Disappointing photos show how 5 ‘Emily in Paris’ season 4 Rome filming locations look in real life

“Emily in Paris” season four sees our favorite American expat Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) take on a new European city: Rome.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for “Emily in Paris” season four.

The latest drop of “Emily in Paris” episodes transports viewers to the Italian capital, Rome.

Five new episodes of the hit show premiered on Netflix on September 12, with the final two set almost entirely in Rome as the show’s main protagonist, Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), visits her new love interest, Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) on his home turf.

However, as audiences see in the season finale, Emily’s trip becomes more permanent as Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) appoints her head of Agence Grateau’s new Rome office.

While audiences will have to wait for a potential fifth season to see whether our favorite American expat is leaving Paris forever, B-17 has taken a closer look at some of the most popular spots Emily visits during her stay in Rome.

Emily and Marcello take a Vespa ride around the city, passing the Colosseum. In reality, it’s not so romantic.

The Colosseum in “Emily in Paris” and real life.

Once Emily arrives in Rome, Marcello immediately sets about taking her on a tour of the city on the back of his Vespa.

Emily is in awe as they ride right past the Colosseum, one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations.

But with millions of visitors a year to the nearly 2,000-year-old structure, it would be unlikely that the two would find the main roads beside it quite so quiet.

Streets around the historic landmark are often packed with cars and minivans, while the sidewalks are usually rammed with tourists.

While visiting the Colosseum in 2022, BI reporter Joey Hadden experienced this firsthand, battling crowds and long lines and struggling to see much above the rows of heads.

They next stop at the Trevi Fountain, which is also shown to be free of its usual crowds.

The Trevi Fountain in “Emily in Paris” and real life.

In the show, Emily and Marcello are shown walking down a cobbled side street together. It’s not until they turn the corner that Emily realizes they’re at the Trevi Fountain.

In reality, Emily would likely have known they were approaching the stunning 18th-century site by the queues of crowds snaking around the corner of the Piazza di Trevi.

The attraction is so quiet that Emily is able to have her perfect coin-throwing moment without being elbowed by other tourists.

The crowds at the Trevi Fountain in “Emily in Paris” and real life.

Emily participates in a tourist rite of passage: tossing a coin into the famed fountain.

The tradition is said to originate from the 1950s film “Three Coins in the Fountain.”

As Marcello explains, if you throw one coin in, you’ll one day return to visit Rome. Toss in another coin, and you’ll find a new romance. And if you throw in three, you’ll have a Roman wedding.

Emily stops at two. But out of choice, not because she’s elbowed away from the fountain edge by other tourists.

In reality, it’s hard to believe that Emily and Marcello would find the Trevi Fountain so quiet.

The duo enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the top of Janiculum Hill, another spot shown to be unusually quiet.

The view from the highest point of the Janiculum hill in “Emily in Paris” and in real life.

While Janiculum Hill may not be among the city’s most famous tourist attractions, it still gets busy, and it’s often packed with cars, tourist buggies, and mobile souvenir shops.

Nevertheless, the romantic spot offers spectacular views across the city of Rome.

Emily and Marcello take a rest in the middle of the Spanish Steps. They would have been asked to move by authorities and possibly fined.

The Spanish Steps in “Emily in Paris” and in real life.

It may sound odd, but taking a moment to kick back on the Spanish Steps is banned, so recreating Emily and Marcello’s romantic moment is certainly not advised.

The ban was introduced in 2019 to prevent people from using the steps as a resting place after authorities said that people were obstructing others trying to get up and down the steps.

As B-17 previously reported, sitting or lying on the steps could also incur a fine of up to 400 euros (around $450).

The stairs — made up of 135 steps — were built in the 1720s and link the Trinità dei Monti church above with the Fontana della Barcaccia below.

Mindy performs her new song and draws quite a crowd to a small, quiet piazza.

The Piazza Mattei in “Emily in Paris” and real life.

When Emily and Mindy (Ashley Park) arrive at the quiet and pretty Piazza Mattei, there is already a man busking in front of the Turtle Fountain.

Quite fitting for her surroundings, Mindy debuts a new song titled “Beautiful Ruins” and immediately attracts a crowd with her powerful singing.

But as the image above shows, it seems buskers may actually struggle to attract big, attentive audiences to the quiet square.