Villa Borghese gardens
Rome, Italy
Villa Borghese gardens
Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres) after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphili and Villa Ada. The gardens were developed for the Villa Borghese Pinciana ("Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill"), built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, or party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection. The gardens as they are now were remade in the late 18th century.
In 1605, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini, began turning this former vineyard into the most extensive gardens built in Rome since Antiquity. The vineyard's site is identified with the gardens of Lucullus, the most famous in the late Roman republic. In the 19th century much of the garden's former formality was remade as a landscape garden in the English taste (illustration, right). The Villa Borghese gardens were long informally open, but were bought by the commune of Rome and given to the public in 1903. The large landscape park in the English taste contains several villas. The Spanish Steps lead up to this park, and there is another entrance at the Porte del Popolo by Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio (the Pincian Hill of ancient Rome), in the south part of the park, offers one of the greatest views over Rome.
Accommodations near Villa Borghese gardens
Via Veneto Luxury Suites
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Nearby Tours & Activities
Opening times
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Thursday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Friday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Saturday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Sunday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Guests' reviews
When in Rome, you must get get tickets in advance (date and time are very strict!) to see the Borghese Gallery. Some of the finest works of art in all of Italy (in the world) await you there! Totally worth the effort for art lovers. After our visit we walked back to the Spanish steps, then back to the Pantheon near the center of Rome. Borghese is a must for all art and history lovers.
A truly fine collection in a wonderful setting. A huge collection of Bernini sculptures and paintings. Don’t forget to walk around the park because it’s lovely and has nice fountains. I only gave it a 4 because of the ridiculous fact that they literally kick you out after two hours. You need a lot more time to enjoy the art.
This gallery is absolutely extraordinary and beautiful. Much more interesting and personal than overcrowded Vatican museums. There is a Bernini exhibition in Borghese gallery going on right now and I recommend to buy a tour with guide and buy tickets in advance. The tour takes 2h and you can’t stay longer. After 2h everyone have to go out and the new group can get in. So the tickets are on time.
The worst experience in Europe. We just wanted to consult reservation information with the ticket office. The woman there told us that is full for the following two days and kept laughing at us. When we were looking at the information screen she said impatiently that you can stay here all day but you can’t go in. We were standing like five meters away and didn’t say anything. She seemed upset to have us standing in the house while she was having her coffee and humiliating us made her feeing better. The museum may be good, but the staff is pretentious. Seems nice to local. Maybe we are asian. I will suggest anyone want to go there to book your reservation by yourself so that you wouldn’t get humiliated like us. Won’t came back again.
When you charge 22 euro for 2 hours in/out slot. When you still don't get what means skip the line/online booking... But still need to queue to get your piece of paper... Also when Carravaggio is away to LA but you still charge the same, of course you don't know till you're inside.... Poor
It is just a wonderful place! To much beauty inside! You must come an visit this place but Remember to make an appointment before! Is the only way to have the opportunity to enter to the museum, specifically on weekends. You can take photos (with out flash) an ypu have 2 hours of visit an is enough time.
Fantastic collection in a beautiful park in the middle of Rome. The time limit in the gallery means you have to optimize you time so take the guide. The Bernini sculptures are worth the trip itself but there is other renowned works by the Masters as well
We booked a guided tour, which was very enlightening and at a pleasant pace. The sculptures of Bernini were amazing. There is a bag check required for most bags larger than about a clutch. If you're on a guided tour, be sure to pick up a radio at the audio guide desk after picking up your tickets. Time in the gallery is no more than 110 minutes (they start forcing people out at ten-of.) After the guided tour, we had about 20 minutes to re-explore a bit of the gallery on our own.
Beautiful gallery with several sculptural masterpieces. We booked about 2 weeks ahead and got a 1-3 pm slot which was enough time. The audio guide was quite good. The staff at the tickets, audio guide rental, and restaurant don't seem to like working there very much and were not very nice to the patrons.
If you like sculptures and marble statues, you must visit this place. It houses the very best ever produced. Well worth the near extortion ticket price, that you have to purchase upfront online.
Absolutely beautiful. We booked this far in advance and were 5 mins late. We catch up with our guide and he says we weren't in his group and that we couldn't follow. We were then placed in a group with an Italian tour guide and were supposed to be issued translator machines. And they ran out! All in all, we wound up touring the place ourselves. The service was terrible but the museum offers such beauty.
What a refreshing change from the rest of Rome. Tickets are best purchased in advanced, however you might be able to purchase last-minute cancellation tickets at the door. Your ticket is good for a set two hours in a size limited group. Nice to have room to breathe, take your time and look at really cool old things. Wonderful experience both inside and out.
Book early as the tickets sell out fast. The Roma Pass is the way to go for this. They seem to make exceptions for pass holders. Be prepared to spend about 3 hours in the gallery. I highly suggest an audio guide. The tickets are time based and when the session ends they make sure everyone leaves. They only allow so many people at once. Once inside the gallery is split into two floors. The first is a lot of beautiful sculptures. The second floor is mainly art. After the museum spend some time in the gardens. We rented electric cart bike. It was worth the 15 Euro.
Organized so well to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to enjoy the art treasures at their own pace. Many on tours - some self-guided. Others like me just wandering around just taking it all in. And in the end, the results speak volumes - everyone seems to have enjoyed their visit - happy voices at the baggage checkout.
Great paintings and statues. Call upfront to reserve entry, you will get a number, keep it handy, the ticket guy will ask for it while issuing one. Kids under 18 free but 2 Euro for ticket charged. Audio guide costs extra 5 Euros. i used Roma pass. No bags allowed, have to deposit in the next counter to tickets. Museum is short but great. If you are not an art fan skip it.
LOVE this museum! Wish we had more time there, but it was incredible to see. LOTS of great art, and the change to see Apollo chasing Daphne in person was awesome! The tour guide we had was great, and showed us all the top pieces of art in this amazing collection. The surrounding gardens are also not to be missed! The pine trees there are stunning, and its a nice respite from hectic downtown Rome.
Book in advance! By far our favorite museum/gallery in Rome (better than the Vatican in our opinion), and one of the best galleries we've been to. We were simply enchanted by the most beautiful and unbelievable sculptures we've ever seen by the brilliant artist Bernini (competes with Rodin museum in Paris). The audio-guide is excellent. The place is not large, and the first floor is the unforgettable of the two (the sculptures collection), but make sure to visit all the rooms in it.
Incredible private collection of Bernini sculptures, inside opulently decorated rooms with a bonus of paintings and historic (Roman) sculpture/tile work. You must book in advance. If the date you want is sold out, check the ticket page early in the morning when they seem to add cancellations back to the system. Was able to get next day tickets that way.
This gallery has quite a few very famous masterpieces! It was very interesting to see. If your going to bring kids, make sure they are interested before spending your money. A couple from the U.S. were there with their 3 children and only one showed any interest. The gallery is extremely glamorous, artwork from the floors right to the ceilings. The gallery takes about 2 hours with a guide but you are able to stroll through at your own pace with or without audioguides.
This has to be one of my favorite places on earth. Please note that it is very important to get tickets online several days in advance to get into the museum. The paintings include some very famous ones, and some unusual and unique ones as well. For me it is all about the sculptures, the details captured in marble are just so lifelike. The grounds and gardens around the museum are also a great way to spend the day exploring.
The building is very impressive. The park around the building is great. The exhibits are interesting, albeit a bit repetitive. Don't forget to book in advance, otherwise you will probably not get in. When I visited they were all booked for at least the next two weeks. I booked two good months in advance.
Stay clear non-EU young adults. Despite posting that they honour reciprocal cultural agreements (which Canada/Italy have), they do not. The art gallery is way too small to ask for a price of 15 euros per person. The cost should be maximum 5 euros when compared to more impressive galleries in other cities and countries. Avoid this cash grab at all costs.
