Rome doesn't reward winging it anymore: the Colosseum sells timed tickets in your name, the Pantheon now charges €7, and since February 2026 you pay €2 to stand at the edge of the Trevi Fountain.
The good news? Half of the best things to do in Rome still cost nothing at all.
This list is built for a first trip to Rome. We grouped the 23 picks by area, so you walk from one to the next instead of crossing the city twice a day, and every entry tells you whether you need to book, what it costs and what we'd skip. It's based on the official ticket page for each sight, checked in October 2026, and on the questions first-time visitors ask Google most. For the bigger picture of how long to stay, how to get around and what a trip costs, start with our Rome travel guide.
Updated October 2026 with current ticket prices, opening days and closures.
Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Short on Time? The Rome Bookings to Make First
If you only lock in four things before you fly, make it these. They're the ones in Rome that sell out (or punish walk-ups).
- Colosseum: a timed ticket, or this Colosseum 3-in-1 tour with an underground option if you want the arena floor and the tunnels.
- Vatican Museums: book online, or take this Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip-the-line tour if you want the art explained.
- Borghese Gallery: no reservation means no entry, and this Borghese Gallery skip-the-line ticket with audio guide is one way in.
- One food night in Trastevere: this Trastevere walking food tour makes a good first evening.
Things to Do in Ancient Rome
Start here. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill sit within a 15-minute walk of each other, and one ticket covers the first two.
1. Book the Colosseum for Opening Time
Yes, it's worth the queue, but you shouldn't have much of one, because the standard €18 ticket is timed. It gets you one Colosseum entry to the first and second levels, not the arena, plus one visit to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill within 24 hours. Tickets carry your name, ID is checked at the gate, and sales open 30 days ahead.
The arena floor and the underground passages (where animals waited for the games) come with the €24 Full Experience ticket. It's valid over two consecutive days.
If you'd rather have a guide, the Colosseum sunset tour goes in at the cooler, quieter end of the day. Our Colosseum tickets guide compares every option, and the Colosseum page covers what you're looking at once you're inside.
Tip: the free first Sunday of the month is one of the busiest days of the year here. Pay the €18.
2. Walk the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Here's where first-timers go wrong. They do the Colosseum, feel done, and give the Forum twenty minutes on the way to lunch.
This was the center of the Roman world, and the Palatine Hill above it is where the emperors built their palaces, so it deserves a slow morning. Your €18 ticket includes one entry to both, although some special sites inside, such as the House of Augustus, need the Full Experience ticket or a separate pass.
Allow two hours, bring water and wear shoes with real grip, because shade is scarce. Our Roman Forum guide has a route that avoids the worst backtracking.
3. Ride Up the Vittoriano for the View
The huge white monument on Piazza Venezia divides opinion. Plenty of people in Rome think it's ugly (they call it the typewriter).
But the view from the top is the best panorama in the center of Rome. The monument itself is free to walk into, while the €18 ticket adds the glass lifts to the panoramic terrace plus the Risorgimento museum and Palazzo Venezia. It's open daily from 9:30 to 19:30, and the terrace takes its last visitors at 19:00.
Our verdict: go up late in the afternoon, when the Forum below turns gold.
4. See Rome's Oldest Museum on Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Museums are the quiet alternative to the Vatican. Most first-timers skip them, which is a mistake.
You get the bronze she-wolf, the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius and room after room of Roman portraits, without the shuffle you'll meet in the Vatican corridors. Walk up Michelangelo's ramped staircase, the Cordonata, to reach them from Piazza Venezia.
Tickets are €15 for visitors, or €16.50 when an exhibition is on. The museums open daily from 9:30 to 19:30, with last entry at 18:30, so they make a good Monday plan when several other sights in Rome are shut. Give them two hours.
5. Put Your Hand in the Mouth of Truth
Honest take: it's a 30-second photo. Visitors in Rome line up for it all day anyway.
The Bocca della Verità is a carved stone face in the porch of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and legend says it bites the hands of liars. A small fee or donation of around €2 may be asked, and it's open 9:30–13:00 and 14:00–17:50. Go only if you're walking past anyway, on the way between the Forum and the Aventine.
Things to Do in the Centro Storico
The historic center packs the Pantheon, Trevi, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps into one long walk, and it's best done twice: once in the morning and once after dinner.
6. Step Inside the Pantheon
Stand under the oculus and look up. Nearly 2,000 years later, this is still the most perfect room in Rome.
Entry costs €7 since July 2026, or €2 for EU visitors aged 18 to 25 and nothing for under-18s, and the Pantheon is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00. Booking is optional, but a Pantheon entry ticket with interactive app saves you the ticket line on busy days. There's more in our Pantheon guide.
7. See the Trevi Fountain Early or Late
Go before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. At midday the crowd in front of the Trevi Fountain is several rows deep (and full of selfie sticks).
Since 2 February 2026, getting down to the basin area beside the water costs €2, daily from 9:00 to 22:00, and you pay by card at the entrance. Residents of Rome and children up to five go free. Toss the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, then move on before the next group arrives. Our Trevi Fountain page explains the new access system in detail.
8. Walk Piazza Navona After Dark
Piazza Navona is free, and it's at its best after 9 p.m., when the day-trippers leave and the street performers take over the square.
The long oval shape comes from the stadium of Domitian, which stood here in the first century, and Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers holds the center.
Now the downgrade. The restaurant terraces on the square charge for the view, not the food.
Have your aperitivo here if you like, then eat a few streets away. Better still, make it the start of a night walk, because Navona to the Pantheon to Trevi takes under half an hour on foot and doesn't cost a cent.
Tip: Rome after dark is one of the most underrated things to do in Rome, and most of its piazzas stay lit and busy until late.
9. Drink Coffee Standing at Sant'Eustachio
Order at the counter. Drink it standing at the bar, and you're doing coffee the Roman way.
Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè, at Piazza di Sant'Eustachio 82, sits just behind the Pantheon and is one of the classic coffee bars of Rome. Ask for a caffè and you'll get an espresso. Cappuccino is a morning drink in Rome, and while nobody will stop you ordering one at 4 p.m., you'll probably be the only one.
10. Graze Campo de' Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto
Campo de' Fiori runs a market from Monday to Saturday, from early morning until about 2 p.m. It's touristy now (sorry, but it is).
Go for the atmosphere and a slice of pizza bianca from one of the bakeries on the square, not for the souvenir pasta. Then walk five minutes south into the Jewish Ghetto, home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe, and order carciofi alla giudia, artichokes fried until they open like flowers. They're at their best in spring, when artichokes are in season.
If you want the history as well as the food, this Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere walking tour links the two neighborhoods in one walk.
11. Find Caravaggio in Galleria Doria Pamphilj
This is our unusual pick for the center: a private palace on Via del Corso, still owned by the family, with Caravaggios, a Velázquez portrait of Pope Innocent X and a hall of mirrors.
Most visitors walk straight past the door. They don't know what's behind it.
Tickets are €16, or €17 online, with an audioguide included, and the gallery is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 19:00 and Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 20:00. Important: it's closed on Wednesdays.
12. Climb the Spanish Steps (Don't Sit)
The steps from Piazza di Spagna up to the church of Trinità dei Monti are free and open at all hours, and the view from the top runs straight down Via Condotti.
But don't sit down. It's been banned since 2019, and fines of up to €400 have been reported.
Early morning is the only time you'll see the Spanish Steps themselves rather than the crowd standing on them.
| What | When it's free |
|---|---|
| St Peter's Basilica, Santa Maria in Trastevere and most churches | Always (dress code applies) |
| Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, the Gianicolo, the Aventine keyhole | Always |
| The Vittoriano monument (not the terrace lifts) | Always |
| Appian Way park and road | Always (some sites along it charge) |
| Colosseum, Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, Borghese Gallery | First Sunday of the month |
| Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini | First Sunday of the month |
| Vatican Museums | Last Sunday of the month, 9:00–14:00 |
Tip: Use the Free Sundays Carefully
The first Sunday of the month is free at state sites in Rome, and the last Sunday is free at the Vatican Museums, which sounds like a win but usually isn't.
Those are the most crowded days of the month. And on every other Sunday, the Vatican Museums are closed altogether.
Our recommendation: use the free days for the smaller places, such as Castel Sant'Angelo or Centrale Montemartini, and pay for the Colosseum and the Vatican on a weekday.
Things to Do in the Vatican and Prati
Give the Vatican a whole morning, and don't put it on the same day as the Colosseum. Two big ticketed sights a day is the most anyone enjoys.
13. Book the Vatican Museums for First Entry
The Vatican Museums cost €20 at the door or €25 booked online on the official site, and the Sistine Chapel is included. They're open Monday to Saturday from 8:00, with last entry at 18:00.
Book the first slot of the day if you can, because the long corridors before the Sistine Chapel only get busier as the morning goes on.
On Sundays the museums are closed, except on the last Sunday of the month. If you want a guide, the Vatican skip-the-line tour from our top picks is the one we'd book, and our Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel guide is worth reading before you go.
14. Climb the Dome of St Peter's
St Peter's Basilica itself is free and open from 7:00 to 19:00 in the winter months. The dome is the part worth paying for.
It's now booked online with a timed slot: €17 if you take the stairs all the way, or €22 to ride the lift for the first stretch and climb the rest. The view straight down Via della Conciliazione is the reward. Cover your shoulders and wear trousers or a skirt below the knee, because the guards do turn people away.
This St Peter's dome ticket with papal tombs audio tour bundles the climb, and our St Peter's Basilica guide covers the rest of the visit.
15. Walk to the Top of Castel Sant'Angelo
Built as Emperor Hadrian's tomb, later used as a papal fortress and now a museum, it's the best-value sight on the Vatican side of Rome, and it's quiet compared with its neighbor.
The ramp spirals up through centuries of rebuilding to a terrace with one of the best views of St Peter's. Cross the Ponte Sant'Angelo on the way in, between Bernini's angels.
A full ticket is €18, or €2 for EU visitors aged 18 to 25, and the castle is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:30. It's closed on Mondays. This Castel Sant'Angelo entry ticket with digital audioguide is one way to book.
Tip: go in the late afternoon after the Vatican, and stay for sunset over the river.
Things to Do in Trastevere, the Gianicolo and the Aventine
South of the river and up the hills is where Rome slows down. Save this part of the list for your second or third day.
16. Spend an Evening in Trastevere
Cross the river at sunset and follow the noise, because Trastevere's ivy-covered lanes fill up with locals and visitors from early evening, and this is where most first-timers have their best dinner in Rome.
Start at Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, where the basilica on the square is free and its golden mosaics are among the oldest in the city.
Then wander. The streets south of Viale di Trastevere are quieter than the ones around the piazza.
What to eat: the four Roman pastas, which are carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia, plus supplì, the fried rice balls with mozzarella inside. People in Rome eat late, so a 6 p.m. booking puts you in an empty room.
If you'd rather someone else picked the stops, the Trastevere walking food tour covers the classics. For named restaurants by neighborhood, see our best restaurants in Rome.
17. Catch the Noon Cannon on the Gianicolo
Walk up from Trastevere to the Gianicolo terrace on the hill above it. Be there before twelve.
Every day at noon a cannon fires from below the Garibaldi monument, a tradition Romans still set their watches by. It's free, the walk up is steep, and you get the widest view over the domes and bell towers of Rome from the top.
18. Peek Through the Aventine Keyhole
At Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta 3, put your eye to the keyhole of a green door and you'll see a hedged garden path framing the dome of St Peter's in the distance.
It's free. The queue is the only catch, so arrive early in the morning, when the wait is a minute or two.
A few minutes' walk away, the Orange Garden (Giardino degli Aranci) has another fine view over the Tiber. It opens daily at 7:00 and closes at 18:00 in winter.
19. Eat Your Way Through Testaccio Market
Testaccio is the neighborhood locals send you to for food, and its covered market is the place to start.
The Mercato di Testaccio, entered from Via Beniamino Franklin, runs Monday to Saturday from 7:00 to about 15:30, though some stalls close around 14:00, and it's shut on Sundays. Come hungry at lunchtime and eat at the counters, because it's one of the cheapest good meals in central Rome.
Pair it with the Aventine, on the hill just above the market.
20. Take a Pasta Class in Rome
If you cook at home, a class beats another museum. You make the pasta, then you eat it (the best part).
This pasta and tiramisu class with wine near the Vatican is one of the best-reviewed in the city, with more than 8,700 reviews on GetYourGuide when we checked.
Not a cook? Then make the four Roman pastas your own checklist, one a night. Our Rome tours roundup compares the cooking classes and food tours.
Things to Do at Villa Borghese and Beyond the Walls
The last three picks take you north into the big park of Rome and south along its oldest road, and they're the ones that make a third or fourth day feel different.
21. Book the Borghese Gallery Weeks Ahead
This is the hardest ticket to get in Rome and the best small museum in it, with Bernini's marble sculptures and a room of Caravaggios in a villa inside the park.
There's no walk-up entry. Every visitor needs a reservation, even on a free ticket.
Tickets are €16 plus a €2 booking fee, for a two-hour slot that starts on the hour, Tuesday to Sunday, and the gallery is closed on Mondays. Book as soon as your dates are set, and read our Borghese Gallery guide to see how the slots work.
22. Cycle the Appian Way to the Catacombs
The Via Appia Antica is a Roman road more than 2,000 years old, lined with tombs, pines and broken aqueducts. Its park is free.
On a bike it's the most relaxed day you'll have in Rome. Under the road run the catacombs, and the Catacombs of San Callisto cost €10 and can only be visited with their own guides, on tours of about 40 minutes. They're closed on Wednesdays.
You can rent a bike near the park entrance, or let someone else plan the route: this Appian Way, catacombs and aqueducts e-bike tour is rated 4.9 by its reviewers. If you'd rather stay on foot, there's this Catacombs of St Callixtus guided tour. Read our Rome catacombs and Appian Way guides first.
23. See Statues at Centrale Montemartini
This is our strangest pick and the one we'd push hardest: classical marble statues standing between the turbines and boilers of the first public power station in Rome.
It sounds odd. In Rome, it somehow works beautifully.
The Centrale Montemartini is at Via Ostiense 106, a short metro ride south of the center. Tickets are €11 for visitors, it's open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00, and it's closed on Mondays. You'll often have whole rooms to yourself.
What to Do in Rome with More Time: Day Trips
With four or five days, add a day out of the city. Tivoli, home to Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa, is the easiest one to reach, while Pompeii is a long but doable day via Naples. Our day trips from Rome guide compares them all.
How Many Days in Rome Do You Need?
Three full days is right for a first visit to Rome. That gives you one day for ancient Rome, one for the Vatican and one for the centro storico and Trastevere. Two days works if you accept a rush, and with four or five you can add the Borghese, the Appian Way or a day trip.
One rule keeps the trip enjoyable: no more than two big ticketed sights a day. Our Rome itinerary turns this list into day-by-day plans.
Getting Around Rome
Walk. Almost everything on this list between the Colosseum and the Vatican is a walk of 30 minutes or less, and the metro skirts the historic center of Rome rather than crossing it.
For the farther picks, such as the Appian Way, Testaccio and Montemartini, use the ATAC network:
- BIT ticket: €1.50, valid for 100 minutes.
- 24, 48 and 72-hour passes: €8.50, €15 and €22.
- 7-day pass: €29.
- Contactless: tap a bank card at the metro gates or on the bus.
Arriving by air? Our Rome airport guide covers the train and taxi options, and Welcome Pickups can have a driver waiting for you.
Best Time to Visit Rome
Spring, from April to early June, and autumn, in September and October, give you warm days without the summer heat and evenings made for walking. Summer in Rome is hot and crowded, while winter is cooler, quieter and shorter on daylight.
Whenever you go, check the calendar for free Sundays and holidays before you book the big sights. Our best time to visit Rome guide goes month by month.
Where to Stay in Rome
Stay central on a first trip to Rome, because you'll walk to most of this list. Four areas suit first-timers:
- Monti: small streets and bars right by the Colosseum. Nerva Boutique Hotel on Via Tor de' Conti, rated 9.4 on Booking.com when we checked, backs onto the Imperial Forums.
- Trastevere: lively at night, less convenient for the Vatican. Hotel Santa Maria on Vicolo del Piede, rated 9.6, is in the middle of it.
- Prati and the Vatican: calm, residential and good with kids. Hotel Della Conciliazione on Via Borgo Pio, rated 8.8, is in the Borgo by St Peter's.
- Near the Spanish Steps: the splurge. Hotel de Russie on Via del Babuino, rated 9.0, has one of the best hotel gardens in Rome.
On a budget, The RomeHello is a hostel on Via Torino near Termini, rated 9.4. For the full breakdown, see where to stay in Rome and our best hotels in Rome.
Plan Your Rome Trip: Booking Checklist
- Hotel: pick the neighborhood first, then book (see above).
- Colosseum: timed ticket or tour, up to 30 days ahead.
- Vatican Museums: the first slot of the day, never on a Sunday.
- Borghese Gallery: reserve as soon as your dates are fixed.
- St Peter's dome: a timed online slot.
- Airport transfer: train, taxi or a pre-booked driver such as Welcome Pickups.
- eSIM: set up data before you land. Yesim sells plans you can install at home.
- Travel insurance: for US travelers, Visitors Coverage compares policies for trips abroad.
Book the three tickets that sell out, keep your afternoons loose, and let the free half of Rome fill in the gaps between them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the number one thing to do in Rome?
The Colosseum, with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill on the same €18 ticket. Book a timed slot as soon as your dates are fixed, because tickets carry your name and can sell out in busy months. If you only have one day, pair it with an evening walk from Piazza Navona to the Trevi Fountain.
Is 3 days enough for Rome?
Yes. Three full days is the right amount for a first visit: one for ancient Rome, one for the Vatican and one for the historic center and Trastevere. Keep to two big ticketed sights a day at most. With four or five days, add the Borghese Gallery, the Appian Way or a day trip to Tivoli.
Is Rome a walkable city?
Yes. Most of the big sights between the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican are within about 30 minutes of each other on foot, and the metro skirts the historic center rather than crossing it. Wear shoes with grip, since the cobbles get slippery, and use buses or the metro for the Appian Way and Testaccio.
Are things open in Rome on Sunday?
Mostly, yes. Churches, piazzas, the Colosseum and the Pantheon open on Sundays, and state sites are free on the first Sunday of the month. The big exception is the Vatican Museums, which close every Sunday except the last one of the month, when entry is free and the queues are long.
What are the best free things to do in Rome?
St Peter's Basilica, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, the Aventine keyhole, the noon cannon on the Gianicolo and the Appian Way park are all free. The Vittoriano monument is free too, though its terrace lifts cost extra. On the first Sunday of the month, state museums are free as well.
What food is Rome known for?
Four pastas: carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia. Add supplì, fried rice balls with mozzarella inside, pizza bianca from a bakery, and carciofi alla giudia, the fried artichokes of the Jewish Ghetto, best in spring. Coffee is drunk standing at the bar, and cappuccino is a morning drink.
What are common tourist mistakes in Rome?
Booking the Colosseum and the Vatican on the same day, turning up at the Vatican Museums on a Sunday, sitting on the Spanish Steps (it's banned, with reported fines of up to €400) and eating on the terraces of the big piazzas. Another is skipping the free half of Rome: its churches, piazzas and viewpoints.
Do I need to book the Colosseum in advance?
Yes. The standard €18 ticket is timed and issued in your name, ID is checked at the entrance, and sales open 30 days ahead. Book as soon as your dates are set. For the arena floor and the underground, you need the €24 Full Experience ticket.
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