The Colosseum with the Roma Pass: how to book your time slot

The key points

The Colosseum is included in the Roma Pass, but only with a booked time slot. The time slot is only available online at ticketing.colosseo.it, through a dedicated Roma Pass product, 30 days ahead at the earliest. At the entrance you need the Roma Pass, the reservation and your ID together.

• Included: the Colosseum on the first and second levels, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and current exhibitions. All of it counts as one entry.
• Not included: the arena, the underground and the Belvedere (top level).
• Price: €0 with a free entry, otherwise €11.50 (Roma Pass rate) instead of €18.
• Time inside: around 75 minutes in the Colosseum itself. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill can be visited within 24 hours.

What the standard route covers and what it doesn't

The Roma Pass covers the standard route. That is the same scope as the normal 24-hour ticket for €18. If you want to see more, you need an extra ticket or a guided tour.

Included with the Roma Pass

• The Colosseum on the first and second levels, the tiers from which you look down into the oval.
• The Museo del Colosseo inside the building.
• The Roman Forum with the Museo del Foro Romano.
• The Palatine Hill.
• Current exhibitions on the site.

Not every museum on the Forum and the Palatine is automatically included with the Roma Pass, so plan around the walk through the Forum and the Palatine and don't count on every museum there.

Not included

• The arena, meaning the reconstructed floor in the middle of the oval.
• The underground (sotterranei) beneath the arena.
• The Belvedere, also called the Attico, the top level.

These areas have their own tickets, the Full Experience tickets. More on this in the section Arena, underground and Belvedere.

Step by step: booking the Colosseum with the Roma Pass

1. Pick your day. Plan your Colosseum day so that it falls within the validity of your Roma Pass. The museum part starts with the first scan at a museum and is valid for 3 days (48h pass) or 4 days (72h pass).
2. Open the Roma Pass product. On ticketing.colosseo.it there is a dedicated product called "24h - Colosseo, Foro Romano, Palatino - Roma Pass". Only this one recognises the Roma Pass. A normal ticket is charged in full.
3. Choose a date and time. Time slots open 30 days before the day of your visit. To book you only need the visitors' names, so the pass can be bought later.
4. Enter names exactly as on your ID. All Colosseum tickets are nominative. A name can be changed only once, and only up to the seventh day before the visit.
5. Add the children. Under-18s get in free but need their own free ticket (€0), booked in the same system.
6. On the day: be at the entrance on time for your slot, open the Roma Pass in the app and have the reservation and your ID ready. At the turnstile you choose whether to use a free entry or the reduced rate.

Booking online may involve an advance booking fee. The exact amount only appears in the basket.

Free entry or reduced rate?

The order is up to you: you choose at every entrance whether to use a free entry. A free entry saves exactly the Roma Pass rate you would otherwise pay there. And that rate is highest at the Colosseum:

Rule of thumb: if the Colosseum is on your list, that is where the free entry goes. With the 72h pass, the second one goes to the Capitoline Museums or the Museo Nazionale Romano. At Castel Sant'Angelo the reduced rate of €6.50 is cheap anyway.

What happens without a booking?

Without a booked time slot you won't get into the Colosseum with the Roma Pass. The reverse is also true: a reservation is no help if you don't have the Roma Pass at the entrance. The only exception is the first Sunday of the month, when Roma Pass holders collect their free ticket at the ticket office, first come, first served.

If no Roma Pass time slot is left for the day you want, you have two options: pick another day within your pass's validity, or switch to a guided tour or a ticket from another provider. These can still be available when the Roma Pass slots have gone. You then use the pass's free entry at another site.

The Roma Pass at the entrance: app, activation, validity

The Roma Pass is digital and only works through the free "Roma Pass" app. The app holds two items: "Roma Pass Museum" and "Roma Pass Public Transport". Each is activated separately.

• Museum part: it starts with the first scan at a museum. Just showing the QR code doesn't activate it. From then on it is valid for 3 days (48h pass) or 4 days (72h pass).
• Transport part: you activate it yourself in the app before your first ride. From then on the 48 or 72 hours run.
• Device: Android 7.0 or later with Google services, or iOS 16.6 or later. You need mobile data in Italy.

If the Colosseum is your first site, your museum days start with the scan there, and you plan the other museums from the Colosseum date onwards. Several passes fit on one phone, each with its own QR code. The pass is issued in one name and can't be transferred.

Opening hours and time slots

In winter the Colosseum closes two hours earlier. If you travel in late autumn, you have far fewer afternoon time slots to choose from.

• 1 to 24 October 2026: 8:30 am to 6:30 pm, last entry 5:30 pm.
• 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027: closes at 4:30 pm, last entry 3:30 pm.
• Closed: 25 December and 1 January.

With the standard ticket and with the Roma Pass you can stay inside the Colosseum itself for 75 minutes at most. With the Full Experience tickets it is 90 minutes.

Arrive on time for your booked slot. You have to show ID at the entrance, because the ticket is in your name. Have your ID and the app ready while you queue; it saves time at the turnstile.

Colosseum, Forum and Palatine in one day or two

The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill count together as one entry. You enter the Colosseum at your booked time. The Forum and the Palatine can be visited within 24 hours.

Option 1: everything in one day

Book a morning time slot. After about 75 minutes in the Colosseum, walk over to the Forum and then climb the Palatine. It's compact and makes for a long day.

Option 2: spread over two days

Book the Colosseum in the afternoon and visit the Forum and the Palatine the next morning. All that matters is that you stay within the 24 hours. This option is more relaxed, but it ties two days of your pass to the same area.

In winter option 2 is harder. With last entry at 3:30 pm, only a few hours are left in the afternoon.

Children, groups and name changes

Children and teenagers

Under-18s get free entry to state museums and sites, the Colosseum included. This applies to EU citizens and to non-EU citizens under reciprocity. Each child still needs their own €0 ticket, booked in the same system as your time slot, so book the children at the same time.

There is no reduced Roma Pass for children. The pass is usually not worth it for them, because they pay nothing at the Colosseum anyway. On buses and the metro, children under 10 travel free with a paying adult.

Young adults from the EU

EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay only €2 at the Colosseum. A Roma Pass free entry saves hardly anything there, so in that case use it at a site that costs you more.

Groups

In a group, everyone needs their own Roma Pass. One pass for the whole family or tour group doesn't work. The only exceptions are children and others entitled to free entry who have their €0 ticket.

Name changes

All Colosseum tickets are issued in one name. A change is possible only once, until midnight on the seventh day before the visit, and only in exceptional cases. After that, the name on the ticket applies. So check the spelling when you book.

Arena, underground and Belvedere

These three areas are not included in the Roma Pass. They have their own tickets, the Full Experience tickets:

• Full Experience Arena: €24, valid for 2 days, bookable from 7 days before the visit.
• Full Experience Underground and Arena: €24, €32 with a guide, valid for 2 days, bookable from 30 days ahead.
• Full Experience Attico (Belvedere): €24, valid for 2 days, at most 8 people per visit.

With these tickets you get 90 minutes in the Colosseum instead of 75. The Forum and the Palatine are included too. You pay the €24 on top of the pass. If you definitely want to see the arena or the underground, factor that in when you choose a pass.

Alternatives: Colosseum tickets and guided tours

If you don't have a Roma Pass, or want to see the arena and the underground, book a Colosseum ticket or a guided tour directly. The arena tour is the most common add-on, because the arena is not in the Roma Pass. The underground, where gladiators and animals waited for their entrance, can only be visited on a guided tour.

The four options below differ mainly in how much of the Colosseum you get to see. Prices "from", as of October 2026:

• Timed ticket, from €23.25: standard route with the Forum and the Palatine, plus an audio guide. No arena. Useful if no Roma Pass time slot is left.
• Arena tour, from €49: guided tour with access to the arena floor, Forum and Palatine included, groups of up to 15 people.
• Underground and arena, from €135: guided tour with special access. It's the most expensive option, but the underground can only be visited with a guide.
• Combined ticket with the Vatican Museums, from €47.63: the Colosseum with the arena level and the first and second tiers, the Forum and the Palatine, plus the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, on two dates. The Vatican is not in the Roma Pass, neither the 48h nor the 72h version.

Each of these tickets costs more than the Roma Pass rate of €11.50. In return you get things the pass doesn't have, such as the arena, a guide or the Vatican. If you use one of these tickets, your free entry stays available for another site.

If you book through these links, this site may earn a commission. Your price stays the same.

Is the Roma Pass worth it for the Colosseum alone?

No. The Colosseum costs €18 on its own, the Roma Pass 48h from €49.50. Even with two days of buses and the metro (48h ticket €15), you pay €33 separately, €16.50 less than with the pass. The Roma Pass only pays off with more sites that charge admission, such as the Galleria Borghese, the Capitoline Museums or Castel Sant'Angelo. The Roma Pass calculator shows whether that applies to your plans.

Two worked examples with buses and the metro, each using the free entry at the Colosseum:

• 2 days, Colosseum and Galleria Borghese: separately you pay €51, with the 48h pass €59. Here the pass costs €8 more.
• 3 days, Colosseum, Borghese, Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant'Angelo and Museo Nazionale Romano: separately it comes to €106, with the 48h pass €91.50. You save €14.50.

So the threshold is around four to five sites that charge admission. With a lighter programme, single tickets are usually cheaper.

Strikes, weather, change of plans

The Roma Pass is not refunded, and that includes closures, strikes and bad weather. It can't be extended either. A pass that has been bought but not yet activated must be redeemed within 6 months.

For the Colosseum this means: don't put your time slot on the last day of your pass's validity. If the visit falls through, you'd have no day left to fall back on. A slot on the first or second day leaves room for another try.

Planning: when to book?

Book at least 10 days ahead, at least 20 days in high season. You can't book earlier than 30 days before the day of your visit.

1. Travel dates are fixed: choose your Colosseum day and note in your calendar when booking opens, 30 days before.
2. Booking is open: reserve your time slot. You don't need the pass yet; the names are enough.
3. Before the trip: buy the Roma Pass and set it up in the app. The pass doesn't work without the app.
4. In Rome: make sure your Colosseum day falls within the 3 or 4 museum days of your pass.

The first Sunday of the month is a special case. Free tickets are then handed out at the ticket office, first come, first served and without a booking, so with no fixed time. If you want to visit the Colosseum that day, expect to wait, with no guarantee of getting in at a particular time.

Common mistakes

Booking a normal ticket instead of the Roma Pass product

The Roma Pass is only recognised through the dedicated Roma Pass product. If you book a normal ticket, you pay the full price. Your free entry is kept, but you'll have to use it at another site.

Forgetting the pass or not having it in the app

The booking alone isn't enough. Without the Roma Pass at the entrance you won't get in, even with a valid time slot. Check beforehand that the pass is loaded in the app and that your phone has mobile data.

Name doesn't match the ID

The name on the booking has to match your ID. You can change it only once, and no later than the seventh day before the visit.

Not booking the children

Children pay nothing, but they need their own €0 ticket. If you don't book them too, you'll be at the entrance with a child who has no ticket.

Counting on the arena

The arena, the underground and the Belvedere are not included. To see them you need a Full Experience ticket or a guided tour.

Booking too late

10 days ahead is recommended, 20 in high season. If you book later, you risk finding no Roma Pass time slot left for the day you want. Then your options are another day or a guided tour.