Rome Metro Line A from Roma Termini to Vatican City St. Peter’s Basilica Vatican Museums

Rome Metro Line A is a heavily-used metro line in Rome, passing by many tourist attractions and serving locals feeding into the city from the ends of the line. To get to the Vatican City, Rome Metro Line A also offers easy access, with Ottaviano Metro Station located just 700 meters away.

*As photography of trains in Rome using a camera are not really welcomed by the operators and staff, picture quality and quantity are degraded in this article.

Rome Urban Metro Rail Map

Click to access mappa-metro-e-ferrovie-metropolitane.pdf

The Roma-Lido Railway is part of the Metrebus Rome System and Rome Metrebus tickets are valid throughout the line.

Rome Metro Tickets & Passes (Rome Metrebus Tickets)

• BIT Integrated Timed Ticket valid for 100 minutes after validation: €1.50
• 10-BIT 10 Integrated Timed Tickets valid for every 100 minutes after each validation: €15.00
• Roma 24H Ticket valid for 24 hours after validation: €7
• Roma 48H Ticket valid for 48 hours after validation: €12.50
• Roma 72H Ticket valid for 72 hours after validation: €18.00
• CIS Integrated Weekly Card valid for 7 calendar days from validation inclusive: €24.00

Tickets can be purchased from Atac ticket offices or at authorized shops such as newsagents, tobacconists, and affiliated bars. Look out for a big T sign anywhere along the streets for a Tabaccherie.

There are more types and combinations of Rome Metrebus tickets available but they should not apply unless you are travelling further out of Rome. The full list of tickets can be found here.

Ticket machines are available in Rome Metro stations before the gate line, however, they tend to have a queue with tourists being confused on the screen.

ATAC’s tickets and passes are all integrated for local buses and metros, and the easiest way to buy a ticket is from a cigarette shop (Tabacchi) found all over Rome. No cigarette adverting restrictions apply in Rome for cigarette shops, and the sign for Tabacchi is easily seen every few meters around.

There are 2 Tabacchis located inside Roma Termini Metro Station itself, so I bought my ticket there in person instead of queuing up at the ticket machine.

Payment is also much easier at the Roma Termini Tabacchis as the variety of them available also means a variety of payment modes are accepted, including by cash or credit card.

Roma Termini Metro Station

Validating a ticket on the Rome Metro is easy as there are ticket barriers doing the validation for you upon first entry.

As I was staying in Rome for slghtly more than 1 week, I bought a CIS Integrated Weekly Card valid for 7 calendar days from validation for €24.00. Do note that the CIS is for 7 calendar days, and NOT 168 hours.

A single ticket valid for 100 minutes costs €1.50 and a 24 hour ticket costs €7, so the CIS works better for me.

Rome Metro Line A runs almost fully underground, except for a short section on Ponte Pietro Nenni to cross the Tiber.

Rome Metro Line A

Rome Metro Line A uses a full fleet of CAF S/300 MA300 6-car EMUs.

The interior of the Rome Metro Line A CAF S/300 MA300 EMU with orange seats, corresponding to the line colour.

The route map of Rome Metro Line A is located above the train doors, which also indicates the platform type, island or side, of each station, and direction of travel.

Ottaviano Metro Station for St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums

The Rome Metro Line A journey from Roma Termini to Ottaviano takes about 10 minutes.

The station sign at Ottaviano also includes San Pietro (St. Peter’s Basilica) and Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums) to indicate the proximity to these popular destinations.

From Ottaviano, it’s a straight road walk down 700 meters to Vatican City, the smallest state in the world by area and population.