Fourteen million people visit the Eternal City every year. The Colosseum alone draws over six million of them. In 2025 and 2026, the city is also hosting the Catholic Jubilee Year, which brings an additional wave of pilgrims to the Vatican on top of the usual summer crush. Knowing all this before you arrive does not make the Sistine Chapel any less astonishing. It does not make the Pantheon’s 2,000-year-old unreinforced concrete dome any less impossible-seeming. But it does mean that the single most important thing you can do before your trip to Rome is book tickets. Early. For everything.
The 15 places below are the ones that genuinely earn the queue, the heat, and the sore feet. From the Forum’s broken columns to the Borghese Gallery’s Bernini sculptures, this is Rome at its most essential, with honest advice on how to experience each one without losing the morning to a line.
Flying to Rome
Search for fares across all airlines on Skyscanner to compare the best available prices. Qatar Airways is consistently rated among the world’s top airlines and operates daily flights connecting the UK to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) via Doha. For travellers for whom the journey matters as much as the destination, Qatar Airways’ Business Class and award-winning in-flight service make it a strong choice for a city that demands you arrive in the right frame of mind.
From Fiumicino, the Leonardo Express train runs directly to Roma Termini in 32 minutes. It is the fastest, most reliable connection into the city. Far preferable to a taxi in Roman traffic.
15 Best Places to Visit in Rome
1. The Colosseum: 50,000 Spectators, One Arena
Built between 70 and 80 AD under Emperors Vespasian and Titus, the Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre ever constructed. It held up to 50,000 spectators who came to watch gladiatorial combat, animal hunts, and public executions. What is extraordinary, standing on the arena floor (bookable as a separate ticket), is the sense of scale: the engineering ambition of an empire that simply decided it needed a venue this vast, and then built it in a decade. Standard tickets cost €18 and include the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, valid for 24 hours. Book 30 to 60 days in advance during peak season.
2. The Forum and Palatine Hill: Where the Republic Was Born
Included with your Colosseum ticket, the Roman Forum is the ruined heart of ancient Rome: the place where senators debated, markets traded, and triumphal processions returned from conquest. The broken columns and crumbling temples are easier to read with context: a good audio guide, or a guided tour, transforms the rubble into a city. Palatine Hill above it was where Rome’s emperors lived, with views across the Forum that have barely changed in two thousand years.
3. The Pantheon: A Dome That Should Not Work
Built in 126 AD, the Pantheon’s dome remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The oculus at its centre, a nine-metre hole open to the sky, is the only light source in the building, and the effect when sunshine pours directly through it onto the marble floor is something photographs cannot capture. Entry now requires a timed ticket (€5, booked online), which has dramatically reduced the previous crowd chaos. Go in the morning on a weekday. The interior silence, relative to the piazza outside, is part of the experience.
4. The Trevi Fountain: Best Seen Before 8am
The largest Baroque fountain in the world and the most photographed site in Rome. Architect Nicola Salvi designed it in 1762 against the back wall of the Palazzo Poli, and the scale of it, filling an entire piazza, stops people dead in the narrow lanes approaching it. The tradition of throwing a coin over your left shoulder with your right hand is said to guarantee a return to the city. Practically speaking: arrive before 8am, when the light is soft and the crowds are thin. Any other time of day in summer and the square is impenetrable.
5. The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel: A Sovereign State Inside a City
Spread across 54 galleries built up over centuries of papal acquisition, the Vatican Museums lead ultimately to the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s ceiling, painted between 1508 and 1512, is genuinely unlike anything else on earth. Tickets cost €25 (including online booking fee) and sell out weeks ahead. Note: 2025 and 2026 are the Catholic Jubilee Year, meaning larger-than-usual crowds throughout the Vatican complex. Shoulders and knees must be covered; security is comparable to an airport.
6. St. Peter’s Basilica: Entry Is Free, the Dome Is Not
St. Peter’s itself is free to enter and does not require booking, though queues for security can be long. The interior is staggering. Michelangelo’s Pietà is just inside the entrance, and Bernini’s bronze baldachin over the high altar stands 29 metres tall. Climbing the dome (€8 by stairs, €10 by lift) gives you the highest viewpoint in Rome, looking directly down into the basilica and out over the city. Avoid Wednesday mornings when St. Peter’s closes for the Papal Audience.
7. The Borghese Gallery: Bernini at His Most Astonishing
Possibly the best two hours you can spend in any museum in Europe. The Borghese Gallery is housed in a 17th-century villa inside the Villa Borghese park and holds a collection of Bernini sculptures that are almost impossible to reconcile with marble as a material. Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpina, David, each one is a study in arrested motion, in marble that looks like skin. Entry is strictly timed in two-hour slots, limited to 360 people at a time, and tickets must be booked well in advance. This is non-negotiable: walk-up entry is not available.
8. Piazza Navona: The Shape of a Roman Chariot Track
Piazza Navona is built on the outline of Domitian’s ancient stadium, and you can still see its elongated oval shape in the piazza’s footprint. Three fountains run along its length, the most famous is Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, a theatrical arrangement of figures representing four great rivers of the world. The square is surrounded by outdoor cafes and artists’ stalls. It is one of the few major sites in Rome that is entirely free and open at all hours. Come in the early evening when the light is golden and Romans begin to fill the pavement tables.
9. Trastevere: Rome’s Most Lived-In Quarter
Across the Tiber from the historic centre, Trastevere is the neighbourhood that feels most like the Rome people imagine before they arrive. Cobbled lanes, trailing ivy, laundry overhead, trattorias with tables spilling onto the street. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome and worth stepping inside for its extraordinary 12th-century mosaics. But the best reason to come to Trastevere is simply to eat and wander. On a weekday evening, away from the tourist menus of the centre, this is where you find the real city.
10. The Capitoline Museums: Older Than the Louvre
Founded in 1471, the Capitoline Museums are the oldest public museums in the world. Spread across two palaces on Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo, they hold one of the greatest collections of ancient Roman sculpture in existence. The original bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Capitoline Wolf, and the Dying Gaul are among the highlights. The rooftop terrace offers one of the best views of the Roman Forum, and the museums are far less crowded than the Vatican, making them one of the best-value days in the city.
11. The Spanish Steps: 135 Steps and the Best View of the City Below
The Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) link Piazza di Spagna below to the French church of Trinità dei Monti above in 135 steps of travertine marble. They were built in 1725 and have been a gathering point ever since. Keats died in the house at the foot of the steps in 1821, now a small museum. The view back down over the piazza and the surrounding streets from the top is one of the defining vistas of the city. The nearby streets of Via Condotti and Via Borgognona are Rome’s most exclusive shopping district, home to Gucci, Bulgari, and Valentino.
12. Campo de’ Fiori: Market in the Morning, Bars at Night
Campo de’ Fiori has been a market square since the 15th century. Every morning except Sunday, flower and produce stalls fill the piazza, which by midday transitions into lunch crowds and by evening becomes one of the busiest bar squares in the city. The statue at its centre is of Giordano Bruno, the philosopher burned at the stake here in 1600 for heresy. It is one of the few central squares in Rome that feels more local than tourist, particularly on weekday mornings before the tours arrive.
13. The Palatine Hill at Sunset
Already included in your Colosseum ticket, Palatine Hill deserves a separate mention because most visitors rush through it on their way somewhere else. This is where Rome’s emperors chose to live, and the remains of their palaces stretch across the hilltop with views in every direction: over the Forum, across the Circus Maximus, and out to the Aventine Hill and beyond. Stay until late afternoon. The light at sunset across the Forum from Palatine is the kind of view that stays with you.
14. Piazza del Popolo and the Twin Churches
The vast oval Piazza del Popolo was the main northern entrance to Rome for centuries, and the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo on its edge contains two extraordinary Caravaggio paintings: the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. Most visitors walk straight past the church on their way to the obelisk or the twin Baroque churches at the southern end of the square. Do not. The Caravaggio paintings are in a side chapel to the left, dramatically lit, free to view, and almost always uncrowded.
15. The Appian Way: Cycling Out of the City
The Via Appia Antica is one of the oldest and most strategically important roads in ancient Rome, stretching south-east from the city walls into the countryside. The first section is lined with ancient tombs, catacombs, and crumbling stretches of the original Roman road surface. The best way to experience it is by bicycle. Hire one at the park visitor centre near the San Sebastiano gate. On Sundays, the road is closed to traffic, making it one of the most peaceful places you will find within reach of central Rome.
Data, Maps, and Staying Connected
With a city as layered and fast-moving as this one, being offline is a genuine problem. Between navigating unmarked lanes in Trastevere, pre-booking timed tickets on the go, and checking queue times at the Vatican during a Jubilee Year, you will be on your phone constantly. An Italy eSIM from Airalo gives you reliable data from the moment you land in Rome, without a roaming charge or the faff of finding a SIM card vendor near Termini. Set it up on your phone the night before you fly.
Where to Stay in Rome in 2026
The city’s top sites cluster within walking distance of the historic centre, and being central saves hours across a week in Rome. All five hotels below are bookable through Booking.com, with guest scores drawn from verified stays.
| Hotel | Class | Score | Why Stay Here | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Hassler Roma | 5-star | 9.1/10 | Top of the Spanish Steps | Book now |
| The St. Regis Rome | 5-star | 9.3/10 | Opulent palace, flawless service | Book now |
| Bulgari Hotel Roma | 5-star | 9.5/10 | Highest-rated — modern luxury | Book now |
| Portrait Roma | 5-star | 9.4/10 | Boutique elegance, central | Book now |
| NH Collection Roma Fori Imperiali | 5-star | 9.2/10 | Colosseum views from the room | Book now |
Before You Go: What Rome Requires of You
- Book the Colosseum, Vatican Museums, and Borghese Gallery before you travel as all three sell out weeks ahead in peak season (April to October)
- The Jubilee Holy Year runs throughout 2025 and 2026, bringing larger crowds to Vatican City in particular. Check the official Jubilee calendar to avoid major event dates
- Dress codes are enforced at all churches and at the Vatican: shoulders and knees must be covered; carry a scarf in your bag
- The new Metro Line C stations near the Colosseum opened in December 2025 and are the fastest way to arrive without walking from Termini
For more on what to see across Italy, read our Italy travel guide for inspiration beyond the capital
Turn Your Rome Photos Into Something Lasting
You will take hundreds of photographs on this trip. The light off the travertine in the late afternoon, the dome of the Pantheon from the piazza below, the Trevi Fountain at 7am when it’s almost yours. Most of them will sit on your phone until the next phone. Mixbook lets you turn the best of them into a properly designed photo book, a physical thing that sits on a shelf and holds the Rome trip together long after the details start to blur. It takes about 20 minutes to build one, and the results are far better than the average printed album. Worth doing before the memories fade.
Frequently Asked Questions About Places to Visit in Rome
1. Do I really need to book Rome attractions in advance?
Yes, and not just ‘in advance’ in a vague sense. The Borghese Gallery has no walk-up tickets at all. The Colosseum Arena Floor sells out weeks ahead. The Vatican Museums during the 2025–26 Jubilee Year are heavier than usual. Book the Colosseum and Vatican 30 to 60 days before you travel, and the Borghese Gallery as soon as your dates are confirmed.
2. What is the best time of year to visit Rome?
April, May, and early June are the sweet spots. Warm enough to be in the city comfortably, before the peak summer heat and school holiday crowds arrive. September and October are equally good. July and August are extremely hot (regularly above 35°C) and very crowded; if you visit then, plan everything for early morning or after 5pm.
3. How many days do you need in Rome?
Four days is the minimum to cover the major ancient and Vatican sites without feeling rushed. Five or six days allows you to add Trastevere, the Borghese Gallery, the Appian Way, and a half-day in the quieter museums. A full week lets you breathe—and in Rome, breathing slowly is how you notice things.
4. What is the best airline to fly to Rome from the UK?
Several airlines fly direct from UK airports to Rome Fiumicino. Qatar Airways connects via Doha and is consistently ranked among the world’s best for in-flight experience, a strong option if you want the journey to feel like the trip has already started. Compare all available fares on Skyscanner to find the best deal for your travel dates and departure airport.
5. Is the Jubilee Year affecting visits to Rome in 2026?
Yes. The Catholic Jubilee Year runs throughout 2025 and 2026 and significantly increases the number of pilgrims visiting Vatican City. Expect larger crowds than usual around St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums, particularly on major Jubilee dates. Check the official Jubilee calendar before finalising your trip, and book Vatican tickets as early as possible.
6. Which Roman neighbourhood is best for first-time visitors?
The historic centre (around the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Campo de’ Fiori) puts you within walking distance of most major sights and has the widest range of hotels. Staying here adds up quickly, but the time saved on transport across a five-day trip more than justifies the cost. Trastevere is a popular alternative, though, slightly removed from the main sites but arguably the most atmospheric place to base yourself if the centre feels too crowded.
A City You Don’t Just Visit, You Absorb
Rome is not a city you can fully prepare for. The Pantheon is bigger than you expect. The Forum is more fragmented than you expect. The Sistine Chapel is more crowded. And the Caravaggio in the side chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, the one most people walk past because it is not on the tour itinerary, is one of the most extraordinary paintings in the world.
Fly in well-rested through Qatar Airways, book your hotel through Booking.com, stay connected with Airalo, and when you get home, turn the best photographs into a Mixbook photo book before the trip starts to compress into a highlight reel. The Eternal City deserves better than that.
