The 'Eternal City': the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain. For ancient history, art, pizza, pasta and gelato; children under 18 enter state museums free. There are no direct flights — connect via Istanbul, Frankfurt, Seoul or Beijing. Mongolian citizens need a Schengen visa; the Italian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar takes Italian visa applications directly.
🛂 Visa: Visa required · 90 days✈ Flight: 14h☀ Best months: April, May, June, September
#ancient Rome#Vatican#art#Italian food#churches#Schengen visa
Orange — daytime average, blue — night, grey bars — rainfall, green — sea temperature. Best months: April, May, June, September, October.
Things to see (12)
🧸 for kids
Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Culture€18 (24 h, all three sites); Full Experience €24; free under 18Daily 9:00 to about 1 hour before sunset
The 50,000-seat amphitheatre built in AD 80, next to the Forum — ancient Rome's main square — and the Palatine Hill where the emperors' palaces stood. Book a timed ticket in advance on ticketing.colosseo.it — they often sell out on the day. Allow a full day.
Like a well-travelled friend for a first-timer: before you go, landing, SIM, transport, money, food, safety, manners, apps, leaving — step by step.
🧳Before you goThe Italian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar takes Italian visa applications itself — booking a slot on Prenot@Mi is step one.+
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Schengen visa: Italian Embassy (no VFS)
If Italy is your main destination, apply at the Italian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar (ICC Tower, 14th floor). Book the appointment by registering on prenotami.esteri.it; appointments run Mon–Fri 9:30–13:30, and you must bring a printed confirmation — building security checks it. Fee €90 (ages 6–11 €45, under 6 free), with no third-party service fee.
Tip: Prenot@Mi slots fill fast — start 2–3 months before your trip.
A decision usually comes within 15 days, up to 45 if extra checks are needed; you cannot apply more than 6 months ahead. Attach medical insurance of at least €30,000 valid across Schengen, a return ticket, hotel bookings, bank statements and an employment letter.
Tickets for the Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Borghese Gallery and Pantheon are timed and sell out. Buy only on the official sites — ticketing.colosseo.it, tickets.museivaticani.va — look-alike sites charge several times more. On first entry to Schengen the EES system records your fingerprints and face.
🛬Landing and getting to the cityMost flights land at Fiumicino (FCO), south-west of the centre.+
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Leonardo Express train
Non-stop from FCO to Roma Termini in 32 minutes, every 15 minutes, for €14 — buy in the Trenitalia app or at the airport machines. Children up to 12 travel free with a paying adult. Validate paper tickets in the green machine before boarding.
Tip: Termini is full of pickpockets — carry your bag in front and don't let a 'helpful' stranger buy your ticket.
Take only official white taxis: there is a fixed fare from FCO to the city inside the Aurelian Walls; ignore people touting 'taxis' in the hall. If you fly MIAT to Frankfurt, you enter Schengen there and continue to Rome on a domestic-style flight — leave enough time between connections.
If your phone supports eSIM, buy and install a travel eSIM from Airalo, Holafly or similar before you leave: it works as soon as you land in Frankfurt or Rome. Pick a Europe-wide plan and it works in your connecting city too.
Tip: Download Rome in Google Maps and Italian in Google Translate for offline use.
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Italian prepaid SIM
Buy a SIM at a TIM, Vodafone or WindTre store with your passport — registration is required by law. TIM has a tourist plan. Iliad needs an Italian tax code, so it does not suit tourists.
🚇Getting aroundThe historic centre is compact — you will walk most of it. The metro has few lines; buses and trams are many.+
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Tickets
A BIT ticket is €1.50: 100 minutes on buses and trams or one metro ride. Roma 24h is €8.50 and 48h €15 for unlimited travel. You can tap a bank card at metro gates and on bus readers. Validate paper tickets as you board — inspection fines are high.
Line A serves Termini, the Spanish Steps (Spagna) and the Vatican (Ottaviano); line B goes to the Colosseum and Piramide. From Piramide the Roma–Lido train reaches Ostia Antica on a city ticket. The Vatican is a separate state but has no border or passport check — just walk in.
Frecciarossa high-speed trains leave Termini for Florence and Naples; from Naples the Circumvesuviana train reaches Pompeii. Booking early in the Trenitalia app is cheaper. Each needs a full day.
Most places take cards, but small cafés and markets need cash. Withdraw euros from bank ATMs (Bancomat); independent ATMs at tourist spots charge high fees. A 'coperto' (bread and cover charge) on the bill is normal, and tipping is optional.
Tip: If the ATM offers to charge you in tögrög, say no — choose euros.
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City accommodation tax
Rome charges a per-person, per-night tax by accommodation class: 3-star €6, 4-star €7.50, 5-star €10, B&B €6 — for the first 10 nights only. Children under 10 are exempt. Hotels usually collect it separately on site.
Non-EU visitors who spend more than €70.01 in one shop on one day can reclaim VAT. Show your passport in the shop to get a Tax Free receipt and validate it at the airport where you leave the EU.
🍜FoodRoman food is simple but superb: pasta, Roman pizza and gelato.+
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What to eat
Rome's four pastas — carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia; square 'pizza al taglio' sold by weight; fried rice balls called supplì; artichokes (carciofi) in spring. Children love pizza, gelato and the cream-filled maritozzo bun.
Tip: Avoid restaurants with picture menus right by the big squares — one or two streets away it is cheaper and better.
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Meal times and coffee
Italians eat lunch in the early afternoon and dinner late in the evening; many restaurants close in between. Coffee drunk standing at the bar (al banco) is cheaper than at a table. Cappuccino is traditionally a morning-only drink.
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Markets and groceries
Campo de' Fiori and Testaccio markets sell fruit, cheese and sandwiches. Buy cheap groceries at Carrefour Express, Conad and Lidl. Water from the city's 'nasoni' fountains is drinkable and free — refill your bottle.
In Rome police, ambulance and fire all answer on 112 — free, 24 hours, callable even from a phone without a SIM, with English-speaking operators. The emergency department is 'Pronto Soccorso'; the children's hospital is Bambino Gesù.
Gangs work Termini station, metro line A, buses 40 and 64, and around Trevi and the Colosseum: shoving as doors close, or asking for directions with a map. Don't leave your phone on the table and keep your bag in front. 'Gift' bracelets, roses, petition signers and costumed gladiators posing for photos all end in a demand for money.
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Heat and the Mongolian Embassy
Summers are very hot — carry a hat and water, spend midday in museums and walk outside in the morning and evening. If you lose your passport, report it to the police (Carabinieri) and contact the Embassy of Mongolia in Rome (Via Vincenzo Bellini 4).
St Peter's, the Vatican Museums and other churches refuse entry with bare shoulders or knees — carry a light scarf in summer. Be quiet inside, don't photograph during services, and take off your hat.
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City rules
Sitting on the Spanish Steps, wading or dipping feet in fountains, carving monuments and picnicking in the historic centre all bring fines. Throwing a coin into Trevi is fine; taking coins out is forbidden.
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Everyday contact
Say 'Buongiorno' (or 'Buonasera' in the evening) entering a shop or restaurant and 'Grazie, arrivederci' when leaving. You usually ask for the bill — 'Il conto, per favore'. Italians gesture a lot and speak loudly; it does not mean they are angry.
📱Useful apps+
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Transport
Trenitalia app — the Leonardo Express and high-speed trains. Google Maps covers Rome's buses and metro well. Book official taxis with the FreeNow app; Uber in Rome only offers private hire cars (NCC) and is expensive.
Bookmark the official museum sites: ticketing.colosseo.it, tickets.museivaticani.va, the Pantheon and the Borghese. Google Translate's camera mode translates Italian menus on the spot.
The Leonardo Express from Termini takes 32 minutes and runs every 15 minutes. Be at the airport 3 hours before an international flight: the EES exit check, Tax Free validation and security can be slow. If you connect via Frankfurt, you exit Schengen there.
Leave the Schengen area no later than the date on your visa — EES records your exit day automatically, and an overstay will hurt your next application. Carry Tax Free goods in your hand luggage and validate them before check-in.
AI answer: double-check anything beyond our researched facts with an official source.
Mon–Sat 8:00–20:00 (last entry 18:00); closed Sundays, free on the last Sunday of the month
The popes' 2,000-year collection: the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps and, at the end, the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam' ceiling. Buy only from tickets.museivaticani.va — fake sites abound.
CultureBasilica free; dome climb from €10 (more with the lift)Daily roughly 7:00–19:00; long security queue
The world's largest Catholic church, with Michelangelo's Pietà and Bernini's bronze canopy. Climb 551 steps (half by lift) to the top of the dome for a view over all of Rome. Bare shoulders and knees are not allowed in.
A 2,000-year-old temple whose concrete dome has a 9 m opening at the top — rain falls right inside. Raphael is buried here. Have a coffee on Piazza della Rotonda, then walk to Navona.
CitySquare free; area by the water €2 (free under 6)Paid area Mon 11:30–22:00, Tue–Sun 9:00–22:00; free after 22:00
The most famous baroque fountain: toss a coin over your shoulder and you will return to Rome. Since February 2026 a €2 ticket is needed to go down to the water. Ten minutes' walk brings you to the Spanish Steps — sitting and eating on the steps is banned.
An oval square on the site of an ancient stadium, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers and street painters. Campo de' Fiori market nearby sells fruit and vegetables in the morning. A Christmas market runs in December.
A small but stunning museum of Bernini marbles and Caravaggio paintings — no entry without a booking, so reserve a week ahead. Outside is the city's largest park: bikes, rowing boats and playgrounds.
Cobbled lanes across the Tiber, ivy-draped houses and the golden mosaics of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The place for cacio e pepe, carbonara, Roman thin-crust pizza and supplì. Watch the sunset from the Janiculum Hill.
Culture€18 (from 1 July 2026); free under 18 and on the first Sunday of the monthTue–Sun 9:00–19:30 (last entry 18:30); closed Mondays
Hadrian's mausoleum turned papal fortress; the roof terrace has great views of St Peter's and the Tiber. Walk in across the bridge lined with angel statues.
20 km of underground early-Christian tombs where 16 popes were buried. A 40-minute guided visit, cool inside. On Sundays traffic is restricted on the ancient Appian Way, good for a bike ride.
Culture€18; free under 18 and on the first Sunday of the monthTue–Sun from 8:30 (closing 17:15–19:00 by season); closed Mondays
Ancient Rome's port town: whole streets, a theatre, public latrines and snack bars — easier than Pompeii and far less crowded. About 30 minutes by the Roma–Lido train from Piramide, on a city ticket.
KidsFixed-date €19 (100 cm to age 10 €14); free under 100 cmDaily from 9:30 (closing 17:00–19:00 by season)
A 1911 zoo inside Villa Borghese park: elephants, giraffes, chimpanzees and a reptile house. A day off from museums for tired children; tickets are cheaper online.
