Rome, Italy
The Appian Way, still paved after 2,300 years
Rome's oldest and most important road runs straight out of the city into open country, past tombs, catacombs and pine trees, and on Sunday mornings most of it belongs to walkers and cyclists rather than cars.
The 'queen of roads' out of Rome, still paved with its original stones twenty-three centuries later
Buy tickets ↗Built starting in 312 BC under the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, the Via Appia was Rome's first great paved road and eventually its most important, stretching over 500 kilometres southeast to the port city of Brindisi and functioning as the main artery for troops, trade and travellers moving between Rome and the ports that connected the city to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. The Romans themselves called it the regina viarum — the queen of roads — and the title wasn't hyperbole; it set the engineering template, with a stone-paved surface, drainage and a straightness later Roman roads across the empire would imitate for centuries.
What makes it worth visiting today, rather than reading about, is that long stretches of the original basalt paving — the basoli, large irregular polygonal blocks fitted together with a precision that still holds after two thousand years of use — survive underfoot, along with an extraordinary concentration of ancient tombs lining the roadside. Roman law forbade burial within the city walls, so the roads leading out of Rome became lined with monuments the wealthy built specifically to be seen by everyone passing, turning the Appian Way's first few kilometres outside the old walls into a kind of continuous open-air cemetery of increasingly ambitious tombs.
Beneath that surface lies the other reason people come: an extensive network of catacombs, underground burial tunnels dug by early Christians and by Rome's Jewish community into the soft volcanic tufa rock beneath the road, kilometres of narrow galleries lined with burial niches that only a fraction of visitors ever descend into. Between the ancient road above and the catacombs below, the Appian Way offers a genuinely different register of Roman history than the Forum or Colosseum — quieter, greener, and much less crowded, provided you time it right.
What's undergroundChoosing a catacomb — they're not interchangeable
Three major catacombs are open to the public along this stretch of road, and they're genuinely different experiences, not variations on the same tour. The Catacombs of San Callisto are the largest and most historically significant, an official cemetery of the early Christian church holding the tombs of several third-century popes in the so-called Crypt of the Popes — if you only see one, this is generally the strongest choice for scale and historical weight.
The Catacombs of San Sebastiano, a little further along, are named for the martyr buried there and are notable as one of the few places where the word catacumbas, the origin of the modern term 'catacomb', was used in antiquity — originally referring specifically to this site before the word broadened to mean any underground burial network. They also preserve some striking early Christian graffiti and inscriptions left by ancient pilgrims.
The Catacombs of Domitilla, slightly off the main road and less visited than the other two, are the least crowded and include a well-preserved underground basilica along with some of the earliest surviving depictions of Christian imagery anywhere, including an early fresco of the Last Supper. All three require a guided tour to enter — unescorted access isn't permitted, for both preservation and practical navigation reasons in tunnels that run for kilometres — and each typically closes one day a week on a different, staggered schedule, so check which is actually open before planning your day around a specific one.
The best-kept secretSunday mornings, and why they change everything
On Sundays and public holidays, a long central stretch of the Via Appia Antica closes to private car traffic, and the road transforms into something close to a linear park — families cycling, joggers, walkers spread across the ancient paving with none of the traffic that otherwise runs along parts of the route the rest of the week. If your schedule allows any flexibility at all, this is unambiguously the best time to visit, and it's worth structuring a Rome weekend around it if the Appian Way is a priority.
Outside the car-free window, walking directly on certain sections still means sharing a narrow road with real traffic, which is manageable but noticeably less pleasant and, in a few spots, genuinely something to be careful of. The car-free Sunday stretch runs roughly from the Appia Antica Regional Park's visitor centre out past the major tombs and catacombs, covering most of what a typical visit actually wants to cover.
Even on a car-free day, the road is long enough that most visitors don't walk the whole thing — a bike, rented near the park entrance, covers considerably more ground in the same amount of time and is the method most repeat visitors and locals actually use, letting you reach the Circus of Maxentius and Tomb of Cecilia Metella comfortably within a half-day outing rather than a full one.
What to look forThe Tomb of Cecilia Metella, the Circus of Maxentius and the paving itself
The Tomb of Cecilia Metella, a massive cylindrical mausoleum built for the daughter-in-law of a wealthy Roman general in the first century BC, is the single most recognisable structure on the route — its scale was clearly meant to impress every traveller passing beneath it on the road below, and in the medieval period it was incorporated into a fortified castle by the powerful Caetani family, whose crenellations are still visible on top of the ancient tomb.
The Circus of Maxentius, just before it, is the best-preserved Roman chariot-racing circus in existence after the Circus Maximus itself, and unlike its far more famous counterpart in central Rome, it retains recognisable structural remains — starting gates, the spina down the centre, and tiered seating outlines — that let you actually read the shape of a Roman circus rather than imagining it from a bare open field, which is essentially all that survives of the Circus Maximus.
But the paving itself, underfoot the entire way, deserves as much attention as the named monuments. Look closely at any surviving original stretch and you can still see the wheel-worn grooves carved into the basalt by centuries of cart traffic — a direct, physical trace of exactly how the road was used two thousand years ago, and a detail almost nobody stops to look down and find, focused instead on the tombs and pines above eye level.
Practical strategyHow much time to give it, and how to get there
A half-day, roughly three to four hours, is a reasonable outing covering the visitor centre, one catacomb tour, a ride or walk out to Cecilia Metella's tomb and the Circus of Maxentius, and back. A full day allows a more relaxed pace, a second catacomb, and time to simply sit under the umbrella pines with a packed lunch, which is one of the more understated pleasures the Appian Way offers and something almost impossible to replicate inside central Rome.
Bikes can be rented at the Appia Antica Regional Park's visitor centre near the start of the protected stretch, and this is genuinely the recommended way to cover the distance comfortably — the road is long, mostly flat, and considerably more enjoyable at cycling pace than on foot if you want to reach the furthest points. A dedicated bus service (the 118 or the Archeobus, depending on season and route) connects central Rome to the park, since the area isn't served by the metro.
This is not a spontaneous add-on to a Colosseum or Forum day — it sits several kilometres outside the historic centre and deserves its own half-day slot, ideally on a Sunday if your itinerary allows the flexibility. Wear real shoes; the ancient paving, while remarkable to walk on, is genuinely uneven and unforgiving underfoot in anything without a solid sole.
Practical info
- Hours
- The road itself and the park are open at all times with no ticket required to walk or cycle it. The three catacombs keep separate, staggered schedules, generally 9am or 10am to 5pm with a midday closure at some, and each closes one different day of the week — check the current schedule for whichever one you plan to visit before you go.
- Tickets
- The road and park are free. Catacomb tours (guided, compulsory) run a modest single-digit-to-low-teens euro amount per site. Bike rental at the park visitor centre runs a modest hourly or half-day rate.
- Getting there
- The Appia Antica Regional Park visitor centre, where most visits start, is reached via the Archeobus or regular bus routes (including the 118) from central Rome — there is no metro service to the area. It's roughly a twenty-minute bus ride from the Colosseum area.
- Good to know
- A long central stretch closes to private car traffic on Sundays and public holidays, making it by far the most pleasant day to visit — plan around this if you can. Outside that window, some sections share the road with real traffic. Wear solid, closed shoes; the ancient paving is uneven.
Before you goCommon questions
- What is the best day to visit the Appian Way?
- Sunday, when a long central stretch of the road closes to private car traffic and becomes a car-free route for walkers and cyclists. Public holidays get the same closure. Outside those days, parts of the road share space with real traffic, which is manageable but less pleasant.
- Which Rome catacombs should I visit on the Appian Way?
- San Callisto is the largest and historically most significant, holding the tombs of several early popes, and is the strongest single choice if you're only visiting one. San Sebastiano gave the word 'catacomb' its name and has notable ancient graffiti; Domitilla is the least crowded and includes an underground basilica and very early Christian frescoes.
- Do I need to book Appian Way catacomb tours in advance?
- It's a good idea in high season, though it's less strictly necessary than for something like the Galleria Borghese. Tours are guided-only and run at intervals through the day; booking ahead, especially for a specific language or time, reduces the risk of a long wait or a sold-out slot.
- Should I walk or bike the Appian Way?
- Bike, if you want to cover the full stretch out to the Tomb of Cecilia Metella and the Circus of Maxentius comfortably. The road is long and mostly flat, and bikes are available to rent right at the Appia Antica Regional Park's visitor centre near the start of the protected section.
- How do I get to the Appian Way from central Rome?
- There's no metro service to the area — the Archeobus or regular routes including the 118 run from central Rome to the Appia Antica Regional Park visitor centre, roughly a twenty-minute ride from the Colosseum area, which is where most visits begin.