Museums and monuments to visit, from the Colosseum to Chambord
Museums and monuments to visit in Rome, the Vatican, Paris and the Loire Valley: the official ticket office for each one, the best time to go and what not to miss inside.
- places to visit
- 26
- city guides
- 3
- ticket office listed first
- Official
What to visit
Landmarks8 placesTrevi FountainWilfredor, CC0
Museums5 placesVatican MuseumsWilfredor, CC0
Archaeological sites5 placesCarnac AlignmentsGiorgio Galeotti, CC BY
Castles and palaces3 placesCastle and ramparts of the Cité de CarcassonneDiego Delso, CC BY-SA
Abbeys and monasteries3 placesSénanque AbbeyEmDee, CC BY-SA
Cathedrals and churches2 placesNotre-Dame de Chartres CathedralLudvig14, CC BY-SATickets that sell out: book ahead
Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BYArchaeological siteTimed entryColosseum Archaeological Park
Every Colosseum ticket also covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine. What changes is the part of the Colosseum it opens, from the first two levels to the arena, the underground or the attic.Rome, Italyfrom €18
Alessio Damato, CC BY-SAMuseumTimed entryGalleria Borghese
Sculpture at the center of the rooms. The museum says the decoration of the rooms still reflects the criteria of the display Antonio Asprucci created from 1770: the greatest sculptures in the middle of each room, the decoration tied to them.Rome, Italyfrom €16
Wilfredor, CC0LandmarkTimed entryArc de Triomphe
Rude’s Departure of the Volunteers. Better known as La Marseillaise: the winged spirit of Liberty shouts and raises her sword over the volunteers of 1792.Paris, Francefrom €16
Chabe01, CC BY-SALandmarkTimed entryPanthéon
The Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve. From the crossing, look up through the open lowest dome to the Gros painting on the second one.Paris, Francefrom €13
Samsonsol, CC0MuseumTimed entryThe Paris Catacombs
“Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort”. The inscription stands over the entrance to the ossuary.Paris, Francefrom €31
Shadowgate, CC BYMuseumTimed entryMusée Rodin
The Age of Bronze rotunda. A room with eighteenth-century wood trim, antique mirrors and pale parquet, among the museum’s finest.Paris, Francefrom €14
Pedro Szekely from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY-SAChapelTimed entrySainte-Chapelle
The windows of the upper chapel. Fifteen windows, up to 15 meters tall, tell the Bible story in 1,113 scenes, ending with the relics arriving in Paris.Paris, Francefrom €22
Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SABasilicaTimed entrySt. Peter's Basilica
Bernini’s baldachin. The bronze canopy over the papal altar: look for the bees of Urban VIII on its twisted columns.Vatican CityFree entry
Jeremy Segrott, CC BY
Amaunet, CC BY-SA
Diliff, CC BY-SAExhibitions this month
Exhibitions and free days- Samsonsol, CC029 Sep 2026 to 31 Jan 2027
Nadar: Inventing Paris, from the Depths to the Sky
The Paris Catacombs, Pariscatacombes.paris.fr