Rome Beyond the Tourist Trail

Yes. Both sites sell timed-entry tickets, and in spring and summer the good slots go several days ahead; for the Borghese Gallery it is closer to two weeks. Turning up on the day usually means a long queue or an entry time late in the afternoon. Every tour and ticket we sell comes with the entry already reserved in the names of the people travelling.

With a reserved entry time you skip the ticket queue, which is the long one. Everyone still passes the airport-style security check at the entrance, and on a busy morning that takes a few minutes. Skip-the-line does not mean no queue at all, and any company promising that is overselling.

At one of three meeting points, depending on the site. Colosseum tours and tickets start at our tourist hub at Via delle Terme di Tito 93, a few minutes uphill from the amphitheatre, where you will see the Enjoy Rome logo. Vatican tours start at our office at Via Germanico 8, near the Museums entrance. Borghese Gallery visits meet in front of the gallery itself, at Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5 inside Villa Borghese park, where our representative waits with a red flag. The Tivoli day trip leaves by coach from Castro Pretorio, on metro line B, at 9.30 am.

Guided tours of the Colosseum and the Vatican run in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French. The Borghese Gallery guided tour and the Tivoli day trip run in English only. Tickets with an audio guide cover more languages, through the POP GUIDE app on your own phone: thirteen at the Colosseum and six at the Borghese Gallery. You choose the language when you book, and a booking cannot be switched to another language afterwards.

Yes. Every guided tour we run is led by a guide licensed by the city of Rome, which is a legal requirement for working inside the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery. Radio headsets are included on all guided tours, so you hear the guide without having to crowd around them.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time, refunded in full. Inside the last 24 hours a booking cannot be refunded, because entry slots at the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery are issued in the names of the people travelling and cannot be resold.

A valid photo ID or passport for every person in the booking, children included. Names are checked against the reservation at the Colosseum and at the entrance to St Peter’s Basilica, and at the Vatican Museums photocopies and photographs on a phone are refused.

Yes, and every child must be included in the booking, infants included, because the sites count heads against the reserved entry slot. Under-18s enter the Colosseum free, but the free ticket still has to be issued in their name, so book a place for everyone in your party.

Yes. Shoulders and knees must be covered, for adults and children alike, and it is enforced at the entrance to the Sistine Chapel and to St Peter’s Basilica. A scarf over bare shoulders is accepted. Visitors are turned away for this every day, and a refused entry is not refunded.

Three full days cover the essentials without rushing: one for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, one for the Vatican Museums and St Peter’s Basilica, and one for the historic centre and the Borghese Gallery. Two days are enough for the Colosseum and the Vatican alone. A fourth day is what makes room for a trip out of the city, to Tivoli.

April to early June, and late September through October: warm days and manageable crowds. July and August are hot, and the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill have almost no shade, so an early entry time matters more than usual. November to March is the quietest and the cheapest period, and the sites are no less impressive in winter light.

Most are not. The Colosseum itself has lifts, but our routes also cross the Roman Forum and climb the Palatine Hill, where the ground is gravel, cobble and uneven ancient paving, and both the Borghese Gallery and the gardens at Tivoli have stairs and steep sections. Write to us before booking and we will tell you honestly what is workable.