Tourists in Rome: major changes ahead!

2026 is shaping up to be a year of big changes for visitors to the Eternal City. From admission tickets to extraordinary renovations and new openings, here’s everything you need to know to plan your visit to Rome in the new year!

Trevi Fountain: admission fee from February 1

The most talked-about news of recent weeks is official: from February 1, 2026, Trevi Fountain will require an admission ticket. Tourists will need to purchase a 2-euro ticket (with payment also possible by credit card) to admire the famous Baroque masterpiece by Nicola Salvi and Pietro Bracci, while Roman residents will continue to access it for free.

The system includes two separate lanes, one for tourists and one for Romans, with brass bollards replacing the current temporary barriers. Access will remain limited to a maximum of 400 people at a time, a measure already in place for about a year.

The introduction of this ticket aims to manage the enormous tourist flow and could generate approximately 20 million euros annually for the city’s coffers, funds that will be reinvested in maintaining the artistic heritage and improving the city’s tourist services.

Sistine Chapel: restoration work from January to March

In another part of town, the Sistine Chapel is preparing for major extraordinary maintenance work. From January to March 2026, Michelangelo’s Last Judgment will undergo a thorough conservation check-up.

About 20,000 people per day visits the chapel, and they of course generate heat, humidity, and carbon dioxide, which puts the preservation of the frescoes at risk. This is why the intervention is necessary.

The work planned for the next few months includes installing a twelve-level scaffolding that will cover the entire wall; however, thanks to a mobile elevator system, up to 10-12 restorers will be able to work simultaneously. The Chapel will not be closed, per se, but the frescoes will be only partially visible (or not at all) as the works go on.

Neptune Basilica: the new Pantheon experience

Those who have already visited the Pantheon now have another reason to return. The “Beyond the Pantheon” tour has opened to the public: an immersive experience that allows access to the Neptune Basilica spaces, previously almost unknown areas that extend behind the famous Rotunda.

Visitors will be able to enjoy, among others, a virtual reconstruction of the Neptune Basilica with its polychrome decorations and archaeological finds from previous excavations, along with restored medieval frescoes.

Visits take place every day (except the first Sunday of the month) in limited groups of maximum 25 people, lasting 45 minutes. The ticket costs 10 euros for the special visit to the Neptune Basilica, plus 5 euros for access to the Pantheon through a dedicated entrance. Tickets are available here.

MACRO reopens!

Lovers of contemporary arts rejoice! After months of renovation works, MACRO – Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art has also just reopened, and it promises to be one of Rome’s best curated museums in the new year. Under the new artistic direction of Cristiana Perrella, the former director of the famed Centro Pecci in Prato, the reopening marks a significant change for the museum: after years of free admission, MACRO is back to charging an entrance fee of 6 euros.

The new program features four simultaneously inaugurated exhibitions: “UNAROMA,” a large collective show with over 70 artists curated by Perrella together with former director Luca Lo Pinto; “One Day You’ll Understand,” dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Dissonanze festival that transformed Rome into a European hub for electronic music; “Sorelle senza nome” by Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade; and “Abitare le rovine del presente,” reflecting on social housing policies in Rome.

New features also include the opening of MACRO’s new cinema, with programming dedicated to Roman cinema and tickets at 7 euros.

Temporary exhibitions on schedule

For art enthusiasts, the last few weeks of the year and the year ahead also offer a rich calendar of temporary exhibitions.

At the Capitoline Museums, until April 12, 2026, the exhibition “Greek Originals in Rome” presents over 150 works including sculptures, reliefs, and archaeological finds.

From February 12 to June 14, 2026, Palazzo Barberini will dedicate a major exhibition to Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his workshop. Interested in a walking tour discovering Bernini’s fountains and other public works? Look no further than here!

Finally, at the Museo dell’Ara Pacis, 52 masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts are on display until May 3, 2026, with works by Degas, Renoir, Matisse, and Picasso.

A final note to please always check the museums or landmark of interest before heading there – renovations, in particular, are unpredictable, and may mean that the site is temporarily closed on the day you go, or that opening times may be shortened!