Roma Pass 2026: prices, what's included and whether it's worth it

The Roma Pass in brief

The Roma Pass is the city card of Rome: 48 hours from €49.50 or 72 hours from €68, with buses and the metro and one or two free entries. It is worth it for travellers who use public transport a lot and visit expensive sites such as the Colosseum or the Galleria Borghese. It does not cover the Vatican.

It is issued by Zètema Progetto Cultura, the City of Rome's cultural services company. Since the switch to a digital format, the pass is an app: you activate it on your phone, and it is scanned as a QR code at museum entrances and metro gates. More than 45 museums and archaeological sites take part, including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Capitoline Museums, Galleria Borghese and Castel Sant'Angelo.

Who it is not worth it for: children and teenagers (who get into state museums free anyway), travellers who do almost everything on foot, and anyone whose main reason for the trip is the Vatican.

Roma Pass prices 2026: 48h and 72h

These prices are as of October 2026. We check prices every quarter. The Roma Pass costs the same for everyone: there is no child, student or senior version.

Prices checked: October 2026. Adult prices at each partner, excluding any service fee shown at checkout.

Before you buy: the Roma Pass is not refunded, not even for strikes, closures or bad weather. It is issued in your name, cannot be transferred and must be redeemed within 6 months of purchase.

How the Roma Pass works in the app

The pass only runs through the free Roma Pass app, so you need a smartphone. The minimum is iOS 16.6 or Android 7. Android devices need Google services; HarmonyOS phones and basic keypad phones won't work. In Italy you need mobile data. If you can't install the app, don't buy the pass.

In the app the pass shows up as two separate parts: a museum part and a transport part. Each one starts on its own.

1. Add the pass in the app. The Roma Pass is redeemed in the app in the holder's name. Several passes fit on one device, each with its own QR code. At checks you have to be able to show ID.
2. Activate the transport part yourself. You do this in the app before your first ride. From then on the 48 or 72 hours run, counted in hours and not calendar days. Activation needs an internet connection; after that the QR code also works offline. It opens the metro gates.
3. The museum part starts at the first scan. It begins when you are scanned at the first museum; just showing the QR code doesn't start it. From then on it is valid for 3 days (48h) or 4 days (72h).
4. Choose at the entrance. At every scan you decide whether to use a free entry or pay the reduced rate.

The pass can't be extended. If you change phones, log in on the new device and the pass moves with you.

What the Roma Pass includes

Free entries

The 48h pass includes one free entry, the 72h pass two. The old rule that only the first museum is free no longer applies. You choose at the entrance whether to use a free entry or pay the reduced rate. The free entries do not have to be consecutive either.

A free entry saves exactly the Roma Pass rate you would otherwise pay at that site. So it belongs where that rate is highest, which is usually the Colosseum:

The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill count together as one entry. The same applies to the four sites of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Museums that are free anyway do not count as a free entry.

Buses, metro and trams

The transport part is valid on all ATAC buses and trams, on metro lines A, B, B1 and C, and on the city sections of the Roma-Lido, Roma-Viterbo and Roma-Giardinetti railways. For comparison: a single ticket costs €1.50, a 24h ticket €8.50, a 48h ticket €15 and a 72h ticket €22. Children under 10 travel free with a paying adult.

Discounts and extras

You also get discounts on exhibitions, tours and events, plus free use of the public P.Stop toilets. Exhibitions in a museum you visit are included in the entry, unless they have their own entrance, as in the exhibition space at the Ara Pacis.

What the Roma Pass does not include

• Vatican: the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica are not included. The online ticket for the Vatican Museums costs €25 (€20 plus €5 booking fee). Passes with the Vatican are in the Rome pass comparison.
• Fiumicino airport: neither the Leonardo Express nor the FL1 nor the airport buses are included. Ciampino, on the other hand, can be reached with ATAC buses 720 and 520.
• Colosseum arena and underground: the Roma Pass only gives you the standard route over the first and second levels.
• Fast-track entry: the Roma Pass is not a skip-the-line ticket. Castel Sant'Angelo has a separate queue, and at the Colosseum your booked time slot is what counts.
• Hop-on hop-off buses and guided tours: these are only discounted, not included.

The Colosseum with the Roma Pass

Even with the Roma Pass you need a booked time slot, and it is only available online at ticketing.colosseo.it, through a dedicated Roma Pass product. Time slots open 30 days ahead. It is best to book at least 10 days in advance, 20 days in high season.

Without the Roma Pass at the entrance you will not get in, even with a time slot. Tickets are issued in your name, and ID is checked. How the booking works in detail, and what to do if no time slots are left, is explained on the page booking the Colosseum with the Roma Pass.

Bookings with the Roma Pass

The pass replaces the ticket, but not always the booking. The rules differ from site to site:

• Colosseum, Forum, Palatine: booking required, online only at ticketing.colosseo.it.
• Galleria Borghese: booking required, with a €2 fee.
• Castel Sant'Angelo: no booking needed. With the Roma Pass you join a separate queue.
• City museums such as the Capitoline Museums and the Ara Pacis: booking recommended, free for Roma Pass holders.
• Area Sacra at Largo Argentina: booking required, €1 booking fee.

Here too, plan at least 10 days ahead, 20 in high season. You can book before you buy the pass; the visitors' names are enough.

Is the Roma Pass worth it?

The Roma Pass is worth it if you use buses and the metro a lot in Rome and visit four or more sites that charge admission. With five museums in three days it saves around €15. With only two or three sites, single tickets are usually a little cheaper, and without public transport it almost never pays off.

Three examples using the calculator on this page, each for one adult who takes the bus or metro every day:

• 2 days, Colosseum only: single tickets plus a 48h transport ticket cost €33, the Roma Pass 48h costs €49.50. The pass is €16.50 more expensive.
• 3 days, Colosseum, Borghese, Capitoline Museums: single tickets cost €73, the Roma Pass 48h plus a 24h ticket for the third day €77, the 72h pass €77.50. Here single tickets are €4 cheaper.
• 3 days, five museums (Colosseum, Borghese, Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant'Angelo, Museo Nazionale Romano): single tickets cost €106, the Roma Pass 48h with a 24h ticket €91.50. Saving: €14.50.

The pass is also more convenient: you don't have to buy transport tickets every day, and at the entrance it is just a scan. Against that stand the app requirement and the bookings you still have to make.

Roma Pass 48h or 72h?

For three days, the two versions are almost equal. The 72h pass costs €18.50 more than the 48h pass. For that you get one more day of public transport (a 24h ticket costs €8.50) and a second free entry that saves up to €11.50. If you take the metro on the third day and visit a second site with a high Roma Pass rate, the 72h pass works out about the same and you don't need to buy an extra transport ticket. For two days, the 48h pass is the clear choice.

The 72h pass pays off when two things come together: three full days with lots of travel, and at least two sites with a high Roma Pass rate, such as the Colosseum (€11.50) and the Capitoline Museums (€9.50). For planning, the museum part runs longer than the transport part: 3 days (48h) or 4 days (72h) from the first scan.

The Roma Pass with children

For children the Roma Pass is almost never worth it. Under 10 they ride buses and the metro free with a paying adult, and under 18 they get into state museums free. Usually only the adults need the pass.

The state sites include the Colosseum, the Galleria Borghese, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Museo Nazionale Romano. Free entry under 18 applies to EU citizens and to non-EU citizens whose country grants reciprocity. The city museums work differently: the Capitoline Museums and the Ara Pacis are only free under 6. Children aged 6 and over pay a reduced rate there.

Even with free entry, children need a booking wherever one is required. For the Colosseum you book a separate free ticket at €0 for each child. At the Galleria Borghese the €2 booking fee applies to every ticket, children's included.

It is similar for young adults from the EU aged 18 to 25. They pay only €2 admission at the Colosseum and Castel Sant'Angelo, and €2 plus €2 booking at the Galleria Borghese. For them a free entry at those sites hardly helps, so the pass pays off almost only through buses and the metro.

Planning tips

• Use free entries where they count: take them where the Roma Pass rate is high, at the Colosseum (€11.50) and the Capitoline Museums (€9.50). At Castel Sant'Angelo (€6.50) and the Baths of Caracalla (€4) you are better off paying the reduced price.
• Start the transport part only when you need it: the 48 or 72 hours run from activation. If you only walk on your first day, wait to activate until your first ride.
• Make use of the museum part: it is valid for 3 or 4 days from the first scan. A museum the day after the transport part ends often still fits in.
• Combined entries count once: the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine are one entry, as are the sites of the Museo Nazionale Romano, or Palazzo Barberini and Palazzo Corsini.
• Not every museum takes the free entry: at the Museo Barracco, Museo Carlo Bilotti, Museo Pietro Canonica, Museo Napoleonico and Villa di Massenzio the pass only gets you the reduced price of €6. Museums that are always free don't use up a free entry.
• Check exhibitions: exhibitions inside the museum you visit are included. Exhibitions with their own entrance, for example in the exhibition space at the Ara Pacis or at Palazzo Braschi, cost extra.
• Plan the airport: from Ciampino, buses 720 and 520 take you into the city on the pass. For Fiumicino you need a separate ticket.

Alternatives to the Roma Pass

If you want to see the Vatican, skip the lines, or plan on guided tours and hop-on hop-off buses, the Roma Pass won't get you far. The main alternatives in brief:

• Omnia Card 72H (€149): Vatican Museums, hop-on hop-off bus, Lateran Basilica and a Roma Pass 72h in one.
• Rome Super Pass (from €149): Colosseum, Vatican Museums, a guided city walk and 3 days of public transport.
• Go City Explorer Pass (from €89 for 2 attractions): 2 to 7 attractions of your choice, valid for 30 days, no public transport.
• Turbopass Rome City Pass (from €104.90 for 2 days): Colosseum and/or Vatican with fast-track entry, hop-on hop-off bus, no public transport.

In pure numbers, these passes usually cost more than single tickets plus a Roma Pass. What they sell is convenience, fast-track entry and extras. What each pass includes and who it suits is covered in the comparison of all Rome passes.