Rome on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Yes: Rome is one of the easier Western European capitals to do cheaply, because so much of the city is free to look at and street food is good. A realistic minimum is about €88 per person a day (about €45 for a shared room or hostel bed, €25 food, €15 sights, €3 transport).
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €45 | €85 | €170 |
| Food & drink | €25 | €50 | €100 |
| Sights & tickets | €15 | €30 | €45 |
| Local transport | €3 | €7 | €20 |
| Per person, per day | €88 | €172 | €335 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Rome day-cost table.
Free things to do
- St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square (free entry; dress code covers shoulders and knees)
- The terrace behind the Capitoline Museums on Piazza del Campidoglio, looking straight down onto the Roman Forum
- Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps and Campo de' Fiori on foot
- Villa Borghese gardens and the Pincio terrace above Piazza del Popolo
- The Gianicolo (Janiculum) hill viewpoint above Trastevere
- The Aventine Hill: the Orange Garden and the Knights of Malta keyhole view of St Peter's dome
Cheap eats
- Pizza al taglio by weight: about €2.50–6 a slice
- Supplì from a friggitoria or Testaccio Market stall: about €2–3.50 each
- Maritozzo (cream bun) and espresso at the bar for breakfast: about €3–5 together
- Cacio e pepe in a Testaccio or Monti trattoria: roughly €10–14
- Gelato from an artisan shop away from the monuments: about €3–5
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers mostly stay around Termini and Esquilino, where hostels and simple guesthouses cluster and both metro lines meet; dorm beds are roughly €30–50 a night in high season and less in winter. San Lorenzo and Pigneto are cheaper, livelier student areas a short tram or bus ride out. Remember the city tax is added per person per night.
Getting around cheaply
Walk: most of the main sights sit inside a 3 km circle. A €1.50 ticket covers 100 minutes on buses and one metro ride, and contactless cards work at the metro gates. From Fiumicino, regional FL1 trains to Trastevere or Ostiense are cheaper than the €14 Leonardo Express, and airport buses to Termini are usually cheaper again (check current fares).
A sample budget day
- Morning: maritozzo and espresso at the bar (about €4), then walk to the Colosseum for the first slot (about €18 + €2 booking fee)
- Lunch: pizza al taglio and a supplì near the Forum or in Monti (about €8)
- Afternoon: free walk to the Campidoglio terrace, Piazza Venezia and the Pantheon area; fill your bottle at a nasone
- Evening: cacio e pepe and a quarter-litre of house wine in a Trastevere side street (about €16), gelato on the way back (about €4), one bus ticket (€1.50)
- Total: about €85–95 per person including a hostel bed or shared room of about €40–45
More ways to save
- Eat your main meal at lunch at a counter or market stall and keep the trattoria for one meal a day.
- Plan a Colosseum visit on the first Sunday of the month only if you can arrive very early; otherwise the €2 booking fee is worth it to skip queues.
- Order house wine by the quarter or half litre (vino della casa) instead of bottles.
- Avoid restaurants with touts and picture menus by the big monuments; five to ten minutes' walk usually halves the price.
- Visit churches: many hold Caravaggio and Bernini works and are free, for example San Luigi dei Francesi and Santa Maria del Popolo (dress modestly, some ask a small coin for lighting).
- Travel in November or January–February for the lowest hotel prices.
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Common questions
Can you visit Rome on a budget?
Yes. With a hostel bed, street food and one paid sight a day, about €85–95 per person is realistic.
What can I see in Rome for free?
St Peter's Basilica, the Capitoline terrace over the Forum, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, the Gianicolo and the Aventine keyhole, plus state sites on the first Sunday of the month.
What is the cheapest way from Fiumicino to central Rome?
An airport bus or the FL1 regional train is cheapest; the Leonardo Express to Termini is €14 and a taxi has a fixed fare of about €55.