Things to do in Rome on a Monday

In Rome - and indeed across Italy - Monday is the traditional closing day for museums and tourist sights. This is very frustrating for tourists, as almost every museum and gallery in Rome is closed on the day when a lot of holidaymakers and long-weekenders might want to be sightseeing.

Here are some places which are open on a Monday in Rome, and some ideas for a fulfilling day:


- the Forum, the Palatine and the Colosseum are all open from 8.30am until an hour before sunset
- the Vatican Museums are open, though busy, on Mondays from 9am-6pm
- The Doria Pamphili Gallery (fine art in a rich palazzo) is open 10am-5pm
- Rome's Jewish Museum is open 10am-6.15pm
- the Keats - Shelley House is open 10am-1pm and 2pm-6pm
- the Protestant Cemetery is open 9am-4.30pm; the pyramid alongside can be viewed from the exterior
- churches are generally open every day, though they close for several hours in the early afternoon
- the Pantheon is open all day
- San Clemente, near the Colosseum, is a very interesting church with underground levels to visit
- the Mamertine Prison, on the Capitoline hill, is open
- the Baths of Caracalla are open 9am-2pm
- select one or two churches with great art and pay them a visit (generally closed lunchtimes/early afternoon) - try the Caravaggio paintings in San Luigi dei Francesi and Sant'Agostino
- walking around Rome is always interesting, free, and open to the public. Tour the Circo Massimo, the Mouth of Truth, the Tiber Island, Trastevere, the Centro Storico, the Trevi Fountain.


Note that on a public holiday, some of these opening times may no longer apply. Also bear in mind that many shops in Rome are closed on Monday mornings and lunchtimes.