In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Day 1: the Colosseum at opening, the Roman Forum and the Palatine, then a food walk in Trastevere. Day 2: the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel at 8:00, St Peter’s and its dome, then Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Day 3: the Borghese Gallery, then the Appian Way by e-bike. Book three things before you fly: the Colosseum (on sale 30 days ahead, in your name), the Vatican Museums (€25, closed Sundays except the last) and the Borghese Gallery (compulsory booking, closed Mondays). Or book tours: a guided Colosseum tourad (from £59.14) and a guided Vatican tourad (from £54.85) include entry and a guide; for a visit on your own, the official tickets are cheaper.
Before you go: what to book
Prices from each operator’s own page, 29 and 30 September 2026.
| Booking | Book | Price | Closed on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colosseum, Forum and Palatine | 30 days ahead, for a time slot, in your name | €18 | Open daily except 25 December and 1 January |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Once your dates are fixed | €25 online | Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month |
| Borghese Gallery | Once your dates are fixed; booking is compulsory | €16 plus a €2 booking fee | Mondays |
St Peter’s dome is booked by date and time on the Basilica’s own site (Day 2 below). The Pantheon (daily, 9:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:30) takes a €7 ticket for a time slot, sold online or at the door: see the Pantheon tickets guide. The Trevi Fountain (€2, card only at the gate) and St Peter’s Basilica itself need no booking.
Fitting the plan to your dates
- If your three days include a Sunday, make it Day 1 or Day 3; the Vatican Museums are closed. The exception is the last Sunday of the month, when they are free and at their busiest.
- If they include a Monday, make it Day 1 or Day 2; the Borghese Gallery is closed.
- On the first Sunday of the month the Colosseum is free, but free tickets cannot be booked: you collect them at the ticket office on the day. With only three days, pay and book a slot.
- From 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 last admission to the Colosseum is 15:30, so start Day 1 early.
Day 1: ancient Rome and Trastevere
The Colosseum
Opens 8:30 · €18, in your name · 75 minutes inside · on sale 30 days ahead
Book the first slot of the day and arrive 15 minutes early with ID that matches the name on the ticket. The standard ticket covers the first and second levels and the terraces; the €24 Full Experience adds the arena floor and the underground. The park’s free MyColosseum app has an audio guide in English. With a guide instead, the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill tourad (from £59.14, 4.8 stars from 91,634 reviews, 2½ hours) covers all three sites. The Colosseum tickets guide compares every ticket and tour.
The Colosseum. Photo: Nicholas Hartmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Roman Forum and the Palatine
Opens 9:00 · included in the Colosseum ticket, within 24 hours of your slot
The Forum was the centre of the ancient city: temples, the senate house and the triumphal arches along the Via Sacra. The Palatine rises above it, with the ruins of the emperors’ palaces and the House of Augustus, which is closed on Mondays. Allow the rest of the morning.
The Roman Forum from the Palatine. Photo: Alex Liivet, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Trastevere, for dinner
Across the river, a walk or a tram ride · food walk 2½ hours, from £31.50
Cobbled lanes, trattorias and bars on the far bank of the Tiber, busiest after dark. The Trastevere and Campo de’ Fiori street-food walkad (from £31.50, 4.9 stars from 4,448 reviews) goes with a local guide; the small-group food tour with winead (from £65.57, 4.9 stars from 3,704 reviews, 3 hours) serves more than ten Roman specialities with local wines. Rome food tours and cooking classes compares them with the pasta classes. To book a table instead, where to eat in Rome names the trattorias and pizza counters that most sources recommend, with their closed days.
A street in Trastevere. Photo: Monika, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Day 2: the Vatican and the centre
The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
Opens 8:00, final entry 18:00 · €25 online · closed Sundays except the last
Book the 8:00 slot. Cover shoulders and knees, leave the hat behind, and put the phone away in the Sistine Chapel, where photographs are banned. If you are going on into St Peter’s, do not check a bag at the Museums’ cloakroom: you cannot come back for it. With a guide, the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Basilica tourad (from £54.85, 4.7 stars from 18,499 reviews) includes entry. The Vatican Museums tickets guide compares the official ticket, the resales and the tours.
St Peter’s Basilica and the dome
Open daily 7:00 to 20:00 · dome booked by date and time · 320 steps even with the lift
The dress code is the same as the Museums’, and there is no cloakroom, so bring a small bag only. Book the dome at booking.basilicasanpietro.va: the lift goes to the terrace, and 320 steps remain to the top; by the stairs it is 551. Dome tickets include the Basilica and a digital audio guide, and cannot be refunded or changed; the St Peter’s dome guide has the prices and the route.
Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain
On foot from St Peter’s · Pantheon daily 9:00 to 19:00 · Trevi €2
Cross the Tiber to Piazza Navona, built on the outline of an ancient stadium, then walk on to the Pantheon, open every day from 9:00 to 19:00 (last entry 18:30), €7 for a time slot and free on the first Sunday of the month. Finish at the Trevi Fountain, where since 2 February 2026 visitors pay €2 to go down to the basin; the fountain is free to see from the square. The gate opens at 9:00, or 11:30 on Mondays and Fridays, and the last entry is 21:00. Pay by card at the entrance, or online at fontanaditrevi.roma.it.
The Trevi Fountain. Photo: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Day 3: the Borghese Gallery and the Appian Way
The Borghese Gallery
Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 19:00 · €16 plus a €2 booking fee · 2-hour slots on the hour · closed Mondays
Bernini’s sculptures and Caravaggio’s paintings in a cardinal’s villa in the Villa Borghese park. Entry is on the hour, 180 people a slot, for two hours, and booking is compulsory for everyone at the official ticket office. The gallery says no “skip-the-line” tickets exist, and warns against resellers offering them. For a guide, the guided tour with priority entrancead (from £73.28, 4.8 stars from 1,046 reviews) keeps the group to 15. The Borghese Gallery tickets guide compares the official ticket, the gallery’s own €8 tour and the resales.
The Appian Way by e-bike
Afternoon · 3½ to 5 hours · from £54.64
The ancient road south out of Rome, lined with tombs, with the aqueducts in the fields beside it. The Appian Way and aqueducts e-bike tourad (from £54.64, 4.9 stars from 1,816 reviews) runs shared or private, with an optional aperitif or lunch, and the Appian Way, catacombs and aqueducts e-bike tourad (from £50.68, 4.9 stars from 1,912 reviews, 4 to 6 hours) adds an optional guided visit to the catacombs.
If a bike is not for you, the golf-cart tour with a gelato stopad (from £33.43, 4.8 stars from 2,785 reviews, 2 hours) covers the centre’s sights in two hours.
If you have more time
With less, Rome in one or two days picks the sights for one day or two. A fourth day is a day trip. Florence is 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 41 by Frecciarossa; Pompeii is the fast train to Naples and a local train, with a named ticket; the Amalfi Coast is 11 to 13 hours on a coach tour. For half a day, Ostia Antica is a 26-minute city train. Day trips from Rome compares them all. For every closing day and free day, see what to book before you go.
Common questions
Is 3 days enough for Rome?
Enough for the three big bookings: the Colosseum with the Forum and Palatine, the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's, and the Borghese Gallery, with the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain on foot in between. A fourth day buys a day trip, such as Florence or Pompeii.
What should I book for 3 days in Rome?
The Colosseum (on sale 30 days ahead, in your name), the Vatican Museums (€25 online) and the Borghese Gallery (booking compulsory, closed Mondays). St Peter's Basilica needs no booking, the Trevi Fountain is €2 at the gate, and the Pantheon takes a €7 ticket for a time slot, sold online or at the door.
Which days should I avoid for the Vatican and the Borghese?
The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month, when they are free and crowded. The Borghese Gallery is closed on Mondays.
