Villa Medici tickets

How a visit actually works

Villa Medici isn't a walk-in museum. It's the French Academy in Rome, home to artists and researchers in residence, and much of its 7 hectares is off limits. There are two ways in:

1. The guided tour of the gardens and Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici's historic apartments: 90 minutes, €18 (€15 reduced). It's the only way to see the gardens, the loggia, the Belvedere over Rome and the small study known as the "Room of the Birds".
2. The temporary exhibitions, self-guided, with their own ticket.

The guided tour ticket also gets you into the current exhibitions, so if you only have time for one, take the tour.

English tour times and booking

The Villa is open every day except Tuesday, 9:30am–7pm. English tours leave at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30pm, plus 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays. There are French tours most of the day and a few in Italian and Spanish.

Online sales open about a month ahead. You can buy up to 30 minutes before a tour online, or up to 5 minutes before at the desk if there's space. The rules are strict: no phone or email bookings, no changes, no refunds, no waiting list.

The €15 rate covers under-25s regardless of nationality, plus job seekers and members of foreign academies in Rome; bring ID. Under-18s, disabled visitors with one companion, journalists and ICOM card holders go free.

Booking direct or through a reseller

GetYourGuide and Headout resell the same official guided tour at a higher price. That's worth it when the Villa's own dates are gone or not on sale yet, or if you'd rather pay through an app you already use. Check the language on the product page before you buy.

Before you walk up the Pincian Hill

• Most of the tour is outdoors: bring an umbrella or a hat.
• No cloakroom or left luggage; small bags only. No strollers, suitcases or helmets.
• Accessibility: the gardens are reachable by a 96-metre ramp; the historic apartments are stairs only.
• Getting there: metro line A to Spagna, then up the Spanish Steps (or the station lift and Via di San Sebastianello); or minibus 119 to Trinità dei Monti. The entrance is at Viale della Trinità dei Monti 1, a short walk from the top of the Spanish Steps.