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Ancient Rome & Monti: what’s worth it?

The Colosseum, Forum, Capitoline and the Monti quarter.

St. John Lateran — photo by GP

Worth itReality 90 +251St. John Lateran★ 4.8Ancient Rome & Monti · Sacred siteRome's cathedral and the Pope's seat: giant Apostle statues, gilded ceiling, quiet cloister

San Clemente — photo by Fernando Baratella

Worth itReality 89 +482San Clemente★ 4.7Ancient Rome & Monti · Sacred site12th-century church over a 4th-century basilica over a Roman house and Mithraic temple

Santa Maria Maggiore — photo by Jeff Richard

Worth itReality 76 +33Santa Maria Maggiore★ 4.8Ancient Rome & Monti · Sacred siteFree 5th-century papal basilica with Rome's oldest mosaics and Pope Francis's tomb

Monti — photo by Dimosthenis Michalis

Worth itReality 76 +264Monti★ 4.5Ancient Rome & Monti · NeighbourhoodVillage-like quarter beside the Forum, centred on the Piazza Madonna dei Monti fountain

Roman Forum — photo by The ZooKeeper

Worth itReality 75 −135Roman Forum★ 4.8Ancient Rome & Monti · HistoryRuined heart of ancient Rome and the emperors' hill, on the same ticket as the Colosseum

Baths of Caracalla — photo by Marcos Alcalde Correa

Worth itReality 75 +186Baths of Caracalla★ 4.6Ancient Rome & Monti · HistoryTowering 3rd-century imperial bath complex with mosaics, far quieter than the Forum

Capitoline Museums — photo by Daniele Del Duca

Worth it if…Reality 69 +157Capitoline Museums★ 4.7Ancient Rome & Monti · MuseumThe world's oldest public museum: Capitoline Wolf, Marcus Aurelius and a Forum view

Vittoriano Terrace — photo by Posvai Tamás

Worth it if…Reality 65 −138Vittoriano Terrace★ 4.8Ancient Rome & Monti · ViewpointHuge white-marble national monument with free terraces and a glass lift to a 360° rooftop

Colosseum — photo by Steven Guillemet

Worth it if…Reality 64 −329Colosseum★ 4.8Ancient Rome & Monti · HistoryRome's 1st-century amphitheatre; timed, named tickets also cover the Forum and Palatine

Domus Aurea — photo by Giacomo Quadrio

Worth it if…Reality 64 +3710Domus Aurea★ 4.6Ancient Rome & Monti · HistoryGuided, VR-assisted tour of the buried halls of Nero's Golden House by the Colosseum

Circus Maximus — photo by Brandie Layne

Worth it if…Reality 57 −1111Circus Maximus★ 4.5Ancient Rome & Monti · HistoryGrassy valley outline of ancient Rome's huge chariot track, below the Palatine; free park

Mouth of Truth — photo by Elie Ibrahim

Skip itReality 41 −912Mouth of Truth★ 4.3Ancient Rome & Monti · LandmarkAncient marble mask made famous by Roman Holiday: queue, hand-in-mouth photo, done

The numbers

#	Place	Verdict	Hype	Reality	Gap	Google
1	St. John Lateran	Worth it	65	90	+25 · Underrated	★ 4.8 (34,287)
2	San Clemente	Worth it	41	89	+48 · Underrated	★ 4.7 (8,152)
3	Santa Maria Maggiore	Worth it	73	76	+3 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.8 (58,311)
4	Monti	Worth it	50	76	+26 · Underrated	★ 4.5 (1,277)
5	Roman Forum	Worth it	88	75	−13 · Overhyped	★ 4.8 (146,851)
6	Baths of Caracalla	Worth it	57	75	+18 · Underrated	★ 4.6 (26,419)
7	Capitoline Museums	Worth it if…	54	69	+15 · Underrated	★ 4.7 (19,102)
8	Vittoriano Terrace	Worth it if…	78	65	−13 · Overhyped	★ 4.8 (78,161)
9	Colosseum	Worth it if…	96	64	−32 · Overhyped	★ 4.8 (508,324)
10	Domus Aurea	Worth it if…	27	64	+37 · Underrated	★ 4.6 (3,999)
11	Circus Maximus	Worth it if…	68	57	−11 · Overhyped	★ 4.5 (62,804)
12	Mouth of Truth	Skip it	50	41	−9 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.3 (26,088)