Rome Audioguides, Italy

Rome has 16 free audio guides in English on this site, one for each stop below. Each one plays on your phone straight from its page, with no app and no sign-up, and runs from 4 to just under 10 minutes: about 1 hour 48 minutes of audio in all. This page groups them into 4 areas you can walk.

Ancient Rome. Start at the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine beside it. The basic Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine ticket is valid for 24 hours and gives 1 entry to the Colosseum (without the arena) and 1 to the Roman Forum and the Palatine. The Arch of Titus stands at the eastern end of the Forum, at the foot of the Palatine, and the same ticket covers it; the Circus Maximus lies in the valley on the other side of the Palatine. On 2 October 2026 the official Colosseum site gave these hours: the Colosseum opens at 8:30 and the Roman Forum and the Palatine at 9:00; until 24 October the park closes at 18:30, last admission 17:30, and from 25 October to 28 February 2027 it closes at 16:30, last admission 15:30. Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month and on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November.

The Vatican. St. Peter's Basilica is open from 7:00 to 20:00, the hours in force since 1 June. The Vatican Museums are a separate visit, with their own ticket and their own entrance: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 20:00, last entry 18:00 (closed on some holidays, including 8, 25 and 26 December and 1 and 6 January), and €20 at the desk. Booking online on the official site skips the queue for €5 more. The same ticket takes you into the Sistine Chapel. On the last Sunday of the month entry is free, from 9:00 to 14:00 (last entry 12:30), except when it falls on Easter Sunday, 29 June, or 25, 26 or 31 December. Down by the Tiber, Castel Sant'Angelo began as the tomb of the emperor Hadrian.

The historic centre. The Pantheon opens daily from 9:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:30. From there it is a short walk to Piazza Navona on one side and the Trevi Fountain on the other. Since 2 February 2026, visitors who are not residents of Rome pay €2 to enter the basin area, the part closest to the fountain, every day from 9:00 to 22:00. Children up to 5, and people with disabilities with their carers, go in free.

From the Spanish Steps to Villa Borghese. Piazza di Spagna sits at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Further north is Piazza del Popolo, and from the Pincio terrace above it you walk straight into the Borghese Gardens.

On its own, near Termini station, is the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, one of the 4 papal basilicas of Rome.