Rome’s attractions and official websites: what a mess!

[Revised February 2026]  When we travel, we experience the confusion of someone looking for the most direct and official platform to book tickets for attractions and finding tons of options.

The “real one” is usually several lines under the fake ones. The reason is easy to get: these alternative platforms pay to be on top of the list and sell their services, obviously adding a commission, in explicit or not so transparent ways.  This is becoming an issue especially when reservations are mandatory.

This article is to help you reaching the official websites for main attractions that really need a reservation, at the minimum possible cost. All these sites are also in English, just check at the corners on top to switch to the language you prefer. We also talked about “skip the line” tickets in this article. 

We remind you to contact us before booking anything, if you plan to have our guide with you, so we can agree on best day and time first.

We will then provide instructions for you to buy tickets at the minimum possible cost.

The reason why we cannot issue the tickets for you is that the booking activity would conflict with our core activity that is providing tours on a daily basis. If we have to be in front of the screen at the right time to secure the perfect slot for you, we cannot be out touring. If you need that level of service, you  need a travel agent, while we are a team of tour guides. 

• Vatican Museums 
• Colosseum and archeological park
• Borghese Gallery or directly the official seller Gebart
• Pantheon you have first to register and then book the tickets
• Trevi fountain: you can pay locally by card, but if you want to pre-pay, click on my link. Be aware you are not skipping lines, you avoid to pay on the spot and you’ll use a different line for visitors that already have a ticket, which will be the great majority.
• Catacombs: there are many, look for individual sites and info. You can reserve online (but it is not needed, you can buy the ticket locally unless you are a group of more than 10 people) the catacombs of St. Sebastian and the catacombs of St. Callixtus 
• Castel Sant’Angelo or directly their official seller Coopculture
• Terme di Caracalla : you can buy the ticket locally, but the system is slow.
• Capitoline Museums and all the sites/museums of the municipality network through Zetema and Vivaticket

We know…it’s a mess! We are here to help and assist. Let us know if some other venue is generating confusion and we will add it to the list.