11 Rome Museums That Are Truly Worth Your Time

Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums are an absolute must among Rome’s museums and rank among the most popular attractions in Rome. You’ve probably heard of Michelangelo’s famous ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel or the Raphael Rooms — both are absolute standouts of the Vatican Museums.

With around 1,300 rooms filled with artworks and ancient ornaments, there’s so much more to discover. Plan to spend at least three hours here.

The Vatican Museums are always busy, and you should definitely book your ticket in advance online. We’ve summed up everything else you need to know about visiting the Vatican Museums in the article linked below.

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Galleria Borghese

The Galleria Borghese houses one of the most significant private art collections in Rome. Here you’ll find sculptures like Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne and paintings by the greats, including Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Rubens.

The Galleria Borghese building itself is seriously worth seeing. Make sure to explore the surrounding Villa Borghese park afterward and stroll through its beautiful gardens.

Important: You can only visit the Galleria Borghese with a reservation — tickets are not available on-site. Since it’s one of Rome’s most popular art museums, book your ticket at least a week in advance. Your visit is limited to a two-hour time slot, as only 180 visitors are allowed in the exhibition at a time.

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Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant’Angelo is a circular fortress on the banks of the Tiber. Built more than 2,000 years ago as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, it was eventually converted into a papal residence.

Today it’s a cool mix of history and art museum. You can explore the old mausoleum, the burial and treasure chambers, weapon collections, and the prison. There are also numerous artworks, frescoes, and sculptures on display. And from the roof terrace, you get a fantastic 360-degree panorama over ancient Rome.

Particularly exciting is the secret passageway to the Vatican, known as the Passetto di Borgo. You can see it, but you can’t walk through it — though that would be a pretty cool way to enter the Vatican.

Get skip-the-line tickets for Castel Sant’Angelo

MAXXI - Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo

Ancient statues and old frescoes are all well and good, but maybe you’re in the mood for something from this century? Then head to MAXXI!

MAXXI was the first museum in Italy dedicated to contemporary art. We love the mix of classic art, architecture, and design. From light installations to modern sculptures, it’s all here.

And the best part: there’s none of that typical stiff museum atmosphere! MAXXI puts a strong emphasis on interaction, and sometimes you can even watch artists at work.

The building itself is also well worth a look: what were once old military barracks have been transformed into one of Rome’s most futuristic buildings. With construction costs of around 150 million euros, it hasn’t been without controversy, though.

The Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums are definitely among the top highlights of Rome’s museum scene. Located on the Capitoline Hill, the smallest of Rome’s hills, they make up the oldest museum complex in Rome — founded as far back as 1471 through a papal donation. Nearly six centuries later, they’ve grown into one of the largest art collections in the world.

Of the three buildings, the Palazzo dei Conservatori is the absolute must-see. Here you’ll find the statue of the Capitoline Wolf, which according to city legend nursed the two founding fathers Romulus and Remus. You’ll also find the remains of the massive Statue of Constantine here.

By the way, the buildings themselves are really worth seeing. The Capitoline Square was designed by none other than Michelangelo himself.

Centrale Montemartini

The Centrale Montemartini is truly unique among Rome’s museums. During renovation work on the Capitoline Museums in the 1990s, parts of the collection were moved to a decommissioned electric power plant in Ostiense.

Ancient sculptures among diesel engines? The combination of industrial charm and archaeological finds was so well received that it became a permanent exhibition.

Our verdict: if you’re tired of your run-of-the-mill art museum, the Centrale Montemartini will seriously surprise you.

Combo ticket: Capitoline Museums and Centrale Montemartini

Welcome to Rome

At Welcome to Rome, you experience the city’s history in a truly extraordinary way. It’s a kind of multimedia journey through time that transports you 2,700 years into the past.

You’ll be guided for 30 minutes through a massive 3D projection of Rome, with audio commentary recounting battles, fires, and emperors. Afterward, there are four interactive models of the Roman Forum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Castel Sant’Angelo, and the Forum of Augustus.

If you’re traveling to Rome with kids who aren’t particularly interested in statues and paintings, we can’t recommend Welcome to Rome enough. It’s one of the most engaging experiences in the city for younger visitors.

Tickets for Welcome to Rome

Museo Nazionale Romano

Rome’s national museum houses around 300,000 exhibits, and few other places to visit in Rome offer as much to learn about art and history. What makes it especially unique: the museum is spread across four locations.

Your ticket is valid for one week, so you can visit all four at your own pace.

• Palazzo Altemps: A magnificent palace with a beautiful courtyard and frescoes. Here you’ll find artworks from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures.
• Baths of Diocletian: Once the largest and most beautiful baths in Rome and an important social gathering place. The shaded complex is great for exploring on hot days.
• Crypta Balbi: Once used as a waiting area during theatrical performances. Today it houses an exhibition on the city’s development from antiquity to modern times.
• Palazzo Massimo: A Renaissance palace that’s almost more impressive than the exhibition itself. The collection of ancient art is among the most significant in the world.

Leonardo da Vinci Experience

Leonardo da Vinci was the genius of his time, gifted in virtually every discipline of the arts and sciences.

The Leonardo da Vinci Experience showcases 50 of his coolest inventions. And the best part: touching is explicitly encouraged! There’s even an early draft of a helicopter here. We’re particularly fond of the mirror cabinet, since da Vinci’s light experiments also played a role in the history of photography.

You’ll also find da Vinci’s most important artworks here, such as The Last Supper. These are copies rather than originals, so the machines are definitely the real highlight for us.

Our verdict: a fascinating museum if you’re traveling with kids — or just want to indulge your own inner child.

Tickets for the Leonardo da Vinci Experience

Galleria Spada

The Galleria Spada is an art collection featuring works from the 16th and 17th centuries. Among those represented are greats such as Caravaggio, Titian, and Dürer.

With just three rooms, the museum is compact and still considered one of Rome’s most charming under-the-radar picks. It’s perfect if you want to see great art without the scale and crowds of the Vatican Museums.

The real masterpiece here, though, isn’t a painting — it’s the colonnade in the courtyard. An optical illusion by the architect Borromini makes the colonnade, which is only nine meters long, appear to stretch on endlessly. We’ll spare you the mathematical details of how it works.

Tickets for the Galleria Spada

The Stadium of Domitian

The Piazza Navona is one of Rome’s most popular squares — many exciting guided tours of Rome start here. But what few people know is that about four meters underground lie the remains of Emperor Domitian’s ancient athletics stadium. Where boutiques and gelato shops now line the streets, around 30,000 spectators once cheered on athletes.

Videos and 3D reconstructions give you a vivid sense of what the old stadium looked like.

Admittedly, it can’t compete with the Colosseum and its gladiatorial combat. But that also means it isn’t overrun with tourist crowds — a genuinely lesser-known gem in Rome that we really love. And since it’s underground, it’s also a great option on rainy days.

Guided underground tour including the Stadium of Domitian