Colosseum by Night

By Elyssa Bernard

May 22, 2022

Want to visit the Colosseum by night?

You can! And it's an amazing way to see it!

Find out everything you need to know, from what you will see to how to book.

Visiting the Rome Colosseum at night is a really special way to see this amazing monument. Find out how!

Visiting the Colosseum By Night - Everything You Need to Know

If you want to visit the Colosseum at night, you need to know:

• What will you see? (below)
  
• Is the night entry to the Colosseum included in the Roma Pass?
  
• How much does it cost? Are there any reductions?
• Is it the same as the day ticket, including the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill? 
• Is it better to see the Colosseum at night or during the day?
  
• When is the Colosseum open at night? Can you visit it on the Free Sunday?
• Do you have to take a tour? How long does it last?
• How do you book a tour of the Colosseum by night?
  

Colosseum by night - What will you see?

Visiting the Colosseum at night is really special, not only because of how beautiful it is from the outside (which you can of course see regardless.)

When you first go in, you will see and really appreciate the architecture of the corridors, because they are totally empty!

Inside the Colosseum at night - empty!

Our tour guide on the Colosseum night tour

Then, as you go around on the main level of the Colosseum, your first impression will be of the silence.

It's dark all around you and hardly anyone else is there, so you get to appreciate what you are looking at even more, because there is no sound, other than the guide, to distract you.

On a night visit to the Colosseum, you will visit the main and second levels of the Colosseum, which you can do also during the day.

But you will also get to go out onto the Colosseum arena floor . . .

See us on the left, right on the Colosseum arena floor? It is an amazing experience!

 . . . and, you will visit the Hypogeum below.

This is another thing that makes this visit so special, as these areas are not accessible with a regular daytime entry ticket, and booking a visit of them (along with the third ring above), can be hard to come by as there is limited number of tickets to those areas.

Reconstructed trap door on the arena floor

Our guide explains how the lift worked

Alone in the Colosseum hypogeum at night

Understanding the colosseum hypogeum construction

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Is the Colosseum night tour included in the Roma Pass?

No.

The Roma Pass allows you free (or discounted) entry to the Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, but only during regular daytime hours.

The Colosseum night tour is considered a special event, and is not offered at any discount or with the Roma Pass or any other Combo pass.

How much does it cost to visit the Colosseum by night? Any reductions?

The full-fare ticket to visit the Colosseum by night, which includes a tour in English (or Spanish or Italian), is 25€. There is no additional booking fee so that is the final price per person.

For anyone under 25, the reduced fee is 22€.

For ages 3-6, it's free, but you still need a ticket (it's a free ticket but you have to reserve as it's consider a "spot" on the tour.)

Want more information about the Colosseum in Rome and how to visit it?

 Check out my YouTube videos!

Is it the same as the day ticket, including the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill? 

No, it's not the same.

A normal day-time visit to the Colosseum costs 16€ if purchased on site, or a bit more if you pre-purchase.

And it includes a visit to the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill area over a 24-hour period.

A view of the Roman Forum from the Palatine Hill, both of which you can visit using your day-time ticket to the Colosseum

Any other kind of visit to the Colosseum, such as underground, to upper tiers, and, the subject of this page, visiting the Colosseum by night, is considered a special event. (It's also why they are not always available.)

These tickets must be purchased in advance, and always include a tour with someone from the staff of CoopCulture. You cannot wander in on your own, and you cannot just walk up and purchase a ticket.

For all these special events, there is a limited number of spaces available, and as they are popular, they tend to sell out fast so you really have to book in advance, sometimes long in advance.

Where to Stay near Colosseum

Where to Eat near Colosseum

Is it better to see the Colosseum at night or during the day?

These are two really different visits, and different ways to see the Colosseum.

Visiting the Colosseum by day - pros and cons

Here are the pros of visiting the Colosseum by day:

• You can visit on your own, without a guide (although I personally think it's ideal to visit with a tour guide so you get the history and all the fun Colosseum facts!) 
• You have a large choice of times to go during the day's opening hours and can spend as much time as you like inside.
• Going by day means you also have included in the ticket, a visit to the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill (it's two parks but considered one because you can walk between them.) 
• And you have 2 consecutive days to do it (although there is no re-entry, so each site can be visited once in that 48-hour period.) That is a lot of flexibility, and a lot to see.
  

Here are the cons of visiting the Colosseum by day:

• The crowds and noise level are pretty distracting.
• In a normal daytime visit, you cannot visit the arena floor or the underground (although you can book this as a tour.)
• Did I mention the crowds?

Summer crowds at the Colosseum - one thing you don't have to contend with if you visit it at night!

Visiting the Colosseum by night - pros and cons

Here are the pros of visiting the Colosseum by night:

• It's absolutely stunning to see this monument, inside and out, lit up this way.
• You will have the Colosseum almost entirely to yourselves (there may be just a couple of other tour groups in there and they stagger the visits, so you mostly feel like your group is the only in there.)
• You get to go out onto the arena floor, and again, as you are nearly alone, this is a unique and special experience. I could not stop looking around me with my mouth gaping open.
• You get to visit the Hypogeum (underground), and as you are in the dark (but with lights of course), it's even more realistic, since that is how the gladiators saw it back then. Just dark.
• You will have a lot of time to just take in what you are looking at, PLUS take photos and videos. You will really get the full immersion without the distraction of hordes of people and lots of noise.

Here are the cons of visiting the Colosseum by night:

• It costs more than visiting during the day.
• You can ONLY see the Colosseum, but not the Roman Forum or Palatine Hill.
  
• It sells out long in advance so can be hard to book.

All about the Rome Colosseum

Visiting the Colosseum

Colosseum by night

Colosseum Facts

Colosseum tickets

Colosseum underground

Colosseum arena

Colosseum free entry

Roman forum

Palatine hill

So which one should you do?

If you have never been to Rome before, you may want to do the daytime visit so you can also see the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill.

And take a tour of that so you get all the history and info.

And, if you've been to the Colosseum before, or if you have time on your trip to Rome, add a night visit.

You will never look at the Colosseum the same way again.

When is the Colosseum open at night?

The Colosseum night tour is a relatively new thing.

In recent years, it was only available during spring/summer/fall. As of this writing in 2022, visits begin in April or May and go through the New Year Holidays.

As the season slows down and it gets colder, there are fewer of them. In winter months, you can only go on the weekends.

View of the Colosseum at night from the outside

Also note it will NOT be available on the Free Sunday or other free dates (on the first Sunday of each month October - March, and some other dates during the year, state sites and museums are free for everyone, and there are no special visits that day.)

As for what time they go, they start having visits about an hour after the regular closing time, and stagger the entry times.

So for example, in July, when the Colosseum closes at 7pm, they start visits sometime after 8pm, but you might get an entry time of say, 9:40pm. This way it's always in the dark, and as they stagger the entry times, you will not spend much time together with any other tour groups.

Do you have to take a tour? How long does it last?

Yes, to visit the Colosseum by night (or any other special visit), you must take a tour.

And the tour has to be with someone from CoopCulture, the organization that manages the Colosseum and its ticket sales.

When you book a tour with an outside company, you will still get the guide you booked, who works for that company.

But when you enter for the Colosseum night tour, someone from CoopCulture just comes along, in part to make sure you keep to your time-table. But rest assured, you will have the tour guide you booked.

A Colosseum night tour through CoopCulture lasts just over an hour.

A tour with an outside company will likely last longer, as they usually try to cover some more ground and information, to make it a more complete tour. The length will depend on the tour company but usually it will be around 2 - 2.5 hours.

How do you book a Colosseum night tour?

There are two ways to book a tour of the Colosseum by night, through CoopCulture, or through a private tour company.

If you book through CoopCulture, it will cost less, but if you want a more complete tour, or, if you find CoopCulture tickets sold out, you may want to try booking a tour with an outside company.

Book a tour of the Colosseum by night through CoopCulture

CoopCulture is the entity that runs the ticketing for the Colosseum (and other sites in Rome and throughout Italy.) 

You can book your Colosseum night tour directly through Coopculture, online.

Unlike with other special tour events like the underground and/or third or 4th/5th rings, you do not need to buy a separate entry ticket to the Colosseum.

The 25€ ticket you buy for the Colosseum night visit, through CoopCulture is a ticket for entry and includes the guide in the language you choose.

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Book a tour of the Colosseum by night with a tour company

If you want a more complete tour, that includes other parts of Ancient Rome by night, you may want to consider booking a Colosseum night tour through a tour agency.

Alessandro and I took this tour with The Roman Guy and we absolutely loved it.

We began at the Vittoriano monument (the "wedding cake"), and walked from there to Campidoglio for some night Roman Forum views. 

Take Walks is another trusted partner - book your tour here.

On our night tour of the Colosseum, we began at the Vittoriano monument, and it only got more fun from there.

With a Colosseum by night tour, we were treated to a quiet, night time view of the Roman Forum from the Campidoglio.

While we walked along the via dei Fori Imperiali, all lit up, we were treated to a fun and entertaining history lesson about Ancient Rome and some colorful emperors.

As we walked along the via dei Fori Imperiali, our guide treated us to some fascinating stories about Ancient Rome.

Once we arrived at the Colosseum, our guide handled everything and in we went (you do have to pass through security so I remind you, no selfie sticks or tripods allowed.)

We had the place nearly to ourselves. A guide from the Colosseum joined our group, but mostly served to keep us on track time-wise. Our guide was the one who guided us the whole time, and it was fantastic. I really recommend this tour with them.

You may also wish to book a Colosseum night tour on GetYourGuide because it's hard to book and because space is so limited.

When you go on a tour booking site like these, you can enter your date(s) and see WHO has a tour available then.

Yes, booking a tour with an agency is more expensive than with CoopCulture.

But you will have a more complete tour this way. And, if the tickets through CoopCulture are sold out, you may find that by booking a tour, you can find space available.

Full disclosure

I was a guest of The Roman Guy, but nobody tells me what to write. I assure you, if I hadn't thoroughly enjoyed the tour, I would not have mentioned them at all.

But I really did love it and would go with them again in a heartbeat. It's a superb experience.

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