Villa Medici

One of the only places we went to which wasn’t overrun with tourists. And yet it’s such a special site. Sweeping views of the city and an incredible villa with gardens. Important pieces of more recent Roman history and a must see. Look out for the peacocks!

Well worth the visit to see a fabulous old villa. With an amazing view of Rome. The rooms are interesting in that they are decorated by members of the French Academy( the owner of the estate) so this is not your typical tour of an old residence. There are lots of architectural features to see, the spiral stair is a photographers dream. If anything I would want to see more of the interior. We bought our tickets at the door and only had to wait 10 minutes for the tour to begin.

We saw the special/temporary exhibit Festival des Cabanes before our 4pm English tour. Our tour guide asked everyone to be quiet because there was a film festival in progress, and then while telling us the somber/serious history of the Medici family, peacocks started making loud yelping noises. We got a drink of water from the aquifer, passed a portal which has appeared in many paintings, and saw some of the original Marcus Aurelius Column marbles. The ones still on the column (out in the elements) are reproductions. The Medici’s grew their own fruits and vegetables, but it was frowned upon for aristocracy, so they had high hedges to conceal their crops from visitors. There's a wonderful panoramic view from the garden. The last room we saw was damaged by a fire long-ago. The artist tasked with painting the new ceiling was known for creative methods including the use of fire and decided to burn butterflies to make an interesting design. Fire destroys. Fire creates.

Amazing guide and tour (in English) Even better views! And Superior Garden experience. They also have a Peacock and a very cool Spiral Staircase.

This is one of the nicest Villa’s I’ve ever visited, they offer tours of the place so I recommend booking in advance. It can be busy and you’re not always guaranteed to get in. So plan accordingly, the grounds are very well kept and prepared, there’s lots to see and do in and around this area. I really enjoyed my time here and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

They are very strict with the time slot of the reservation. You cannot go in early and you cannot go in without the reservation. Your reservation comes with the guided tour, just make sure to book in the language of your choice; offered in French, Italian and English. The tour guide was out of sight, she was wonderful and very knowledgeable. I would recommend the tour guide, if you can, she was fantastic and very knowledgeable. Villa Medici is now an art institute, but the history and art collection was amazing. It was very nice to be rich. It was worth the price of admission.

Really glad we visited! It was fun seeing the peacocks wondering the garden area. Just so you are aware you definitely need to look up the tour schedules on the website! We walked I. And luckily the tour had just started!

Highly recommend the guided tour of the Villa ! You need to book in advance but it worth it if you want to discover the gardens and know more about this beautiful villa 😍