colosseum tours coop

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Where:  Piazza del Colosseo 1, Rome (RM) | Colosseum entrance from "Sperone Valadier"

Metro: Line B, stop Colosseo Bus: n. 75 - 81 - 673 - 175 - 204 Tram: n. 3

Telephone:  +39 0639967700

Web:  Colosseum

Monday to Friday

10.30 am - 5.30 pm

Last admission one hour before closing time

Saturday and Sunday 1 January and 25 December

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Experiences , Rome

How to buy tickets for the colosseum in rome.

This article may contain compensated links. See our full disclosure here

As one of the world’s most popular landmarks, it should be easy to find out how to buy tickets for the Colosseum but instead, visitors are faced with a bewildering range of options. In this article, we share how to buy Colosseum tickets online through the official site and also advance tickets through trusted official partners.

Note – In 2024 tickets are available on the Colosseum website directly up to 30 days in advance. This site has implemented a waiting line. Please see options below if you wish to purchase tickets or a tour more than 30 days in advance.

Article contents

Colosseum tickets quick links

Prefer not to read through this article? We get it, we’re all busy. Here are our recommended options for tickets

• Parco Colosseo – limited number of tickets available 30 days prior to visit (unclear refund policy)
• Colosseum Tours on GetYourGuide (official partner site) > flexible booking policy, easy to use, includes tour option (recommended)
• Walks of Italy – small group Colosseum tours with expert guides
• Liv Tours – very small group and private tours of the Colosseum with engaging guides – 5% off with code – UNTOLDITALY
• Colosseum packages on Tiqets – purchase your Colosseum tickets with a guided tour or hop on / hop off bus option

Editior’s note – changes to ticketing are occurring regularly at the Colosseum as the site moves to change the official ticketing provider. We recommend choosing an option where changes and cancelations are easy to make if required

Colosseum tickets or tour?

First, you’ll need to choose whether to buy tickets and navigate the site on your own or with an audioguide or take a group tour. This will depend on your budget and level of interest in learning about the Ancient Roman sites. Whichever option you choose, you will need to purchase your tour or timed entry Colosseum tickets in advance. This is a recent rule put in place to manage crowds and applies to all visitors including those who can enter free including children and youths under the age of 18. A booking fee may apply in these cases.

Tickets are a good option for budget travelers and those who prefer to explore on their own. However, the Colosseum site is not well marked and you’ll be wandering among tour groups wondering what they are looking at. At the very least, download an audio guide or purchase one with your ticket so you can learn something about one of the most incredible ancient sites in the world including why it is also called the Flavian Arena!

What does your Colosseum ticket include?

The basic Colosseum entrance ticket includes:

• Single timed entry into the Colosseum – level one and two only
• 24 hour open access to plus the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Should you wish to visit the Colosseum Arena Floor (see picture below) and/or Underground (both are very interesting) you will need to purchase an upgraded ticket or a Colosseum guided tour option. 

Your admission is considered skip the line Colosseum tickets as you need to arrive at a specific time. You will not need to queue for tickets but please note that you will need to line up for a security check. 

Buy Tickets on the “Official” Colosseum Site

The official site to book tickets to the Colosseum is called  Parco Colosseo for visits from May 1st 2024. This site runs a wait line and is not the easiest site to navigate, use or purchase from unfortunately. Plus if you need a refund or to change your dates or times the process is extremely difficult.

• Pros of booking on Parco Colosseo site – best prices, specific ticket availability shown
• Cons of booking on Co-op Culture site – frustrating user experience including payment gateway which often does not work for international visitors, no refunds available – exchanges only, limited availability

Buy Colosseum Tickets via an Official Partner

Colosseum ticket inventory is spread out over the official booking site, tour operators and several official ticketing partners including GetYourGuide ,   Viator or Tiqets . For this reason, if you can’t find the time slot you are looking for on Parco Colosseo, it is worth checking these options. We prefer GetYourGuide because they have the lowest markup and a 24-hour cancelation policy which is not offered by the official site.

• Pros of booking on official partners – best availability – especially during peak times in the morning, ease of use of booking platform and easy to understand and manage cancelation policies, bundled offers including tours, hop on / hop off bus and more
• Cons of booking on official partners – slightly more expensive – you’ll pay a markup for convenience and additional services

Recommended Colosseum Tours

As mentioned earlier, the Colosseum site is not well marked and the exhibits can be a little dry and presented without too much context. Having visited the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill on many occasions, we always recommend taking a guided tour of the Colosseum to make the most of your visit. 

When choosing a tour, consider the group size, style of the tour, areas covered and length of tour. All tour guides operating at sites in Rome must hold a license obtained by passing a very strict exam. So they all know their dates, Roman Emperors and key monuments but may not have the storytelling skills to bring the Ancient Roman sites to life

• Official Site Tours – Can be purchased via the ticketing site. Expect large groups
• Walks of Italy – medium sized tours with a focus on storytelling and anecdotes. You’ll get a sense of what it was like for gladiators and spectators alike in this most magnificent of arenas and the impressive surrounds of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Take Walks offer several tours at the Colosseum but their Gladiator’s Gate: Special Access Colosseum Tour with Arena Floor is our favorite. 
• Liv Tours – very small group (up to 6 people) and private tours led by expert storytellers who bring the arena, Forum and Palatine Hill to life with tales of the gladiators and emperors. You’ll be able to separate myth, legend and movie-making creative license from archaeological fact. PLUS readers of our site get 5% off with code – UNTOLDITALY

Colosseum Tickets FAQ

Do you need to buy colosseum tickets in advance.

Yes. Your entry into the Colosseum must be purchased online via the Parco Colosseo site, a ticket partner or tour company. We recommend buying Colosseum tickets via GetYourGuide for convenience, flexibility and the best price including a tour.

When do Colosseum tickets go on sale?

Colosseum tickets go on sale 3 to 4 weeks in advance on Parco Colosseo sites and sell out quickly during peak visitor periods from May to September. Expect long online wait times with no guarantee of success. Ticket allocations are spread across multiple vendors so it is worth checking several if you do not find availability on the dates and times you are looking for. 

The best way to ensure your Colosseum visit is at the time and date you want is to book a small group or guided tour in advance with either Walks of Italy or Liv Tours who will handle the ticketing for you.

Can you buy Colosseum tickets on the day?

Buying last minute Colosseum tickets is possible however expect limited availability at the most popular times to visit – generally early in the in morning during summer as the site becomes hot and stifling. It’s worth checking all ticketing sites for availability at these times as they have separate allocations

• Parco Colosseo
• GetYourGuide

What are the Colosseum opening hours?

The Colosseum is open every day except 25th December and 1st January with varying hours depending on the season. Though not officially noted, the Colosseum closes early on Good Friday for the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross Ceremony lead by the Pope These hours also apply to the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Imperial Forum.

• from 2 January to 28 February: 09.00 – 16.30
• from 1 to 26 March: 09.00 – 17.30
• from 27 March to 31 August: 08.30 – 19.15
• from 1 September to 30 September: 08.30 – 19.00
• from 1 to 30 October: 09.00 – 18.30
• from 31 October to 31 December: 09.00 – 16.30

Last admission one hour before closing. This is not recommended as you need at least one hour to visit the Colosseum alone.

What do I need to bring to the Colosseum?

The Colosseum recently introduced a requirement to have visitor names printed on each ticket. Visitors are required to show identification documents that match the name on the ticket eg Drivers Licence or Passport 

When should I arrive at the Colosseum?

It is best to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your allocated entry time to the Colosseum so you can complete security checks.

What is the best time to visit the Colosseum?

Visitors usually like to start their day early or close opening time at the Colosseum, especially during summer. The site is very exposed to the elements and can become hot and crowded in the middle of the day. When you’re planning your Rome itinerary bear in mind that if you don’t mind the heat of the day, afternoon sessions are much less crowded with greater availability during the summer. 

Are there any discounts or free entry to the Colosseum

Entry to the Colosseum is FREE for visitors under 18 years and for people with disabilities plus one family member or helper. If you fall into these categories you will still need to reserve your ticket and timed entry and show identification on entry.

Free entry to the Colosseum is also available on the first Sunday of each month on a first come, first serve basis. Expect big crowds on those days. Tour operators don’t usually run tours then for this reason.

Discounted entry is available to European Union residents between the ages of 18 and 25. 

Do I need to print my Colosseum tickets?

Printing your skip the line Colosseum tickets is an option but you will find it easier to download them to your smartphone

Can I stay close to the Colosseum?

Yes! There are several hotels within easy walking distance of the Colosseum and many Airbnbs and apartments in the Monti district. Read this article to see our pick of accommodation near the Colosseum.

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How to book the Colosseum Underground Tour

on March 15, 2018

COVID-19 Update: As of summer 2020, the underground section of the Colosseum is closed to the public until further notice.

To book a private tour of the Colosseum, follow this link !

Updated May 2019

This is a step-by-step guide to help you book the Colosseum Underground Guided Tour in Rome on the official website: www.coopculture.it . It’s the easiest, most cost-effective and time-saving way to glance onto the arena floor and visit the exclusive Colosseum Underground area. The underground tours sell out fast, and you have to jump through some hoops (which I explain below) if you have a group of over 6 people but if you can get your tickets, you’ll have the chance to stand in the same place as the gladiators and the slaves that ran the show behind the scenes under the arena floor and, see a reconstruction of the trapdoors that made the Colosseum such a popular (if gruesome) entertainment in ancient Rome.

What are the special access areas of the Colosseum that you can visit?

The Colosseum itself is open almost every day of the year (click here for a list of free days in 2019 and whether or not you should take advantage of them… or avoid them) but there are some restricted areas that require a little more forward planning if you want to see them. These areas include:

• access to the arena floor to stand where the gladiators would have stood, looking up at the screaming fans
• the Colosseum Underground which is technically just under the arena floor. You don’t actually go under the ground itself but instead have a view of the passageways or “backstage” areas where they stored sets, props, and for a short time the wild animals. You will also get a good view of a reconstructed trapdoor that was used to haul wild animals up to the arena floor level
• access to the third tier of the Colosseum that is closed to the public and to the “Belvedere” Panoramic viewing site that takes you so high you are actually above some sides of the Colosseum itself. This just opened a few years ago and the view is absolutely incredible!

All three of these places are usually visitable on separate tickets. Private guides (like us) can give tours of the arena floor and the Belvedere Panoramic levels. For options on these private tours click here . To book the group Colosseum underground tour through the official vendor, Coopculture, read on.

What to expect from a Coopculture underground Colosseum tour

The tour usually lasts about an hour and 15 minutes and will only cost you €23 total per adult and €2 to €13 per child under 18 with ID (different options explained below). With this ticket you can later visit the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill either later that day or the following day.

How are the tours? I’ve been on many of these tours myself and my experiences have been mixed. In general guides are informative, speak a good level of English, and give you plenty of time to take pictures. The benefit of having a guide through Coopculture is to gain access to these incredible sights and get a little bit of information along the way.

Note on construction: As of the spring of 2019, the Colosseum hypogeum is undergoing a renovation project so currently, much of what you would normally be able to see of the underground corridors is full of metal scaffolding and guys in hard hats.

When to book: This year, tickets are being released in waves so if you look at the calendar and see everything is sold out, there still might be another wave of tickets coming soon that you can take advantage of to see these sites. The first wave of tickets to be released are done so in a three month block so at the end of May they will make Underground tickets available for the months of July, August and September of 2019. Then there are another set of tickets released every first Thursday of the month at 3pm with availability for the following month. Reminder: this information is for the underground tickets at the Colosseum, not all Colosseum tickets.

Read on for my Step-by-Step Guide for booking the Colosseum Underground Tour through the official Coopculture website.

• Tickets are released for the coming month at 9am on the Monday after the third Sunday of the previous month. So if you want to buy tickets in July, you would go online the third Monday of June to book the tickets. Be warned, they sell out fast!
• Note: There are a few stairs to take down into the underground level but they also have an elevator if you have difficulty walking. 
• Click this link to go directly to the page where you’ll be booking tickets. It will already be in English. https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

• Scroll down until you find the following option: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Ordinary Admission + Underground and Panoramic View and click the box marked “Details.”
• The first option you will see is “Colosseum, Roman Forum And Palatine Regular Entrance + Undergrounds” from €16. This is NOT for a tour. You are taken to see the arena floor for a moment and then down into the underground section but you won’t have a guide or any explanation. This could be the option you want, but just be aware of what you are buying!
• The following option is “Colosseum, Roman Forum And Palatine Regular Entrance + Underground English Tour.” This is from €23 for adults. This is the one you want for the english tour. Click “Details.”

• There are many options for tickets and you want to be sure to choose the right one or you may be denied access to the sites (see picture below). Full entrance ticket for €23 is for adults over 18. The reduced ticket and tour for €13 is for European Citizens between 18 and 25 years old. Free ticket + Tour for €11 is for anyone under 18 either from the EU or non-EU countries. Your entrance is free but you still have to pay for the tour if you are under 18. However there is also: Free ticket + Free tour for €2. This is for anyone under 12 years old, 12 not included. Free entrance ticket for the guide for €0 is for if you are bringing a private tour guide with you. Because this post is all about booking a tour through the coopculture tour provider, this option isn’t relevant.

• IMPORTANT: You can only book 6 spaces at a time and per credit card. What do you do if you have a group of 8 people? If you book for 6 people and then immediately after book for 2, the reservations will go through BUT after 24 hours, your second reservation will be cancelled and refunded. At this point there may no longer be spaces available to book again. If you must book for more than 6 people I would advise making the two bookings with two separate credit cards with two separate names so they look like separate bookings.
• On the day of your tour, arrive about half an hour before the scheduled time of your guided tour and be sure to bring photo id (either in original, photocopy, or a picture on your phone) for everyone in your group, especially if you have someone under 18. If you are late you risk not being able to do the tour.
• REMEMBER: Your entrance ticket is also valid for a visit to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill which can be visited the same day or the day following your entrance to the Colosseum. You cannot enter the Colosseum again with this ticket.

Share your experience!

Let me know in the comments below if you found this guide helpful and please share your experience of visiting the Colosseum underground. Thanks to the comments below I’ve been alerted to changes in the policies of Coopculture that have changed since the original post publication and I’ve made those changes.

Want to skip all the hassle of booking yourself? Take a private guided tour of Ancient Roman sites with us and we’ll handle all the ticket bookings. Write to Lauren to ask a question or get started on customizing your tour experiences in Rome!

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12 Comments

Thank you so much for all this information. This was so helpful! The website is so confusing. I really needed this to help navigate. One question: if we have the Roma pass can we just show them the pass at the time we would normally purchase the entrance tickets?

Hi Erica, I’m so glad this was useful! And yes, the Roma pass should allow you to pick up the entrance ticket without additional cost once you show them your voucher for the underground tour. Enjoy your time in Rome!

What time do the tickets go on sale? 9AM Italian time or 9AM EST?

Hi Kaily, That would be 9am Italian time!

Do you have any suggestions on how to also see the arena while on the Colosseum Underground and Belvedere Guided Tour? It appears to be a separate ticket. Anything option on whether its worth visiting the arena?

Ciao Nicole! On the underground tour you also have a moment to see the arena floor too. I just called them at Coopculture to check and they confirmed that you also get to see the arena. It’s a pretty cool view 🙂

Hi there. The information you provided was very helpful. However, I am confused by one thing. You stated go online to purchase tix the month prior to the month you would like to visit. I am wanting 2 adults, 1 child age 14. and one child age 11, in July 2019…..with that being said, I noticed that there are tickets on sale now through the end of June. It appears that tix are already pretty much sold out through the end of June. If I wait until the third Monday in June to get tix for July, I am afraid that they will have already been released and I will be late to the game. Can you please verify when the next quarter/grouping of tickets will be released that will include July 2019? Also, to confirm I will need 2full ent.tix at 27 Euros,1 free entrance ticket with guided tour for under 18 at 15 Euros, and 1 free entrance ticket plus free guided tour for my son who is under 12 years of age. I realize all the tickets do add on a pre-sale fee of 2 Euros a ticket. Can you just confirm that I have this information correct? Also, please please can you let me know when I need to be up at 3am to get these tickets for July 2019?

Hi Sally! They just (and I mean literally in the last couple of days) announced a new update to how they are scaling ticket sales for the underground tour. If you are going in July you can look for tickets at the following times: Thursday the 23rd of May at 3pm (Rome time) and the 6th of June at 3pm. Luckily it seems that they realized the 9am release time wasn’t fair to people living in a different time zone so now at least you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night 😉 I’ve also updated my post to help explain the different types of tickets. You’ll need two €23 tickets for the two adults, one €11 euro ticket for the 14 year old and one €2 ticket for the 11 year old. Hope that helps and enjoy your visit to Rome 🙂

Darn, it looks like we missed the updated release schedule and all the underground tours for our June dates are sold out…. the website also mentions weekly and daily releases, is this just for regular tickets or will there be any more underground tix released?

Hi Ashley, They may release more tickets for June but the weekly and daily releases are only for the general access tickets. The other option would be to go on a group tour with a large tour company. They buy up all the tickets for their tours which is why it’s almost impossible to find them within a few hours of them being released.

Hey Lauren, this was super helpful! I do have one question though. I can find the tour you’re talking about (Colosseum, underground, and third level – guided) and I can also find the guided tour with Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum. However, I can’t find one that has all of them guided. Do you know if this specific website offers this? My main worry is that I will purchase the underground ticket (which will be great) but I will be walking through the other two sites on my own with no tour and no idea what I’m looking at/for. Please advise! Thanks!

Ciao Corey! Glad it could help 🙂 On Coopculture itself there isn’t an option for a tour of all of these places. You’d have to find a small group tour company that arranges the visit, tickets and tour. Unlock Italy provides private tours of the Colosseum arena floor, Forum & Palatine Hill but not of the underground itself so in the past we have also met guests after their underground tour to continue the experience in the Forum & Palatine Hill. You can check out our options here: http://www.unlockitaly.com/tours/rome-tours/ . Have a great trip!

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Colosseum Full Experience Tickets

By Elyssa Bernard

Updated April 8, 2024

What is the Colosseum Full Experience? 

This new ticket allows you to to see much more than "just" the Colosseum.

Find out all that's included, how to get tickets, and how to plan your visit.

Colosseum Full Experience - everything you need to know

It's easier than ever to visit the Colosseum arena, upper levels (attic) and underground.

These visits are now part of a new ticket called the " Full Experience ." But this ticket is much more than that.

On this page, we'll go over:

What is the Colosseum full experience ticket?

How much does the full experience ticket cost, what's included, how does the colosseum full experience work.

• How long does it take to visit the Colosseum with the Full Experience ticket?
• Do you have to take a tour with the Colosseum Full Experience?

Can you use the Roma Pass with the Full Experience ticket?

In recent years, the Colosseum Archeological Park (which includes the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill ) have been making a lot of new things available to visit, both inside the Colosseum, and inside the Roman Forum / Palatine Hill.

They have been experimenting with different tickets and ticket combinations.

At the time of this writing in spring 2024, there are now two types of tickets regularly available for visiting the Colosseum, a standard ticket and a Full Experience ticket .

Just as it sounds, the Colosseum Full Experience ticket gives you more to see and more time to see it in.

Let's dig in and see what's included and how to plan your visit.

Colosseum Ticketing Update April 2024

A brand new ticket system has been launched for tickets to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Domus Aurea - check it out here .

A few things to note with this new system:

1. It only applies for tickets from May 1 2024 onwards . If you want to purchase tickets for April 2024, you will need to use the old CoopCulture website.

2. Tickets are currently being released a month out, day by day . On April 8 tickets for May 8 became available, on April 9 tickets for May 9 get released and so on.

3. The new website has a system which puts visitors in a digital queue before letting them on to the site itself, to stop the site crashing due to demand, so don't worry if you don't get onto the site immediately.

4. Not all ticket/tour options are available to purchase yet  so keep checking back if what you want isn't available.

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The new Full Experience ticket costs 24€.

The same conditions apply (discounts and free entry ) as for the standard Colosseum ticket.

The cost is still 2 € for European citizens aged 18-25, and free for everyone under 18.

For regular and discounted tickets there is a 2 € reservation fee.

Free tickets

Everyone under 18 is granted free access to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill for regular and Full Experience tickets, and the Roman Forum SUPER pass.

For the regular and Full experience tickets, the way to get tickets for kids under 18 is simply to show up on site and collect them at one of the ticket booths.

You cannot book this free ticket on Parco Colosseo.

Book your own tickets, come to the Colosseum on the day of your visit, and go to any one of the ticket booths, outside or inside the monument, and collect your kids’ free tickets.

As of October 18, 2023, all Colosseum tickets will be nominative.

This means that your ticket will have your name on it, and you’ll have to show ID to prove you are the person whose name is on the ticket.

ANY valid photo ID will do, including your driver’s license.

You can also show your ID on your phone as long as it has your photo.

You do NOT need to bring your passport.

They also confirmed that a photocopy of your passport will suffice, as long as it’s clear.

NEW FOR 2023

The Colosseum has opened a dedicated set of rooms for families, called the 'Baby Pit Stop' which you should take full advantage of if needed.

This is for families with young children to take a break if the crowds and size of the arena get too much, as well as providing baby changing facilities and a quiet place to breastfeed. Find it on the second floor.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase through a link on this page, I may receive a small commission - at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my site!

When you book the Colosseum Full Experience ticket, you get:

• 2 days to use the ticket
• One entrance to the Colosseum, including:
• One entrance to either the  Colosseum arena  floor, the upper levels called the Attic OR to the  Colosseum Underground  (although a visit to the underground ALSO includes a visit to the arena). 
• Whether you visit the Colosseum arena, Attic or the Colosseum underground (and arena), you will be accompanied by a staff member of the Colosseum . You are not allowed to visit these areas on your own. This is NOT a guided tour although you can also book a tour.
• Entrance to the Palatine Hill/Roman Forum AND all the S.U.P.E.R. sites (some of which may or may not be open at any given time).
• Entrance to the Imperial Forums (Julius Caesar and Trajan.)

All about the Rome Colosseum

I have visited the Colosseum arena, attic and underground with the Full Experience ticket on several occasions, and can tell you exactly what it's like.

Check out my videos of these sites:

Booking your Colosseum Full Experience Tickets

As I mentioned, you must first purchase the Full Experience ticket, in advance. The easiest way to do this is online.

You may be able to book for the same day you want to visit but when it's high season , you may not find availability if you leave it too late.

I really recommend booking as far in advance as you can to avoid any disappointment.

If you don't find availability on Parco Colosseo, you can also try booking on a ticket agency website. They may have more availability. (There is a small surcharge to book.)

How to plan your full experience visit

Here's how the  Full Experience Rome Italy Colosseum ticket  works: 

• You have 2 days to visit  the sites above.
• You can only visit each site once  (no re-entry). This means you can and must visit the Colosseum together with the arena, attic OR underground on the same day.
• The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are actually ONE park , so you have to visit them together in one visit, along with any SUPER sites you want to see. There is no re-entry.
• You CAN visit everything in one day  if you want. You can also  take a lunch/coffee break  between visits to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill.
• If you break this up over two days , you can visit the Colosseum and its related special access (area or underground) on one day, and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill/SUPER sites another day.  You can visit these sites in either order  (i.e. you can visit the Palatine/Forum the day before the Colosseum), but  they must be on two consecutive days .

So for example, let's say you book a visit to the Colosseum Underground for Wednesday at 2 pm. You will be accompanied to the underground and also the arena floor (around 45 minutes total), and then you will be brought back to the main Colosseum area to finish your visit on your own.

Depending on your energy and interest level, you might spend another hour or so exploring the Colosseum main 2 levels.

At this time, the upper levels of the Colosseum are not open for visits.

You will probably finish this visit sometime around 4:30 pm give or take.

If you are visiting Rome in summer , the park is open until 7 pm, with last entry at 6 pm. (In Rome in winter , the Colosseum and Forum /Palatine all close around 4:30 pm.)

So if the park is open late, you could still enter the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill after your Colosseum visit on this day. But you would not really have time to visit it well, nor to visit the S.U.P.E.R. sites.

Your options include visiting the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill the day before, the same morning as your Colosseum visit, or the day after.

When you visit the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill, you do not need to book a day and time, unlike the Colosseum.

So once you have your Colosseum Full Experience ticket booked, you can decide when to visit the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill, and just go.

The perfect 3-day itinerary in Rome

Trying to figure out how to organize your visit to Rome? I've got the perfect 3-day itinerary for first-time visitors (or those who have not been here in a while.) It works for a 2.5 day visit as well.

In my 3-day itinerary, you'll see all the major must-see Rome attractions like the Vatican , Colosseum , Trevi Fountain , Pantheon , Piazza Navona , Spanish Steps , Castel Sant'Angelo , and much more.

And if you have more time, or want suggestions for extra/other things to do, you'll find that there too.

Visit my page with the best 3-day itinerary in Rome for first-timers .

How long does the Colosseum Full Experience last?

A visit to the Colosseum alone takes around an hour give or take (this really depends on you but plan for about an hour for a typical visit.)

A visit to the underground + arena takes around 45 minutes.

A visit to just the arena takes around 15-20 minutes.

So your total Colosseum Full Experience could take anywhere from around 1.5 - 3 hours. 

Visiting the Roman Forum / Palatine Hill with the Full Experience ticket

Visiting the Roman Forum / Palatine Hill without any of the S.U.P.E.R. sites can take anywhere from 2 hours and up.

Visiting ALL the S.U.P.E.R. sites could theoretically take all day but you will likely only visit a few. They are usually not all open on the same day in any case.

I would plan for a minimum of 3 hours inside the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill but you can spend as long as your energy and interest allows.

Ready to plan your trip?

No time limit

One nice thing about visiting these sites, whether the Colosseum or the Roman Forum / Palatine, is that there is no time limit as to how long you can stay inside.

For the Colosseum Underground and / or arena floor and Attic, those visits are accompanied and timed, but the part where you explore the main and upper floor of the Colosseum is not. Same for the Roman Forum / Palatine.

So you will have to decide how much time you have available and how much time you really want to spend in each site.

That's another reason the Colosseum Full Experience ticket is so great - you can break up the visit over 2 days and really take your time with each site if you want to.

Booking the Colosseum Full Experience ticket through PArco colosseo

When you book your visit to the Colosseum with the Full Experience on the Parco Colosseo website , and you choose either the underground, attic or arena, you will have the option to book just a basic visit or a guided tour.

On the basic visit (22 € + 2 € booking fee) you will have a staff member of the Colosseum accompany you on the underground, the  attic , and   arena floor. You cannot visit these areas on your own .

The visit to the underground,  the attic and the arena  is timed and led, but not really guided. It is not considered a tour. 

Once you finish with the special visit portion of the Colosseum, the same staff member will guide you back to the main area of the Colosseum so you can continue your visit of the monument on your own.

When you visit the Palatine Hill / Roman Forum with the Full Experience ticket, you will be on your own.

However, at certain S.U.P.E.R. sites (the House of Augustus) you will be accompanied by a park staff member.

Audio guides

Once inside the Colosseum, you can rent an audio or video guide.

Once inside the Palatine Hill / Roman Forum, you can rent an audio or video guide as well.

The Parco Colosseo is now suggesting all visitors download the Parco Colosseo app for both Android and Apple to access a free audio guide.

Booking the Colosseum Full Experience as a tour

If you do want a guided tour of any of this, you have several options.

• Book the arena, the attic  or underground tour through Parco Colosseo.
• Book a more complete tour with a tour agency like Get Your Guide . This will give you a tour guide that covers not just the underground and/ or arena, but also the Colosseum and the Roman Forum /Palatine Hill.

At this time, they do not have any details about using the Colosseum Full Experience with the Roma Pass or other Rome city pass .

When they update this, I will update this page.

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Top attractions and tours

• Colosseum - Don't miss visiting Rome's most iconic monument
• Vatican Museums - This is where the Sistine Chapel is
• Pantheon - Book ahead and skip the line
• Galleria Borghese - You'll need to book ahead for one of Rome's best museums
• Castel Sant'Angelo - See Rome's history through its architecture
• Rome City Pass - A great way to make your Rome visits easier

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Here It Comes: Another Hot Summer in Europe

Extreme heat and other weather challenges are in the forecast this summer, and travel advisers, tourists and local officials are getting prepared.

By Ceylan Yeğinsu

Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, is headed for another scorching summer, meteorologists warn. And travelers, once again, are heading to the hot spots.

Last year, large parts of southern Europe experienced prolonged periods of extreme heat with temperatures reaching 118 degrees and lasting up to two weeks or more. The sweltering conditions upended vacations throughout the summer season as visitors collapsed from heat exhaustion at crowded tourist sites, and wildfires led to evacuations in Greece, Italy and Spain.

“Our computer models are in good agreement that it’s going to be another unusually hot summer, especially during late July through August,” said Todd Crawford, vice president of meteorology at Atmospheric G2 , a weather and climate intelligence firm based in Manchester, N.H. The company expects the magnitude of the heat to be similar to 2022, the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe, with the most anomalous heat projected in the south, in popular countries for travelers like Greece, Croatia and Italy.

Since 1991, Europe has been warming at twice the global average, and 23 of the 30 most severe heat waves in Europe since 1950 have occurred since 2000, with five in the last three years, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said several factors contribute to the continent’s vulnerability, including the proportion of European land in the Arctic — the fastest-warming region on earth — and changes in atmospheric circulation.

Yet despite the forecast and increasing trend of excessive summer heat, demand is still high for destinations where temperatures reached 100 degrees or higher in recent summers. Overall, U.S. demand for travel to Europe has increased since last year, according to the travel site Hopper . Rome, Paris and Athens are among the most searched cities out of billions of annual searches for summer vacations on Kayak and Expedia.

“The destinations are being booked again, and what really characterizes people is how quickly they forget and push back negative experiences,” said Stefan Gössling, a professor who researches tourism and climate change at Linnaeus University in Sweden. “People who were caught in life-threatening situations like the wildfires may reconsider where they travel, but for the broader population, we are not yet seeing a big change in decision-making because of the heat.”

Green spaces and heat officers: Cities adapt

As the summer approaches, popular destinations that were hit hard last year are working on protocols to make residents and tourists safe and more comfortable. In 2021, Athens became the first European city to appoint a chief heat officer to oversee those efforts. One of the first steps was to categorize heat waves by severity, like hurricanes, as an early warning system for the potential impact on human health. It is also naming heat waves to emphasize their potential risks.

“Heat is a silent killer and projections for the coming years show that it will only get worse, so we are redesigning our city and making changes to adapt,” said Elissavet Bargianni, the chief heat officer for Athens. Beyond raising awareness, the city plans to implement additional measures, which include increasing the number of green spaces and creating cool public areas.

For visitors planning to visit Athens this summer, Ms. Bargianni advises using the Extrema Global app that calculates the coolest route for getting from point A to point B according to the current temperature and density of the trees. The city already has several air-conditioned cooling centers that are free.

During last July’s heat wave, the Acropolis was forced to close between midday and the early evening to protect visitors after some of them collapsed from the heat. The ministry of culture could make the same decision this year, Ms. Bargianni said, if the heat is severe.

Heat and tours: Travel advisers get creative

Travel advisers are also factoring heat into flexible itineraries. In cities like Rome, Barcelona, Paris and Athens, they are scheduling sightseeing in the cooler morning and evening hours, and arranging air-conditioned transportation.

“We tend to do activities and tours in the morning, then stop for lunch, and in the mid- to late afternoon you either go back to the hotel to sit by the pool or go to the beach,” said Gary Portuesi, a co-managing partner at Authentic Explorations, a New York-based travel company that specializes in Europe.

If clients insist on taking midday tours, the company will work with local partners to make the experience as comfortable as possible. “If there is a six-hour tour, for example, they will cut it down to four and take them to an air-conditioned gelateria for a break,” Mr. Portuesi said.

It is not only the heat that travel advisers have had to grapple with, but also other unpredictable weather events. Last summer, while some parts of the continent were hot and dry, others were cold and wet. “There was a period during the summer peak when it was hotter in the Dolomites than it was in Sicily,” said Jennifer Schwartz, the Italy-based partner of Authentic Explorations. “The most important aspect of our job is to set expectations about the variables and guide people instead of saying it’s too hot, don’t come.”

Heat insurance?

To help travelers book with more confidence, Sensible Weather, a Los Angeles-based start-up that provides a weather guarantee for vacations and outdoor experiences, has recently added high heat protection to its coverage. When booking through a Sensible partner, travelers will be able to add daily protection and if the temperature exceeds a threshold — usually set between 90 and 100 degrees — they can claim reimbursement. Currently, the insurance is only available in the United States, but, the company said, will gradually be rolled out in Europe and elsewhere.

“The goal of the company is to cover everything that can ruin a trip, and usually it’s rain, but temperature is number two,” said Nick Cavanaugh, the company’s founder who was developing the product while caught in a heat wave in Barcelona last year.

Customers do not need to cancel their trip in order to be reimbursed. Those on package tours are reimbursed for the average daily rate of their entire trip for each day that surpassed the heat threshold. “Our customers can still go on their vacations, but if it’s too hot for some hours of the day and unpleasant to go outside, you can hang out in the air-conditioning and we will reimburse you,” Mr. Cavanaugh said.

Heading to cooler climes

Some travelers who were caught in Europe’s heat waves last summer are seeking cooler destinations this summer in places like Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. Flight searches for Tromsø, Norway, for example, have increased by 85 percent over 2023, according to Kayak.

Joanna Walker, a 43-year-old recruiter from Boston, was caught in a blistering heat wave with her family in Italy last July and vowed never to return during the summer. She said she had been advised to travel during the shoulder season, but couldn’t because her children were in school.

“We couldn’t even cool off in the pool because there was no shade and the water was hot,” Ms. Walker recalled. “We wanted to see the sights in Florence and have long lunches in the piazzas, but instead we were stuck in our overpriced villas under the air-conditioning.”

This year her family has booked a tour of Norway’s fjords in July, where temperatures linger in the high 60s. “It’s going to be a different vibe to Italy for sure, lots of nature and not as much history, but at least it will be cool enough to experience something.”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Ceylan Yeginsu is a travel reporter for The Times who frequently writes about the cruise industry and Europe, where she is based. More about Ceylan Yeğinsu

Explore Our Weather Coverage

Extreme Weather Maps: Track the possibility of extreme weather in the places that are important to you .

Heat Safety: Heat waves are becoming increasingly common across the world. Here is how to keep yourself and your loved ones cool, hydrated and healthy .

Tornado Alerts: A tornado warning demands instant action. Here’s what to do if one comes your way .

Flash Flooding: Fast rising water can be deadly. Here’s what to do if you’re caught off guard , and how to prepare for a future flooding event.

Evacuating Pets: When disaster strikes, household pets’ lives are among the most vulnerable. You can avoid the worst by planning ahead .

Climate Change: What’s causing global warming? How can we fix it? Our F.A.Q. tackles your climate questions big and small .