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1. Vatican Museums
Occupying papal palaces dating from the 13th century onwards, these galleries include the Graeco-Roman antiquities, the Etruscan Museum, four Raphael Rooms, the Collection of Modern Religious Art, the Sistine Chapel and the Picture Gallery.
- Viale Vaticano
- 06 6988 3333
- Open Jan - Feb & Nov - Dec: 8:45am - 1:45pm Mon - Sat, Mar - Oct: 8:45am - 3:45pm Mon - Fri, 8:45am - 1:45pm Sat
- Adm €10.00, (€7.00 students under 26)
- Disabled access (partial)
- www.vaticano.va
2. Museo Nazionale Romano
Founded in 1889, this museum's holdings include archaeological finds and antiquities unearthed since 1870, plus pre-existing collections. The works are spread around five separate locations: the Baths of Diocletian, the Aula Ottagona - a part of the baths, nearby Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and the recently opened Crypta Balbi.
- A €20 ticket (valid for 7 days) gives admission to all Museo Nazionale Romano sites and many archaeological areas
- Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
- Largo di Villa Peretti 1
- 06 481 5576
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue - Sun
- Adm €6.00
- Palazzo Altemps
- Piazza Sant'Apollinare 44
- 06 6833 659
- Open 9am - 7:45pm Tue - Sun
- Adm €5.00
3. Galleria Borghese
A tribute to the unbridled power of favoured papal nephews in the 1600s, this pleasure-palace, its priceless collections of art, and its newly restored gardens comprise one of the most gorgeous sights in Rome.
- Villa Borghese, off Via Pinciana
- 06 328 10
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue - Sun
- Adm €8.00 (free under 18 and over 65)
- www.galleriaborghese.it
4. Musei Capitolini
The glorious square, designed by no less than Michelangelo, is home to smaller papal art collections than the Vatican's, but equally invaluable.
- Piazza del Campidoglio
- 06 6710 2071
- Open 9am - 8pm Tue - Sun
- Adm €6.00
5. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
This state art collection is now divided between two noble family residences: Palazzo Barberini and Palazzo Corsini. The first boasts the Gran Salone, with its dazzling illusionistic ceiling by Pietro da Cortona, along with works by Filippo Lippi, El Greco, Holbein and Caravaggio. The second houses a Fra Angelico triptych, and paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Caravaggio.
- Palazzo Barberini
- Via delle Quattro Fontane 13
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue, Thu, Sun, 9am - 10pm Fri, Sat
- Adm
- Disabled access
- Palazzo Corsini
- Via della Lungara 10
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue - Fri, 9am - 2pm Sat, 9am - 1pm Sun
- Adm
6. Villa Giulia
The building itself is a 16th-century country retreat designed for Pope Julius III by Vignola. Since 1889, it has housed the state collection of pre-Roman art, including Etruscan artifacts and relics of the Latins and other tribes. The prize Etruscan work is the 6th-century BC Husband and Wife Sarcophagus, a large terracotta showing a serenely smiling couple on a couch.
- Piazzale di Villa Giulia 9
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue - Sun
- Adm
- Disabled access
7. Galleria Doria Pamphilj
This aristocratic family's palace is filled with masterpieces by such painters as Raphael, Titian and Velázquez, whose portrait of the Pamphilj pope is famous for its psychological depth. This exhibit is fortunate to have a superb audio-guide, narrated by the present-day Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj (in English) that gives rare insight into the history of the collection.
- Piazza del Collegio Romano 1A
- Open 10am - 5pm Fri - Wed
- Adm
- Disabled access
8. Palazzo and Galleria Spada
This superb 16th-century palace contains a specially built 17th-century gallery to hold the cardinals' collection of Renaissance, Baroque and later works, including paintings by Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. One of the high points is Borromini's whimsical trompe-l'oeil gallery, a clever study in illusory perspective that appears to be four times longer that it really is.
- Piazza Capo di Ferro 13
- Open 9am - 7pm Tue - Sat, 9am - 1pm Sun
- Adm
9. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
The belle époque home to this collection offers sculptures by Canova and an exhaustive view of 19th-century Italian and European painting. There is also an eclectic selection of modern works, including artists Rodin, Cézanne, Modigliani, Van Gogh, Monet, Klimt and Jackson Pollock.
- Viale delle Belle Arti, 131
- Open 8:30am - 7:30pm Tue - Sun (until 11pm Sat)
- Adm
10. Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna
Begun from a small donation to the city in 1883, this collection has grown to include examples of every major 19th- and 20th-century Italian artistic movement. Exhibitions include canvases by De Chirico, Morandi and Afro, as well as sculptures.
- Via Francesco Crispi 24
- Open 9am - 6:30pm Tue - Sat, 9:30am - 1pm Sun
- Adm
