Museums

VISIT THE MUSEUMS OF ROME IN 2 DAYS – WHERE TO GO

You have only 2 days to visit Rome but are you crazy about museums?
The capital is full of beautiful museums that should all be visited, but since tou have to make a choice, of course, we suggest you to select the most important ones, which represent the main attractions of Rome. Vatican Museums, Capitoline Museums, Galleria Borghese and others are therefore a must to be included in your itinerary if you wish to visit the museums of Rome in 2 days.

To make it easier for you, we can suggest you a choice that you can adapt as you like.
Please note that for every museum it is necessary to dedicate at least two hours, so we suggest you to see only one of them per day. Then you can use the rest of the day to see the areas of the city around the museum that you have decided to visit. 

FIRST DAY

  • Musei Vaticani
  • Piazza San Pietro
  • Castel San’Angelo
  • Piazza Navona
  • Campo dei Fiori (Field of flowers)

 

1. VATICAN MUSEUMS

Sistine Chapel in Roma. The universal judgment

Start your day in the capital with a visit to the Vatican Museums (buy the tickets online to avoid the queue and save time). You will arrive there by stopping at the Ottaviano San Pietro stop.

It will be difficult to forget the experience of having visited this museum which is one of the largest collections of art in the world. It is impossible to see all 7 kilometers of exhibition space where there are more masterpieces than those of many small countries. So you will have to choose what to see.

We advise you to go to:

1. the Pinacoteca (do not miss the Transfiguration of Raffaello)
2. the Pio-Clementino Museum (for the Apollo del Belvedere and the magnificent Laocoonte)
3. the Gallery of Geographical Maps
4.  in the Raffello rooms
5. in the unmissable Sistine Chapel (it is the only room with air conditioning).

2. BASILICA OF SAN PIETRO

At the end of the visit stop in the amazing Piazza San Pietro enjoying the grandeur of the Basilica of San Pietro. Take the usual photos to remember the day and if you wish stop to eat and rest.

3. SANT’ANGELO CASTLE

After resting walk through via della Conciliazione and come up to Castel Sant’Angelo and admire it only from the outside.

The view of San Pietro’s dome from Castel Sant’Angelo

4. PIAZZA NAVONA AND CAMPO DEI FIORI

Cross Ponte Sant’Angelo and stroll through the alleys and squares that will take you to Piazza Navona, characterized by beautiful Baroque palaces and wonderful fountains (including that of the Four Rivers of Bernini)
The square is always crowded with tourists and street artists at every hour of the day and night. If you want to take a break you can go to the nearby Piazza Sant’Eustachio and enter the homonymous café: the place is nothing special but serves the best espresso in the city.
Then return to Piazza Navona and exit the square towards the south by reaching Campo dei Fiori. It is here that the heretic Giordano Bruno was burned alive and in memory of this event there is a statue that represents it. The square is one of the focal points of Roman life: during the day it is a lively market full of people, in the evening a place to go for a drink.

Visit Rome in  2 days: Campo dei Fiori
The statue of Giordano Bruno in Campo dei Fiori

If you do not want to see the Vatican Museums, you can visit alternatively the National Roman Museum: Palazzo Massimo alle terme (metro station: Termini). The museum (accessible to disabled people), is often overlooked, but is wonderful, spacious and bright and contains spectacular classical art pieces (the resting boxer, sleeping Hermaphrodite), as well as extraordinary paintings and mosaics.
After the visit to the museum you can plan the rest of the day according to the itinerary described above. You can arrive in Piazza Navona with a half-hour walk.

TICKETS FOR THE FIRST DAY

To save money on the admission to these attractions we recommend that you use one of the many combined packages, we’ll introduce you to some of them below. Alternatively, you can purchase the Omnia Card.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Vatican Museums: from Monday to Saturday 9.00-18.00 (last admission at 4pm and exit from the rooms half an hour before closing).
Included in the Omnia Card.

St. Peter’s Basilica: October 1 – March 31 every day 7.00-18.30 / 1 April – 30 September every day 7-19.00. Free admission. 

National Roman Museum – Palazzo Massimo alle terme: Open every day from 9 to 19.45. Closed on Mondays (except Monday in Albis and during the cultural week), January 1st, December 25th. The ticket office closes at 19.00. Full ticket € 8 Reduced ticket € 3.50, free under 18 years. Included in the Roma Pass.

SECOND DAY

  • Capitoline Museums
  • Campidoglio square
  • Piazza Venezia

 

1. CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS

the Capitoline Museums in Rome

On your second day of the itinerary to visit the museums of Rome in 2 days we suggest you visit the Capitoline Museums, one of the most popular attractions in the capital (equipped for the disabled).
Arrive in Piazza Venezia (Piazza Venezia bus stop) and reach Piazza del Campidoglio by accessing the Cordonata, the staircase that leads from the Ara Coeli square to the top of the hill.

At the centre of the square, built by Michelangelo, you will find a copy of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (the authentic one can be found in the Capitoline Museums).

There are three palaces that surround the square: Palazzo Senatorio at the back, Palazzo Nuovo on the left and Palazzo dei Conservatori on the right. The latter two buildings host the Capitoline Museums.

The main entrance to the museum complex is in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, where there is the original core of the statuary collection and a Pinacoteca (on the second floor) with paintings by Tiziano, Tintoretto, Rubens, Van Dyck and many other great artists.

Palazzo Nuovo instead contains a considerable number of classical sculptures. Not to be missed, among others, is the Capitoline wolf, the dying Galata and the Capitoline Venus.

For the visit, take into account at least two hours.

2. PIAZZA VENEZIA

When you leave the museums stop for lunch and regain some strength. Once you feel refreshed and rested, return to Piazza Venezia, dominated by the Vittoriano, the immense monument of white marble built in 1885 to celebrate the unity of Italy.

The monument was later dedicated to the unknown soldier and a torch perpetually burns inside it, guarded by guards of honour.
Please note that it is forbidden to sit both on the steps and inside, there are strict controls.
To enjoy a full view of the city, go up to the terrace with the glass elevator that is on the side of the monument.

TICKETS FOR THE SECOND DAY

To save money on the admission to these attractions we recommend that you use one of the many combined packages, that we describe below. Alternatively, you can purchase the Omnia Card.

 
PRATICAL INFORMATION

Capitoline Museums: every day 9.30-19.30, 24 and 31 December 9.30-14. The ticket office closes an hour earlier. Closed on January 1st, May 1st, December 31st.  Included in the Omnia Card.

Doria Panphilj Palace and Gallery: every day from 9.00 to 19.00. Last entry at 18.00. Closing on: December 25th, January 1st, Easter. Also open on November 1st, Easter Monday, April 25th, May 1st, June 2nd and August 15th.

You may also be interested

The five attractions and monuments to visit in Rome in two days
Visiting Rome in 2 days – Places to go
Visiting Rome in 2 days with children – Where to go and what to do
Visit Rome in 2 days when it rains

 

ROME IN A WEEK – THE MUSEUMS

Are you crazy about museums and have you planned to visit Rome in a week? Then the capital is the best choice for you. In fact there are many museums where you can satisfy your desire for art. From the most important and famous to the smallest and most special ones you have only to choose.
If you are a workaholic you can try to visit a museum every day. Keep in mind that the visit will take you at least two hours. If, on the other hand, this timetable seems too difficult, you can decide to dedicate a few days to the museums.
After the visit, you can spend the rest of the day by exploring the area of the city that is located around the museum that you have chosen.

CAPITOLINI MUSEUMS

They are a must if you try to visit Rome in a week, but they should be put in the itinerary even if you visit Rome in 5,4,3,2 days … in short, they should be seen!
It is the oldest museum in the world and is housed in two spectacular buildings located in Piazza del Campidoglio. The origin of the Capitoline Museums dates back to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated to the citizens some bronze sculptures, laying the foundations of what is today one of the greatest Italian collections of classical art.
The centerpiece of the collection are the ancient statues, but in the Capitoline Gallery you can also find masterpieces of many Italian and Flemish artists.
The Capitoline Museums are equipped for the disabled
Stop: Piazza Venezia
Opening time: every day 9.30-19.30, 24 and 31 December 9.30-14. The ticket office closes an hour earlier. Closed on January 1st, May 1st, December 31st.

PALACE AND GALLERY DORIA PAMPHILJ

Behind the façade of Palazzo and Galleria Doria Panphilij there is one of the richest private art collections in Rome, both for the number of works and for the importance of the authors who made them.
The galleries consist of ten rooms, arranged chronologically and filled with floor-to-ceiling paintings. Do not miss the Salome with the head of the Baptist Titian and Rest on the flight to Egypt of Caravaggio and alsol the portrait of Innocent X of Velasquez.
The gallery is wheelchair accessible.
Stop: Piazza Venezia (via del Corso)
Opening time: every day from 9.00 to 19.00. Last entry at 18.00. Closed on: December 25th, January 1st, Easter. Also open on November 1st, Easter Monday, April 25th, May 1st, June 2nd and August 15th.

VATICAN MUSEUMS

With its 7 km of exhibition space, the Vatican Museums are a truly unique experience, not just for art lovers. None of those who enter this museum complex can in fact remain indifferent to what is one of the greatest collections of art in the world. Masterpieces such as the Stanze di Raffaello and the incredible Sistine Chapel are already a reason to come and visit Rome.
Founded by Julius II they are found in the halls and galleries of the Vatican Apostolic Palaces.
Almost all the sectors of the Vatican Museums are accessible to the disabled.
Stop: Ottaviano San Pietro
Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9.00-18.00 (last admission at 4pm and exit from the rooms half an hour before closing).

MUSEUM AND GALLERY BORGHESE

This is another museum that you must absolutely include in your itinerary if you want to visit Rome in a week.
Defined as the “queen of private collections of art”, this museum boasts some of the most precious treasures of the capital. It contains works by Caravaggio, Bernini, Botticelli and Raffaello, and the famous statue of Canova portraying Paolina Borghese as the winning Venus.
The gallery is accessible to people with disabilities.
Stop: via Pinciana
Opening times: Monday closed, Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30 to 19.30 closed January 1, December 25. Entry is allowed until half an hour before closing.

ROMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM: PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME

The museum is often overlooked, it is wonderful, wide and bright and contains spectacular classical art pieces (the resting boxer, sleeping Hermaphrodite), as well as extraordinary paintings and mosaics. The advice is to start the visit from the second floor so as to admire the most extraordinary works when you are still refreshed.
When you admire the frescoes you will get an idea of the interior of the sumptuous villas of ancient Rome.
The museum is completely accessible to the disabled
Stop: Termini
Opening time: Open every day from 9 to 19.45. Closed on Mondays (except Monday in Albis and during the cultural week), January 1st, December 25th. The ticket office closes at 19.00.

MAXXI

The MAXXI (National Museum of the XXI Century Arts) is the most important contemporary art museum in the capital. Designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, it was inaugurated in 2010. The geometric façade of the building, built on several levels, hides an interior of gigantic dimensions, full of light and crossed by suspended staircases and structures made of glass, concrete and iron. It consists of two sections, one dedicated to architecture and the other to contemporary art. It is very interesting to visit it on the occasion of exhibitions and installations.
The museum is wheelchair accessible.
Bus stop: (line A stop Flaminio) by tram, Viale Tiziano for buses.
Opening time:Tuesday to Friday from 11.00 to 19.00, Saturday from 11.00 to 20.00, Sunday from 11.00 to 19.00. Closed every Monday, December 25th and January 1st. The ticket office closes an hour earlier.