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Looking for Colosseum free entry? As of April 2022 the Free Sunday initiative has been restarted, but this is only one day a month.
So, what are some other ways you can enter the Rome Colosseum for free?
Prior to Covid, we used to enjoy the "Free Sunday", in which state sites and museums were free on the first Sunday of the month.
These sites included the Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, but also sites like Castel Sant'Angelo, the Baths of Caracalla, and other sites across Italy such as Pompeii.
As things have started to reopen in Italy, the Free Sunday has now been restarted in Rome, with the first event taking place on Sunday April 3 2022.
The Free Sunday event at the Colosseum will be happening once a month on the first Sunday 0f the month going forward, which is fantastic news!
You cannot pre-book tickets, so you will need to pick up your free tickets on the day from the ticket offices next to the Colosseum, and the Full Experience tickets will not be available, just the regular access ticket.
As the Free Sunday is only once a month, if this doesn't coincide with your trip to Rome, take a look at what else this page covers to see if you can still get Colosseum free entry:
These museums include the Capitoline Museums, the Ara Pacis, Trajan's Market, Trajan's Forum, Villa Torlonia, the Museum of Rome at Palazzo Braschi, and others.
For a full list of Rome's civic museums and for more details about how to book for the free Sunday at those museums, visit the website of Musei in Comune.
The Colosseum is regularly free:
There are a few other categories of people eligible for Colosseum free entry, as follows (according to CoopCulture, the official ticketing website of the Colosseum):
When you purchase a Roma Pass or other City Pass, it comes with at least one "free entry" to a major site in Rome (this depends on the pass you purchase and the duration of the pass. You can evaluate the different Rome City passes here.)
Granted, you have to purchase the Roma Pass / City Pass, but once you do, you get to enter your choice of monument(s) for free, after which other the entry fee for other museums/monuments is reduced.
Buying the Roma Pass or other City Pass may not actually be a money saver (unless you are going to turbo-sightsee and really take advantage of the pass), but it can be convenient.
In any case, when you use one of these passes for your Colosseum free entry, you must still reserve a spot, and there is a 2 € booking fee so in fact, it is not free but rather 2 €.
The perfect 3-day itinerary in Rome
Trying to figure out how to organize your visit to Rome? I've got the perfect 3-day itinerary for first-time visitors (or those who have not been here in a while.) It works for a 2.5 day visit as well.
In my 3-day itinerary, you'll see all the major must-see Rome attractions like the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Castel Sant'Angelo, and much more.
And if you have more time, or want suggestions for extra/other things to do, you'll find that there too.
Visit my page with the best 3-day itinerary in Rome for first-timers.
The Parco Colosseo has recently introduced a new "Parco Colosseo" membership card.
The cost is
This card offers UNLIMITED Colosseum free entry for one year after purchase.
This entry also includes the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, AND it includes the Full Experience, i.e. the Colosseum Underground and / or Arena floor.
It ALSO includes access to all the S.U.P.E.R. sites that are open (some are still closed in this post-Covid period).
For those of us who live in Rome, this is a really excellent deal if you love the Colosseum archeological park as much as I do.
For a visitor, it may not be worth it unless you plan to visit these areas more than 2-3 times in a given year.
All about the Rome Colosseum
It may seem a bit like an oxymoron, but there may be fees when booking a free ticket to the Colosseum.
In my opinion it does not make a lot of sense and it's a bit confusing but here are the rules for when you have to pay a booking fee when booking free entry to the Colosseum, and when you don't:
When you book your free ticket to the Colosseum, with the Roma Pass or any other kind of Rome City Pass, despite them being "free" you will still need to pay the 2€ booking fee.
For all other free tickets, when you book, the entry fee is zero and there is NO booking fee. These tickets include:
The way to see this is simply by beginning the booking process on CoopCulture.
Be aware that if you are eligible for free entry to the Colosseum, and want to visit on a Free Sunday, you cannot book in advance and will need to pick up your ticket from the ticket office along with everyone else.
There are two main types of tickets for visiting the Colosseum - the basic 24-hour ticket and the 48-hour Full Experience ticket.
The Full Experience ticket allows you entry (subject to availability and booking) to the Colosseum underground and / or arena.
It also allows you access to the S.U.P.E.R. sites on the Palatine Hill /Roman Forum (these will also be subject to availability, subject to being open or not, and in some cases, subject to reservation.)
These tickets cost 22 € for adults, 2€ for EU citizens between 18 - 25 years of age, and are free for everyone under 18.
They are also free for all the other categories listed above, i.e. for EU tour guides, people with disabilities, etc.
For night visits to the Colosseum, the only people allowed free entry are those under 6 accompanied by an adult.
Your Colosseum ticket, whether a standard 24-hour or a Full Experience 48-hour ticket, also includes entry to the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill.
If you have free entry to the Colosseum for any of the reasons stated on this page, you also have free entry to the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill as long as you enter this park within the parameters of your ticket.
This means:
All the above visits to the Palatine Hill/Roman Forum are free if you have a ticket for free Colosseum entry.
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