La Dolce Vita follows a journalist named Marcello Rubini who travels through seven days and nights of "the sweet life" in search of life and love and happiness (which is the title of the film in English). The film is structured in a unique way: a prologue, seven main episodes, an intermezzo (interlude in Italian), and an epilogue.
The prologue of the film chronicles the first day of the man's journey. It transports readers into a helicopter with the film's main character, Marcello Rubini, who is following another helicopter that is transporting a statue of Christ over an old Roman-era aqueduct. The statue is on the way to Saint Peter's Square, but Marcello is sidetracked when he sees a group of women in bikinis on the beach. Marcello attempts to get their phone numbers, but is unsuccessful and asks his helicopter to continue on to Saint Peter's Square.
The first episode takes place during the night and dawn of the man's first day. During the night, Marcello ventures into a nightclub, where he has a chance encounter with Maddalena, a woman who is incredibly beautiful and to who Marcello takes a liking to. The two then have sex. After Marcello and Maddalena have sex, Marcello returns to his apartment, where he finds that his fiancée Emma has overdosed. Emma is rushed to the emergency room, where he tells Emma that he will love her forever, but then quickly makes a call to Maddalena.
During Marcello's second day, he is assigned to cover the arrival of a famous actress named Sylvia at a Rome airport. There, Sylvia is met by a number of reporters. Sylvia then quickly begins a press conference and Marcello calls Emma to ensure that she is doing well. He also tells her that he was, and will never be, alone with Sylvia. However, Marcello quickly invites Sylvia to take a tour of Saint Peter's Square with him. She agrees and the Marcello, Sylvia, and her group venture out on the tour. A large group initially begins the tour, but Marcello creates a way for the two to be alone.
Later that night, Marcello dances with Sylvia at a famous Roman-era public bath. Marcello is infatuated with Sylvia. When Sylvia's drunk and loud fiancée Robert causes a ruckus, Sylvia becomes embarrassed and leaves the baths with Marcello. The two spend the rest of their night in the alleyways and fountains of Rome, including the Trevi fountain. The two end their magical night at dawn. Marcello takes Sylvia to her hotel when she is slapped by Robert, who also beats up Marcello.
The third episode of the film is short and takes place during Marcello's third day. During the day, Marcello meets his friend named Steiner in a church. Steiner is an intellectual and shows his friend Marcello his book on Sanskrit grammar. The two also play a jazz piece together before playing Bach for the church's priest.
The fourth episode of the film takes place during Marcello's third day, night, and dawn. During the day, Marcello, his friend, and Emma drive to the outskirts of Rome to determine if the reported sightings of Madonna (Mary, the mother of Jesus) are legitimate. The Catholic Church is skeptical, but common people are fascinated with the story and gather around the people who claimed to see Madonna. In fact, that night, the event and the gathering are captured on T.V. Emma then prays to Madonna to help ensure that she is the only woman who captures Marcello's heart and affection. That dawn, the crowd ends after a pilgrim is trampled and killed.
There is then an intermezzo which is set during the man's fifth day. Marcello spends much of his day working on his novel at a seaside restaurant, where he meets a young from Perugia, Italy. The film then moves into its fifth episode. On the fifth night, Marcello meets his father on a street in Rome. Marcello and his father go to a club, where Marcello introduces his father to a dancer named Fanny, who quickly takes a liking to Marcello's father. Fanny invites Marcello's father back to her house, but during the dawn, Marcello's father becomes ill, suffering what seems like a mild heart attack. Marcello asks his father to stay with him, but his father ultimately decides to go home.
During the night of Marcello's sixth day of his journey, he decides to meet up again with Maddalena. The two explore a dilapidated castle, and Maddalena asks Marcello to marry her. Marcello doesn't directly answer Maddalena's proposal but professes his love for her. Another man quickly kisses Maddalena and Maddalena very quickly loses interest in Marcello. Marcello is not shaken by Maddalena’s lack of interest in him and spends the night with another woman.
The next sequence of the film involves Emma and Marcello. The two are sitting in a sports car when Emma professes her love for Marcello. But the two get into an argument and Emma attempts to leave the car. Before she leaves, though, she tells Marcello that he will never find another woman that loves him the way that she loves her. Marcello becomes enraged at this notion and tells Emma that her love is toxic. Now, Marcello throws Emma out of their car, leaving her stranded. That night, Emma returns to their home and cuddles up with Marcello, who shortly thereafter receives a phone call informing him that Steiner has killed himself and his two children. On the morning of Marcello's eighth and final day of his journey, Marcello is standing outside of Steiner's house with Steiner's wife when the paparazzi swarm Steiner's house.
The seventh episode of the film transports readers several years into the future. Now, Marcello's hair is graying. His spirit, however, has not greyed. He and his group of friends break into Riccardo's home. Marcello's friends, it is later revealed, are mostly homosexual (something which was illegal at the time the film was written and released). Marcello's other friends mock him for abandoning his pursuit of literature in favor of becoming a publicity agent.
Marcello then goes to a party and tries to coax partygoers into engaging in an orgy. The orgy, however, never happens. And the party descends into mayhem and chaos. In the film's epilogue, Marcello and his group of friends go to the beach, where they come face-to-face with a leviathan, whose eyes Marcello says look like "death."
