Hi all,
I'm looking at pre-booking tickets for the Colosseum, and heard that seeing it at night is the best way to do it. What do people think? We are going for our Honeymoon early September so I really want to make sure we are getting the best out of everything we do!
Thanks in advance.
I am not sure I agree that seeing the inside at night is better than the day unless it is crowds you are trying to avoid.
Night visits inside are guided tour only and you will not have time to explore on your own at all, since the guide is responsible for you, you will have to basically stay in line which for me would ruin it.
If I was allowed to self explore at night inside I would be all over that!
I have to assume the statement is implying the exterior looks best at night when the city lights come on.
So personally I would go there for a morning or daytime visit for the inside combining it with nearby Roman Forum and the other sites in the immediate area ; and then try to return to the area to also see it lit at night from the outside and walk around it.
Ooooh okay, thank you for the advice. I can't remember where I read about it being better at night.
However, on that note, I've seen on the forum that it's best to combine The Roman Forum with the Colosseum, so as to avoid the queues. Apparently if you start in the Forum and make your way towards the Colosseum and show your ticket at the end, you avoid the que. Would you or anyone else reading this recommend doing it that way? And if so, would you prebook tickets at home first?
Thanks again.
Yes, the ticket includes entrance to 3 places:
Palatine Hill
Forum
Colosseum
no need to buy the ticket in advance
bad idea to buy the ticket at the Colosseum ; always a line
ok idea to buy the ticket at the Forum ; a much shorter line
good idea to buy the ticket at Palatine Hill ; never a line
Tickets are valid at all 3 places for 2 straight days ; though I believe only a single entrance to each
The Forum and Colosseum are must sees, Palantine Hill was nice but would skip it if tight on time. Still can buy the ticket there and not enter though.
If you have your ticket already you still have a wait at the Colosseum for security but you bypass the longer line which is to buy tickets.
To tack onto this thread 2 questions please....
1) I have an email confirmation/booking code can I collect my tickets at any of the 3 sites or am I only allowed to collect them at the Colosseum ?
2) I also have email confirmation/booking code for a night tour, all purchased in the same transaction, can I pick up the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill any time ie morning of or few days before night tour or will I only be able to collect them when we arrive for the night tour....meaning I have to schedule the day visit to C/F/PH the day after the night tour?
Just trying to work out logistics for our trip. Thankyou
*Apparently if you start in the Forum and make your way towards the Colosseum and show your ticket at the end, you avoid the que. *
That's not really accurate. Your entry ticket is what allows you to avoid the lines. The lines are for those waiting to purchase entry tickets, if you already have them you go in a different line to the security scanners.
You don't need to visit the forum/palatine hill and the colosseum on the same day. You get two consecutive days to visit them with a single admission into each. The forum and palatine hill are considered a single site on your ticket because they are connected by an internal walkway. Once you're inside one you must visit both as you won't be allowed to re-enter either once you leave.
I always suggest buying tickets online at home. You can print full priced tickets at home and not need to bother going to the ticket counters. Some people will suggest getting tickets at the forum entrance but lately the lines there have been building and you could wait 20 minutes or more. With pre-purchased tickets you wont wait at all and will go directly to security.
NO ONE bypasses the security check point. There can be backups getting through security but there is no way to avoid that.
Gee, if your booking is only for entry tickets you can pick them up at either the colosseum or forum entries. If you booked a tour of the colosseum you can only pick up your tickets and check in for your tour at the colosseum.
2) I'm confused. You booked a night tour AND entry tickets? If you just booked a night tour it won't include entry to the forum/palatine hill or colosseum during the day. If you booked both the night tour and regular entry tickets you'll be able to pick up the entry ticket when you check in for the tour. It's a single transaction that cannot be broken up.
The night tour is only a tour of the colosseum underground and regular areas. It does not include entry to the forum/palatine hill or to the colosseum during the day. This requires a separate entry ticket.
Donna
Thankyou Donna....yes I did buy both so just to check I've got it right ...I can only pick the normal entry ticket when I check in for the night tour I booked...so I have to do the C/F/PH day visit the next day after the night tour. But it can still be used for 2 consecutive days...right ? Julie
Gee, yes, you'll pick up your entry tickets when you check in for the night tour. Once you scan your entry tickets you have two consecutive days to use them allowing a single entry to each site over the course of those two days.
Donna
Thankyou Donna, thankfully our night tour is in the middle of our trip....so no worries.
Thankyou Ciaran unfortunately I didn't see any option to print at home...wish I had 🤔..no worries though should still all work out. Hopefully others have learnt and got clarification from my query. Julie
Rachel, we had friends that just got back from Rome. They purchased Colosseum tickets through Viator with the underground tour for a day time entry. Viator changed their tickets on them and moved them to a night-time tour. My friends said they were disappointed because they could not see the Colosseum as well at night. I would suggest going to the Colosseum during the day.
Don't miss viewing the outside of the Colosseum at night - breathtaking! I'll never forget when my night bus turned onto the Via dei Fori Imperiali, and suddenly there it was, all lit up and seeming larger than life.
Wow, thank you so much everyone for all of your advice! I think I will book to see it during the day, and we can return in the evening to see it lit up from the outside also.
Would this be the best place to buy the tickets from? http://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket_office.cfm
And if so, would I purchase the Colosseum separately to the Forum/Palatine? As I can't seem to see it as a combined ticket?
Rachel, yes, the coopculture site is the official ticketing booker for the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine. One ticket covers all three but you MUST do the Forum and Palatine together: one is accessed from the other inside the security fences.
The ticket you want is the very first one on this page:
http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
You want the full entrance € 12.00 ticket, and there will be a € 2,00 online reservation fee: total of € 14.00 per adult ticket. These tickets are good for any two consecutive days before the end of the year, and are not time-slot specific so you can go whenever the sites are open during general visiting hours.
08.30 - 19.00, from September 1 to September 30
Just for anyone booking the "two consecutive days" ticket online for
the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine, you need to select "print@home".
Just to clarify for anyone else reading this thread, the print-at-home option only works for full-priced and reduced-priced tickets. It does not work for reserved "free" child's tickets: those can only be collected onsite at the Colosseum special-events desk. If one of these tickets is added to the website's shopping basket, I believe the "print at home" option will not even appear during the checkout process (but anyone who has done it recently, feel free to correct me if I'm all wet). You take your email confirmation of ticket purchase to the desk, along with the child's passport for proof of age, and collect all of your tickets there.
Again, thank you all so much! I think I will be going with the Colosseum/Forum tickets. My final question would be, are they worth doing on separate days or can you do them together? We have 10 days in Rome (8 full days) so we want to see as much as possible.
Thanks.
