Rome is perhaps my favorite city in the world, but as certain attractions started adding entrance ticket requirements, I was initially bummed out. However, our recent trip changed my mind. Paying 2 Euro to visit the Trevi fountain was easily the best 2 Euro I spent on the trip!
With more and more tourists each year, popular cities like Rome face challenges in managing crowds while still ensuring a positive experience for visitors. One of the first dominos to fall a few years ago was the Pantheon, which also requires a timed ticket for entrance.
It only makes sense that this has extended to the Trevi fountain as hordes of tourists (and some pickpockets) jostled for position to take that perfect photo or throw in a coin to, as legend has it, guarantee a return trip to Rome. While you can still view the fountain for free from the piazza, it is absolutely worth the cost to get up close.
Avoid overpaying!
Tickets are only 2 Euro for visitors (free for Roman citizens) so this should be simple, right? Well, with 3rd party sites paying to rank on Google searches or others boasting “skip the line” access, it can be a little tricky. The purpose of the ticket is to skip the line so no extra help from Viator (who I do frequently use for actual tours) or Get Your Guide is required.
The official ticket site doesn’t scream “official” as you might expect, but it works well and we had no issues securing our preferred time a few days before. The official site is: https://fontanaditrevi.vivaticket.it/
A much better experience
With your ticket in hand, fight through the likely crowded piazza and walk to the right side of the fountain (as you face it in front of you) to enter. There were employees there to scan our ticket and ropes set up for a queue, but there was no one waiting to enter during our time slot.
Once you enter the lower level you can relax, take some pictures, throw in your coin, and sit on the benches for a while to take in the amazing view. Having a much smaller crowd there absolutely made the experience less stressful and I enjoyed the visit much more than on previous trips.
TL;DR: The Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy now requires a 2 Euro entrance ticket, but that is a very small price to pay for a significantly more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
