The expert travellers' guide to visiting Rome in 2025

Italy’s Eternal City shines bright in 2025, with once-in-a-lifetime events and a host of new openings. Here is where to go to see the best of Rome.

With more than 900    churches, hundreds of palazzos, 10 World Heritage Sites and 280 fountains (the Trevi alone sees some 700,000 euros in coin donations every year), Rome can be an overwhelming city to explore. And that’s before you get to the food – some estimate there are 15,000 pizzerias alone. Where to start?

I’ve been to this incredible Italian capital more times than I can count. But my last visit, with my Roman partner, Giampiero, had me appreciate it for much more than the “numbers” and the “must-sees”. He took me away from the Trevi Fountain (although there are reasons to linger here – read on) and introduced me to a side of Rome that is at once intoxicating and lingering, particularly if you’re a return visitor.

We ambled through atmospheric neighbourhoods like Trastevere, with its bohemian boutiques and innovative trattorias, and the oldest church in Rome; Ostia, the ancient Roman port with its wondrous archaeological ruins and zippy new metro line; Art Nouveau Prati, where boulevards come alive with alfresco drinking and dining; and Monti, a hipster hangout where lanes are draped in ivy.

All are a short commute to major sites like the Vatican, with its trove of iconic art and architecture across just 0.49 square kilometres. Together with the greater metropolis of Rome, this pocket of Italy is set to see a staggering 32 million visitors in 2025, mainly thanks to the once-in-a-lifetime Catholic Jubilee.

Bring your stamina and appetite, because visiting the Eternal City this year is a journey to be remembered.

The Trastevere district is one of Rome's most atmospheric neighbourhoods.

ROME’S 2025 HIGHLIGHTS

If you’ve visited Rome in recent years, you will have noticed that many of its key attractions have been under construction. The prime reason? To make sure they are in tip-top shape for 2025’s Catholic Jubilee. Celebrated every 25 years, this event consumes the city, with pilgrims flocking here to seek forgiveness and reconciliation – alongside many other tourists who visit to make the most of the festivities and access to sites not usually open to the public.

For example, the opening of the four traditional “Holy Doors” – at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, St John Lateran, St Paul Outside the Walls and St Mary Major. These “doors” are normally sealed with mortar and cement, but are opened by the Pope during the Jubilee year to represent a path to new and eternal life. This year, in addition to the traditional Holy Doors in the four papal basilicas, Pope Francis has announced a fifth Holy Door will be opened at Rome’s Rebibbia Prison.

After months of renovation work, the Trevi Fountain is also now scaffold-free, although take note if you want to visit: to avoid overcrowding, the monument is limited to 400 people at a time. To streamline foot traffic, visitors must now enter via the central staircase and exit near Via dei Crociferi to reduce congestion and make the site easier to navigate. Just as beautiful and also recently restored is the fountain in front of the Pantheon, one of the first fountains erected in Renaissance Rome.

Rome's Trevi Fountain has undergone renovation and is now open with crowd limits in place.

Meanwhile, in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo’s Madonna della Pietà is back on display. The Carrara marble sculpture of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary within the church is under the protection of new shatter-proof panes and with improved lighting to enhance transparency. Michelangelo famously designed the dome of this grand building, completed in 1590 and one of the largest of its kind.

An elevated passage connecting the Vatican with Castel Sant’Angelo, the Passetto di Borgo, has also just reopened after years of meticulous restoration. This ancient fortified passage is steeped in history and legend. Some say Pope Alexander VI used it for secret rendezvous with his lovers, inspiring a peculiar tradition: it was said that walking the 800m stretch of the Passetto back and forth 77 times (totalling 60km) could restore a man’s lost masculinity.

On a smaller but no less dramatic scale, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo on the Piazza del Popolo near the northern gate of the Aurelian Walls is also freshly renovated, representing one of the pinnacles of Roman Renaissance and Baroque art. Built in the late 15th century on the site of an earlier church, the basilica contains a breathtaking collection of art by the likes of Bernini, Bramante, Caravaggio and Raphael.

WHAT’S NEW AND NOTABLE

Within easy reach of the Colosseum, the new Archaeological Park of the Celio contains a host of freshly excavated ancient structures and artefacts, some of which haven’t been seen by the public in centuries, including the remains of the Temple of Claudius. Bonus: the leafy grounds are free to enter.

Within the space you’ll find the Museo della Forma Urbis, comprising a jaw-dropping marble map that provides a unique insight into the urban landscape of ancient Rome drawing upon surviving fragments of the famous Forma Urbis Romae, one of the rarest and most important testimonies from Roman antiquity, carved between AD203 and AD211.

Add to this the rejuvenation of hangouts like Piazza dei Cinquecento (a new green space in front of Roma Termini station), Piazza del Risorgimento near the Vatican, Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano (one of Rome’s most important public squares), and you have a city waiting for visitors.

Rome's Archaeological Park of the Celio showcases newly discovered ancient artefacts.

WHERE TO STAY IN ROME

“A lot of Roman hotels are starting to offer discounts from June,” Travel Associates’ Rome specialist Sue Weber says. “I was totally surprised, but some near major sights are offering up to 25 per cent discounts.” That said, Weber is also a proponent of venturing outside the city.

“I love staying just outside of Rome in places like Orvieto, then making the most of high-speed trains and the excellent metro to get into the heart of the city.” For reference, Orvieto is just an hour north of Rome, and has a jaw-dropping underground city dotted with man-made caves and a maze of Etruscan tunnels, wells, quarries, cisterns and cellars – all carved into the tufa-stone dating back to the 13th century.

Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome rooftop pool.

If you are intent on staying in the heart of Rome and have a splashy budget, Weber recommends the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel, near the famous Via Veneto and featuring 19th-century marble architecture. And she says any Rocco Forte property (there are three) “brings sophistication and style to incredible locations”.

If you want to check in somewhere luxe with freshly minted bragging rights, head to the Romeo Roma (newly opened and conceptualised by Zaha Hadid Architects) or the Four Seasons Vatican City, the latter set to debut in the Renaissance-era Palazzo della Rovere this year.

Romea Roma hotel reception.

More budget-friendly accommodation options that Weber recommends include the Una Hotel in Trastevere; iQ Hotel Roma, within walking distance of the Trevi Fountain; and Crossing Condotti, which has an unbeatable location near the Spanish Steps.

WHERE TO EAT IN ROME

For many, the first thing about Rome that springs to mind is its abundance of historic sights. But for many more, it’s the food, as food and travel journalist Maria Pasquale can attest. Born to Italian parents in Melbourne, Pasquale now lives in Rome and has written four books about the city’s culinary highlights (her latest is Mangia: How to eat your way through Italy).

“The food scene in Rome is as dynamic, layered and fascinating as its history,” Pasquale says. “Restaurant legends like Salumeria Roscioli and Armando al Pantheon will keep you fuelled on the classic front. Think lush carbonara, cacio e pepe and amatriciana – the trilogy of the Roman pasta dishes. With an extra one for good measure, the gricia.”

Amatriciana at Salumeria Roscioli is a Roman classic.

Gricia, for those who haven’t tried this incredible dish, was introduced to the city by arrivals from the Apennine mountains, and is a dry pasta that’s cooked and dressed in a sauce made with rendered guanciale (cured pork jowl), black pepper, pasta cooking water and Pecorino Romano cheese.

“For an innovative pizza you won’t forget you can’t go past Seu Pizza Illuminati,” Maria says. Here, pies are topped with the likes of roasted potatoes, smoked provolone, ciauscolo, salted hazelnut crumble and lemon thyme.

“And for the city’s best gourmet gelato, head to Otaleg (gelato spelt backwards so you don’t forget).” The orders here range from gin mascarpone with strawberry compote to white cream with orange jam and cinnamon.

5 TOP TOURS OF ROME AND ITALY

1. Insight Vacations

“Italy is one of our top-trending destinations right now, and our Best of Italy tour is a favourite among Australian travellers,” says Toni Ambler, managing director for Oceania at Insight Vacations. “With year-round departures, this tour includes exclusive experiences like a private visit to the Basilica of Saint Praxedes.”

2. Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL offers a number of cruises that spend time in Rome, including the 10-day Mediterranean: Italy, France and Greece itinerary, which allows you to spend a day in the Eternal City.

3. Collette

The nine-day 2025 Jubilee: The Holy Year tour visits Rome’s pilgrim churches and the catacombs, and gives you the chance to attend the weekly Papal audience and receive the blessing given by the Pope.

4. Intrepid

Explore Rome’s ancient wonders like the Colosseum (one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World”), the Forum and Vatican City before heading off to the Amalfi Coast on the eight-day Rome to Amalfi itinerary.

5. Inspiring Vacations

Experience the best of Italy on a 12-day independent rail journey, exploring historic cities and cultural treasures, including Rome’s ancient wonders like the Colosseum and Roman Forum, before continuing to Florence, Venice, and beyond with scenic train travel and guided tours.

Originally published as The expert travellers' guide to visiting Rome in 2025