When does booking open?

30 days before the date of the visit, for most tickets. The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum opens sales with a compulsory entry time 30 days before each visit date, so for a visit on the 15th of a month, sales open around the 15th of the month before. The park does not publish a release hour. The standard ticket, the Full Experience Underground and Arena and the Full Experience Attic all follow the 30-day rule. The Full Experience Arena is the exception: it goes on sale online only 7 days before the visit, and is also sold at the ticket offices on the day.

How far ahead is that?

Book the day your date opens, 30 days ahead, for morning slots and the underground.

On ticketing.colosseo.it, the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum's own ticket site. You can buy up to 8 named tickets in one online order. Show the ticket on your phone; there is no need to print it. Tickets are also sold at the park's ticket offices, including the one in Piazza del Colosseo, subject to availability. The park warns that it may refuse entry to tickets bought through unaccredited agencies, so check who you are buying from.

Morning slots and the Full Experience Underground and Arena go first, especially from spring to early autumn. The underground and the attic are sold in small quotas: the attic admits groups of up to 25 people every 30 minutes. The park publishes no figure for how fast each date sells out.

Can I cancel or change?

Tickets cannot be refunded, and the date and time cannot be changed. The park refunds only if the site is forced to close by a natural disaster or a public-safety decision. The visitor's name can be changed once, until midnight on the seventh day before the visit, and only for an obvious typing error, a ticket type assigned to the wrong person in the same order, or serious documented reasons that prevent the visit. Requests go through the park's name-change form.

How far in advance can you buy Colosseum tickets?

30 days before the date of your visit, on ticketing.colosseo.it. The Full Experience Arena is the exception: it goes on sale online 7 days before the visit.

Do Colosseum tickets sell out?

Morning slots and the underground often do, especially from spring to early autumn. Book on the day your date opens, 30 days ahead, and check again later if your slot is gone.

Which Colosseum ticket includes the underground?

The Full Experience Underground and Arena, which also includes the arena floor, the Roman Forum and the Palatine over 2 consecutive days. It cost 24 euros as of November 2026.

Can I change the name or date on a Colosseum ticket?

The date and time cannot be changed and tickets are not refunded. The name can be changed once, until midnight seven days before the visit, and only for a typing error, a mix-up within the same order or serious documented reasons.

Do children need a Colosseum ticket?

Yes. Visitors under 18 enter free, but each needs their own booked ticket, and children under 12 must be with an adult who has a valid ticket.

Rome, Italy

Colosseum tickets: when they go on sale, and which ticket to pick

Updated 11 Nov 2026

Colosseum tickets go on sale 30 days before the date of your visit, on the official site ticketing.colosseo.it. Every ticket has a timed entry to the Colosseum and carries the visitor's name. As of November 2026, the standard ticket for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine costs 18 euros, and the Full Experience tickets with the arena floor, the underground or the attic cost 24 euros.

Inside the Colosseum in Rome, looking across the excavated underground chambers to the arena floor and the tiered walls above. Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels

When does booking open?: 30 days before the date of the visit, for most tickets. The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum opens sales with a compulsory entry time 30 days before each visit date, so for a visit on the 15th of a month, sales open around the 15th of the month before. The park does not publish a release hour. The standard ticket, the Full Experience Underground and Arena and the Full Experience Attic all follow the 30-day rule. The Full Experience Arena is the exception: it goes on sale online only 7 days before the visit, and is also sold at the ticket offices on the day.
How far ahead is that?: Book the day your date opens, 30 days ahead, for morning slots and the underground.
Where do I book?: On ticketing.colosseo.it, the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum's own ticket site. You can buy up to 8 named tickets in one online order. Show the ticket on your phone; there is no need to print it. Tickets are also sold at the park's ticket offices, including the one in Piazza del Colosseo, subject to availability. The park warns that it may refuse entry to tickets bought through unaccredited agencies, so check who you are buying from.
Does it sell out?: Morning slots and the Full Experience Underground and Arena go first, especially from spring to early autumn. The underground and the attic are sold in small quotas: the attic admits groups of up to 25 people every 30 minutes. The park publishes no figure for how fast each date sells out.
Can I cancel or change?: Tickets cannot be refunded, and the date and time cannot be changed. The park refunds only if the site is forced to close by a natural disaster or a public-safety decision. The visitor's name can be changed once, until midnight on the seventh day before the visit, and only for an obvious typing error, a ticket type assigned to the wrong person in the same order, or serious documented reasons that prevent the visit. Requests go through the park's name-change form.
How far in advance can you buy Colosseum tickets?: 30 days before the date of your visit, on ticketing.colosseo.it. The Full Experience Arena is the exception: it goes on sale online 7 days before the visit.
Do Colosseum tickets sell out?: Morning slots and the underground often do, especially from spring to early autumn. Book on the day your date opens, 30 days ahead, and check again later if your slot is gone.
Which Colosseum ticket includes the underground?: The Full Experience Underground and Arena, which also includes the arena floor, the Roman Forum and the Palatine over 2 consecutive days. It cost 24 euros as of November 2026.
Can I change the name or date on a Colosseum ticket?: The date and time cannot be changed and tickets are not refunded. The name can be changed once, until midnight seven days before the visit, and only for a typing error, a mix-up within the same order or serious documented reasons.
Do children need a Colosseum ticket?: Yes. Visitors under 18 enter free, but each needs their own booked ticket, and children under 12 must be with an adult who has a valid ticket.

How to book

Pick the ticket first. The standard 24-hour ticket, Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine, covers one timed entry to the Colosseum's first and second levels and one entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine within 24 hours of your Colosseum time. The three Full Experience tickets are valid for 2 consecutive days and add one part of the monument: the Full Experience Arena adds the arena floor, the Full Experience Underground and Arena adds the underground chambers as well, and the Full Experience Attic adds the top tiers. Each allows a 90-minute stay inside the Colosseum.

Count back 30 days from your date and be ready when it opens on ticketing.colosseo.it. Choose the entry time while you buy; you can see the Roman Forum and Palatine before or after that time.

Enter each visitor's name and details. Tickets are personal, and staff check an original identity document against the name on each ticket at the entrance. If the names do not match, entry is refused with no refund.

Check the order before you pay. The date, time, ticket type and names are the buyer's responsibility, and the park does not change or refund a ticket bought by mistake.

As of November 2026, the standard ticket costs 18 euros and each Full Experience ticket 24 euros, or 32 euros for the Underground and Arena with an educational tour. EU citizens aged 18 to 24 pay 2 euros. Visitors under 18 enter free but still need their own booked ticket.

If it’s sold out

Check other entry times and nearby days on ticketing.colosseo.it. A later slot on the same day, or the day before or after, may still be open.

Try a different ticket. If the underground is gone for your date, the Full Experience Attic or the standard ticket may still have slots, and the Full Experience Arena only goes on sale 7 days before the visit.

Look at the Full Experience Arena at the ticket offices on the day of the visit. It is sold there as well as online, with no guarantee of a slot.

Consider a guided tour from an accredited operator. It is a separate booking with its own price, so check what is included and that the operator is accredited by the park.

Booking for a group

One online order can include up to 8 named tickets, guide included. Book everyone in the same order so the whole party shares one entry time.

Groups can be up to 25 people including the guide, and there is no single group ticket: each person needs an individual ticket, all in the same time slot. From 9 people, the guide must use a headset system.

Children under 12 must be with an adult who holds a valid ticket. Under-18s are free, but each child needs their own booked ticket, and EU citizens aged 18 to 24 pay 2 euros with proof of age.

Good to know

Arrive on time for your slot. Standard and Full Experience Arena holders must arrive from 15 minutes before their time to no later than 15 minutes after. For the Underground and Arena, arrive 30 minutes before, with no allowance for lateness. A missed slot leaves only the Roman Forum and Palatine entry.
Bags must be no larger than 30 x 40 x 15 cm, and there is no cloakroom or left-luggage at the site. Expect a metal-detector check at the entrance.
On the first Sunday of every month, entry is free and cannot be booked. Free tickets are handed out at the ticket offices in order of arrival, so expect long queues and no Full Experience.
Winter hours are shorter: from late October to the end of February, the Colosseum opens at 8:30 and the last entry is at 3:30 pm, so fewer afternoon slots are on sale.
For another timed ticket in Italy that sells out early, see The Last Supper tickets. To fit the Colosseum into a trip, see Italy in 7 days and Italy with kids.

Sources

Parco archeologico del Colosseo: opening times and tickets (official): Ticket sales, with a compulsory entry time for the Colosseum, open 30 days before the date of the visit; official online booking at ticketing.colosseo.it; tickets are in the holder's name and ID must be shown; name change once, by midnight on the seventh day before the visit, in listed cases only; from 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027, 8:30 to 16:30 with last admission 15:30; free admission on the first Sunday of the month.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine ticket (official): Full entry 18 euros; 2 euros for EU citizens from 18 until the 25th birthday; one timed entry to the Colosseum and one entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine within 24 hours; first-Sunday free tickets collected at the ticket offices in order of arrival; no need to print an online ticket; groups of up to 25 including the guide, individual tickets only.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: Full Experience Underground and Arena (official): Full entry 24 euros, 32 euros with an educational tour; valid 2 consecutive days; 90-minute stay in the Colosseum; purchasable online from 30 days before the visit.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: Full Experience Arena (official): Valid 2 consecutive days; 90-minute stay; purchasable online from 7 days before the visit and at the ticket offices on the day of the visit.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: Full Experience Attic (official): Full fare 24 euros; bookable 30 days before the visit; from 9 November 2026, groups of up to 25 admitted every 30 minutes; valid 2 consecutive days.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: visitor regulations and terms of purchase, updated 8 October 2026 (official, Italian): Up to 8 named tickets per online transaction; original ID checked against each ticket; no refund or change of date and time, refunds only on forced closure; arrival windows by ticket type; under-12s must be accompanied; bags up to 30 x 40 x 15 cm, no cloakroom; metal detectors; entry may be refused for tickets from unaccredited agencies.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo: free tickets (official): Children under 18 must book their entrance on ticketing.colosseo.it; Full Experience tickets require online booking as admission is by quota.

Booking rules change; the official site has the last word.