Deep-dive

Visiting Rome: sights, official tickets, seasons, day trips

The main sites require booking with named tickets (Colosseum, Vatican Museums). The Colosseum archaeological park and state museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, the Vatican Museums on the last. The busiest periods are Easter, May–June and September–October. Day trips: Ostia Antica, Tivoli, Appia Antica.

Sections: Attractions · Museums · Nature · Itineraries · Excursions · Accessible visits

Sights by group

Ancient Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine (a single archaeological park), Imperial Fora, Pantheon, Baths of Caracalla, Domus Aurea and the Capitoline Museums. Christian Rome and the Vatican: St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the other papal basilicas (St John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, St Paul Outside the Walls) and the catacombs on the Appian Way. Baroque Rome and the rioni: Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna, Trastevere, Monti and the Ghetto. Art museums: Galleria Borghese (booking compulsory, timed entry), Palazzo Barberini, MAXXI and the National Gallery of Modern Art.

Official tickets

The Colosseum archaeological park sells tickets only through its official online ticket office (ticketing.colosseo.it) and physical desks: all tickets are named, ID is required at entry and for the Colosseum a time slot must be chosen; sales open 30 days ahead. The Vatican Museums sell online on their own site (museivaticani.va): buying elsewhere means paying commissions or, at worst, invalid tickets. The Musei in Comune (Capitoline, Centrale Montemartini, Trajan's Markets, Ara Pacis and others) belong to the Sovrintendenza Capitolina.

Free entry: state sites, including the Colosseum, on the first Sunday of the month and on some national holidays (25 April, 2 June, 4 November); the Vatican Museums on the last Sunday of the month; the Musei in Comune are free for residents with the MIC card.

Seasons and crowds

Peak months are April (Easter), May, June, September and October; July and August are hot but relatively less crowded in the middle of the day; January and February are the quietest. The 2025 Jubilee (24 December 2024 – 6 January 2026) brought an extraordinary influx of pilgrims and left behind public works around St Peter's (the underpass and the pedestrianised Piazza Pia) and in the centre. For the main sites, book the first morning slot or the late afternoon.

Day trips

Ostia Antica (archaeological park of the Roman port city, 30 minutes on the Roma-Lido railway from Piramide); Tivoli with Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este (train or Cotral bus, about an hour); the Appia Antica regional park, reachable by bike or on foot from the centre, with the Roman road, the aqueducts and the catacombs; the Castelli Romani (Frascati, Castel Gandolfo) by regional train from Termini; the sea at Ostia and, further south, Anzio and Sabaudia.

Tourist tax

Overnight visitors pay a contribution per person per night, varying by type and category of accommodation, collected by the host; rates and exemptions (minors, carers of patients, etc.) are on Roma Capitale's service page.