Why go
The Pantheon is the best-preserved building of ancient Rome and one of the most influential ever built. The temple you see today was rebuilt under the emperor Hadrian around AD 118 to 125, on the site of an earlier one by Agrippa, whose name still runs across the portico. In 609 it became a church, Santa Maria ad Martyres, which is why it survived almost intact.
Step through the bronze doors and the effect is immediate. The dome is 43.3 metres across and exactly as high, still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, and the only light comes from the open oculus at the top. On a sunny day a disc of light moves slowly across the coffered ceiling and marble floor.
What to see
- The dome and oculus. Stand in the centre and look up at the coffers narrowing towards the nine-metre opening.
- The portico. Sixteen granite columns, each cut from a single block and shipped from Egypt.
- Raphael’s tomb. The Renaissance painter asked to be buried here; his tomb is to the left of the main altar.
- The royal tombs. The first kings of united Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, lie in side chapels.
- The floor. Look for the small drainage holes that carry rainwater away.
Plan your visit
The Pantheon opens daily from 9am to 7pm, with last entry for individual visitors at 6.30pm, and closes on 25 December and 1 January. It remains a working church: during Mass, at 5pm on Saturdays and the eve of holidays and at 10.30am on Sundays and holidays, entry is for worshippers only, and ticket sales stop an hour before any service.
Since 1 July 2026 a full ticket costs €7, up from €5. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay €2, and under-18s and residents of the Comune di Roma go free. On the first Sunday of each month entry is free for everyone, with a single queue and no online booking. Tickets are timed and carry your name, so bring ID. The only official sellers are the Musei Italiani website and app and the ticket office and machines on site, and there is no skip-the-line option.
Dress respectfully, with shoulders covered and no very short shorts or skirts. There is no cloakroom. Visitors with reduced mobility can use the ramp on the Via della Minerva side.
Getting there
There is no Metro stop in the centre. Barberini on line A is about 15 minutes’ walk; buses and tram 8 stop at Largo di Torre Argentina, five minutes away.
Tips
Come at 9am or late in the day. Piazza della Rotonda is lovely after dark, when the portico is lit, and Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain are both within ten minutes’ walk.
Do not be tempted by sellers offering ‘fast-track’ Pantheon entry at higher prices. The official site is clear that no skip-the-line ticket exists and that tickets from unauthorised resellers may be refused at the door. Tours that include a guide or audio guide can still be useful, but check that they include a genuine timed ticket. If it starts to rain, stay inside a few minutes to watch the water fall through the oculus.
