Price and booking
| Ticket | Price | With booking |
|---|---|---|
| Full | EUR 16 | +EUR 2 = EUR 18 |
| Evening session, 18:45 | EUR 11 | +EUR 2 = EUR 13 |
| Children and teenagers under 18 | free | +EUR 2 booking fee |
Note the last line: everyone pays the two-euro booking fee, including those who enter free. A place in the session is reserved for each person separately.
A family of four with two children: 18 + 18 + 2 + 2 = EUR 40.
The 18:45 evening session is five euros cheaper and usually quieter. If it fits your day, take it.
How far ahead to buy
The common advice of “a month” is no exaggeration in high season, but it is not a universal rule. In practice:
- November to March: a few days is enough.
- April to June, September to October: two or three weeks.
- July, August and holidays: a month, and choose the time rather than the date.
The gallery is closed on Mondays, like most Italian museums. Check the calendar on the site before buying: session times change on holidays.
What to see
The gallery is small — twenty rooms — and that is its virtue: in two hours you really do see all of it rather than choosing what to skip.
The heart of it is four sculptures by Bernini in the first rooms:
- Apollo and Daphne — the moment the nymph turns into a tree: her fingers are already branches, roots grow from her feet.
- The Rape of Proserpina — the famous detail people come for: Pluto’s fingers press into the marble thigh as if it were living flesh.
- David — not calm like Michelangelo’s, but mid-throw, biting his lip.
- Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius — an early work where you can see him still learning.
Plus Canova’s Pauline Borghese as Venus, and the Caravaggio rooms upstairs.
Is it worth bringing a child
The honest answer: not with children under ten. Two hours of sculpture and painting in silence, nothing to touch, no running, and the session cannot be cut short.
With a teenager — yes, and here is how to sell it. Bernini makes marble do what marble should not: skin that gives under pressure, hair turning into leaves, fabric that looks wet. Walk up to Proserpina and just point at the fingers on the thigh, and nothing more needs explaining.
For younger children there is a better answer: Villa Borghese itself — the huge park around the gallery, with a pond, boats for hire and bicycles. The grown-ups take the session, the children stay in the park, and everyone is happy.
The Borghese Gallery: a quest tour for children
Two and a half hours through the gallery as a hunt: children work out how Bernini made marble pretend to be skin and leaves, and look for details grown-ups walk straight past.
EUR 220 per group of up to 5 · each additional person +EUR 20 · 2.5 hours · ages 6+ · entry tickets and the booking fee are not included
On a two- or three-day trip the gallery usually does not fit — why is explained in our routes: Rome in two and three days.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a ticket to the Borghese Gallery
A full ticket is EUR 16 plus the compulsory EUR 2 booking fee, EUR 18 in total. The 18:45 evening session is cheaper: EUR 11 plus the EUR 2 fee.
Do you have to book the Borghese Gallery
Yes, and that is the main difference from other Roman museums. Entry is by timed session; you cannot simply turn up and buy a ticket on the spot.
Do children enter free
Yes, entry is free under 18 — but they pay the EUR 2 booking fee too. A place in the session is reserved for each person, including a baby.
How long does the visit last
Exactly two hours. That is not a recommendation: sessions change over and the rooms are cleared. Two hours is enough to see the gallery without rushing.
Where should I buy tickets
On the official platform, gebart.it. Resellers offer the same sessions with a mark-up and have no more availability.
Is it worth going with children
With children under ten, probably not: it is two hours of sculpture and painting in silence. With a teenager curious about how marble pretends to be fabric and skin — yes, Bernini’s work makes an impression.
