Colosseum Tickets

The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a monumental structure that has stood in Rome since its completion around 80 AD by the Emperor Vespasian. It is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the Roman Empire and its long, storied history. This ancient amphitheatre, where gladiatorial contests, public spectacles, and dramas based on Classical mythology were held, is an emblem of Rome’s cultural heritage.

Admission to the Colosseum is limited to manage the large number of visitors it attracts. The venue can handle around 3.000 visitors at any given time, maintaining a balance between preserving the historical site and enabling visitors to experience the grandeur of the structure. As of April 2024, individual tickets to the Colosseum are priced at €18 per person. Guided tours of the Colosseum start at around €40 per person.

As of May 2023, the Colosseum has re-opened its onsite ticket office, where tickets can be purchased on location for the same day, subject to availability. However, booking tickets in advance remains strongly recommended to ensure your visit. If you’re planning a visit to Colosseum in Rome, there are a few ways to secure your tickets, and reservations can be made either online or by dialing the ticketing hotline at +39 06 3996 7700. Specifically, one such method is through the official Colosseum website, Coopculture, where a variety of tickets are available for purchase. These include the ordinary ticket valid for 24 hours, the full experience ticket valid for 2 days, as well as reduced tickets for EU citizens between 18 and 25 years old, and free tickets for those under the age of 18.

Official Colosseum tickets typically go on sale 3 to 4 weeks in advance and tend to sell out quickly during peak visitor periods, which are from May to September. Ticket allocations are spread across multiple vendors, so if you don’t find availability on the dates and times you’re looking for, it’s worth checking several different vendors.

Colosseum Ticket Office – Tourists waiting in line to the entrance of the Roman Colosseum.

If you’re planning your visit two months in advance and find that individual tickets are sold out, you might want to consider booking a Colosseum tour. These tours often include the cost of the ticket in the overall price and provide added value through expert guides who can enrich your experience with insights into the history and architecture of the site. Additionally, many of these tours include visits to other significant Roman attractions such as the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, making them a cost-effective option. You can use our webpage as a reliable source to compare all available options for Colosseum tickets, Colosseum tours, and Rome tours that include a visit to the Colosseum.

Book Colosseum Tickets

On our website, you can find current information and reservation options related to Colosseum tickets from reliable third-party ticket sellers, including primarily official Colosseum tickets, and special access Colosseum tickets (such as access to the Colosseum arena or underground Colosseum tours), and last-minute Colosseum tickets.

Particularly while compiling the Colosseum ticket options offered by third-party ticket sellers, we took into account the positive reviews and number of reviews made by those who experienced the tickets and tours.

Standart Colosseum Ticket

The Standard Colosseum Ticket provides access to three main historical sites: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill. It is valid for a 24-hour period, permitting one visit to each of the mentioned sites within this timeframe. The ticket is part of a broader effort to manage the crowds at these popular attractions and protect the integrity of these ancient monuments. As such, the number of people allowed inside the Colosseum is strictly controlled, with limited numbers of tickets available per day and per time slot.

Official Colosseum Ticket – Booking Page

Full Experience Ticket with access to the Colosseum Arena

The “Full Experience” ticket for the Colosseum is a special ticket that provides more access and time to explore the historical site than the standard ticket. This ticket offers access to areas of the Colosseum not included in the standard ticket, such as the Arena of the Colosseum. While exploring these areas, you will be accompanied by a staff member of the Colosseum, although this is not a guided tour. However, you have the option to book a tour separately if you wish.

The Full Experience ticket also includes access to the Palatine Hill/Roman Forum, the S.U.P.E.R. sites (some of which may or may not be open at any given time), and some may require a separate reservation. It also provides entrance to the Imperial Forums (Julius Caesar and Trajan).

The ticket gives you two days to visit the sites, and you can only visit each site once (no re-entry). The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are treated as one park, so you must visit them together in one visit, along with any S.U.P.E.R sites (e.g. Palatine Museum, House of Augustus)  you want to see. There is no re-entry for these either. You have the option to visit everything in one day or spread it out over two days.

Last Minute Colosseum Tickets

Especially during the high tourism season, standard Colosseum tickets and tickets with arena access can sell out at Coopculture, the official ticket seller for the Colosseum, and at other third-party ticket providers (it wouldn’t be wrong to say that tickets can be sold out months in advance).

Colosseum Ticket Line

If you’ve left your reservation until the last minute and can’t find a Colosseum ticket, there are two options. The first is a last-minute Colosseum ticket; the second is Colosseum tours. As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, you might want to join a Colosseum tour or you can check the last-minute Colosseum ticket.

Below we have some suggestions for you:

Colosseum Tickets with Audio/Video Guide

A Colosseum Ticket with Audio/Video Guide provides a self-guided experience at the Colosseum, with the aid of a pre-booked audio guide. The audio guide offers explanations in multiple languages, including Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Portuguese. This kind of ticket allows you to choose the date and time of your visit and skip the line at the entrance. The audio-guided tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. After the tour, the same ticket can be used to visit the Palatino and the Roman Forum. To pick up the audioguides, you will need to present an original identification document along with your voucher. The ID will be held until the devices are returned at the exit of the museum​​.

The key difference between a Colosseum Ticket with Audio/Video Guide and a regular Colosseum ticket lies in the inclusion of a pre-booked audio guide for a self-guided tour in the former, providing a more detailed, language-specific exploration of the Colosseum.

Full Experience Ticket with access to the Underground of Colosseum

Visiting the underground and top tier of the Colosseum in Rome offers a unique and rich historical experience. To visit these areas, access is granted exclusively via guided tours, meaning tickets cannot be purchased without a guide.

The “Full Experience Ticket with access to the Underground of Colosseum” offers a unique experience that allows visitors to explore the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, and other attractions over the course of two consecutive days. The ticket, which can only be purchased online, grants one-time access to each site and includes a guided tour of the Colosseum’s underground passages and the arena floor​​​.

Colosseum’s Underground Passages

Colosseum’s Underground Passages

Groups of up to 50 people, including a guide, can visit together, but group tickets are not available. Instead, for groups, it is recommended to book single tickets all at the same time​​. Additionally, the Colosseum’s underground and arena are not accessible during the free days, and tickets used at the Colosseum on the Saturday before the first Sunday of the month can be used the following Monday​​.

Unfortunately, tickets for the Colosseum underground tour tend to sell out quite quickly on the official website (click here to check). The official underground tours organized by Parco Colosseo are budget-friendly but are organized with rather large groups (such as groups of 50) and are short in duration (50-60 minutes). Instead of these official tours, you might consider participating in an underground tour that covers the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the entire Colosseum.

For more information about Colosseum underground tours, we recommend visiting our Colosseum underground tour page.

Visiting Colosseum by Night

Visiting the Colosseum by night is a distinct experience that requires a specialized ticket, which cannot be acquired with a standard Colosseum ticket. A guided tour is essential for nighttime visits, and booking in advance is strongly advised. Known as the ‘Luna sul Colosseo’ or ‘Moon over the Colosseum’, these evening tours are offered during select months each year, specifically during summer and fall seasons.

Visiting Colosseum by Night – Luna sul Colosseo

There are several advantages to visiting the Colosseum by night compared to daytime. The most significant benefit is the lack of crowds, giving visitors the sensation of having the Colosseum almost to themselves. This absence of crowds also facilitates quick security checks and provides more opportunities for undisturbed photography. In addition, the evening ambiance offers a unique thrill of seeing the Colosseum under lamplight and moonlight, and visitors also get the chance to step out onto the arena, an experience not available during the day. Furthermore, the cool of the evening is much more pleasant than the heat of a crowded daytime visit, especially during the summer months.

Our suggestions regarding the tours that provide access to the Colosseum at night are as follows:

Combo Tickets

Reliable third-party ticket providers offer ticket packages that combine the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum. There are also professionally guided tours available that allow you to visit both the Vatican and the Colosseum on the same day. Additionally, there are ticket packages that combine your visit to the Colosseum with must-see places in Rome such as the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, Pantheon, Mamertine Prison, and others. Let’s discuss some of these now.

Colosseum and Vatican Combo Tickets

Rome Tourist Card

The Rome Tourist Card, available on Tiqets, offers a comprehensive package for exploring Rome’s top attractions at a cost of €97.00. The card includes priority access to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill, allowing visitors to explore ancient Rome with an immersive multimedia experience. It also includes skip-the-line access to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, enabling visitors to discover these sites at their own pace.

Additionally, the card provides a guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, accompanied by an official guide. Other inclusions are a city audio guide app, which covers over 130 points of interest in Rome, and an audio guide app for a self-guided tour of the Pantheon. Purchasers also receive a 10% discount on other attractions in Rome. The tickets are sent via email after a secure payment process, and customers can choose when they want to visit and how many tickets they need. The card is tailored to create a custom adventure, highlighting Rome’s best bits in a day.

Roma Pass Card

The official museum card for Rome is the Roma Pass, prepared by the official authorities. The Roma Pass card can be purchased online or from tourist offices.

This card has two versions, valid for 48 hours and 72 hours. With the 48-hour card, you get free entry to one museum, while the 72-hour card provides free entry to two museums. In addition, you gain discounted entry rights to more than 45 museums and interesting places.

Roma Pass Card

Free museum entries include the Colosseum, but with the amendment made in 2019, you can no longer directly enter the Colosseum with your Roma Pass card. To be able to enter the Colosseum, you need to make an additional reservation from the official website using your Roma Pass card. As the reservation you will make is dependent on the availability on the official website, entering the Colosseum with a Roma Pass card has become quite difficult. For these reasons, we do not recommend the Roma Pass card for entry to the Colosseum.

Colosseum and Mamertine Prison Combo Tickets

The Mamertine Prison, located at the foot of Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy, is a historical site imbued with centuries of tales. Its origins can be traced back to the 7th century BC, making it one of the oldest prisons in existence. The structure, which initially consisted of a single cell, was expanded into a two-tier system under the reign of Ancus Marcius, the fourth King of Rome. The lower cell, Tullianum, is particularly notorious for its dark and suffocating conditions, believed to be reserved for the most infamous criminals or political adversaries.

Historically, the Mamertine Prison was not a detention center for long-term confinement but a place for temporary custody before execution or exile. Some of its notable inmates include Saint Peter and Saint Paul, who were allegedly incarcerated here before their executions. This connection has turned the prison into a significant Christian pilgrimage site, with the lower cell transformed into a shrine to Saint Peter.

Colosseum Tickets can be combined with Mamertine Prison.

Despite its gruesome history, the prison’s architectural brilliance stands as a testament to Roman engineering. The upper cell, Carcer, is a classic example of opus quadratum, a construction technique that involves stacking large, squared-off stones without mortar. The Tullianum, on the other hand, demonstrates an early use of barrel vaulting. The Mamertine Prison offers a glimpse into ancient Rome’s law enforcement and punishment mechanisms. Today, it stands as an intriguing heritage site, attracting historians, archaeologists, and tourists alike, its chilling narrative intertwined with Rome’s vibrant past.

When you can’t find standard tickets and other types of tickets for the Colosseum, you may consider combining your Colosseum entrance ticket with the Mamertine Prison right next to the Colosseum. After purchasing your combo ticket online, you show your voucher on your cell phone at the Mamertine Prison ticket office and then your standard Colosseum ticket is given to you. You can visit the Colosseum approximately 1.5 hours after visiting the Mamertine Prison.

Colosseum and Vatican Combo Tours

Our suggestion is to visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill (the Capitoline Museum can also be included) in one day; and dedicate an entirely separate day to the Vatican Museums.

The Colosseum, more than just an amphitheater, encompasses the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. These landmarks collectively require a dedicated estimate of three hours for a comprehensive exploration. Similarly, the Vatican Museums, renowned for sheltering one of the world’s most distinguished art collections, necessitate a minimum of three hours even for a hasty visit. The idea of exploring the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum, two of the largest and most beautiful museums in the world, on the same day could be exhausting and inefficient.

If your itinerary is constrained to a single day, our recommendation would be to strategize by visiting one landmark in the morning and the other in the evening. This strategy incorporates an extended break for recuperation and takes advantage of both the Colosseum and the Vatican’s capacity for nighttime visits, which typically offer a less crowded experience.

Furthermore, it’s important to take into account the transit time between these two landmarks. This could extend up to an hour depending on the chosen mode of transportation. If you’re under time constraints, considering guided tours could help expedite the experience. These tours often include transportation and quick access to both attractions.

The highly rated Colosseum & Vatican Combo tours that we offer on our website are as follows:

Tips for Visiting the Colosseum

After visiting to the Colosseum, you can easily reach the Roman Forum by foot. The Roman Forum is located in close proximity to the Colosseum, with a distance of approximately 555 meters. Following any direction signs you should arrive within about seven minutes of walking. The Palatine Hill, with its imperial palaces, is located to the left of the Roman Forum and provides an elevated view of the Circus Maximus. Your combined ticket for the Colosseum also grants you access to both the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Google Maps – Map showing entrances and exits to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Best Time to Visit Colosseum

The best time to visit the Rome Italy Colosseum depends on various factors. Here’s a breakdown:

• Seasonal Considerations: Between March and October, during the high and mid tourist seasons, expect crowds irrespective of the time of day. A quieter experience can be expected during the low season (November – February).
• Weekly Dynamics: The Colosseum is open seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Weekdays during the low season tend to be less crowded.
• Time of Day: We recommend visiting the Colosseum at the start of the day or 1-2 hours before the last entry to dodge the mid-day crowds. Additionally, during the hot months, the mid-day sun can be intense with limited shade.

During the high tourist season, strategizing the timing of your visit can significantly enhance your experience. The ideal times to visit the Colosseum to avoid large tour groups and excessive crowds are early in the morning, as soon as the site opens at 9:00 am, or later in the day during the last available time slot. These times can provide a more peaceful exploration of the site, avoiding the peak hours of tourist activity​.

How Long Does It Take To Visit?

The time it takes to visit the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, can depend on several factors, including your personal interest in history and archaeology, the specific tour you choose, and the crowd levels on the day of your visit.

In general, a basic visit to the Colosseum, where you walk around and admire the structure and its surroundings, could take approximately one to two hours. This allows for a casual pace, time to take photos, and a chance to appreciate the grandeur and scale of the amphitheater.

If you choose to take a guided tour, this could extend your visit to around three hours. Guided tours offer the benefit of detailed historical context and often include access to areas of the Colosseum that are not open to general admission, such as the underground chambers and the upper levels.

If you’re interested in Roman history and would like to explore the nearby sites as well, you might consider spending a half or full day in the area. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are within walking distance and tickets are often combined with Colosseum admission. Exploring these three sites in depth could easily take five to six hours.

Remember that these times are just estimates and your visit could be shorter or longer depending on factors such as crowd size, waiting times, and personal interest. It’s also important to note that the Colosseum can be quite busy, especially during peak tourist season, so it’s a good idea to book tickets in advance and try to arrive early.

What to Bring to the Colosseum

Visitors of Colosseum should note specific policies and rules. Large bags are prohibited for security reasons, and all items, including small ones, are subject to security screening. Luggage lockers are available near the Colosseum for storing belongings.

The Colosseum, a World Heritage site, does not offer dining options within its walls. Visitors can bring in food and water, subject to security checks. Nearby establishments provide dining options.

Cameras are allowed for personal photography, with commercial photography requiring prior permissions. The Colosseum operates from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with timed entry tickets. Parking is available nearby, but Rome’s Metro system offers convenient access to the site​.