Tours › Colosseum · Rome
Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill Ticket with Audio Guide
From €29 per person
- Duration
- 2.5 hours
- Visit
- At your own pace
- Entry
- Skip the line
- Audio guide
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Three sites, one ticket, and nobody setting the pace
This is the Colosseum without a group: a timed-entry ticket that takes you past the queue at the gate, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill on the same ticket, and an audio guide that plays on your own phone. You stop where you want, stand as long as you want in front of the things that interest you, and walk past the ones that do not. Nobody is waiting for you, and you are not waiting for anybody.
The audio guide is the POP GUIDE app. You download it from the App Store or Play Store, ideally before you arrive, and you collect your access code at our tourist hub on Via delle Terme di Tito. If you have not downloaded it yet, use our free WiFi at the hub: once the content is on your phone the guide works offline, which matters because the signal inside the amphitheatre and down in the Forum is unreliable. Bring headphones and a charged phone and you are set for the whole visit.
At a glance
- Duration
- About 2.5 hours, at your own pace
- Visit style
- Independent: no group and no live guide
- Audio guide
- POP GUIDE app on your own phone, 13 languages
- Entry
- Skip-the-line entry, and all three sites on one ticket
- Meeting point
- Our tourist hub, Via delle Terme di Tito 93 - look for the Enjoy Rome logo
- What to bring
- A charged phone, headphones and a valid photo ID for everyone
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 hours before the entry time
- Best for
- Independent travellers who want the three sites explained without following a group
Highlights
- Skip-the-line-entry ticket: you skip the ticket line at the Colosseum
- Roman Forum and Palatine Hill on the same ticket, with no second queue
- The POP GUIDE audio guide app on your own phone, in 13 languages
- Download it over our free WiFi and it keeps working offline inside the site
- Stop where you like and take as long as you want: there is no group to follow
What’s included
- Skip-the-line-entry ticket to the Colosseum
- Skip-the-line Entry to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill
- Access code for the POP GUIDE audio guide app, in 13 languages
- Free WiFi at our tourist hub to download the app before you go in
- Assistance at our tourist hub before the visit
Not included
- A live guide: this is a self-guided visit
- Arena floor access, which is our Colosseum Arena ticket with audio guide
- The Colosseum underground, the hypogeum
- Headphones and a charged phone, which you bring yourself
- Food, drinks and hotel pick-up
Itinerary
Pick-up pointOur tourist hub, Via delle Terme di Tito 93
Start here, a few minutes uphill from the Colosseum. You collect your ticket and the access code for the audio guide, and our staff show you where the right entrance is and how long the security queue is running that morning. If you have not installed the app yet, this is the moment: the WiFi is free and downloading the content here means the guide works even where there is no signal. Come 15 minutes before the entry time printed on your ticket.
1ColosseumThe Flavian Amphitheatre, opened in AD 80
You enter with a reserved time slot and follow the route the Roman public followed, from the entrance corridors up to the tiers above the arena. The audio guide explains what you are standing in: the wooden floor laid over the hypogeum and covered in sand, the lifts and trapdoors that pushed animals and scenery into the daylight, the awning rigged over the crowd, and how a day of games was programmed and paid for. From the seating levels you look down onto the arena and into the open section of the underground below it.
2Roman ForumThe square where the Republic governed itself
Down the hill, the Forum opens along the Via Sacra, the road every triumph took. The audio guide takes you past the Curia where the Senate met, the platform where Caesar was cremated, the round temple of Vesta, the arches of Titus and Septimius Severus, and the basilicas where Romans came to trade, argue and be judged. Left to yourself this is the part of the visit that is hardest to read, which is exactly where a commentary earns its keep.
3Palatine HillThe hill where Rome began, and where the emperors stayed
The climb to the Palatine is short and the reward is the best free view in the city. This is the hill Romulus is said to have chosen and the address every emperor from Augustus onward kept: the remains of the imperial palaces are still up here, and from the terrace you look straight down over the Circus Maximus. There is almost no shade, so on a hot afternoon do this stretch early or late rather than in the middle of the day.
Good to know
- Download the POP GUIDE app from the App Store or Play Store before you arrive, or over our free WiFi at the hub
- You receive your access code at our tourist hub; once the content is downloaded the guide works offline inside the site
- Bring a charged phone and your own headphones: the guide plays on your device
- Bring a valid photo ID or passport for every participant, children included
- The full name of each participant must match the booking, or entry cannot be guaranteed
- Your Colosseum ticket is valid only for the entry time printed on it
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the entry time; after that the ticket cannot be refunded
- There is an airport-style security check at the Colosseum entrance, and it can queue
- Large bags, glass, pets and sharp objects are not allowed inside, and there is no cloakroom
- Wear comfortable shoes and bring water: the Forum and the Palatine are uneven and largely unshaded
- The route is not suitable for wheelchair users or visitors with limited mobility
Who this ticket is for
This ticket is for
- Independent travellers who want the history without a group and without a fixed pace
- Anyone who wants to linger in the Colosseum and move quickly through the Forum, or the other way round
- Visitors on a budget who still want the three sites properly explained
- Travellers who need a language no live guide covers: Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Greek, Russian, Japanese, Korean or Dutch
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone who wants to stand on the arena floor, which needs the Arena ticket or the Gladiator Gate tour
- Visitors who would rather ask a person questions, who are better served by the guided tour
- Travellers without a smartphone, headphones or room to install an app
- Wheelchair users and visitors with limited mobility: the route has stairs, gravel and uneven ancient paving
Not sure which Colosseum option to pick?
Frequently asked questions
How does the audio guide work?
It is an app called POP GUIDE, and it plays on your own phone. Download it from the App Store or Play Store, collect your access code at our tourist hub, and download the content before you go in. From that point it works offline, so you are not depending on a signal inside the amphitheatre or down in the Forum.
Which languages is the audio guide available in?
Thirteen: English, Italian, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Greek, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Dutch. You choose the language in the app, so a family can listen in different languages on the same booking.
Do I need my own phone and headphones?
Yes. The audio guide is an app on your device, so bring a charged phone and headphones. If two of you want to share, bring a splitter or a second pair: the sites are loud and a phone speaker will not carry.
Does the audio guide work without internet?
Yes, once the content is downloaded. Do that before you enter, either at home or over the free WiFi at our hub, because coverage inside the Colosseum and across the Forum is patchy and you do not want to be waiting for a download at the gate.
How long does the visit take?
About two and a half hours if you follow the audio guide through all three sites. Because nobody is setting the pace you can stretch it or cut it short: some people spend an hour in the Colosseum alone, others walk the Forum twice.
Is one ticket valid for all three sites?
Yes. The ticket covers the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. The Forum and the Palatine are a single archaeological area, so you do not queue twice.
Can I enter at a different time from the one on my ticket?
No. The Colosseum sells timed entry and the slot on your ticket is the one that is checked at the gate. Arrive 15 minutes early: if you miss the slot the ticket is lost, and it cannot be refunded.
What is the difference between this and the guided tour?
This is a ticket with a recorded commentary you follow alone. The guided tour puts a licensed guide with you, in a group capped at 25, with radio headsets, and the guide answers questions and adapts to what the group is interested in. The ticket is cheaper; the tour explains more.
Is the arena floor included?
No. Standing on the arena floor is a restricted area with its own ticket. If that is what you want, look at the Colosseum Arena entry ticket with audio guide, or the Gladiator Gate tour if you also want a guide.
Is the Colosseum underground included?
No. The hypogeum, the network of tunnels and animal lifts below the arena, is separately ticketed and is not part of this visit. You can see into part of it from the seating levels.
Do children need a ticket?
Everyone needs a ticket, including infants, and everyone counts in the booking. Under-18s enter free, but the free ticket still has to be issued in their name, so book a place for every member of your party.
Can I cancel my booking?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before the entry time and you are refunded in full. Inside the last 24 hours the ticket is non-refundable, because the timed slots have already been issued in your names.
What happens if it rains?
All three sites stay open, and much of the Colosseum visit is under cover. Bring a light waterproof rather than an umbrella, and remember that you are carrying a phone: a pocket you can keep it dry in is worth more than you think.
Is the site accessible for wheelchair users?
The Colosseum itself has lifts, but this ticket also covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, where the ground is gravel, cobble and uneven ancient paving. We do not recommend it for wheelchair users or anyone with limited mobility. Write to us and we will tell you honestly what is workable.