Tours › Colosseum · Rome
Colosseum Arena Floor Entry Ticket with Audio Guide
From €39 per person
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Visit
- At your own pace
- Entry
- Skip the line
- Audio guide
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The arena floor, with nobody moving you along
This is the restricted-area access without the group. You enter through the Gladiator Gate, the passage on the short axis of the amphitheatre that fighters and animals used and that standard tickets never open, and you step onto the arena floor in the middle of the building. Then you stay as long as you want. Nobody is calling the group back together, which is the whole point: the arena is the one place in the Colosseum where people wish they had another ten minutes.
The commentary comes from the POP GUIDE app on your own phone, in thirteen languages. Download it from the App Store or Play Store before you arrive, or over our free WiFi at the tourist hub on Via delle Terme di Tito where you collect your access code: once the content is on your phone it works offline, and inside the amphitheatre the signal is not something to rely on. The same ticket then covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, so you finish with the square where the city governed itself and the hill the emperors lived on.
At a glance
- Duration
- About 3 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
- Timed entry, arena floor through the Gladiator Gate
- 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 arena floor without joining a group
Highlights
- Restricted-area access to the arena floor through the Gladiator Gate
- Timed entry: 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
- No group and no fixed pace: you decide how long you stand in the middle of the arena
What’s included
- Timed-entry ticket to the Colosseum
- Restricted-area access to the arena floor through the Gladiator Gate
- 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
Not included
- A live guide: this is a self-guided visit
- The Colosseum underground, the hypogeum: you look into it from the arena, you do not walk through it
- Headphones and a charged phone, which you bring yourself
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
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 tell you which entrance to use and how the security queue is running that morning. Bring a valid ID for every participant: arena tickets are issued in names and are checked at the gate, which is not the case with a standard ticket. If the app is not on your phone yet, download it here over the free WiFi, and come 15 minutes before the entry time printed on your ticket.
1Colosseum and the arena floorThrough the Gladiator Gate, into the middle of the amphitheatre
You enter with a reserved time slot and walk the corridors towards the short axis of the building, where the Gladiator Gate opens straight onto the arena. Standing in the centre, the audio guide explains what the place actually did: how a day of games was programmed and paid for, how the wooden floor was laid over the hypogeum and covered in sand, how the awning was rigged above the crowd, and where the emperor sat. Through the open section of the floor you look down into the tunnels, cages and lift shafts that fed the arena from below. This is the part worth lingering over, and with no group you can.
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 walks 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 hardest part of the site 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
- Bring a valid photo ID or passport for every participant, children included: arena tickets are nominative and are checked at the gate
- The full name of each participant must match the booking, or entry cannot be guaranteed
- 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
- 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
- The arena floor can close at short notice in extreme weather; the rest of the ticket is unaffected
- 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
- 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 arena floor without joining a group
- Anyone who wants to photograph the amphitheatre from the centre without a guide moving on
- Visitors who already know the history and are paying for the access, not the commentary
- Travellers who need a language no live guide covers: Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Greek, Russian, Japanese, Korean or Dutch
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone hoping to walk through the underground tunnels: the hypogeum is a separate restricted area and is not part of this ticket
- Visitors who would rather have a person to ask, who are better served by the Gladiator Gate 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
What is the Gladiator Gate?
It is the entrance on the short axis of the amphitheatre that opens straight onto the arena, the one fighters, animals and stage machinery came through. It is closed to standard tickets: only restricted-area tickets like this one use it.
What is the difference between this and a standard Colosseum ticket?
A standard ticket lets you into the amphitheatre and up to the tiers where the Roman public sat, looking down onto the arena. This one adds the arena itself: you walk in through the Gladiator Gate and stand in the centre of the building, at the level of the fighters.
Can you see the Colosseum underground from the arena floor?
Yes. Part of the modern floor is left open, and from the arena you look straight down into the hypogeum: the corridors, cages and lift shafts that fed the games from below. Walking through the hypogeum is a separate restricted area and is not part of this ticket.
Is the arena floor original?
No. The Roman floor was a wooden deck covered in sand, laid over the hypogeum, and it disappeared centuries ago. What you stand on is a modern platform built over part of the underground so that visitors can reach the centre. The level and the sightlines are the ones the fighters had.
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.
How long does the visit take?
About three 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, and most people spend longer on the arena floor than they expect to.
Is one ticket valid for all three sites?
Yes. The ticket covers the Colosseum with arena access, 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 checked at the gate. Arrive 15 minutes early: if you miss the slot the ticket is lost and it cannot be refunded.
What happens if the arena floor closes?
In extreme weather the Colosseum can close the arena at short notice. The rest of your ticket is unaffected: you still visit the amphitheatre, the Forum and the Palatine. It is a decision taken by the site and not by us; we tell you as soon as we know, and the office will go through your options with you.
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 arena tickets have already been issued in your names.
Is the site accessible for wheelchair users?
The Colosseum itself has lifts, but reaching the arena means the service corridors, and the 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.