Things to do at Night in Rome

If there’s a better introduction to Rome’s ancient monuments than the Big Bus city tour, we’ve yet to discover it. But the panoramic night ride around the Eternal City takes it to a whole new level. Hop aboard this starlight express for an hour-long evening excursion that takes you within snapping distance of several of the city’s major landmarks. We’re talking bucket-list territory here: see the Colosseum, the Vatican and Piazza Venezia all beautifully illuminated against the night sky.

Pro-tip: the Big Bus Rome panoramic night tour operates between May and October. Alternative guided night tour options outside of these dates run the gamut from vespa sidecars and e-bikes to golf carts and tuk-tuks. The Big Bus night tour (as well as the standard daytime hop-on hop-off option) is included with the Rome pass from Go City. The pass can save you up to 50% on 50+ Rome attractions, tours and activities. Click here for more info.

Rome’s grand piazzas are at their atmospheric best in the evenings, when bars bustle, street performers vie for your attention, and uplit palazzos and fountains all add to the fairytale enchantment. So, when in Rome do as the Romans do: find yourself an al fresco table, order up an Aperol Spritz and eyeball the various entertainers, selfie-takers and stylish locals as the world goes by. Try the storybook surroundings of grand Piazza Navona with its baroque churches and fabulous Bernini fountain, or hit up the more intimate Piazza di Spagna (pictured). Best known for its location at the foot of the mighty Spanish Steps, it's a popular meeting spot for date nights, and gateway to the majestic (and, of course, perfectly illuminated) Renaissance church – the Trinità dei Monti – at its summit.

In the market for a livelier vibe? Campo de' Fiori, with its high concentration of al fresco bars and restaurants, is the place to be.

Check out our favorite free things to do in Rome.

If you only see one major Rome landmark by night, make sure it’s the Colosseum. Understandably (very) busy during the day, this Ancient Roman amphitheater – the biggest and best-preserved of its kind on the planet, no less – is way quieter and more atmospheric in the evening. Night tours kick off around 9PM and need to be booked well in advance. But it's well worth the effort for the opportunity to strike gladiatorial poses beneath the floodlights and unleash your inner Maximus Decimus Meridius on the arena floor. 

There are plenty more top Rome attractions you should make time to see in all their illuminated nighttime glory if you can. We’re talking the Forum, Capitoline Hill, the Pantheon and the iconic Trevi Fountain, all of which have the added benefit of being significantly less crowded after dark.

A stroll on the Lungotevere (aka the Tiber waterfront), is surely one of the most romantic things to do in Rome at night. Take it up a level by grabbing your favorite flavor of gelato and strolling hand in hand beneath moonlit Italian skies, taking in swoonsone views of all those Insta-perfect bridges reflected in the water below, from the mediaeval stone arches of Ponte Sisto to Ponte Sant'Angelo’s stunning St Peter’s Basilica backdrop.

You can visit Rome’s creepy catacombs during the daytime, but why do that when you can massively increase the fear-factor with a nighttime tour? Brace yourself for a genuinely spooky adventure as you descend to these subterranean ossuaries and first set eyes on their frankly spine-chilling – how shall we put this – interior decor.

The Capuchin crypts beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione take some beating for sheer blood-freezing horror. Down here, the bones of some 4,000 former friars adorn the walls, floors and ceilings in arrangements at which even the most flamboyant interior designer might balk. Check out (if you dare) the self-explanatory Crypt of Pelvises (featuring a pelvis chandelier, natch) and try not to leap clean out of your skin when you clock the scythe-wielding skeleton on the ceiling.

As if getting up close to St Peter’s illuminated basilica wasn’t eye candy enough, you can also access the Vatican Museums on select evenings between April and October. Here’s your chance to ogle the planet’s finest frescoes in a relatively quiet and intimate atmosphere. Yep: we’re talking the Renaissance masterpieces that are Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling, and the suite of apartments decorated for Pope Julius II by Raphael and his assistants. These nighttime events also feature atmospheric live classical music. Perfect.

Read our guide to the best museums in Rome.

In-the-know night owls hit up trendy Trastevere, set at the foot of Janiculum Hill on the Tiber’s west bank, for all their nightlife needs. With way more local flavor than Rome’s historic city center – think cobbled lanes, colorful ivy-clad buildings, lively bars and authentic trattorias – this friendly, bohemian district really comes alive in the evening. Join locals for sundowners around the fountain on Piazza Trilussa, then make for the bustling brew-pubs and low-key pizzerias, where crispy, wafer-thin wood-fired slices of the good stuff could well prove life-changing.

Check out our guide to things to do in Trastevere.

Our nighttime journey through the Eternal City concludes in the only way it possibly could. What’s that, we hear you cry? Why, it’s a jazz-themed dinner aboard a vintage tram, of course! Tramjazz is the jazz, dinner and sightseeing mash-up you never knew you needed in your life. This quirky alternative to the traditional (static) restaurant rolls diners through the streets of Rome, with pauses for photo opportunities at Villa Borghese and the Colosseum squeezed in between courses, and a live in-house/in-tram jazz band to boot.

Looking for more things to do in Rome at night (and during the day)? The Rome pass includes 50+ top attractions and could save you up to 50% on regular admission costs. Hit the buttons below to bag yours!