Appian Way

Tickets and tours: all the options

The road itself is a public street with no ticket. What you pay for are the sites along it: the Christian catacombs, run by the Church and visited only with their own guides on a short tour every half hour or so, and the monuments of the Appia Antica archaeological park, such as the Tomb of Caecilia Metella and the Villa of the Quintili, which have small tickets of their own or a combined park ticket and close on Mondays. The Circus of Maxentius and the Museum of the Walls at Porta San Sebastiano are run by the city. Most visitors pick one catacomb, since the experience is similar in each.

Tours sold online are mostly by bike, e-bike or golf cart, because the interesting stretch is long. Guided e-bike tours typically last three to four hours, combine the road with a catacomb and the Park of the Aqueducts, and include bike, helmet and guide; catacomb entry is often included but check. Golf cart tours suit families and visitors who cannot cycle. Walking tours with transport from the centre focus on the first few kilometres, and there are food and wine versions, sunrise rides and simple bike rentals.

If you are comfortable on a bike, a guided e-bike tour is the best way to see the road; otherwise take the bus out, visit one catacomb and walk south as far as you like.

A short history

Appius Claudius Caecus, censor in 312 BC, built the first section of the road as a military route to Capua during the wars against the Samnites. It was later extended across the Apennines to Brindisi, making it the main highway to southern Italy and the Greek East. Romans buried their dead outside the city walls, so wealthy families lined the road with tombs, and early Christians dug catacombs beneath the fields beside it. After the rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 BC, thousands of captured slaves were crucified along it. In the Middle Ages its tombs were quarried or fortified. The Appia Antica regional park was created in 1988, and the road joined the UNESCO list in 2024.

Getting there

Bus 118 runs from near the Colosseum and Circo Massimo through Porta San Sebastiano and along the road past the catacombs; it takes about 20 minutes but is not very frequent. Bus 218 from San Giovanni runs to the area of Domine Quo Vadis and San Callisto by a parallel road, and bus 660 from Colli Albani metro station on line A reaches the Tomb of Caecilia Metella. A taxi from the centre takes 15 to 20 minutes. Bikes can be hired near Domine Quo Vadis or brought on a tour. Driving is not a good idea: parking is scarce and the old paving is narrow. From Ciampino airport, the Villa of the Quintili area is the closest point.

Rules and what to bring

The first stretch beyond the city gate carries traffic and has almost no pavement, so walk with care or start further out. Do not climb on the tombs or take stones from the paving. Photographs are not allowed inside the catacombs, and visitors must stay with the guide. Bring water, sun protection and shoes with thick soles; the paving is hard on thin shoes and bike tyres. Cafés and drinking fountains are few beyond Caecilia Metella.

When to go

The road is at its best on Sundays and public holidays, when the main stretch is closed to private traffic and fills with walkers and cyclists, especially in the morning. On weekdays it is quieter but cars and buses use the first section. Some catacombs close for a lunch break, each one closes on a different day of the week and the park sites close on Mondays, so plan around them: San Callisto and San Sebastiano rarely close on the same day.

Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the most pleasant seasons, with green fields and mild air. In summer the road has very little shade south of Caecilia Metella, so ride early or in the late afternoon and carry plenty of water. Winter is quiet and often clear, but days are short. Allow half a day for one catacomb and the first stretch, and a full day to reach the Villa of the Quintili.