How much does it cost to visit the Colosseum?
Trying to plan my Rome trip and not sure what the current Colosseum ticket prices are. There seem to be so many options — standard, arena, underground, tours… What’s the actual cost, and where should I book from?
Book on ticketing.colosseo.it for the real prices. Standard adult is €18 plus a €2 booking fee and it includes Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Everything is timed-entry, so you’ll pick a slot. We did this last month and it was simple enough—just be ready with IDs because names on tickets have to match.
Arena access costs the same as standard (€18 + €2 fee), it’s just a different allocation. It gets you onto the reconstructed arena floor, which feels special for photos. Availability is the trick—those slots go first on weekends.
We went with our two kids. Children 0–17 are free but you still pay the €2 online booking fee per child, and you must reserve their slots. For us it came to €18+€2 per adult and €2 per kid, which is great considering it covers three sites.
If you want underground and upper tiers, look for the Full Experience: €24 plus the €2 fee, valid for two days. It includes hypogeum, arena, and higher levels. We tried to get it a week out and it was gone—best chance is booking as soon as dates drop.
We added an official guided night tour on top of the ticket—about €26 extra per person—and loved it. Third-party tours start around €40–€50 and climb depending on group size and extras. Worth it if you want a guide to keep you moving and explain what you’re looking at.
Small but important: the €2 online fee is mandatory for all official tickets, even the free ones for kids. We tried the onsite office first—same-day was basically sold out by late morning. Booking online really is the safer play.
There isn’t an official combo ticket for Colosseum + Vatican. If you buy separately, budget about €20 for Colosseum including fee and €25 for the Vatican’s online ticket—so roughly €45 per adult. Many tour companies sell combined guided days from around €80–€90 with transport and skip-the-line, which is handy if you’re squeezing it all into one day.
We tried doing Colosseum and Vatican in one day once—never again. It turned into a 6-hour march. Splitting them over two days felt way better. Cost-wise it didn’t change much, but our legs thanked us.
Quick recap: standard €18 + €2 fee; arena same price; Full Experience €24 + €2 for underground/arena/upper tiers; kids free but €2 reservation each. Official night tour add-ons around €26; third-party guided combos typically €80–€90 if you bundle Vatican. Biggest tip is timing—book early on the official site and avoid random sellers outside.