How Much Does Rome Cost per Day
A full breakdown of Rome prices: daily budgets by tier, every itemised cost from the guide, and where the money actually goes.
The short answer
Budget travellers in Rome spend around EUR 70 a day. Mid-range travel runs closer to EUR 165, and a splurge day lands around EUR 420. Per person, per day, in EUR, excluding flights. Covers accommodation, food, local transport, and one paid activity.
Daily cost breakdown
- Stay
- Food
- Transport
- Activities
| Tier | Stay | Food | Transport | Activities | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | EUR 35 | EUR 20 | EUR 5 | EUR 10 | EUR 70 |
| Mid-range | EUR 90 | EUR 40 | EUR 10 | EUR 25 | EUR 165 |
| Splurge | EUR 250 | EUR 80 | EUR 30 | EUR 60 | EUR 420 |
Mid-range: 90 EUR three-star double split two ways, 10 EUR espresso and cornetto breakfast standing at a bar, 8 EUR ATAC day pass, 18 EUR trattoria lunch, 20 EUR Pantheon plus gelato, 35 EUR sit-down dinner with a glass of wine.
Every priced item in this guide
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill | 18 EUR full ticket (covers all three sites), 2 EUR reduced for EU citizens 18-25, free under 18; Full Experience add-on with Arena floor and Underground from about 24 EUR |
| Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel | 20 EUR online, plus a 5 EUR booking fee; reduced rates for students and under-18s |
| St. Peter's Basilica | free entry to the basilica; dome climb 10 EUR on foot or 12 EUR with elevator partway |
| Galleria Borghese | 15 EUR plus a 2 EUR booking fee, 2 EUR reduced for EU citizens 18-25 |
| Pantheon | 5 EUR, 2 EUR reduced, free on the first Sunday of the month and for under-18s |
| Trevi Fountain | free |
| Trastevere | free to walk |
| Villa Borghese Gardens | free to enter; bike/pedal-cart rental and Bioparco zoo cost extra |
| Campo de' Fiori | free |
| Carbonara | EUR 12-16 |
| Cacio e pepe | EUR 10-14 |
| Amatriciana | EUR 11-15 |
| Supplì | EUR 2-4 each |
| Carciofi alla giudia | EUR 8-12 |
| Pizza al taglio | EUR 3-6 per slice |
| Maritozzo | EUR 3-5 |
| Trapizzino | EUR 4-6 |
| Gelato | EUR 3-5 |
What I actually paid
- The Sistine Chapel is genuinely overrated as an experience, even though the ceiling itself is not. You get shuffled through with a hundred other people under a no-photos rule that nobody enforces, so it's also loud. If you want to actually look at it, take the first entry slot of the day or accept you're seeing it through a moving crowd.
- The coperto and servizio charges that trip up first-timers aren't a scam, they're standard and usually listed on the menu in small print. What actually costs you is sitting down at a restaurant with a tout and a photo menu right next to a monument. Walk two streets over and the same dish is often ten euros less with no bread charge.
How to spend less
- Drink from the nasoni, the free public drinking fountains on nearly every street; bottled water at sights is marked up hard
- Skip Roma Pass unless you're doing two paid major sites in a single day; the math only works out for a packed itinerary
- Caravaggio paintings hang free in San Luigi dei Francesi and Santa Maria del Popolo, no ticket needed for some of Rome's best art
- Eat where the menu is only in Italian and has no photos; anywhere with a tout outside is pricing for tourists, not locals
- Aperitivo (a drink plus a full buffet of snacks, usually 10-15 EUR, 6-8pm) can replace dinner and cuts a real meal cost in half