Popular Attractions in Rome

Prepare to have your neck well and truly cricked at the Vatican Museums, where all the biggest-ticket attractions will have you gazing heavenwards, mouth agape in awed and reverent silence. We’re talking the twin joys of Michelangelo’s masterful Sistine Chapel Ceiling frescoes and the soaring dome of St Peter’s Basilica, of course. But that’s not all there is to see here: the museums also boast mindblowing masterpieces by Bernini and Botticelli, as well as a whole suite of rooms by painter-decorator extraordinaire Raphael.

Only the largest and most well-preserved Ancient Roman amphitheater on the planet, the Colosseum is a difficult one to miss. You’ll find it rising majestically from the heart of Rome’s Centro Storico, a dense labyrinth of cobbled alleyways and baroque piazzas that’s home to an embarrassment of landmark Rome attractions. But few can quite match the majesty of this elliptical gladiatorial arena, inside which the temptation to start loudly quoting Maximus Decimus Meridius might prove impossible to resist.

Stray cats slink among the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum, vanishing into atmospheric archways and running rings around the towering columns of the Temple of Saturn. Grab your camera and snag Insta-perfect snaps of moggies among millennia-old monuments, where elaborate sarcophagi, ancient aviaries and cursed headless statues provide additional eye candy.

Pro-tip: the OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass lets you visit as many attractions as you like over three days, and includes entry to the Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and many more top Rome attractions, all for one low price. As an added bonus, you’ll also get unlimited free travel on public transport for 72 hours. Click here to find out more and get your pass.

Michelangelo left his fingerprints all over Rome back in the day. The monumental steps that lead up to the complex of museums atop Capitoline Hill? Designed by Michelangelo. The trapezoidal piazza at their center? Michelangelo. The layout of the buildings that house the frankly astonishing collections? Also Michelangelo. 

Step inside to view art by other great Italians of yore, including Bernini’s mesmerizing Bust of Medusa and landmark pieces by Caravaggio, Titian and others. This is also where you can come face-to-face with the symbolic Capitoline Wolf and masterful Dying Gaul sculptures plus many more fine examples of Greek and Roman statuary.

Rome’s longest-running market (since 1869, fact fans) is a sensory saturnalia of sounds, scents, colors and flavors. The name Campo de’ Fiori translates as ‘field of flowers’, and you’ll find plenty of those here at this daily (except Sundays) market just south of Piazza Navona. Grab a rainbow of fresh seasonal blooms then follow your nose to foodie stalls that fairly groan with fresh local produce. 

Think mountains of moist homemade cake, pungent Lazio cheeses and fine Tuscan wines, aromatic just-baked bread and the satisfyingly sweet crunch of authentic cannoli. If you’re easily tempted you won’t last 10 seconds here.

Read our guide to some of the best street markets in Rome.

Being one of Rome’s most popular free attractions means the Trevi Fountain is often somewhat oversubscribed during the day. It’s why we always recommend visiting this opulent 18th-century confection at dusk or dawn, when the light is at its softest and you have the best chance of bagging that ‘alone in Rome’ selfie you’ve always dreamed of.

Toss a coin into the fountain (over your left shoulder, but with your right hand) if you want to guarantee your return to Rome. It’s two coins to find love and three for marriage. Tsk, that’s inflation for you.

Whisper it, but the Baths of Caracalla are arguably even finer than the Forum if you’re in the market for a glimpse into the most decadent corners of Roman history. This sprawling 3rd-century spa south of the Colosseum would, at one time, have accommodated some 1,500 bathers at any given time. A human minestrone, if you will.

Check out the tepidarium, frigidarium and cisterns and get snap-happy beneath the remaining archways. And, though many of the mosaics statues and other works of art that once adorned this opulent complex have found their ways into museums and private collections, you can still ogle a few ancient bits and bobs as you make your way around.

When in Rome… grab yourself a gelato – lemon, pistachio or stracciatella for the win – and stroll Piazza Navona for some of the best architectural eye candy in town. The piazza is particularly enchanting in the evening, when Bernini’s monumental public fountains, the baroque Church of Sant’Agnese and the imposing Palazzo Pamphilj are illuminated in all their atmospheric glory. But you can people-watch over al fresco coffee and cannoli at any time of day.

Go up them, go down them, pause for a selfie on them, but whatever you do don’t sit on the Spanish Steps. The penalty for doing so now stands at an eye-watering €250 – just one measure designed to preserve (and keep the traffic moving on) this perpetually popular Rome attraction.

But don’t let that put you off! The 135-step climb to the top is relatively undemanding, and the rewards for making the ascent are immense: quads of steel, stellar skyline views, and access to Trinità dei Monti church, the creamy Renaissance confection that overlooks the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna below. Reassuringly, pausing for breath on the way up (or indeed down) is not currently punishable by fine.

Looking for more things to do in Rome? The OMNIA Vatican & Rome Pass can save you $$$ on regular admission costs at Rome’s most popular attractions. Click to bag yours!