History Museums in Rome

THE 10 BEST Rome History Museums

History Museums in Rome

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What travelers are saying

  • planningpro
    Greenwood Village, CO250 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Want to gaze at an amazing old palace with multiple art masterpieces without one tenth of the crowds of the Borghese? This is the place. Bought tickets at the door. Not crowded at all. Audio guide included. Could view any work of art at leisure. Velasquez, Caravaggio, Rubens, Bernini and more... Plenty of benches to sit, rest and observe. Marvelous ceilings, rooms.. Just a top notch experience.
    Written February 28, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • CarmelO
    Ireland139 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great place to see the sculptured images of Romans. We visited here after having been to the colosseum / Palatine Hill / Roman Forum so this was a very appropriate follow on from that experience. You could imagine these people attending the games. Give yourself 2 hours for the visit. Lovely cafe / restaurant on site also.
    Written February 16, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Julia
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is the world's oldest museum, and the building itself is a marvel. The collection is outstanding and there is so much to learn about. Highly recommend.
    Written February 24, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Bambi84
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience on our first evening in Rome. Amazing way to get the history of Rome and the relevance of the places you are seeing and walking past.
    Written November 17, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Kelsie
    South Wales, UK17 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    We visited during our stay in Rome last week and although I had read about it it was quite different to what I’d expected. I don’t know why but I assumed what I was going to be seeing would be underground in some kind of dark narrow chambers but this wasn’t the case.
    It was a very different experience and extremely interesting. Both myself and my husband stood for ages looking at the displays and trying to take it all in.
    We didn’t book in advance and payed on arrival with no queuing, it was very quiet. X
    Written January 27, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Holidaymaker82
    Southampton, UK26 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Really enjoyed this interesting museum and liked the unique way of displaying the villa with the glass floors and lights to highlight different sections plus computers projections, made it a really different and informative experience. Only shame is the size of the group meant we couldn't always see everything and parents often let their children stand over the lit up area that was being talked about so noone else could then see it, or as there were so many people you could sometimes get stuck at the back/in hallway and not see it all. Also we didn't have anything about Trajan's column, which others mentioned in their reviews and I was looking forward to learning about, so not sure if they've eliminated this part of the tour. But otherwise an enjoyable experience we'd recommend.

    Just a note of caution, there is an adjoining café which looks like it's linked to the museum - it has the same signage across the whole area and a glass dividing wall/window near the entrance. We spotted the toilets there so popped in to use while we were waiting for the tour to start but before we could do so got shouted at by a very aggressive waitress that THIS IS A RESTAURANT!!!! We apologised and showed her we had tickets for the museum part and she just screamed NO DOMUS TOILET and pointed us to the door. I'm guessing they have many people make the same mistake as us and have got fed up! We did find another toilet in a courtyard as you start the tour but have no idea if this is part of the museum either but others used without issue so we did too!
    Written November 10, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Enid W
    St Clears, UK2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What an amazing museum of Etruscan artefacts housed in the atmospheric 16th Century Villa of Pope Julius 111. No need to book, easy to get to - just a short ride on the 150F bus from Termini. Modern and laid out like a gallery internally & air conditioned. Not to be missed. Also Villa Pontiatowski nearby. It's fading splendour houses some interesting exhibits, particularly the last room with it's sumptuous grave goods from one tomb.
    Written September 28, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • NorthernExplorer
    22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful and fascinating site with good interpretative boards that add context. There’s an audio-video guide which entertained our youngest child but we didn’t feel the need for it. The site is much bigger than we expected. I can’t understand why sites like this are empty when places like the Colosseum are uncomfortably busy. We learnt much more here than we did in the Colosseum crowds.
    Written November 6, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Conseiller99
    Roseland, NJ1,376 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This was an excellent experience wtih the exhibit on Dacia, and the various other National Museum artifcats and exhibits. Our one drawback is that the directions on how to visit the baths were really poorly marked and not easy to follow, unlike the much-better marked Baths of Caracalla which we visited the day after. For one thing, they don’t make it clear where you are at any given time as you walk around the ruins. You see the pool with a sign saying “Frigidarium” with an arrow, but where? We recognized that Michelangelo was instructed to build a church in the middle of the baths, but what they don’t make clear is that is NOT PART of the ticket. We found out after our visit that you can see the excellent remains of other parts of the baths by visiting (for FREE) the adjoining Basilica of Santa Maris dell Angeli, which is what Michelangelo was responsible for…so we’re going over there tomorrow to see that. You really shouldn’t do one without the otherm, but that doesn’t seem to pop up anywhere.
    Written February 19, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • chuckofcorby
    Corby, UK699 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wanting to pass an hour I dropped into the Palazzo Venezia, loads to see, the floors are amazing! The rooms used through the decades by Popes and even Mussolini. Many a treasure. A couple of nice gardens too.
    Written February 18, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • John A Carter
    Lower Sackville, Canada3,710 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    I thought the museum was nice. I thought the price was a little high for what was presented, but display were really good some really good information and a lot of reproductions of some of his designs.
    Written March 12, 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • misterfuss
    San Francisco, California82 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This site is uniquely without tourists and that makes it a solitary delight, wandering from room to room. The Roman era frescoes are rather primitive. They are nowhere near as grand as those at Herculaneum, or Villa dei Misteri at Pompeii, or Domus Aurea. However wandering around the maze of underground rooms is enchanting. I did not rent the audio guide. Instead I relied on the English language placards and my own research I printed in advance. The official route twists and turns. Eventually one reaches the confessio. This small delightful room is covered in frescoes depicting Saint John and Saint Paul as well as the martyring of Crispus, Srispianus, and Benedicta. Wander through a few more rooms and reach an unexpected cruciform shaped museum in the foundations of the above Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paolo. It was a great thrill to experience these well preserved underground Roman ruins in solitude. Visit the Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paolo afterwards and you may better understand the layout of the Case Romane del Celio beneath.
    Written December 16, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Derrick R
    Penrith, UK95 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A very large and impressive site about a 25 minute bus ride from Rome city centre. The Roma pass is valid but, as we didn't have one, we spent €8 to get in. This gives access to the villa, Santa Maria Nova and some of the other sites in the archaeological park and is valid for several days. Not as well known or popular as Villa Adriana at Tivoli the Villa dei Quintilli is certainly worth a visit. You are likely to have the huge site virtually to yourself. The museum is very small but more than adequate and the staff very helpful and friendly (note...the staff I spoke to had limited English but that matched my limited Italian so we cancelled each other out, got along fine and made ourselves understood). The entrance is via the Via Attica Nuova (not Via Appia Antica unless you're happy to just look through the gates). We took the 118 bus service which ends it's service right at the entrance before turning round and returning to Rome city centre. If you choose to go by bus probably get on at either Piazza Venezia or Circus Maximus (across the road from the Metro entrance/exit)as the hawkers and beggars can be a nuisance at the Colosseo bus stop. Bank on spending 2 or 3 hours here, possibly more. You can walk back towards the city via the Via Appia Antica visiting more sites ic you want and jump back on the 118 when you've had enough walking for the day.
    Written March 30, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Mairwen1
    United Kingdom9,563 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Palazzo Conservatorio is one of the three grand palaces that encircle the Piazza del Campidoglio at the top of the Hill.
    You can see an awful lot in a short time at the Capitoline Hill. Even without going into the Capitoline Museums, the square is packed with ancient artefacts, historically significant sculptures and beautiful buildings.
    If you use the Cordonata stairs to enter the piazza, you’ll see the Palazzo dei Conservatori on your right.
    Pretty much everything you see here was designed (or re-designed) by the Renaissance master Michelangelo. The area was long neglected and by the 1500s it was in a sad and sorry state. Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo to rejuvenate it.
    The Palazzo dei Conservatori was already existing and historically, it had served as a palace for conservators or magistrates.
    Michelangelo gave it a radical re-design. The most striking new addition were the giant pillars or columns running from the ground to the top of the two storey building. He also added a flat roofline, crowned with balustrades and a row of statues that are silhouetted against the bright sky.
    Directly opposite, is the Palazzo Nuovo. The two buildings are mirror images of each other but Palazzo Nuovo was a brand new building, built from scratch. Together they give a very pleasing balance and symmetry to the piazza.
    Today, the two palazzi, Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori, house the Capitoline Museums which means that you can also go inside.
    Written February 4, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Matthew H
    1 contribution
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very interesting and important piece of history to remember. Most of the text is in Italian so you will need a phone to translate if you do not speak the language.
    Written July 22, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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