Colosseum: tickets, opening hours and visiting tips

Updated on October 1, 2026

The Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheatre, stands on Piazza del Colosseo, at the foot of the Palatine Hill and at the end of the Roman Forum. In October 2026 it is open daily from 8:30am to 6:30pm (last entry 5:30pm), then from 8:30am to 4:30pm from 25 October; the basic ticket costs €18 and also covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine. Allow 1 hour 15 minutes inside the monument with the basic ticket, which limits your time in the Colosseum to 75 minutes, and 1 hour 30 minutes with the Full Experience tickets. Begun under Vespasian around 70-72 and inaugurated by Titus in 80 with a hundred days of games, the amphitheatre held about 50,000 spectators.

Highlights

The outer façade

The ellipse, almost 50 m high, stacks three tiers of arches topped by an attic storey. The north side still stands to its original height; to the south, the outer ring was lost to earthquakes and to its use as a stone quarry in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The cavea and the arena

The basic ticket gives access to the seating of the first and second tiers, from where you see the whole oval. A reconstructed floor on the east side of the arena lets you stand at the level of the fighters; it is reserved for tickets that include the arena.

The underground (hypogeum)

Beneath the arena, this network of corridors and chambers held wild animals, scenery and the lifts that raised them onto the stage. It can only be visited with the Full Experience Underground and Arena ticket.

The attic and the panoramic lift

The Full Experience Attic ticket takes you by panoramic lift to the gallery between the second and third tiers, then to the top of the building, with a view down onto the arena and across the Roman Forum.

The Arch of Constantine

Built in 315 for Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge, it stands right next to the Colosseum and can be seen freely from the square. The name Colosseum is thought to come from the Colossus, the giant statue of Nero that stood at the entrance to his [Domus Aurea](/fr/attractions/domus-aurea-rome).

Opening hours and tickets

24h Colosseum-Roman Forum-Palatine ticket: €18, €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 24, free for under-18s (booking required); it includes one entry to the Colosseum at the booked time, without the arena, and one entry to the [Roman Forum](/fr/attractions/forum-romain) and the Palatine within 24 hours before or after. 24h Only Arena ticket: €18, with 20 minutes on the arena floor. Full Experience Underground and Arena or Attic tickets: €24, valid for two consecutive days, with the Roman Forum, the Palatine and the SUPER sites. Online sales open 30 days before the date of the visit, with a compulsory time slot. Free entry on the first Sunday of the month and on 4 November, with no booking; tickets are collected on site on the day, in order of arrival.

Infos pratiques

Tips

All tickets are nominative: each visitor enters their name when buying and shows an original identity document at the check, otherwise entry is refused with no refund; the name can be changed only once, up to seven days before the visit. Buy from the official ticket office of the Colosseum Archaeological Park as soon as sales open, 30 days ahead: morning slots sell out fast (prices checked in October 2026). On site, the 24h ticket is now sold only at the Piazza del Colosseo ticket office.

How to get there

Piazza del Colosseo, 00184 Rome. Metro Colosseo (lines B and C), whose exit faces the monument. Buses 51, 75, 85 and 87 (stops around Piazza del Colosseo).