Does anyone know why tickets to the Palazzo Vecchio tower in Florence and the Colosseum in Rome (full experience ticket with entry to the arena) cannot be purchased online for mid-May? Specifically May 11 (Palazzo Vecchio) and May 19 (Colosseum)? The Palazzo Vecchio site (official site) says tickets not available yet. I thought these could be purchased months in advance? And I thought tickets to the Colosseum could be purchased 30 days in advance, but no tickets for the arena floor are available beyond next week. It doesn’t say sold out, they are just not available for purchase.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8220 posts
Which websites are you using?
30 days for Colosseum on May 19 would be April 20
Posted by
OP
139 posts
I dont know how to post a link on here, especially when on my phone. The websites I used are:
Florence: museums.comune.fi.it
Rome: ticketing.colosseo.it
Posted by
Seattle WA
32 posts
I read a few months ago ....sorry I forget where that certain sites in Rome will be closed down for the summer due to some big festival or something...might be why you can't get tickets after a certain date. I think the RS tours during the summer all say that the tour members will be walking by and around the Colosseum this summer and not going in as in the past.
Posted by
OP
139 posts
Okay, AI answered this for me when I Googled. Apparently, the ticket I want for the Colosseum is only sold 7 days in advance, not 30 days. Mystery solved!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8220 posts
No idea why tix not available
Could be due to Easter holidays coming up and will be updated soon
I wouldn’t panic, just be patient and check back frequently
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
17360 posts
I read a few months ago ....sorry I forget where that certain sites in
Rome will be closed down for the summer due to some big festival or
something...might be why you can't get tickets after a certain date. I
think the RS tours during the summer all say that the tour members
will be walking by and around the Colosseum this summer and not going
in as in the past.
Just so that anyone planning a trip for the current year isn't overly concerned with closures....
Terry, the "festival" is Holy Jubilee Year 2025 per proclamation by the Pope/Vatican. There was a great deal of advance preparation in 2024 in anticipation of a large influx of pilgrims that would be adding their bulk to an already most-visited city. Some of the closures you may have heard about involved restoration/improvements of monuments, museums, churches, fountains, the metro system, etc. last year. I've not heard of any major (or even not-so-major) sites which would be closed during the 2025 high season; certainly not the Colosseum, which is the most-visited attraction in all of Italy.
The RS tours are skipping the interior of that one, St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums due to overcrowding (they'd made the decision to skip the overcrowded V. Museums at some point before this year, I believe) and difficulty landing tickets. Statement from the RS office:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/jubilee-year-rome