Borghese Gallery houses some of the finest art in Rome.

When it came to Baroque and Renaissance art, the Borghese Gallery ended up being one of our favorite spots in Rome. This is how our visit went.

On our first day in Rome, we kept things simple and avoided making big plans. Because we were staying near Piazza Navona, we had plenty of possibilities for what to do with the rest of the day. We thought it would be nice to take things slowly, wander through the historic center, and later in the afternoon, make our way toward Villa Borghese. So, visiting the Borghese Gallery inside this lovely park turned out to be a decision we made on the spot.

We figured this huge public park would be perfect for a late afternoon walk. Another reason was that we hoped, with a bit of luck, we might get into the Borghese Gallery, one of Rome's most famous attractions for both art and stunning architecture. The museum was originally a private villa and art gallery for the Borghese family, most notably Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who began collecting Baroque and Renaissance works in the early 1600s.

It sounded like a great plan, but there was one catch. We didn't have tickets. Because we hadn't reserved ahead of time, our idea was simply to look around and see how it all worked, since we'd heard they usually sell a few on the spot. That's skipping forward, though. For now, let's just say we managed to get in, even if it wasn't as simple as we thought. So if you're in a similar spot and want to visit the Borghese Gallery, we put this guide together for you.

Borghese Gallery offers a relatively short but very intense experience.

What Is the Borghese Gallery?

The Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese in Italian) is often called a must-see in Rome since it showcases a remarkable collection of Baroque and Renaissance art, mostly paintings, sculptures, and antiquities. Inside, you can admire pieces by Raphael, Bernini, Titian, and Caravaggio, along with works from other great artists. The Borghese Collection of paintings was started by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605 to 1621).

Borghese Gallery is a museum that holds the vast art collection of the Borghese family.

The problem is that the gallery is actually pretty small, especially when you compare it to places like the Capitoline Museums or the Vatican Museums. Next to them, it feels almost tiny. Still, the Borghese Gallery is all about quality, not quantity. Because it is so popular and the space is limited, getting in without booking tickets ahead can be quite difficult.

At first, I was a little thrown off by the whole Villa and Borghese Gallery name situation, but it wasn't that hard to figure out. Villa Borghese is a large public park that anyone can enter for free, while the Borghese Gallery is a ticketed art museum inside the park grounds. The park can be visited almost any time since it's open daily from dawn to dusk, while the Gallery Borghese has opening hours.

Opening Hours to the Borghese Gallery

The Borghese Gallery opens from Tuesday to Sunday, so it is not open on Mondays. Visiting hours go from 9 AM to 7 PM, with the last entry allowed at 5:45 PM. Tickets are for timed visits only, and each slot lasts two hours. The museum lets in 180 people per hour, which should prevent overcrowding, at least in theory, as I explain later.

Remember that Borghese Gallery is closed on Mondays.

How to Get to the Borghese Gallery

The Borghese Gallery sits on the east side of Villa Borghese, and since we were staying in the city center, we just walked there (it was less than three kilometers from Piazza Navona, where we stayed). The park has several entrances. On the day we finally got in, we entered from Via Pinciana at Viale Antonello Trombadori.

Gallery Borghese sits within the beautiful public park called Villa Borghese.

When we finished our visit, we exited on the same street but through Viale dell'Uccelliera, which is actually the nearest access point to the Borghese Gallery. The closest metro station is Spagna on the A Line, but it's across the park. The more practical option is the Pinciana/Museo Borghese bus stop, which is much nearer to the gallery.

How to Get Last-Minute Tickets to the Borghese Gallery

We knew the most crucial part of visiting the Borghese Gallery was securing tickets ahead of time. But since going there was a spontaneous decision, the same as the whole trip to Rome, we simply couldn't plan it in advance. And online tickets were sold out.

Here's the thing, though. In addition to online tickets, the Borghese Gallery offers 13 extra tickets that you can buy only in person. They officially go on sale at the 20th minute of every hour (like 10:20, 11:20, etc.), but you obviously have to arrive earlier because it's handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

To show how tough it was to get Borghese Gallery tickets, here are a few examples. Of all the places we wanted to see in Rome, the gallery was the only one that was sold out. Even major sites like the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum had tickets for the following days. Even the Sistine Chapel had tickets, though only the pricier guided tour ones. Still, they were available. Only the Borghese Gallery was completely sold out, at least through the official site. But even so, we didn't give up that quickly.

The entrance is right in the middle of this staircase.

We knew our chances were slim, but we decided to try anyway. After a few hours wandering the historic center, plus another hour or so around Villa Borghese, we finally ended up in front of the gallery.

While I was outside taking photos of the villa, Lucie checked inside and learned that tickets were sold out for the day, so we couldn't enter. It felt a little disappointing, but not much, since we had expected it. After all, it was just our first day in Rome, and we still had lots of time to figure things out.

Over the next few days, we kept checking the official site to see if any tickets popped up from cancellations, but had no luck. Oddly enough, the system sometimes showed one ticket available for a time slot, but when we added it to the cart, it said it was unavailable.

As our Rome trip was coming to an end, we still had no tickets and were hesitant to buy the pricey ones from GetYourGuide. It was tempting, but by then we had seen so many amazing paintings, sculptures, and decorated rooms that we weren't even sure the Borghese Gallery was worth the extra price.

On our last day in Rome, we went for a final Hail Mary. After coming back from Via Appia, we stopped at our favorite pasta spot and came up with one last plan. We decided to head back to Villa Borghese and check if any tickets were left for 5:20 PM. We knew there were only 13 slots, so it didn't look promising, but we figured we wouldn't know until we checked in person.

Here we got our tickets after waiting a short time in line.

With our stomachs full of carbonara and amatriciana, we walked slower than planned and reached the Borghese Gallery at 5:17 PM. Inside, we quickly spotted the last-minute ticket line, just in front of us and slightly to the left. We joined the other tourists waiting there, not knowing if we would get in. A staff member soon came over, confirmed we needed two tickets, and told us to wait a little, but that we should be able to enter. Hurray!

A minute later, another couple showed up, then another tourist, who turned out to be the last of the 13. After she joined, the staff closed the line. A few minutes later, they let the people ahead of us in, and about 10 minutes after that, it was finally our turn.

Entry Fee to the Borghese Gallery

Since we got last-minute tickets, we paid only €12 each to enter the Borghese Gallery, but the downside was having less time than those who booked online (80 minutes instead of 120, but more on that later). The standard admission fee for the Borghese Gallery is €17 per adult. A guided tour costs €25, and EU citizens aged 18–25 can buy a ticket for just €4.

This last-minute sign inside Borghese Gallery says it clearly: only 13 people can enter with this type of ticket.

I have to admit, even buying tickets directly from the Borghese Gallery is not exactly user-friendly. First, I made sure I was on the official site. From there, I clicked Buy, which redirected me to the GebArt site. There, I clicked Buy ticket again, which sent me to the TOSC site, where I was supposed to actually make the purchase. Finally, after choosing the Borghese Gallery Museum ticket, I was taken to a calendar that showed what tickets were available for each date.

At that point, I realized they did have some tickets listed, but my excitement was short-lived. Whenever I tried adding one for the days we were in Rome, I got this friendly pop-up: "Unfortunately, there are no tickets available in the desired category/time slot. However, there might be tickets available in another category/time slot." I went through all the dates and times, but the outcome was always the same.

So I tested the system using dates further out from mine and eventually managed to add multiple tickets to the cart. Another thing I noticed was that if I could add only one ticket, it usually led to a "Ticket search not successful" message. That's probably not foolproof, since there might be times when just a single ticket is really left. Either way, I hope they make the process easier in the future, but for now, it is what it is.

If tickets are sold out and you don't want to rely on luck like we did, you can always book a guided tour with Borghese Gallery tickets. It costs more but includes admission. On top of that, you get explanations of the key works in the gallery, which can be really helpful if names like Caravaggio or Bernini are new to you.

Not to mention that besides names like Caravaggio or Bernini, the gallery is also packed with beautiful works by less famous artists.

Backpacks Are Not Allowed Inside

When we finally got our tickets, the clerk noticed I was carrying a daypack and told me I had to leave it in the coatroom. It caused a small delay, but luckily, it was on the same floor, just a few steps away. There was a short line, so it didn't take long.

They seemed pretty strict about it, and no wonder, because the rooms in the museum are relatively small. While we were being let in, a tourist with a daypack was stopped, and they wouldn't let her in until she placed it in the cloakroom. What was interesting was that they asked for a ticket to do so, which meant we couldn't take care of it before picking up our tickets.

Crowds in the Borghese Gallery

I'd come across several mentions that the Borghese Gallery visit is supposed to be calmer than other major museums, since they cap the number of people allowed in per hour. The key is that they also cap the visit itself at two hours. That's the idea, but there's more behind it, so I'll circle back to this later in the post.

Of course, it wasn't anywhere near as crowded as the Versailles Château we toured earlier this year, but it was still very busy. Over the last few days, we had been to some amazing Rome museums where we hardly saw any visitors (like Mercati di Traiano or Palazzo Massimo alle Terme). Compared with those, the Borghese Gallery definitely felt more crowded.

Some rooms in Borghese Gallery were tiny and could crowd up fast.

The main reason was the big guided groups that could easily take up much of a room. When they moved along, the gallery briefly felt calmer, at least until the next group arrived. Still, I get the general idea of what they meant. We were able to move around fairly freely, and we could even go back to earlier rooms since it wasn't a one-way layout, which was nice.

How Much Time Do You Need at the Borghese Gallery?

As we mentioned, the Borghese Gallery is one of the smaller museums we saw in Rome, but that doesn't really say much, because from our own experience we know that more than once we spent extra time in small museums when they turned out to be interesting.

The thing about the Borghese Gallery is that every visitor gets a two-hour limit. Your ticket gives you exactly that window to explore, so the time inside is basically fixed. At the end of the session, they make announcements for those whose time is up and you must leave.

On paper, it's a smart system to prevent overcrowding. The problem is, I doubt they enforce it (and honestly, I can't see how they would), which means it's mostly up to each visitor when to leave. Naturally, that can make the gallery feel crowded.

In our situation, it was slightly different. We had under two hours, simply because closing time was 7 PM. We showed up just before 5:20 PM, but that didn't mean we could start our self-guided visit right away.

First, we spent about 10 minutes waiting to buy the tickets. Then a few more minutes dropping the daypack in the coatroom, and a few more waiting in yet another line before we could finally start the visit.

Each visitor is allowed to stay for a maximum of two hours in Borghese Gallery.

By about 5:40 PM, we finally stepped into the first room of the exhibition. That left us with roughly 80 minutes, though in reality it was closer to 70, since around 10 minutes before 7 PM they began making closing announcements and slowly guiding people out.

I have to admit, we were just glad to get in at all, and we were mentally prepared to have less time than other visitors. Looking back, those 70 minutes flew by, but we still managed to cover both floors. Of course, with the full two hours, the experience would have felt more relaxed. I'd say two hours, the official limit for every visitor, is the sweet spot unless you're a real art fanatic.

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What's There to See in the Borghese Gallery?

Well, the Borghese Gallery is centered on Baroque and Renaissance art. A lot of Baroque and Renaissance art. As we said earlier, the gallery is fairly small, with the entire exhibition spread across "just" 20 relatively compact rooms on two floors.

Even so, there was plenty to see inside, and that's what we'll cover next. The paintings and sculptures we talk about below are the main highlights of the Borghese Gallery, though, of course, there were many other pieces that were both fascinating and beautiful.

Villa Borghese Pinciana

The building that houses the Borghese Gallery is called Villa Borghese Pinciana. I have to admit that when we first saw it, we agreed that it looked almost ordinary. Of course, we're no architecture experts, so take that with a grain of salt. It was originally built in the 17th century in the Baroque style, then renovated in the 18th century into a Neoclassical look.

The villa was designed by architect Flaminio Ponzio, based on sketches by Scipione Borghese. It served as his country house on the edge of Rome, which is why it was called a villa suburbana. In the early 20th century, it was converted into a museum. Unlike some other private villas, this one can be admired freely from the outside. Still, as I said before, it didn't strike me as anything too special from the outside.

Self-Touring the Borghese Gallery

We finally stepped into the Borghese Gallery and arrived on the ground floor. The museum's exhibitions were spread across the first and second floors. In addition to the permanent collection, which contains all the key masterpieces and draws most visitors, there was a temporary exhibition as well.

For us, the temporary show was Black Soil Poems by Wangechi Mutu, which was intriguing but slightly distracting. Still, mixing contemporary pieces with classical art is quite popular, and the Borghese Gallery was far from the first museum where we noticed this idea.

By the way, unlike in some other museums with private collections, photography is allowed inside Villa Borghese.

The Ground Floor

The entrance to the Borghese Gallery is from Piazzale del Museo Borghese, through the door at the base of the staircase (don't climb them!). We appeared on the Ground Floor after entering. Aside from the ticket kiosk, cloakroom, restrooms, and souvenir shop, there isn't much to see or do, so we didn't linger. From there, we walked up to the first floor.

The First Floor

While it was a bit unusual, we started the self-guided tour in Room IV, not I, which is what I would normally expect. Anyway, let's retrace our steps and show some of the highlights we saw on the first floor. A small spoiler. The first floor was definitely more packed with the paintings and sculptures that the Borghese gallery considers its masterpieces. Not to mention, it also gave access to the garden and had a stunning room with an amazing ceiling fresco. From our experience, we stayed longer here because there was simply more to see.

Room of the Emperors (Room IV)

Right from the beginning, Room IV was simply stunning, though that was true for most of the rooms we saw on the tour. The centerpiece here was Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a sculpture that captures the dramatic moment of Pluto abducting Proserpina. From there, we moved on to Room VI, passing through Room V, the Hermaphrodite Room.

Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Aeneas and Anchises Room (Room VI)

This room featured Truth Revealed by Time by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It shows a young, nude woman representing "Truth," though the figure of "Time" was never finished. From here, we passed through the Egyptian Room, Room VII, on our way to the Silenus Room. The Egyptian Room didn't have any official "masterpieces," but it was full of beautiful Egyptian statues and very detailed Roman mosaics.

Silenus Room (Room VIII)

For many visitors, the Silenus Room is the main reason to come to the Borghese Gallery. It houses six paintings by Caravaggio, the famous Italian Baroque painter known for his dramatic use of light and shadow.

Arguably, the most famous is David with the Head of Goliath, which has a little twist. Caravaggio painted his own face as the severed head of Goliath.

David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio.

Speaking of self-portraits, the next iconic piece is Young Sick Bacchus, where Caravaggio portrayed himself as the Roman god of wine, agriculture, and fertility.

Across the wall was Boy with a Basket of Fruit, also by Caravaggio. Since it features a young person as well, it took us a few moments to tell which one was Bacchus and which was the fruit guy.

Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio.

Next, we saw Madonna and Child with Saint Anne, which caused controversy at the time for showing the Virgin Mary and Christ in a raw, unidealized way.

Madonna and Child with Saint Anne by Caravaggio.

There was also a painting of Saint John the Baptist, one of the eight versions Caravaggio painted on this theme. The Borghese Gallery's version is arguably the most famous.

The last painting was Saint Jerome, showing the scholar who translated the Bible into Latin, lost in contemplation. The dramatic use of light and shadow, along with the skull on the table, makes it one of the most captivating pieces in the collection.

While the Silenus Room was definitely a highlight, the next room, the Mariano Rossi Hall, was also impressive. That's where we headed next.

Mariano Rossi Hall (Entrance Hall)

The ceiling of the main hall features a massive Baroque painting by Mariano Rossi showing Romulus being welcomed to Olympus. I think I can speak for Lucie when I say it was easily one of the most stunning frescoes we've ever seen.

The ceiling fresco in the Mariano Rossi Hall is really stunning.

It was simply stunning, and I think we spent more time here than in any other room, just examining all the details (this was definitely one of the rooms we wished we had more time for). From there, we made a short detour to the porch and the Secret Gardens, which we'll cover later in the post.

Paolina Room (Room I)

After Mariano Rossi Hall, we moved into the Paolina Room, listed as Room I in the official materials. The centerpiece of this room is the sculpture Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as Venus Victrix by Antonio Canova. It's one of the most famous pieces in the Borghese collection, showing Napoleon's sister, Paolina Borghese, as the goddess Venus. From there, we headed to the David Room.

David Room (Room II)

This smaller room had another beautiful fresco on the ceiling, but the main attraction was Bernini's David, capturing the dramatic moment of the biblical hero fighting Goliath. Unlike Michelangelo's calm David, Bernini's version is full of dynamic energy and movement.

Apollo and Daphne Room (Room III)

The last room we visited on this floor was the Apollo and Daphne Room. It was another small room, and with two guided tours there, it was fairly crowded. The room featured two notable pieces. The first was Apollo and Daphne by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which gives the room its name. It captures the myth's climax, where Apollo catches up to Daphne as she starts transforming into a laurel tree, with roots, bark, and leaves emerging from her body.

The gallery had many beautiful sculptures, but this one quickly became one of my favorites. The second piece was a painting called Melissa by Giovanni Luteri, also known as Dosso Dossi, showing a sorceress from Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso.

The Second Floor

Since the first floor was packed with incredible art, we ended up spending far more time there than we had planned. It was definitely worth it, but the downside was that we had much less time for the second floor, which we visited next. The second floor was also full of amazing art and beautiful rooms, though it didn't have as many "masterpieces" as the first floor. There were also fewer visitors, so it felt more relaxed, though that was probably because closing time was fast approaching.

Lanfranco Loggia Room (Room XIV)

In this room, we saw Busto di Scipione Borghese by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which didn't grab my attention, so I looked around the rest of the room. As I noted before, some contemporary art was included, and Room 14 was largely dominated by it. It also somewhat covered the ceiling fresco, Council of the Gods, which was truly impressive. We then walked through a few smaller rooms (XV, XVI, XVII), all featuring a mix of traditional paintings and interesting ceiling frescoes.

Bust of Cardinal Scipione Borghese is the smaller sculpture on the left.

Jupiter and Antiope Room (Room XVIII)

In Room 18, the main masterpiece was supposed to be Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Pieter Paul Rubens, but we couldn't find it. We later learned it wasn't on display there. Of course, there were other paintings, just not this one. After that, we moved on to Room 19.

Helen and Paris Room (Room XIX)

In this room, we saw the Archery Contest of Diana and her Nymphs, sometimes simply called the Hunting of Diana, by Domenico Zampieri. The painting, celebrated for its calm and idyllic atmosphere, depicts Diana and her nymphs in a tranquil landscape, participating in an archery contest. From here, we continued to the Psyche Room.

Archery Contest of Diana and her Nymphs by Domenico Zampieri.

Psyche Room (Room XX)

The main highlight of the Psyche Room was The Sacred and Profane Love by Titian, the Venetian Renaissance painter. The painting shows two women, one richly dressed and the other nude, with a cupid positioned between them. It has allegorical meanings, with the figures representing earthly and heavenly love.

Hercules Room (Room X)

Curiously, the next room skipped number 9 and was labeled 10, but that was just a small detail. The highlight of the Hercules Room was Danae by Antonio Allegri (known as Correggio), showing the Greek myth of Danae visited by Jupiter as golden rain.

Dido Room (Room IX)

Earlier, we mentioned that the second floor might be more modest than the first in terms of masterpieces, but the Dido Room proved how subjective that opinion was. The room houses three paintings by Raphael.

First, there was the Deposition, showing the grief of Christ's followers as they carry his body to the tomb. Next was Portrait of a Man, one of Raphael's early works. Finally, the Lady with Unicorn was easily one of the most fascinating paintings in the Borghese collection. A 20th-century restoration revealed a unicorn that had been painted over with a martyr's wheel. Even more surprisingly, X-rays showed a dog hidden beneath the unicorn!

And that was the end of our visit. We would have liked to stay longer, but time was up. After a few final announcements, we were all guided to the ground floor, where I grabbed my daypack from the cloakroom and went outside. This was the last attraction we saw in Rome, and after eight amazing days, the Borghese Gallery was the perfect goodbye before heading back home to Prague. Well, the gelato we had afterward made for a pretty excellent farewell as well.

Before we leave the Borghese Gallery, there’s one more place to check out. It's best entered directly from the first floor, but we saved it for the end of this list just because it's a garden!

Secret Gardens (Giardini Segreti)

The Secret Gardens of the Borghese Gallery aren't really secret since that's just their official name, and the garden is included with the museum ticket. Honestly, we had no idea this garden even existed, so we were pleasantly surprised when we spotted a sign pointing the way.

The Secret Gardens are only reachable from the first floor of the Borghese Gallery, and you can't even see them from the park. We had walked past the green fence without realizing they were there, so you could say they're secret to the naked eye.

Even though we were short on time, we decided to take a quick break from the art and check out the Secret Gardens. I'm not sure what the usual experience is like, but when we visited, it was very basic.

Secret Gardens of the Borghese Gallery were quite small.

The nice thing was that most visitors either ignored it or didn't know they could go there, so there were only a few people around. The downside was that the garden itself wasn't all that exciting.

The big fountain in the center had no water, and the sides of the garden were roped off, so we could only walk along the main path. Since the garden is narrow and only about 50 meters long, it wasn't much of a walk, especially compared to the huge park around it.

At the end, we faced another minor disappointment. The Uccelliera Pavilion, which separates this part of the garden from the rest and houses another sculpture collection, was closed. We couldn't go inside or cross to the other side, where the garden continues. While the garden had some charm, given our time limits, it felt like a bit of a waste, and we probably should have stayed inside, enjoying the art.

Is the Borghese Gallery Worth Seeing?

As we stepped outside, we could finally collect our impressions of the experience. The short answer is yes: the Borghese Gallery is definitely worth a visit, as it houses some of the finest art we saw in Rome. The Caravaggio paintings were amazing, Bernini's sculptures were stunning, and the ceiling fresco at Mariano Rossi Hall was breathtaking. And while it wasn't empty, we've definitely been in more crowded museums before.
I already noted that Borghese Gallery gives a relatively short but very intense experience, so don’t expect anything like the Louvre or the Met here. It was quite a different attraction, but it reminded me of Linderhof Palace in the way the overall experience feels. Short but intense.

Borghese Gallery wasn't only about famous paintings and sculptures but also beautiful rooms.

The thing was that after eight days in Rome, we had already seen tons of amazing paintings, sculptures, frescoes, and beautifully decorated rooms. Let's take, for instance, Caravaggio's paintings. The ones displayed in the Borghese Gallery were incredible, but we already saw three other famous works in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, which was free to enter and very easy to get inside, as no reservation was needed. The same goes for Bernini's sculptures, which are scattered around the city, so we saw them at Piazza Navona or inside St. Peter's Basilica. And it looked like every church we stepped into had some incredible ceiling frescoes.

I point this out because getting tickets to the Borghese Gallery was a real challenge for us. The space is limited, the demand is high, and last-minute tickets are almost impossible to get. Since we had already enjoyed so much remarkable art in Rome, missing this gallery wouldn't have been a disaster. So our tip is simple: book in advance if you can, but if not, don't stress. You'll still have many opportunities to see Caravaggio, Bernini, and other masterpieces around the city.

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How to Visit the Borghese Gallery (Without a Reservation)