In Rome now (April 9, 2026)

Thanks for the update, Janet.

Glad to hear that the Pantheon/Neotune's Basilica special tour is worthwhile. We are in southern Tuscany right now, but will be heading to Rome next Tuesday. I had purchased tickets for this tour for next Wednesday when dates for April opened…now we are really looking forward to it after reading your comment!
Fortunately we have been to Rome many times, so we only pre-plan/buy tickets for things we have not seen or done before. There seem to be new things every visit.

Hi Janet--

We were in Rome at exactly this time last year, and then you also had the added tourists from it being a Jubilee year. The Vatican--which I had sworn I would never visit again after our experience in 2017 because of overcrowding--alas, we did it again because we had two cousins of mine with us that had never been. I'm not very religious but was brought up Roman Catholic, and the guided tour with The Tour Guy was not that expensive (about 140 Euro/pp) but wasn't even worth that because of the incredible crowds. We were supposed to see Vatican and St. Peter's in 3 hours, which I knew in my heart was not really possible even on an empty day, which I guess never happens anymore. It was like a bad Disney ride, and if I was a devout Catholic on a one-time pilgrimage I would have cried. We got through the Vatican Museum and were herded through the Sistine Chapel, and then that was it. No apologies, nothing. Just out of principle, I complained bitterly to the Tour Guy people and got about 30% back on my credit card--they wanted to give full credit on a voucher for a future tour...I not-so-politely declined!

The rest of Rome? Busy as hell but wonderful. It is my favorite big city on the planet. Every neighborhood different. Campo de' Fiori (our home base), Prati (where a distant cousin owns a wine bar), Trastevere (great restaurants, best ones are usually down an alley), Testaccio (oh, the market!). And so much more. We're visiting again next March for maybe 2 weeks, explore more of what we haven't seen on 3 previous trips--yes, there's that much to see.

What an interesting group we tourists are! We want to see famous and interesting places and are then surprised/frustrated when others want to do so too. I’m not particularly fond of crowds either, but I never forget that I am part of someone else’s crowd.

I will admit and agree that despite “timed ticketing” and “limited access” the money making machine that is the Vatican Museum allows far too many people in at once. It is a cattle chute experience that I will never repeat.

i have visited the Vatican museums at least a dozen times beginning way back in 1970. During our last 2 visits in mid-October 2017 and mid-October 2022, the crowds were so bad that I swore I would not go back again.
We visited Rome for 8 days in late November 2024 with our extended family of 12. I had purchased tickets to the museums for those who wanted to go at 3pm on a weekday afternoon. I then got one for myself at the last minute because my daughter’s in-laws really wanted just to see the Sistine Chapel, but were hesitant to go by themselves. I warned my daughter’s in-laws that it would be an unpleasant “cattle-car situation”, but that we would make our way through best we could to the Sistine Chapel.

To my complete shock and surprise, the museums were as uncrowded as I had seen them in the last 20 years! We actually had a very pleasant walk through the various museums on our way to the Chapel…no large groups of tours, no crowding and pushing, and no immense crowds.
So, if late November works for anyone’s visit, I highly recommend going to Rome that time of year.

Im in Rome now as well. Have been here many times since 2012.

New: New Metro C at Colosseo, well worth it! Also the Belvedere at the site, great photo op!

The Sunday passeggiata on La Via dei Fori Imperiali is less evocative b/c of the barriers which funnel street pedestrians.

More roped off and guard-railed areas around the city and sites due to over-tourism and poorly behaved tourists.

Pickpocket situation is fierce!! Watch for groups of 3 or 4 who fan out around you once you are targeted.

Crowds are unbelievable. Tourists march in groups like Roman legions marshaled by their guides!

More cafe to go (in cups) available. Prices seem to fluctuate widely and not necessarily b/ c of sitting or standing anymore. More grab n go food available at co- op and carrefour grocers.

Still a great city to visit. Ill be back next year with my 16 year old grandson for his first- ever visit!

We are headed to Rome for our first time in early May. Only staying a couple of days. Doing a couple of small group tours (Coliseum, Vatican) then headed by train to Milan. Are the train stations hard to navigate?

Any suggestions on getting around, eating, etc would be greatly appreciated.

We did a 3:30 Vatican entry in May and the only time we ran into crowds was the security line. The Basilica was virtually empty by the time we got there.

Janet, thanks for the update. I’m not surprised to hear about the crowds. It is the way of the world these days but Rome and all the wonderful churches and art is tapping me on the shoulder again. I probably will go in winter with some hopes of fewer people.

Some departing info:
Trains safe and courtesy still abounds from younger people to us seniors.

Quite a few police, carabinari and other security personnel at the very large metro stations. Even smaller ones have a security person visible.

If you are heading to Santa Maria Maggiore I strongly, strongly urge you to get there as early as possible as by 10:00 a.m. the security line was down almost to the back of the church building.

And if you are there I highly recommend and strongly suggest that you visit the Church of Santa Pressede which is a half a block away from SMM. One of the little jewels of Rome that goes unnoticed. Incredible mosaics.

I know you probably know that in a cafe/bar there is one price if you stand at the bar and a higher price if you sit at a table. I saw that played out today and the patron spoke Italian but somehow he didn't know.

I bought a metropass for the week at 29 euros and for all the walking that I did I took public transportation 32 times really taking advantage of having the pass. It really helped even short distances like looking from the top of a hill down when there were just so many people to try to navigate through, easier to sit and rest on the bus.

Domus Aurea tour INCREDIBLE!

Scavi Tour at St.Peters ends in the Basilica so no need to make plans for either before or after your tour. Make a quick visit to the Teutonic Cemetery right across the entrance from where the Scavi tour meets, it's interesting!