Rome sightseeing tickets: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Vatican Museums

Quick answer

Give the Colosseum and the Roman Forum one day and the Vatican Museums another. The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month, so book them for Monday to Saturday. Colosseum tickets carry your name and a fixed entry time, so bring photo ID and arrive on time. Both Tiqets tickets in this guide are non-refundable, so fix your dates before you pay. Winter hours are short, so check the official page or your ticket page the day before you go.

When is the Colosseum open?

The Colosseum Archaeological Park, which runs the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine, publishes its hours by season. Here's what it lists for this winter:

• 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027: 08:30 to 16:30, with last admission at 15:30.
• The Colosseum opens at 08:30. The Roman Forum and Palatine area opens at 09:00.
• Closed on 25 December 2026 and 1 January 2027.
• Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month, which makes those days busy.
• Online sales open 30 days before your visit, and every Colosseum ticket comes with a compulsory entry time slot.

These hours are on the park's official timetable, and the ticket and opening-time rules explain the time slots. Hours change again from March, so check them if you're travelling later in the year.

What do I need to know before entering the Colosseum?

The park's visitor rules include a few that catch people out:

• Tickets are nominative. Bring an original photo ID. Staff check the name on the ticket against your ID, and entry can be refused if they don't match.
• Small bags only. Bags and backpacks larger than 30 × 40 × 15 cm are not allowed, and there is no cloakroom or luggage storage.
• Everyone goes through security, with metal detectors and scanners.

The Colosseum has its own stop on Metro line B (Colosseo).

You can book this ticket for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, with your choice of an audio guide or a 25-minute multimedia video about ancient Rome. Several local suppliers sell through this page, and the checkout offers different options, including one with the Mamertine Prison. The options differ, so read the inclusions, meeting point and voucher instructions for the one you pick. At the time of checking, the ticket was non-refundable and could not be rescheduled.

The ticket page does not list the arena floor or the underground. Those come with separate Full Experience or Only Arena tickets on the official list, so this isn't the ticket for you if standing in the arena is the point.

When are the Vatican Museums open?

The Vatican Museums list these hours:

• Monday to Saturday: 08:00 to 20:00, with final entry at 18:00. Visitors are asked to leave the halls 30 minutes before closing.
• Sundays: closed, except the last Sunday of the month. That day the museums open from 09:00 to 14:00 (final entry 12:30) with free entry, and the queue is long.
• Fixed closures: 1 and 6 January, 11 February, 19 March, 6 April, 1 May, 29 June, 14 and 15 August, 1 November, and 8, 25 and 26 December.
• The museums also announce temporary closures of single rooms, the Sistine Chapel or the whole museum, sometimes for just a morning or an evening. Check them against your date.

All of this is on the museums' official calendar.

Mismatch to watch: At the time of checking, the opening hours box on the Tiqets page showed the museums open on Sundays. The official calendar says they are closed on Sundays except the last one of the month. Go by the official calendar.

What are the dress code and bag rules at the Vatican?

The Vatican Museums' visitor rules apply a dress code to the museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Gardens:

• No sleeveless or low-cut tops, no shorts above the knee, no miniskirts and no hats. Cover your shoulders and knees.
• Large bags go to the free cloakroom. The cloakroom rules (PDF) give 40 × 35 × 15 cm as the limit for bags and packages, and most rucksacks have to be left too. Food and drink, medium and large umbrellas, and tripods also go there.
• You can't leave cash, phones, cameras, coats or jackets in the cloakroom, and you have to collect your things the same day before closing.
• If you plan to go on to St Peter's Basilica, the museums ask you not to leave bags in their cloakroom.
• Photos: Personal photos without flash are allowed in most of the museums. In the Sistine Chapel, photos and filming are forbidden and you're asked to stay silent.

You can book fast-track entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. The ticket page gives three hours as the duration, and no guide is listed. The checkout also offers a hosted-entry option and one with a sightseeing bus tour, and several suppliers sell through the page, so read the inclusions and meeting point of the option you choose. Fast track gets you past the ticket queue, but you still go through security. At the time of checking, the ticket was non-refundable and could not be rescheduled.

A simple way to group these sights

Before you go

• Check closing days against your dates. The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays except the last one of the month, and both sites have fixed holiday closures.
• Bring the photo ID that matches the name on your Colosseum ticket.
• Pack clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for the Vatican, and leave large bags at your hotel. The Colosseum has no cloakroom.
• Both Tiqets tickets here were non-refundable when we checked. Read the option, meeting point and cancellation terms before you pay.
• Check seasonal hours on the official pages the day before. Winter hours at the Colosseum run until 28 February 2027.

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