Well, we'll only be able to see the Colosseum (along with the Forum, Palatine Hill, and Capitoline Hill) on the free Sunday. Any advice to figuratively shrink the lines to get in or the crowds once we are inside?? (besides patience)
I'm willing to spend extra Euros to make life easier...
When is your trip? It's this June, right?
The Free First Sunday schedule has changed for Italian State museums: they now will only be free on first Sundays from October - March. They were all given 8 free days to use at their discretion. According to the coopculture website (please read the bold copy middle of the right side of the page) these are the 2019 free days at the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine:
https://www.coopculture.it/en/the-colosseum.cfm
"The free access during the Free First Sundays of the month will be now
limited to the months from January to March and from October to December."
"The direction of the archeological park of the Colosseum determined
the following free days without pre-sale:
9th of May
5th of June
29th of June
23rd of September
4th of October
4th of November
22th of November
18th of December"
So short story long, you will need to purchase tickets unless your visit falls on one of these days.
Correct.. June 2. The Coopculture site shows no tickets available, which I understand to mean it's a free Sunday...
Yep, that's usually the case but according the published schedule, Sunday, June 2 isn't supposed to be a free day. It IS Italian Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica) however so that could be throwing a wrench in the machinery. I just can't find confirmation anywhere that entry is supposed to be free on that day. The schedule I copied from the official website is showing up on other tourist info sites for Rome as well.
So I'm scratching my head.....If anyone sees something I'm overlooking (which is entirely possible) give a shout!
Well, maybe we just rent Centurion costumes and walk into the place like we know what we're doing! ;}
Kathy, I understand that the place only has eight free days, but one part of the site (this page: https://www.coopculture.it/en/the-colosseum.cfm) says:
"On the free first Sunday of the month the pre-sale service is not provided, therefore all visitors will access the monument, from the ordinary entrance, along two different lines:
• visitors who need to collect free entrance tickets
• visitors who already collected free entrance tickets"
Later on that same page:
"The free access during the Free First Sundays of the month will be now limited to the months from January to March and from October to December." (And then it lists the schedule you already provided above.)
So even the site is a bit confused. It also lists a phone number. I'll call and report back.
Lines to get free tickets into the Forum and Palatine Hill are usually pretty short. so I'd get my tickets at one of those entrances and then go to the Colosseum visitors who already collected free tickets line. It will probably be a shorter wait to enter.
So even the site is a bit confused. It also lists a phone number. I'll
call and report back.
That's the problem! It would be GREAT if you could get back to us with a firsthand report! 👍
gbrennan: I fear for your safety from the real thug centurions if they sense an intruder (you) into their territory.
So Festa della Republica is the culprit for the confusion (on the coopculture website site) about Colosseum tours on June 2.
According to the woman I spoke with, the streets around the Colosseum will be closed on June 2. She told me to call back later in May because they may open the Colosseum up for tours on June 2, allowing tours to use other entrances besides entrances along the street(s).
So Festa della Republica is the culprit for the confusion
Ah, as I somewhat suspected but couldn't find regarding Colosseum closures or free entry. I knew that Via dei Fori Imperial plus some other streets and metro stations in the Colosseum area close for the parade but didn't see any info on the arena closing as well. Nothing on the coopculture site (that I could find, anyway, and I scoured that darn thing) or anywhere else I looked regarding free entry, all-day or temporary closures: the only closure dates formally listed are January 1 and December 25th. Annoying, that.
Thanks so much for the update, gbrennan: it'll be very useful for others who were/are planning to visit on June 2nd! 🌟
G,
I sent you a message. RomanGuy and WalksofItaly show no availability, but Dark Rome tours show June 2 availability.
I made a fake booking tonight, but I would definitely call them beforehand. Maybe they are circumventing the Colosseo's blocked streets?
Outside companies can also operate on the risk that they'll be able to get tickets to the attractions they offer. Tours have been known to cancel when that doesn't happen. For example, these travelers' Colosseum tours were cancelled just a couple of weeks before their dates this year because of a rather late-in-the-game announcement of Culture Week (no tours allowed at Italian state museums).
If the tour companies or even the museums themselves were not aware well in advance of the event above - or maybe didn't alert their customers - it's possible Dark Rome is as yet unaware of an unscheduled closure on June 2. Based on what our OP was told by the official ticketer (coopculture, who hasn't even provided that notice on their own site), I would be uneasy not having a solid plan if it's a MUST for his family and time in which to land tickets for workable open slots on June 3 is short?
Thanks, again, everyone. As I said to Kathy, we couldn't get better, more timely travel advice and insight than we can sharing on this forum.
We're going to bite the bullet and do two big tours in one day as the result of the uncertainty brought by Festa della Republica. But also, because we won't have anything planned for June 2, we'll be open to savoring whatever unplanned happens that day.
This is, indeed, a first-world challenge, and aren't we fortunate that we have to navigate it!
Cheers~
