Transport guide
Getting Around Rome: Complete Transport Guide
Rome's central tourist sites are walkable but distances add up. Metro is limited but useful. Buses + trams + the new Roma Pass cover the rest.
How the ATAC ticket actually works
Rome runs one integrated fare system across metro, bus, tram and the urban stretches of the regional railways, so a ticket is not tied to a single mode. The standard ticket is the BIT, the biglietto integrato a tempo. It buys a time window rather than a journey. The Lazio Region fare schedule, tariff 41/8/B of the Metrebus tariff annex in its December 2025 update, sets it at 1.50 euros for 100 minutes from the moment you validate it.
Inside that window the same ticket carries you on as many buses, trams and trolleybuses as you like, but the fare rules allow one journey only on metro lines A, B, B1 and C, plus one journey on a Trenitalia train inside the city. Changing between metro lines behind the barriers costs nothing extra. Walk back out through the gates and the metro part of the ticket is spent, even if minutes remain on it.
Validation is what catches people out. On a bus or tram you stamp the ticket yourself in the small machine as you board, not when an inspector appears; on the metro the turnstile does it for you. The rules also require a second validation before you board a train if the train is not the first vehicle you used. An unstamped ticket counts as no ticket, and ATAC's general conditions of carriage set the penalty at 104.90 euros, cut to 54.90 euros if you pay within five days of the notice. Inspectors work in plain clothes.
For longer stays the timed passes are Roma 24H at 8.50 euros, 48H at 15.00 euros, 72H at 22.00 euros and the CIS weekly card at 29.00 euros, all unlimited across the urban network and all in force since 1 July 2025. There is also a quieter option that few visitors use: tap a contactless card or phone on the metro turnstile or the on-board reader and ATAC charges single fares until the running total would pass the price of a Roma 24H, then stops there, so a heavy day costs 8.50 euros and no more. Use the same physical card or the same device every time, because the capping is tracked per card and a phone wallet counts as a different card.
Rome's fares are politically contested, so check before you travel. Roma Capitale has pushed more than once to raise the BIT to 2.00 euros, most recently in ATAC's 2025 to 2027 industrial plan, and each time the Lazio Region, which holds the power over Metrebus fares, has declined to approve it. The 1.50 euro figure is the one in the Region's own schedule as of 5 September 2026.
Why three metro lines cover so little of the centre
Line A runs northwest to southeast through Spagna, Barberini, Termini and San Giovanni. Line B, with its B1 branch, runs north to south through Termini, Colosseo, Circo Massimo and Piramide. Line C arrives from the eastern suburbs. They interchange at Termini for A and B, at San Giovanni for A and C, and at Colosseo for B and C.
The thin coverage is not an oversight. Tunnelling under the historic centre keeps striking archaeology, which stops work and turns shafts into excavations, so the densest tourist ground is the least served. There is no metro station at the Pantheon, at Piazza Navona or at Campo de’ Fiori. Trevi is a walk down from Barberini. For that quarter your options are a bus or your feet, and on the short hops your feet usually win, because surface traffic in the centre moves at walking pace for much of the day.
Line C is the long-running exception. Roma Capitale confirms that its stations at Colosseo / Fori Imperiali and Porta Metronia opened on 16 December 2025, taking the line to 24 stations over 22 km from the Monte Compatri / Pantano terminus and giving it a direct link to the Line B stop at Colosseo. Colosseo is currently the western end of the line, and construction continues further into the centre, so expect hoardings, diverted bus stops and rerouted surface services around the works.
Trains and buses in from Fiumicino and Ciampino
Fiumicino has a station under the terminals and two very different trains from it. The Leonardo Express is the non-stop link to Roma Termini, takes 32 minutes and runs roughly every 15 minutes. Its fare sits in its own tariff, 1/TER, at a flat 14.00 euros a person, with a ten-ticket carnet at 115.00 euros and a Minigruppi ticket covering four adults travelling together for 40.00 euros. Metrebus tickets, the BIT included, are not accepted on it.
The FL1 regional service is the one to know if you are not staying near Termini. The same tariff prices it at 8.00 euros from any station inside Rome's Zona Anello to Fiumicino Aeroporto, and the paper ticket is valid 90 minutes from validation. It runs on the belt line across the south and east of the city, calling at Roma Trastevere, Roma Ostiense, Roma Tuscolana and Roma Tiburtina, with Tiburtina about 48 minutes from the airport. Departures are every 15 minutes on working days and every 30 minutes on Sundays and public holidays. Ostiense and Tiburtina both connect to Line B, so for a lot of addresses the FL1 beats the Leonardo Express plus a backtrack from Termini. Termini itself is served by the Leonardo Express, which Trenitalia's regional network map lists as a separate non-stop link, so read the platform indicator rather than assuming any airport train stops there. Board the Leonardo Express on an 8.00 euro regional ticket without telling the on-board staff first and you pay an 8.00 euro surcharge plus the 6.00 euro fare difference.
Ciampino has no station of its own. The rail route is a combination sold as one Ciampino Airlink ticket at 2.70 euros: a shuttle bus from the forecourt to Ciampino town station, roughly 10 minutes with no intermediate stops, then a regional train of about 15 minutes on to Roma Termini, which Trenitalia puts at around 30 minutes door to door. Two ATAC city lines also serve the airport, and Aeroporti di Roma lists them as line 720 to Laurentina on Line B and line 520 to Cinecittà and Subaugusta on Line A. Both take an ordinary 1.50 euro BIT, so if you move quickly the same ticket covers the bus and the metro leg inside its 100 minutes, which makes line 720 the cheapest way into Rome from Ciampino by a wide margin.
Flat-fare taxis, and why not to hire a car
Rome sets predetermined taxi fares between the airports and the centre, and the boundary that matters is the Aurelian Walls. Under the Comune di Roma taxi tariff adopted by Deliberazione della Giunta Capitolina n. 157 of 21 May 2026, a run from Fiumicino to any address inside the walls is 55.00 euros and from Ciampino it is 40.00 euros. Those are per car for up to four people, they include motorway tolls and every supplement except the charge from a fifth passenger onwards, and they apply in either direction. They also apply only to a direct run, one pick-up point to one drop-off point, with no detour and no stop on the way.
The trap is that the flat fare is tied to the destination zone, not to the fact that you got in at an airport. Stay just outside the walls and the meter runs instead, subject to an airport minimum of 35.00 euros from Fiumicino and 25.00 euros from Ciampino, and to a ceiling of 80.00 euros on any Fiumicino run where the passenger is picked up inside the GRA ring road, or the reverse. The same tariff fixes Fiumicino to Roma Tiburtina at 60.00 euros, Fiumicino to Roma Ostiense at 50.00 euros, Ciampino to either station at 40.00 euros, and Fiumicino to Ciampino at 55.00 euros. Check on a map whether your address is inside the walls before you agree a price, take only a licensed white taxi from the marked rank, and ask for the fixed fare by name.
Hiring a car for the centre is a straightforward mistake. Most of it is a ZTL, a limited traffic zone open only to permit holders, and Roma Servizi per la Mobilita publishes the hours zone by zone. The Centro Storico zone is closed 06:30 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 14:00 to 18:00 on Saturday, with a separate night closure 23:00 to 03:00 on Friday and Saturday. The Tridente runs 06:30 to 19:00 Monday to Friday and 10:00 to 19:00 on Saturday. Trastevere adds a morning zone 06:30 to 10:00 Monday to Saturday and, with San Lorenzo, a night zone 21:30 to 03:00 Wednesday to Saturday, while Testaccio matches the Centro Storico night hours. Roma Capitale varies these for holiday periods, so re-check close to your dates.
Nobody stops you at the boundary. Cameras at each gate read the plate and match it against the permit database, so the first you know of it is a notice by post, often months later, and a hire company will pass it on with an administration charge on top. The penalty is the one set by article 7, paragraph 14 of the Codice della Strada, and each separate entry is charged separately, so one wrong turn repeated across a week becomes several fines. If your hotel is inside a zone, ask it to register your plate in advance.
At a glance
| Route or ticket | Fare | Time or validity |
|---|---|---|
| BIT single, one metro journey plus unlimited surface | 1.50 EUR | 100 minutes |
| Roma 24H / 48H / 72H | 8.50 / 15.00 / 22.00 EUR | Unlimited in period |
| CIS weekly card | 29.00 EUR | 7 days |
| Contactless tap and go, same card all day | Caps at 8.50 EUR | 24 hours |
| Penalty, travelling without a validated ticket | 104.90 EUR, or 54.90 within 5 days | Paid to ATAC |
| Leonardo Express, Fiumicino to Roma Termini | 14.00 EUR | 32 min, every 15 min |
| Leonardo Express Minigruppi, four adults together | 40.00 EUR | Same train, one transaction |
| FL1, Fiumicino to any Zona Anello station | 8.00 EUR | 90 min validity, Tiburtina about 48 min |
| Ciampino Airlink, bus plus train to Roma Termini | 2.70 EUR | About 30 min, 10 by bus, 15 by train |
| ATAC line 720, Ciampino airport to Laurentina | Ordinary BIT, 1.50 EUR | Line B interchange |
| Taxi, Fiumicino to inside the Aurelian Walls | 55.00 EUR fixed | Traffic dependent |
| Taxi, Ciampino to inside the Aurelian Walls | 40.00 EUR fixed | Traffic dependent |
| Taxi, airport minimum where no fixed fare applies | 35.00 EUR Fiumicino, 25.00 EUR Ciampino | Meter, 24 hours |
Frequently asked questions
Does one ticket cover a change of metro line?
Yes. A BIT allows one journey on the metro, and you can change between lines without leaving the paid area at no extra cost. It is exiting through the gates that ends the metro portion, so a return trip needs a second ticket.
Can I use a 1.50 euro BIT on the Leonardo Express?
No. The Leonardo Express sits outside the Metrebus system on tariff 1/TER, and integrated Metrebus tickets are not accepted on it. The fare is 14.00 euros a person, or 40.00 euros for four adults on one Minigruppi ticket. If you board it holding an 8.00 euro regional airport ticket and do not tell the staff before you get on, you pay an 8.00 euro surcharge plus the 6.00 euro difference.
Which airport train should I take from Fiumicino?
Take the Leonardo Express at 14.00 euros if you are heading to Termini or somewhere on Line A near it. For anywhere south or east, the FL1 at 8.00 euros to Trastevere, Ostiense, Tuscolana or Tiburtina is cheaper and usually quicker door to door, and Ostiense and Tiburtina put you on Line B.
Is the airport taxi flat fare guaranteed?
Only if both ends qualify and the run is direct. Fiumicino to an address inside the Aurelian Walls is 55.00 euros and Ciampino is 40.00 euros, per car for up to four passengers, with tolls and supplements included. Outside the walls the meter applies, subject to airport minimum fares of 35.00 euros from Fiumicino and 25.00 euros from Ciampino.
What happens if I drive into the ZTL by mistake?
A camera records the plate and a penalty notice is posted to the registered keeper, which can arrive months afterwards and reaches you through the hire company with an added administration fee. Each entry is charged separately, so a hotel inside the zone means asking the hotel to register your plate in advance.
Can I reach the Pantheon and Piazza Navona by metro?
No. Neither has a station, and archaeological constraints make it unlikely they ever will. Both are a walk of roughly ten to fifteen minutes from Barberini or from the Corso, or a short bus ride, and walking is normally faster than surface transport in the centre.
