The Capitoline Museums’ entry fee is €13 for a standard adult ticket as of 2025, which grants access to all the main galleries inside. If a special exhibition is on, the combined ticket price rises to about €20. There are also reduced tickets – for example, older children and students (roughly ages 6 to 25) pay a concession rate of €9.50, and little kids under 6 years old can enter free. Roman residents enjoy a discount too (adults living in Rome pay around €10.50), and there’s a family-friendly policy where one or two parents can bring their under-18 children without any extra charge (the kids go free while the adults just pay their own tickets).
Tickets are available right at the museum entrance, or you can book them online in advance to save time. The museums are open daily from 9:30 am until 7:30 pm, with the last admission at 6:30 pm.
Do note a couple of exceptions: on December 24 and 31 they close early at 2 pm, and on January 1 they tend to open a bit later in the day (in 2025 they opened at 11:00 am and stayed open until 8:00 pm). The only days you absolutely can’t visit are May 1 (Labor Day) and December 25, when the Capitoline Museums are closed. As a bonus tip, entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month – it’s a great money-saver if your timing lines up, though be prepared for larger crowds on those free Sundays. We visited on 5 September 2025, and all the details were valid as of that date.
Detailed Information About the Capitoline Museums
What makes the Capitoline Museums stand out among Rome’s many attractions? For starters, this institution is often cited as the world’s first public museum – its origins trace back to a gift of ancient sculptures from Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, and it officially opened to the public in 1734. Stepping into these halls, we felt as if we were walking through a living timeline of the Eternal City.
The museum complex occupies two grand palaces (the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo) on Capitoline Hill, facing each other across a beautiful piazza designed by Michelangelo in the Renaissance. Even before you see a single exhibit, the setting itself – with its elegant facades and the replica of the bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius riding high in the square – immerses you in history. (The weathered original Marcus Aurelius statue, nearly two thousand years old, stands safely inside one of the galleries, and we were amazed by its size and detail up close.)
Inside, the Capitoline Museums are brimming with treasures that bring Roman history to life. We wandered through room after room of ancient Roman sculptures, mosaics, and artifacts, many of which were actually unearthed right here in the city. One moment we were face to face with the famed Capitoline Wolf – the bronze she-wolf statue nursing Romulus and Remus, an icon of Rome – and the next we turned a corner to find the poignant marble statue of the Dying Gaul.
That particular sculpture, depicting a wounded warrior in his final moments, left us speechless; who could imagine that cold stone could convey such raw emotion? The collections also include countless marble busts of Roman emperors and philosophers (stand in the Hall of the Emperors and you’re literally surrounded by the faces of ancient history), as well as impressive bronzes like the colossal head, hand, and foot of a once-enormous statue of Emperor Constantine. We were particularly impressed by those gigantic fragments of Constantine – it’s humbling to stand next to a marble foot that’s nearly as tall as we are!
Capitoline Museums
Capitoline Museums Entrance Fee
Yet it’s not only statues and archaeological pieces on display. The museums also boast richly decorated interiors that we loved exploring. In the Palazzo dei Conservatori, we stepped into sumptuously frescoed halls (the Conservators’ Apartment) where Renaissance artists painted large scenes of Roman history on the walls. For instance, the dramatic fresco of the Battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii covers an entire wall and illustrates a legendary duel from Rome’s early days – seeing it in person was like peeking into a giant storybook of Roman legends. Upstairs, there’s an art gallery (Pinacoteca) with paintings by the likes of Caravaggio, Titian, and Rubens. It was a treat to move from ancient statues to Baroque paintings and back again. One gallery even holds the original bronze statue of a youthful Boy with a Thorn (Spinario), quietly plucking a thorn from his foot – a piece we remembered from textbooks and were delighted to find in real life.
As we made our way through the exhibitions, we also discovered that the museum spans multiple buildings connected by an underground tunnel. This means you get to walk through a tunnel called the Galleria Lapidaria, lined with ancient inscriptions, which leads you beneath the piazza and into the opposite palace. It’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention – we almost didn’t realize at first that another entire wing of the museum awaited on the other side! We recommend making sure you cross over, so you don’t skip half of the collection. In the second building (Palazzo Nuovo), highlights include the majestic Marble bust of Commodus as Hercules, the forlorn Marforio (a colossal river-god statue lounging in a courtyard fountain), and countless other classical works. If you’re a fan of ancient art, you might feel like a kid in a candy store here.
One of the moments that truly stuck with us was when we stepped out onto a balcony-like corridor in the museums that is actually part of the ancient Tabularium – the old Roman state archive building that once stood on this hill. From there, through a series of arched openings, we suddenly had a panoramic view of the Roman Forum far below. The sun was hitting the ruins of old temples and basilicas just right, and we could spot the Colosseum off in the distance. It was absolutely breathtaking – a sort of sneak peek of the archaeological wonders outside, framed by the stone arches of a first-century BC structure we were standing in. We took a few moments just to soak in that view. It’s not every day you gaze out at the Forum from above; in that instant, we felt the past and present converge in one panorama.
Are you gonna try to rush through all these galleries in under an hour? We wouldn’t recommend it. The Capitoline Museums are more extensive than they might appear from the outside, and there’s just so much to see and absorb. If you’re wondering how long to spend here, we’d suggest allocating at least two to three hours for a fulfilling visit. We spent about three hours on our tour through the halls and honestly wished we had a little more time to appreciate everything without hurrying. There’s a modest cafe and restroom inside if you need a break during your visit, and plenty of benches to sit for a moment and contemplate a sculpture or two. Photographs are allowed (without flash), so we took plenty of pictures of our favorite pieces – it’s hard to resist capturing those incredible artworks! And here’s a tip we picked up: earlier in the day the museum tends to be quieter, so visiting soon after opening time can give you a calmer experience with the exhibits (we noticed the crowds were still light in the morning, but grew by mid-afternoon). Whether you’re a serious history buff or just casually interested, the Capitoline Museums offer a rich, immersive journey into Rome’s story – one that we found both educational and deeply enjoyable.