One Of Rome's Most Popular Landmarks May Soon Demand An Appointment Time For Entry
As an influential city for literally centuries, Rome is quite busy. History buffs, fashion lovers, cinephiles, and more will likely find Rome on their bucket lists. However, the Eternal City's popularity can be overwhelming for some of its beloved attractions. Tourism officials are considering ways to protect some of the city's centuries-old landmarks and keep the city livable for locals.
Some European attractions (especially museums) are implementing timed entry to better control massive crowds. This means that visitors should buy tickets online, choosing a date and time well before their visit. Despite being an open-air attraction, Rome's Trevi Fountain does have designated access points and might soon have timed-entry measures in place as well. "The situation at the Trevi Fountain is becoming technically very difficult to manage," Mayor Roberto Gualtieri explained (per USA Today). Timed entry tickets will help the Trevi create a steadier flow of traffic and closely abide by the existing capacity limit of 400 people around the fountain at a time.
The Trevi Fountain is preparing for even more tourists
While the Trevi Fountain has seen hordes of tourists daily for decades, a major factor in these recent crowd control discussions is a surprising reason you may not want to visit Rome this year — the 2025 Jubilee. Every 25 years, millions of Roman Catholics come to Vatican City to celebrate this event, on top of the millions who visit Rome for non-religious reasons. Given that Rome surrounds Vatican City, Italy's capital will see even more visitors throughout 2025. These tourism discussions also come after the Trevi Fountain underwent three months of renovations to clean it and fix the grouting in 2024.
Other favorite experiences in Rome that require timed-entry online tickets include general admission to Castel Sant'Angelo, the Colosseum, and tours of the Borghese Gallery, which features Rick Steves' favorite statue in all of Europe. Buying tickets for important itinerary items in advance is simply a smart way to visit attractions in Europe. Plan ahead so you don't miss out. Additionally, if you want some amazing Roman fountains with no pre-planning necessary, head to Fontana dell'Acqua Paola, Piazza Navona, or Piazza Barberini.