Rome · 43 Citorah Picks · 1 to skip
In the order Citorah recommends them: the order the guides rank them, and never by commission. How Citorah is paid
Citorah PickSight · Aventine and the Celio
Citorah says The 24h ticket is the standard visit: the Colosseum from its first two levels, and the Forum and Palatine. Pay the extra €6 for a Full Experience ticket if you want to stand on the arena floor or go below it.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The SUPER sites: frescoed houses and rooms on the Forum and Palatine, open from 09:30 until an hour before closing.
The catch The House of Livia has been closed for restoration since 24 August 2026, and the House of Augustus is closed on Mondays.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Forum from the Capitoline Hill. I looked down on the Forum from the hill, with the Arch of Septimius Severus below me.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine. Rome’s tourist board lists the arch, beside the Colosseum, as “Free access”.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Largo Gaetana Agnesi, which the city made pedestrian-only in 2018, is its “terrazza sul Colosseo”, a terrace whose belvedere looks straight onto the Colosseum and the Imperial Fora.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The street from the Colosseum to Piazza Venezia is always closed to private cars. On Sundays, public holidays and the last Saturday of each month, its whole length is pedestrian. From it you look down into the Imperial Fora.
The catch New paving is being laid along it, so expect works.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The city says the 33-metre back wall of the Forum of Augustus is “currently visible” from this street and from Via Tor de’ Conti.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Circus Maximus, below the Palatine. The tourist board lists the open field as “Always open”.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Michelangelo’s Last Judgement has been cleaned. Maintenance work, which ended on 27 March 2026, removed a whitish film from it.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Pinecone Courtyard is named after the ancient bronze pinecone in its niche, which once stood in the atrium of St Peter’s. Its restoration was celebrated on 6 October 2026.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Gallery of Maps is 120 metres long and was built in 1578–80, for 40 maps of Italy.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Basilica says a visit takes one to two hours. The Vatican Grottoes, with the tombs of many popes, are free. I spent about half an hour inside, late in the afternoon, under Bernini’s baldacchino and the dome, and came out into the square at dusk.
The catch The busiest days are Wednesday, the usual day of the papal audience, and Sunday, when the Pope says the Angelus at noon.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Vatican Grottoes, with the tombs of many popes, are free.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The castle, by the Tiber, costs €18 (€2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25). It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 19:30, with last entry at 18:30, and it’s closed on Mondays.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says San Giovanni in Laterano is free and open every day from 07:00 to 18:30. I went at about half past five, after dark: the obelisk outside, then the nave and apse.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says At the Lateran’s Scala Santa, the 28 steps are climbed only on your knees and in silence; a side staircase is there for walking up. Cover your shoulders and knees, and take no photos.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Michelangelo designed Piazza del Campidoglio, on the Capitoline Hill, in the mid-16th century. The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the middle is a 1997 bronze copy; the original is inside the Capitoline Museums.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Santa Maria in Aracoeli, next door, is reached by 124 marble steps, built in 1348. From the top you see across Rome to the domes of Sant’Andrea della Valle and St Peter’s.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Santa Francesca Romana, the church on the edge of the Forum by the Colosseum, with its gilded ceiling and apse mosaic.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Along Via dei Fori Imperiali, towards Piazza Venezia, Trajan’s Forum lies below the street, with Trajan’s Markets and the Torre delle Milizie behind it.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says From Piazza Venezia I went down to the river, to the Tiber Island. Ponte Fabricio, which joins it to the bank by the old Jewish Ghetto, was built in 62 BC.
Citorah PickSight · Centro Storico
Citorah says Piazza Navona keeps the shape of the stadium Domitian built in AD 86. Of its three fountains, Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers is in the middle, and it was lit when I got there, just after nine.
Citorah PickSight · Centro Storico
Citorah says By night, it’s the portico you see. When I got there, at about 21:20, the portico was lit and the piazza in front was still busy.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says After 22:00: in the official site’s words, “The fountain remains visible for free.” It’s also always visible from the piazza, ticket or not.
The catch There are no toilets or cloakroom.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says The Vittoriano, the white monument on Piazza Venezia, is free to enter from 09:30 to 19:30, with last entry at 18:45. The guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier changes every hour.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says When I passed, a little before 19:45, the Markets were lit, with the Forum’s ruins in front.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says Ponte Fabricio, which joins it to the bank by the old Jewish Ghetto, was built in 62 BC. With the Milvian Bridge, it’s the oldest Roman bridge still in use.
Citorah PickSight
Citorah says At about half past eight, the island’s church, San Bartolomeo all’Isola, was open, and I went in.
Citorah PickSight · Centro Storico
Citorah says Of its three fountains, Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers is in the middle, and it was lit when I got there, just after nine.
Citorah PickSight · Prati
Citorah says Turismo Roma calls it elegant, and much loved by professionals, young people and shoppers for the boutiques on Via Cola di Rienzo, its restaurants, and its wine and cocktail bars.
Citorah PickSight · Monti
Citorah says Piazza della Madonna dei Monti, which Turismo Roma calls Piazza Santa Maria dei Monti, is its meeting place.
Citorah PickSight · Trastevere
Citorah says Turismo Roma describes its alleys, squares and “numerous trattorias and taverns offering traditional Roman recipes”, and calls it one of the most famous places for a night out, full of young people every evening, in its bars and in squares such as Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and Piazza Trilussa.
Citorah PickSight · Trastevere
Citorah says Turismo Roma describes its alleys, squares and “numerous trattorias and taverns offering traditional Roman recipes”, and calls it one of the most famous places for a night out, full of young people every evening, in its bars and in squares such as Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and Piazza Trilussa.
Citorah PickSight · Esquilino and Termini
Citorah says Its centre, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, the largest square in Rome.
Citorah PickSight · Testaccio
Citorah says Turismo Roma calls it “the familiar and true soul of Rome”, with trattorias serving traditional Roman cooking and plenty of bars, and describes Piazza Testaccio as the heart of “the most ‘Roman’ neighbourhood in Rome”.
Citorah PickPark
Citorah says In the tourist board’s words, its terraces and paths give “amazing close up views of the Colosseum and Palatine Hill”.
Citorah PickMuseum
Citorah says The Museums and the Basilica are separate visits with separate rules. The Museums need a booked ticket; the Basilica is free.
The catch In mid-October 2026, every open day for the next three weeks had sold out.
Citorah PickMuseum
Citorah says The visit includes the Tabularium gallery, whose arches look over the whole Roman Forum, to the Colosseum and the Palatine.
Citorah PickExperience
Citorah says The Angelus is on Sundays at 12:00 in St Peter’s Square, and “NO tickets are required”.
Citorah PickExperience
Citorah says The General Audience is on Wednesdays at 10:00, in St Peter’s Square or sometimes indoors, unless the Pope has other commitments.
Citorah PickExperience
Citorah says At Christmas, Midnight Mass on 24 December is at 22:00 and Christmas Day Mass is at 10:00, both in the Basilica and both by ticket request.
Citorah PickExperience
Citorah says The Urbi et Orbi blessing is on 25 December at 12:00 in the square, with no tickets.
Citorah PickFestival · Centro Storico
Citorah says In December the square holds the Befana fair.
Charging for photos near monuments is banned, with a €400 fine.
Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them, Citorah may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the guides recommend. How Citorah is paid