Roma Pass: Does It Help to Save Money and Skip the Queues?

The Roma Pass is a unique tourist card that allows discover Rome by spending less money. It includes access to favorite sites such as the Colosseum, Capitoline Museums, Roman Forum & the Palatine Hill, the Borghese Gallery, Castle Sant’Angelo, and the ruins via Appia Antica and Ostia Antica, and many more attractions, contemporary art galleries, and museums.

In my opinion, a more convenient and profitable option is to buy a Rome Tourist Card, which includes:

1. Guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica with an official Vatican guide.
2. Access to the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel.
3. Priority access to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.
4. Audio guide app with 130+ points of interest in the city.
5. Downloadable audio guide app for a self-guided tour of the Pantheon.

In any case, let’s do a detailed review of what offers us Roma Pass:

The 48-hour Pass

The 48-hour Roma Pass costs 32 euros and gives:

•    Free entry to the first museum or archaeological site;
•    Free access to the ATAC urban public transportation;
•    Concessionary tickets to other museums and archaeological sites;
•    Pass without queuing to Colosseum, Capitoline Museums and Castel Sant’Angelo + free booking for Borghese Gallery and Palazzo Valentini;
•    Over 80 discounted tickets for different exhibitions, events, etc.
•    Rome MAP – city map, a multilingual audio/video guide.

The 72-hours Pass

The 72 hours Roma Pass costs 54 euros and gives:
•    Free entry to the first two museums and/or archaeological sites;
•    Unlimited free access to the ATAC urban public transportation;
•    Concessionary tickets to museums and/or archaeological sites visited after that;
•    Pass without queuing to Colosseum, Capitoline Museums and Castel Sant’Angelo + free booking for Villa Borghese and Palazzo Valentini;
•    Over 80 discounted tickets to different events, exhibitions, etc.;
•    Roma MAP – city map, a multilingual audio/video guide.

The list of museums with privileges for the Roma Pass holders: www.romapass.it

The Roma Pass saves your time in many ways. For instance, you can’t always buy tickets for individual journeys on the bus, while the Rome Pass Card relieves you from this stress. Also, it gives a benefit from speedy access in specific locations.
There are two types of Rome city cards, the Roma Pass and the Omnia Pass. They have only several differences: the Omnia Pass has a limit of attractions that you can visit for free, but offers a simple city guide, while the Rome Pass provides more attractions for free, but with an app and city map included in it.

Where to buy

•    Online (www.romapass.it);
•    By calling the call center (+39) 060608 (payment by credit card);
•    In all participating Museums and sites.

A faster and more convenient option is to place it on the site with a few clicks on Tiquets.com:

Tourist Information Points (Punti Informativi Turistici, PIT)

• Castel S. Angelo, Piazza Pia (next to the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo), Working hours: 9.30 am – 7 pm;
• Ciampino, Aeroporto G.B.Pastine – External area International Arrivals. Working hours: 8.30 am – 6 pm;
• Cinque Lune, Piazza delle Cinque Lune (Piazza Navona). Working hours: 9.30 am – 7 pm;
• Fiumicino, Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci – International Arrivals – Terminal T3. Working hours: 8 am – 8.45 pm;
• Fori Imperiali, Visitor Center Via dei Fori Imperiali. 01 January-30 June and 01 September-31 December, Working hours: 9.30 am – 7 pm – 01 July-31 August: 9.30 am – 8 pm;
• Minghetti, Via Marco Minghetti (corner to Via del Corso). Working hours: 9.30 am – 7 pm;
• Nazionale, Via Nazionale (Palazzo delle Esposizioni). Working hours: 9.30 am – 7 pm;
• Sonnino, Piazza Sidney Sonnino (Trastevere). Working hours: 10.30 am – 8 pm;
• Termini, Stazione Termini – Via Giovanni Giolitti, 34, platform 24. Working hours: 8 am – 6.45 pm;
• ATAC – Subway ticket office (Opening time: Mon/Sat from 7 am to 8 pm – Sundays and public holidays from 8 am to 8 pm);
• A Metro line: Anagnina, Battistini, Lepanto, Ottaviano, Spagna;
• B Metro line: Laurentina, Eur Fermi, Ponte Mammolo, Termini;
• B1 Metro line: Conca d’Oro;
• Ferrovia Roma-Viterbo: Piazzale Flaminio;
• Roma – Lido: Porta San Paolo;
• Trenitalia Ticket Offices in Bari C.le, Bologna C.le, Firenze S.M.N., Lecce, Milano C.le, Napoli C.le, Roma Termini, Roma Tiburtina, Salerno, Torino P.N., Venezia S.L., Verona P.N., Brescia and in FRECCIAClub in Bari C.le, Bologna C.le, Firenze S.M.N Milano C.le, Napoli C.le, Roma Termini, Roma Tiburtina, Salerno, Torino P.N., Verona.

Of course, there are some circumstances under which you don’t need a Roma Pass. For instance, if you are traveling with children, you should know that children under 18 y.o. have free entry to all national and city museums.
In comparison, children under 12 y.o. have free access to public transportation.

Moreover, all national museums (not city museums) have free admission on the first Sunday of the month, so consider if your ticket doesn’t coincide with this day. Moreover, many museums on national holidays, especially Christmas, New Year’s Day, and May 1st, may be closed, and most museums are closed on Mondays.

Author: Kate Zusmann

I have lived in the Eternal City for the past 12 years. They say every angle of Rome has its history, and I'm here to tell you about the most intriguing historical facts and city legends. :)