One of my favorite experiences in Rome was our day spent exploring the Borghese Gallery and Gardens. Located in the middle of Villa Borghese Park (the third largest public park in Rome with 198 acres), the Gallery is relatively small compared to the other Italian museums we saw on our trip and two hours or so is enough to take it all. Then, take the rest of your day to discover the gardens. We got a combo pass to get into the museum and then took a guided golf cart ride around the huge park. What fun! The views of Rome are impressive (the gardens are high up on a hill) and the Roman pines are stunning.

Just because the Gallery is small doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. Their collection is well curated and features many paintings and sculptures from Gian Lorenzo Bernini including his intrepretation of David. There are small intimate rooms, some even have benches (!) where you can sit and reflect on the beautiful art by Raphael, Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Rubens. Most museums don’t have anywhere to sit so I really appreciated this convenience at the Borghese Gallery. While I love all the “famous” art, I also appreciated the little unknown art that seemed to pop up everywhere in the quirky rooms-over doorways, on the ceilings, etc.

Our hotel was within walking distance (at least for us-a mile or two away) and we enjoyed walking down the hill after our visit and exploring the Piazza del Popolo (People’s Square) and having an aperitif at one of the many cafes. If you have time check out the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the Piazza. I can’t get enough of all the beautiful churches in Italy-each one no matter how big or small is spectacular and unique.

ENTRY TO GALLERY

There is timed and restricted entry to keep the Borghese Gallery free of crowds so enjoy wandering through the spectacular collection of Renaissance and Baroque artwork without the typical tourist crush.

Buy your timed entry tickets to the Gallery online in advance: https://borghese.gallery/tickets/. You can also get guided tours of the gallery. We took the timed entry/skip-the-line plus a guided golf cart tour of the gardens (they are massive-too big for even us to walk around and see it all!) This is the tour we enjoyed: Rome: Borghese Gallery Skip-the-Line Ticket & Golf Cart Ride | GetYourGuide.