In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Book three things before you fly. The Colosseum: tickets go on sale 30 days ahead, each for a time slot, and every ticket carries your name, so bring ID that matches it. The official price is €18 at ticketing.colosseo.it. The Vatican Museums: €25 online at tickets.museivaticani.va, and closed on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month, which is free and crowded. The Borghese Gallery: no one gets in without a booking, and it is closed on Mondays. At the Vatican, cover shoulders and knees. Or book a tour: a guided tour with entry, such as the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine tourad (from £59.14) or the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tourad (from £54.85), adds a guide, and is the fallback when the official slots have gone. For a visit on your own, the official ticket is cheaper.
What to book before you go
Prices are the adult rate, from each operator’s own page on 29 and 30 September 2026.
| Sight | Tickets go on sale | Adult price | Book at | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colosseum, Forum and Palatine | 30 days ahead | €18; €24 with the underground and arena | ticketing.colosseo.it | The ticket is in your name: bring matching ID. You get 75 minutes inside the Colosseum, 90 with the underground ticket. |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Book once your dates are fixed | €25 online; €20 at the door | tickets.museivaticani.va | Closed Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month. The ticket is valid only on its date and cannot be refunded. |
| Borghese Gallery | Book once your dates are fixed; free-day tickets 10 days ahead | €16 plus a €2 booking fee | galleriaborghese.cultura.gov.it | Booking is compulsory for everyone. Entry on the hour, 180 people a slot, for 2 hours. Closed Mondays. |
| Pompeii (day trip) | Book once your dates are fixed | €20 Pompeii Express; €25 Pompei+ with the villas | pompeii.vivaticket.it | Named tickets, 20,000 a day at most. Last entry 17:30 until 14 October, 15:30 from 15 October to 15 March. |
| Pantheon | Buy on the day, or online from mid-month for the next month | €7 | Musei Italiani | Named ticket for a time slot: bring ID. Free on the first Sunday of the month, by queuing on the day. |
| Castel Sant’Angelo | Booking recommended, especially at weekends | €18 | CoopCulture | Named ticket: bring ID. Closed Mondays, except a €5 opening from 14:00 on the first Monday of the month until 7 December 2026. |
| Trevi Fountain | No booking needed | €2 | fontanaditrevi.roma.it | Card only at the entrance. Opens at 11:30 on Mondays and Fridays, 9:00 other days; 14:00 on six Mondays to 21 December 2026. |
- Buy from the official sellers. The Vatican Museums warn that sites with look-alike addresses charge more; theirs is the only official online shop. The Borghese Gallery says it sells no “skip-the-line” tickets, and warns against resellers who offer them.
- St Peter’s dome is booked by date and time at booking.basilicasanpietro.va, by lift or by stairs. Dome tickets cannot be refunded or changed. The lift goes only to the terrace; 320 steps follow.
The Colosseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum. Photo: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Closed days
Plan the week around these:
- Sunday: the Vatican Museums are closed, except on the last Sunday of the month, when entry is free from 9:00 to 14:00 (last entry 12:30). The free Sundays left in 2026 are 25 October, 29 November and 27 December.
- Monday: the Borghese Gallery and Castel Sant’Angelo are closed, as is the House of Augustus on the Palatine. The excavations at Ostia Antica are closed too.
- Tuesday: Oplontis and the villas at Stabiae, near Pompeii, are closed. Pompeii itself is open.
- Christmas and New Year: the Vatican Museums are closed on 8, 25 and 26 December 2026 and close at 15:00 on 24 and 31 December. The Colosseum is closed on 25 December 2026 and 1 January 2027; the Borghese Gallery and Pompeii on 25 December and 1 January. Rome at Christmas sets out every closure day by day, with the papal Masses and the Piazza Navona fair.
- Easter 2027: the Vatican Museums are closed on Easter Sunday, 28 March, and Easter Monday, 29 March. Easter in Rome has Holy Week day by day, with the papal Masses and the Good Friday Via Crucis at the Colosseum.
The Colosseum closes earlier from October: last admission is 17:30 from 1 to 24 October 2026, and 15:30 from 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027. St Peter’s Basilica is open every day from 7:00 to 20:00, with last entry by 19:15.
Free days
On the first Sunday of the month the Colosseum, the Borghese Gallery, Pompeii, the Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo and Ostia Antica are free. The Colosseum, the Borghese and Ostia Antica are also free on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November.
- Colosseum: free tickets cannot be booked; you collect them at the ticket offices on the day.
- Pantheon: free tickets cannot be booked; everyone queues at the entrance to collect one.
- Borghese Gallery: free-day tickets still have to be booked, with the €2 fee, and are released 10 days before. None are sold on the day.
- Vatican Museums: free on the last Sunday of the month instead, 9:00 to 14:00.
- Trevi Fountain: the €2 charge applies on free Sundays too.
- Roma Pass: for a plan of several paid sights, is the Roma Pass worth it? sets the €38 and €62.90 passes against buying tickets one by one.
What to wear at the Vatican
The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Gardens let in only visitors dressed for a church:
- Shoulders covered: no sleeveless or low-cut tops.
- Nothing above the knee: no shorts or miniskirts.
- No hats.
- No photographs at all in the Sistine Chapel.
St Peter’s Square and its colonnades, seen from above. Photo: Diliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
St Peter’s has no cloakroom, so bring a small bag only. The Museums have a free cloakroom, but a bag left there cannot be collected if you go on into St Peter’s. The Vatican Museums tickets guide compares the official ticket with the tours and lists every closing day to the end of 2027.
A first visit in three days
The 3-day Rome itinerary puts the Colosseum and the Forum on day one, the Vatican on day two and the Borghese Gallery on day three, and shows how to fit them round a Sunday or a Monday. With only a day or two, or a few hours from a cruise ship, use Rome in one or two days.
Getting in from the airport
Fares are Aeroporti di Roma’s, as listed on 29 September 2026.
- From Fiumicino: the Leonardo Express runs non-stop to Termini in 32 minutes, every 15 minutes, for €14. The FL1 regional train (€8) goes to Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina. Taxis charge a fixed €55 to anywhere inside the Aurelian Walls, supplements included.
- From Ciampino: the Ciampino Airlink, a shuttle bus to Ciampino station and a train to Termini, takes 34 to 49 minutes for €2.70. Taxis charge a fixed €40 inside the Aurelian Walls.
The coaches, the night services and where each option drops you are in Fiumicino and Ciampino airports to central Rome. Cruise passengers landing at Civitavecchia take a €4.60 train or a coach: see Civitavecchia to Rome.
Getting around
The standard ATAC ticket, the BIT (biglietto integrato a tempo, an integrated time ticket), is €1.50 and lasts 100 minutes. Passes cost €8.50 for 24 hours, €15 for 48 hours and €22 for 72 hours, and children up to 10 travel free with a paying adult (atac.roma.it, 29 September 2026). Each can also be paid for by tapping a contactless bank card, which ATAC calls Tap&Go. Rome public transport has the rules that earn a fine, the daily cap on card payments and the nearest metro to each sight.
Day trips
Pompeii is 1 hour 13 minutes from Termini by Frecciarossa to Naples, then the local Circumvesuviana train to the ruins. Florence is 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 41 by Frecciarossa. Ostia Antica, Rome’s ancient port, is a 26-minute city train. The Amalfi Coast, Tuscany’s hill towns and Civita di Bagnoregio are days where a coach tour does the driving. Day trips from Rome compares them on train time, fare, what a tour costs and the one thing to know about each.
Where to eat
Where to eat in Rome ranks the trattorias, pizza counters, gelato shops and special-occasion tables that most independent sources name, with the days each is closed and which ones take bookings. To skip choosing a restaurant, Rome food tours and cooking classes compares the street-food walks and the pasta classes.
Where to stay
Base yourself near Termini if you plan day trips (hotels near Termini lists hotels within 750 m of the station): the Leonardo Express, the Ciampino Airlink and the fast trains to Naples and Florence all leave from it, and both metro lines stop there. Prati, across the river, is a walk from the Vatican for an early slot; Monti is a walk from the Colosseum. Where to stay in Rome compares the areas and their hotels, and hotels near the Vatican lists the closest to the Museums and St Peter’s. For a summer trip, hotels with a rooftop pool or terrace gives each pool’s opening months.
Itineraries
Day-by-day plans for a first visit.
Itinerary
3 Days in Rome: Itinerary with What to Book
Three days in Rome: ancient Rome on day one, the Vatican on day two, the Borghese Gallery and the Appian Way on day three. What to book before you fly, which day each sight closes, and how to fit the plan round a Sunday or a Monday, checked 30 September 2026.
Itinerary
Rome in One or Two Days: Itinerary and Bookings
With one day in Rome, choose ancient Rome or the Vatican and add the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain on foot; with two days, do both. The bookings for each, which day each sight closes, a five-hour plan for cruise passengers, and the tours and buses that fit, checked 30 September 2026.
Which ticket to buy
The official ticket, the tours that include entry, and which sells out first.
Tickets
Vatican Museums Tickets: Official, Tour or Sold Out
The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel cost €25 booked on the official site, which is the only official online seller. They are closed on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month. The official ticket, the resales that cost more, and the guided tours that include entry, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Colosseum Tickets: Which One, and When to Book
Colosseum tickets go on sale 30 days ahead at ticketing.colosseo.it, each for a time slot and in the holder's name. The €18 standard ticket, the €24 underground and arena ticket, the guided tours that include entry, and when a tour costs far more than the official version, checked 29 and 30 September 2026.
Tickets
St Peter's Dome Climb: Tickets, Lift or Stairs
The St Peter's dome climb is €22 with the lift and €17 by the stairs, booked by date and time on the Basilica's own site, and the ticket includes entry to the Basilica and a digital audio guide. The lift stops at the terrace and 320 steps follow. Tickets, tours, hours and the rules, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Borghese Gallery Tickets: How to Book Your Slot
The Borghese Gallery lets nobody in without a booking: €16 plus a €2 booking fee for a two-hour slot that starts on the hour, 180 people at a time, closed on Mondays. The official ticket, the €8 guided tour, the resales that cost more, and what to see in two hours, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Pantheon Tickets: Price, Booking and Free Sundays
Entry to the Pantheon has needed a ticket since July 2023, and since 1 July 2026 it costs €7. Tickets are named, for a time slot, and sold on the Musei Italiani site or at the door; the first Sunday of the month is free. The price, the booking, the audio-guide resales and the hours, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Castel Sant'Angelo Tickets: Price, Hours, Booking
Castel Sant'Angelo costs €18 since 1 July 2026, in your name, and is closed on Mondays except the first Monday of the month, when it opens from 14:00 for €5. The official ticket, the Passetto di Borgo tours from €24, the audio-guide resales and what is on the route, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Roma Pass Worth It? Prices and the Sums
The Roma Pass costs €38 for 48 hours and €62.90 for 72 hours, and buys one or two free entries, cut-price tickets and public transport, but not the Vatican Museums or the Pantheon. The sums against buying tickets one by one, and the Omnia Card at €149, checked 30 September 2026.
Tickets
Trevi Fountain Tickets: €2 Entry, Hours and Rules
Since 2 February 2026 visitors who do not live in Rome pay €2 to go down to the Trevi Fountain's basin; the fountain is still free to see from the square. How to buy the ticket, who is free, the hours (Mondays and Fridays open at 11:30), the fines and the tours, checked 30 September 2026.
Day trips from Rome
Out and back in a day, with the tours compared against going on your own.
Day trip
Day Trips from Rome: Train or Tour, Costed
Florence, Orvieto and Pompeii are straightforward by train; the Amalfi Coast and Tuscany's hill towns are coach-tour days. The day trips from Rome compared on train time and fare, what a tour costs, and the one thing to know about each.
Day trip
Pompeii Day Trip from Rome: Train or Tour
Pompeii is 1 hour 13 minutes from Rome by Frecciarossa to Naples, then the local Circumvesuviana. Tickets carry your name, allow one entry, and last entry is 15:30 from 15 October. The trains, the €20 ticket and the tours from Rome, checked 29 and 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Amalfi Coast Day Trip from Rome: Worth It?
The Amalfi Coast is a day of 11 to 13 hours from Rome on a coach tour. On your own it is the fast train to Salerno and a ferry to Positano and Amalfi, and the ferry back docks four minutes before the last fast train. The tours and the timings, checked 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Florence Day Trip from Rome by Fast Train
Florence is 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 41 from Rome by Frecciarossa, so the train beats a tour unless you want Pisa too. The trains, the Uffizi and Accademia time slots, both closed on Mondays, and the tours from Rome, checked 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Tuscany Day Trip from Rome: Montepulciano and Pienza
There is no quick train from Rome to Tuscany's hill towns: Montepulciano is 3¼ hours by Intercity and bus, and Trenitalia sells no journey from Rome to Pienza. The coach tours from Rome to Montepulciano, Pienza and the Val d'Orcia, with lunch at a vineyard, compared on price and route, and how to reach Montepulciano without a tour. Checked 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Orvieto Day Trip from Rome, with Civita di Bagnoregio
Orvieto is a hilltop town an hour and a half from Roma Termini by a €10.10 regional train, with a Duomo ticket of €8. Civita di Bagnoregio, the village on a crumbling hill reached by a footbridge, is a Cotral bus beyond, so a tour is the simplest way to see both. Trains, the shuttle up the hill, opening hours and tours, checked 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Tivoli Day Trip from Rome: Villa d'Este, Villa Adriana
Tivoli is 50 minutes to an hour from Roma Tiburtina by a €3 regional train. Villa d'Este, the Renaissance water garden, is a walk from the station; Hadrian's Villa is a local bus ride below the town. Villa d'Este is €15 and opens only at 14:00 on Mondays. The trains, the opening hours and the tours, checked 30 September 2026.
Day trip
Ostia Antica Day Trip from Rome by Train
Ostia Antica, ancient Rome's port, is a 26-minute Metromare train from Porta San Paolo on a €1.50 city ticket, and the excavations are €18. Closed Mondays; the Ostiense Museum shuts on free first Sundays. The trains, the hours, what to see and the guided half-day tours, checked 30 September 2026.
Where to stay
Areas and hotels, chosen for a visitor rather than a resident.
Where to stay
Where to Stay in Rome: Best Areas for Visitors
For a first visit, stay in the Centro Storico, round the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, or in Monti by the Colosseum. Prati suits an early Vatican slot, Termini day trips by train, Trastevere evenings out. The areas compared on what you can walk to and how you get in from the airport, hotels with addresses read on their own sites, and the tourist tax of up to €10 a night on top.
Where to stay
Hotels Near the Vatican: Where to Stay in Prati
The Vatican Museums open at 8:00 and St Peter's at 7:00; stay in Prati or the Borgo and you walk to both. Hotels from opposite the Museums' entrance to 250 m from St Peter's Square, with straight-line distances to the Museums and the square, what the area is like and how to reach it from Fiumicino.
Where to stay
Rome Hotels with a Rooftop Pool or Terrace
The Aleph, the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi, the H10 Roma Città and the Mercure Roma Centro Colosseo each have a pool on the roof, open from May and closed by October. Hotel Villa Pamphili and the Rome Cavalieri have big outdoor pools, and other hotels have a rooftop terrace without one. Addresses and opening months from each hotel's own site, read on 30 September 2026.
Where to stay
Hotels Near Termini Station, Rome: Day Trips by Train
Every fast train to Naples, Florence and Orvieto, the Leonardo Express and both metro lines leave from Roma Termini. Hotels between 250 and 750 m from the station, from a hostel to a five-star, with their rooftop bars and the trains you can catch.
Airport transfers
From the airport to the centre, every option priced and timed.
Getting around
Tickets, passes and the transport a visitor actually uses.
Getting around
Rome Public Transport: Tickets, Passes and Fares
A Rome metro or bus ticket, the BIT, is €1.50 for 100 minutes but only one metro ride; the 24-, 48- and 72-hour tickets are €8.50, €15 and €22. Tap a contactless bank card instead and ATAC never charges more than €8.50 in 24 hours. Fares, passes and the rules from ATAC's own pages, 30 September 2026.
Getting around
Civitavecchia to Rome: Train, Shuttle or Shore Tour
From the cruise port at Civitavecchia, a regional train to Rome Termini is €4.60 and takes 1 hour 6 to 1 hour 22, from a station about 500 m from the port; a coach is €15 with two departures a day. The trains, the coach timetable, the shore tours and the last way back to the ship, checked 30 September 2026.
What's on, month by month
Festivals, holidays and closures that change a visit.
Events
Best Time to Visit Rome: Month by Month
May, June and September pair highs of 23 to 27°C with four to six rainy days a month; August reaches 31°C, and the Vatican Museums shut on 14 and 16 August 2027. Weather by month, the free-Sunday rules, the closed days and what is on, month by month, checked 30 September 2026.
Events
Rome at Christmas: Markets, Mass and Closures
The Vatican Museums shut on 8, 25 and 26 December 2026 and close at 15:00 on the 24th and 31st; the Colosseum shuts on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Tickets for the Pope's Christmas Masses are free. The closures day by day, the Piazza Navona fair and how to plan a December visit round them.
Events
Easter in Rome 2027: Holy Week, Mass and Closures
Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027. The Vatican Museums shut on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and that Sunday is not a free one. Tickets for the Pope's Masses are free, and the Good Friday Via Crucis is at the Colosseum. Holy Week day by day, with the 2026 papal programme as a guide to 2027 and what to book, checked 30 September 2026.
Food and drink
Where to eat, what to order and when to book.
Food and drink
Rome Food Tours and Cooking Classes Compared
Rome food tours from £30 for a two-and-a-half-hour street-food walk to £66 for a small-group tasting with wine, and cooking classes from £30 for pasta and tiramisu. The tours and classes compared on length, price, area and what is included, with GetYourGuide prices and ratings read on 30 September 2026.
Food and drink
Where to Eat in Rome: Classics, Pizza and Trattorias
Where to eat in Rome, ranked by how many independent sources name each place: carbonara and cacio e pepe, pizza al taglio, trattorias, a special dinner and gelato, with the days each one is closed and how to book.
Common questions
What should I book in advance for Rome?
The Colosseum (tickets go on sale 30 days ahead with a compulsory time slot, and carry your name), the Vatican Museums (€25 online, closed on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month) and the Borghese Gallery (booking is compulsory for everyone, and it is closed on Mondays). For a day at Pompeii, tickets are named and capped at 20,000 a day.
How far ahead do Colosseum tickets go on sale?
30 days before the date of the visit, from the official seller ticketing.colosseo.it. Every ticket carries the holder's name, and you show ID that matches it at the entrance.
Is the Vatican open on Sundays?
The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month, when entry is free from 9:00 to 14:00 (last entry 12:30). St Peter's Basilica is open every day, 7:00 to 20:00.
Do you have to pay to see the Trevi Fountain?
Since 2 February 2026, visitors who do not live in Rome pay €2 to go down to the basin. The fountain can still be seen free from the square. At the entrance you pay by card only.