Rome Colosseum Opening Times
The first thing you should do when planning your trip to Rome is to buy tickets for the Colosseum and secondly, to organize your visit. When? Here are the opening hours.
Detail of the Colosseum façade | Callum Parker
The Colosseum is one of the great attractions of the city of Rome: thousands of travelers cross the world to visit inside and outside this marvel of history and architecture.
Whether you have already booked your tickets for the Colosseum or you are considering when to do so, you should be aware of its opening hours. Take note:
Colosseum Schedule
- The Colosseum is open every day of the week, Monday through Sunday
- Opening Hours: 8:30 AM
- Last admission of visitors: 6:15 PM
- Closing time (March to August): 07:15 PM .
- Closing time (in winter), between 16:30 and 18:00, depending on sunlight.
Colosseum guided tours schedule
If instead of buying a ticket to tour it on your own you prefer to join one of the guided tours of the Colosseum, the schedule is quite flexible.
Depending on the language you choose or the duration of the visit (there are express tours, but there are also more complete guided tours that also include the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill in the itinerary), you can choose to do it in the morning or in the afternoon.
There are also half day passes. My recommendation is that whenever you can, choose early in the morning to avoid crowds and visit when the sun is not too strong yet.
Opening hours of the Roman Forum
- Like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum is open every day of the week, Monday through Sunday
- Opening hours: 8:30 AM
- Last admission: 6:15 PM
- Closing hours (March through August): 07:15 PM .
- Closing time (in winter), between 16:30 and 18:00, depending on sunlight.
Visiting hours of the Palatine Hill
- Like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill is open every day of the week, Monday through Sunday
- Opening hours: 8:30 AM
- Last admission: 6:15 PM
- Closing hours (from March to August): 07:15 PM .
- Closing time (in winter), between 16:30 and 18:00, depending on sunlight.
Palatine Museum opening hours
- Opening time: 10.00 AM
- Closing time: 18.15
The Palatine Museum, despite all the works and exhibits it houses, is not the bulk of the visit to this area of Ancient Rome. My advice is to reserve this visit for the end because most likely, if you have just enough time, you will prefer to dedicate it to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
You can also take the opportunity to visit during the central hours of the day to escape from the heat of the day.
Circus Massimo visiting hours
The Circus Massimo is an open space, outdoors and does not require an entrance ticket for access. You can visit it at the time you want, the day you want.
Keep in mind that it can take quite a long time to walk around it (about an hour if you go all the way around) and that there are few shadows around it. The ideal is to do it early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the sun is not too strong and the heat will not make (so) much of a dent in your walk.
If you are looking for a photo with the ideal perspective, from the side of the Roman Forum you will have a very good view of the entire surface. Spectacular!
Is the Colosseum closed one day a year?
Yes, on Christmas Day and New Year's Day the Colosseum is closed.
It is possible that if there is a special event, holiday or unexpected repair work, the Colosseum may change its regular schedule (not very often, but it could happen). If you want to make sure it is open during your stay in Rome, check the availability calendar on Hellotickets or even visit the official website of the Colosseum to make sure that the opening hours are kept in their usual line.
Right now you will see that around the amphitheater they are finishing the works for a new metro station and they are renovating some sections of the access roads to the Colosseum, but that does not change at all the usual opening hours of either the Colosseum or the Roman Forum.