Great museum with free entry. Took around 45 minutes to walk through both floors. Great mix of late…read more1800s to mid to late 1900s art and fashion. We enjoyed reading the biography's of each person who donated works from their personal collection. Walking room by room you can see the changes in woman's fashion, design and art decade by decade. Don't miss the bathroom on the second floor renovated in 1932. It is used as a display for dresses but if you look behind the dresses you will see beautiful green and yellow tile work. Highly recommend if you are on this side of town.

We were delighted to find out that by purchasing one ticket we gained entrance into four of the…read moreNational Museums of Rome. The museums are Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Baths of Diocletian and Palazzo Altemps. This museum is probably not known to most visitors, but should be. The Crypta Balbi museum takes you on a historical trip through Rome's past by showcasing the excavations that were found here. It is located just around the corner from the Piazza Venezia, and there are three floors that can be explored. Starting in the basement is the best part - it has the archaeological remains of the Theatre of Balbus, which can be explored while walking down the damp and dark passageways. The other floors will give you a clear picture of how the Romans lived between the 5th and 10th century. We were especially taken with all the pottery. This is a museum that the kids will like.

Highly recommended! The museum offers a very good overview of the urban evolution of the area over…read more2000 years. If you have children: take them with you. The drawings make it really easy to comprehend. The museum is very well integrated in the architecture of the building that respects the archeological charachter of the site.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and there are reminders of it's remarkable history and architecture…read moreeverywhere you look. Upon arrival to Rome by train, this museum of the Baths of Diocletian sits opposite the Piazza dei Cinquecento* which is the square directly in front of Roma Termini.** The museum is one of the two largest dedicated Roman bath museums in the city, the other being the Terme di Caracalla, located past the Forum and Palantine Hill and on the southeast side of Circo Massimo. Having visited that one it's a bit more spread out with more expansive architectural ruins, though Terme di Diocleziano stands out in its own right, with a beautiful ancient cloister--Chiostro di Michelangelo. The design is credited to (surprise) the one and only Michelangelo, featuring a square inner courtyard 100 meters wide by 100 meters long, that can only be visited with museum access. Inside mosaics, pottery, statues, gravestones are viewable alongside the remains of the former baths. Some of the baths' original structure is now integrated into the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs) so it's harder to see its full scale and former glory. There are placards in Italian and English, and some QR codes to scan for additional info. Museum tickets are a reasonable €15 which provides entry to three additional national museums in Rome (Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and Crypta Balbi) over a seven day time period. The museum is never crowded so no need to buy tickets online unless you're just one of those people that likes to plan in advance, you can purchase on site by cash or card. Also included in the Roma Pass. *that's mainly a large bus station and parking lot. **suitably enough the train station was named after the baths "thermae".

We were looking for something to do near our hotel on our last night in Rome and this was nearby!…read more It was challenging to find the entrance and when we did it was still confusing since there is a museum integrated with the ruins and we didn't have time to see a museum....the staff member working there pointed us to the kiosks to buy tickets and there was an option for the archeological site only so we bought those. There were no signs saying where we were supposed to go and no one to ask...we walked around a bit and kind of figured things out, but almost missed the main hall as the sign was very small...hint...walk straight after scanning your tickets and then turn left right after the gift shop which looks like you're exiting, but there is a tiny sign that says "to halls" or something like that. The areas to the right include a nice courtyard and the museum. The ruins were interesting, but with the minimal signage, and no one around to answer questions, it was a little frustrating.

Museo di Roma is a wonderful museum to end your visit in Rome. I wouldn't recommend this museum for…read morepeople who are going to be staying in Rome for a short period of time (1-3 days) but more to the folks who have been in Roma before and are looking to do a recap of the history of this beautiful city. My husband and I have been in Roma four times during the last few years and were looking to do something new because the bigger attractions haven't really changed in the last few years. We were staying a block away from Museo di Roma and decided to give it a chance. The Museum goes through the history of this beautiful city, from the architecture to war. History has shaped this city and is really amazing to see how much it has changed and which places are still up and are part of the modern day Roma. This museum has some really amazing views of Campo de'Fiori which are perfect photo opportunities. They offer discounts to EU students and people who are 25 years or younger. You are not allowed to walk through the museum with a backpack but they offer free locker rooms to leave your stuff while walking through this beautiful museum.

Wonderful museum. We skipped the exhibition- the regular collection was enough for us, but the…read morespecial exhibition of opera and art looked fascinating. The museum has a lift for the handicapped (and if you have proof of disability, you can get in free with one other person! Isn't that nice?) The price- 9 euros I think- was well worth it. There were many different kinds of art here- and the palace itself is a work of art. The paintings on the ceilings are lovely- and the way the collections were arranged was great. There's even a movie giving you history of the building. My favorite room was the one of the artists and their families- paintings, representing artists and their families- and I also loved the rooms of sculpture- one with a wonderful winged nymph, and another room with many sculpted heads. But all the rooms were great- and there was almost no one here. Why? It's a gorgeous collection. Go here. Enjoy. And let me just add, they have a handicapped bathroom, if you have any mobility impairment (lovely bathroom, let me add). Just a final note- from the upper floor you get a knock out view of the Plaza Navona- it's a wonderful place to take a picture. I LOVED my picture from the upper window!

Trajan's Market is an archaeological complex considered to be Rome's first shopping mall…read more The complex, with six levels, is huge and lends a sense of wonder, yet again, at ancient Roman ingenuity. Find it on Via dei Fori Imperiali.

We we walking by and saw the entrance and decided to go. It was $14 euro each and well worth it…read more The inside museum had so much to see and was a bit cooler for a hot day. It had 5 levels of areas to go to. Plenty of outside areas to look at. The outside grounds were incredible. We probably spent around an hour or so here. Great views of Roma and makes for some great photo spots. Downside a lot of steps. But like I said well worth it. This should be one of the top things to see in Roma and it wasn't even crowed. Probably like 50 people at most. So much better than fighting crowds of thousands at the Colosseum. Seriously, check this place out.

Not far from the Piazza Navona, you will find this overlooked gem of a museum. If you are visiting…read morethe Museo Napoleonico, walk around the corner to the Museo Mario Praz at Via Zanardelli, 1. The museum is located on the third floor of the Palazzo Primoli. You will have the chance to see the home of the late Italian art critic and scholar, Mario Praz (1896-1982). For years, we have wanted to visit this museum, and it was never opened when we were in Rome. We were delighted to find it open on this trip. When we entered the museum, we thought we had taken a step back in time. The home looks like Mr. Praz is still living there. There are 10 rooms to visit. The apartment is full with carefully displayed objects: sculptures, books, fans, mirrors, furniture, paintings, drawings, embroideries, musical instruments, and more. His collections came from Germany, France, England, Russia and Italy. The home is decorated in an ornate, 18th century style with crystal chandeliers, musical instruments, period furnishings, walls covered floor to ceiling, and each room has distinctive colors with its own story to tell. This is an enchanting home of a very interesting man.

Interesting place- a little hard to find. And we ran into one of the grumpiest ticket takers we…read morehave ever had. But aside from that, the villa Barberini is very interesting and there are plenty of bees to photograph (the bee is a symbol of the Barberini family- look for them in the plaster and in the paintings AND on the grill work and on the masonry- they're everywhere. It's fun to look for them. If you have kids with you, give them 10 cents for every bee they find.) DO pay attention to the door handles- I photographed several of them (twisted snakes were especially cool). We loved the Raphael, and the Greco paintings, we did not even know were there. There are also some very nice Dutch masters- I loved the bride and groom (I think those were on floor 0). The also have Filipo Lippi works- I'm not a huge fan, but the works were interesting. Picasso isn't of great interest to me, so the big backdrop Picasso did wasn't a big thing for me, but the ceiling in the room was fantastic. It's one of the biggest most elaborate ceilings I've ever seen. I wouldn't put this at the top of your "to do" list in Rome. It's small, and it's not as cool as the Colonna or the Pamphilj. If you have many days to fill, or the art here is of special interest to you, by all means- go here. Otherwise, pick one of the more stellar Roman attractions. (And I think most people do that- we saw mostly Italians here- very few other tourists of any nationality).

Palazzo Barberini We…read morefound Palazzo Barberini a tad by accident. It was off season and therefore wonderful. We don't like crowds in galleries. And this palazzo turned national treasure was a calm respite. Raphael's La fornarina is the draw. But our favorite was Caravaggio's version of Judith Beheading Holofernes. He must have really bugged her... On the same street as the palazzo, and nearby, don't miss the plaque honoring Nikolai Gogol who lived at Via Sistina, 129, according to the plaque from 1838-1842 and wrote Dead Souls while there.