count the steps round it.
The first Orient Express hotel
It reopened on 7 April 2025 after a full restoration, as the first hotel in the world to carry the name of the train.
The Grand Tour
Stendhal and Herman Melville stayed here on their travels, in the years when a journey to Rome was the finishing of an education.
What it has
- Rooftop bar and restaurant
- Hammam
- Restaurant
- Bar
Where Orient Express La Minerva is
Address
Piazza della Minerva 6900186 Rome, Italy
Nearest metro
Barberini, on line A, about a kilometre away
Museums and sights nearby
- Pantheon100 m
- Trevi Fountain600 m
- Capitoline Museums700 m
- Castel Sant'Angelo1.1 km
- Colosseum1.5 km
Distances are in a straight line from the hotel.
Two centuries of travellers
The palazzo was built in 1620 for the Fonseca, a noble family from Portugal. In 1811 a French family, the Sauve, turned it into a hotel, and it became one of the regular stops of the Grand Tour.
For most of the twentieth century it was the Grand Hotel de la Minerve. The Orient Express name came with the restoration finished in 2025.
Orient Express La Minerva: common questions
- Where is Orient Express La Minerva?
- At Piazza della Minerva 69, in the Pigna district of Rome. The nearest metro station is Barberini, on line A, about a kilometre away.
- Which museums and sights are near Orient Express La Minerva?
- Pantheon is 100 m away, Trevi Fountain is 600 m away, Capitoline Museums is 700 m away. Distances are in a straight line from the hotel.
- Does Orient Express La Minerva have a swimming pool?
- No. Orient Express La Minerva has no swimming pool.
- When did Orient Express La Minerva open?
- In 1811. It has 93 rooms, 36 of them suites.
What visitors say about Orient Express La Minerva
Rating from Google
Things to do near Orient Express La Minerva
The nearest of this site's best things to do in the city. Distances are in a straight line.
- 4Stand under the dome of the Pantheon100 m awayMonument, 30 to 45 minutes, ticket
- 20Find Caravaggio's paintings in three churches300 m awayChurch, 1 to 2 hours, free
- 7Walk Piazza Navona and its fountains400 m awayWalk, 30 to 60 minutes, free
- 13Eat your way from Campo de' Fiori to the Ghetto500 m awayWalk, 1.5 to 2.5 hours, free
Where to eat near Orient Express La Minerva
The nearest of the famous tables this site lists in Rome. Distances are in a straight line.
- Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè4.1Café, Pantheon200 m away
- Armando al Pantheon4.4Trattoria, Pantheon200 m away
- Tazza d'Oro4.4Café, Pantheon200 m away
- Antica Birreria Peroni4.4Beer hall, Trevi Fountain400 m away
Other hotels in Rome

Picture: PatriaDeTodos, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hotel Hassler
Five-star hotel, Spanish Steps
4.81,174 Google ratings
The hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps, beside the church of Trinità dei Monti, in the same family for a century.
See the hotel

Picture: PatriaDeTodos, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hotel de la Ville
Five-star hotel, Spanish Steps
4.8766 Google ratings
An eighteenth-century palazzo at the top of the Spanish Steps, reopened in 2019, with a rooftop bar that sees every dome in the city.
See the hotel
J.K. Place Roma
Five-star hotel, Via del Corso
4.8415 Google ratings
A small hotel in the old school of architecture near the Ara Pacis, furnished like the house of someone with very good taste.
See the hotel

