Colosseum

Anfiteatro Flavio (Colosseo)

A 2,000-year-old arena where the ticket type decides what you see

⚠ Named tickets, bring your passport

Hours

Opens 08:30; closing varies by season: 16:30 from 25 Oct to 28 Feb (last entry 15:30), 19:15 from late March to September. Closed 25 Dec and 1 Jan; occasional unscheduled closures

Tickets

24-hour ticket €18 + €2 booking fee = €20 (Colosseum tiers 1–2 plus Roman Forum and Palatine). Full Experience €24 + €2 = €26 (adds arena, underground or upper tiers, one of them). Under-18s free (€2 booking fee); free on the first Sunday of the month. Official site: ticketing.colosseo.it

Address

Piazza del Colosseo 1, right in front of you as you climb out of the metro

Climb the metro stairs and the brown wall of stacked arches fills your whole view. Inside, the arena floor has been peeled away to show a maze of animal pens and passages, and from the stands you can almost hear 50,000 people roaring. The catch is the ticket. The best-selling 24-hour ticket only covers the first two tiers of seating; the arena floor where gladiators stood, the underground and the upper tiers each need a specific ticket. The same ticket also covers the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill next door, so many people give it a whole day.