Colosseum by Night - An amazing way to see Rome's most iconic monument!

Want to visit the Colosseum by night?

This is one of my favorite ways to visit Rome's most iconic monument.

It's an exclusive visit and brings the structure's history to life like no other visit can.

Find out everything you need to know about seeing the Rome Colosseum at night, from what you will see to how to book.

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?
  
• 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!

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 . . .

 . . . 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.

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 20€.

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.)

Reminder: All Colosseum tickets will be nominative. This means that your ticket will have your name on it, and you’ll have to show ID to prove you are the person whose name is on the ticket.

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.

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.)

Colosseum night 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.

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 the Colosseum 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 unless you book a Full Experience ticket or tour.
• Did I mention the crowds?

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.

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?

When they started offering Colosseum night visits, it was only available during spring/summer/fall.

As of this writing in late 2023, visits seem to begin in early spring 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 often only go on the weekends, but this seems to differ from one year to the next, and I think they adjust it according to whatever the current supply/demand is.

Also note it is NOT available on the Free Sunday or other free dates (on the first Sunday of each month, and some other dates during the year, like November 4 and April 21, many 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, 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 booked 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.

For example, your guide might set a meeting point at Piazza Venezia, and then give you a tour of that piazza and the via dei Fori Imperiali on your way to the Colosseum.

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.

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.

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.

On a recent tour, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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