Rome Fiumicino (FCO): The Train Into Rome
Part of the full Rome in One Day: Colosseum and Pantheon
Rome Fiumicino’s own railway station, directly opposite Terminal 3, sends the non-stop Leonardo Express train to Roma Termini, the city’s main station, in 32 minutes, and for a shorter stop a free shuttle reaches the Museum of the Roman Ships, five ancient hulls dug up while the airport was being built.
The Leonardo Express runs non-stop to Termini in 32 minutes
Fiumicino Aeroporto station stands directly opposite Terminal 3, a covered walk from both arrivals and departures, and the Leonardo Express leaves it roughly every 15 minutes for most of the day, non-stop to Roma Termini in 32 minutes for 14 euros, with the last departure from the airport around 11:30pm. Leonardo Express tickets can be bought ahead as e-tickets. From Termini, the main Rome guide walks to Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colosseum and the Pantheon, and the Termini guide covers the museums beside the station itself.
A cheaper regional train, 8 euros and about the same time, leaves from the same station but never reaches Termini: it runs to Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina instead, each with its own neighbourhood to spend the time in.
Ostia Antica’s theatre, Rome’s ancient port town
Ostia Antica, the excavated port town at the old mouth of the Tiber, is 15 to 20 minutes from Fiumicino by taxi. Its theatre held around 4,000, the Baths of the Seven Sages keep their mosaics and frescoes, and a necropolis from the second century lines the road in. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30am, closing at 4:30pm in winter and as late as 7pm in summer, with the ticket desk shutting an hour earlier; an Ostia Antica ticket is 18 euros.
Five Roman hulls at the Museum of the Roman Ships
The Museum of the Roman Ships stands on Via Alessandro Guidoni beside Fiumicino airport, built over the place where seven ancient hulls were found between 1958 and 1965 while the runways were going in. Five are on show: three river barges that were towed up the Tiber with goods from the imperial harbour to Rome, a small sailing ship, and a fishing boat with a fishpond built into its middle to keep the catch alive. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am, closing at 4pm in winter and as late as 6pm from April to October, for 6 euros. The free Airport Line shuttle from Terminal 3 arrivals, entrance 3, stops there every 30 minutes from 9:30am to 6:30pm on the same days.
The harbour itself, Portus, the basin Claudius and Trajan dug for imperial Rome, survives as an archaeological park on Via Portuense under the airport road viaduct, open Tuesday to Sunday by advance booking.
Left luggage at Fiumicino Airport
Fiumicino’s left-luggage room is in Terminal 3 international arrivals, near the bus station, open 7am to 11pm: 10 euros a bag for up to 24 hours, paid when you collect it, no reservation needed. Ostia Antica’s streets are the original Roman basalt paving, uneven enough to rattle a wheeled suitcase the whole way round, and a luggage storage point near Termini is the alternative for a day spent in the city.
Collect the bag on the way back to the platform, and the Leonardo Express covers the same 32 minutes to the station opposite Terminal 3.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Fiumicino Airport in Rome?
With two hours or so, take the free shuttle to the Museum of the Roman Ships, five ancient hulls found while the airport was being built, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am. With about four hours, Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient port town, is 15 to 20 minutes away by taxi. With five or more, the non-stop train reaches Roma Termini, the city's main station, in 32 minutes. Ostia Antica's ticket is the one worth booking; the ships museum is a few euros at the door.
How do I get from Fiumicino Airport to Rome Termini station?
The Leonardo Express runs non-stop from Fiumicino Aeroporto station, directly opposite Terminal 3, to Roma Termini in 32 minutes for 14 euros, roughly every 15 minutes for most of the day, with the last departure from the airport around 11:30pm. A regional train costs 8 euros and takes about the same time, but it runs to Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina stations instead of Termini.
Where is the train station at Fiumicino Airport?
Fiumicino Aeroporto station stands directly opposite Terminal 3, a covered walk from the arrivals and departures halls. The Leonardo Express to Termini and the regional trains to Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina stations both leave from it.
Is there luggage storage at Fiumicino Airport?
Yes. The airport's left-luggage room is in Terminal 3 international arrivals, near the bus station, open 7am to 11pm. It costs 10 euros a bag for up to 24 hours, paid when you collect, and needs no reservation.
Can I see the Roman ships museum on a short connection?
Only if you can leave the airport: it's outside the terminals, so a connection that keeps you airside rules it out, and anyone arriving from outside the Schengen area clears passport control first. The shuttle stops there every 30 minutes, Tuesday to Sunday, so allow about two hours door to door including security on the way back in.