Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine: how the tickets work

The short answer

The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine are one archaeological park, not three separate attractions. Italia.it, Italy's national tourism portal, says the Parco archeologico del Colosseo includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, the Arch of Constantine with the Meta Sudans, and the Domus Aurea.[1] Which parts of it you see depends on the ticket you buy.

Turismo Roma, the city's tourism site, names ticketing.colosseo.it for buying Colosseum tickets online.[3] It also says a nominative ticket, one issued in the holder's name, was introduced for every type of entrance ticket to the park on 18 October 2023.[4]

This page relies on those two official tourism sites, Turismo Roma and italia.it, and repeats no prices, hours or booking rules.

One park, several monuments

Turismo Roma's Colosseum page says the amphitheatre, together with the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, is part of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo.[3] XTOUR records the Colosseum as the amphitheatre itself and keeps the park, which is an institution, out of that record.

The ticket types the tourism sites name

XTOUR has not read the park's own ticket list, so what follows is only what the two tourism sites name.

• 24h Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine. Italia.it lists a ticket under this name.[2] Its name covers all three areas; italia.it does not describe it further.
• Full Experience. Italia.it lists a Full Experience ticket as well, without describing what it adds.[2] Turismo Roma says the Colosseum's underground can be visited in some periods of the year, but does not say which ticket covers it.[3]
• Forum Pass SUPER. Turismo Roma describes a single ticket for the Imperial Fora, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, valid for one day and one access, which also includes the "SUPER" sites, among them the House of Augustus and the Curia Iulia, where access is limited. The Colosseum is not among the areas it lists.[4]

XTOUR's reading is that the first decision is whether you want to enter the Colosseum at all. If the Forum and the Palatine are the point of the visit, the Forum Pass SUPER is the ticket Turismo Roma describes for that.

Named tickets

Turismo Roma says the nominative ticket was introduced on 18 October 2023 for all types of entrance ticket to the Parco archeologico del Colosseo. When the Forum Pass SUPER is bought at a ticket office, the user's name is entered and checked against an identity document, and the park reserves the right to carry out checks near the entrances.[4]

Where to buy, and re-entry

Turismo Roma gives ticketing.colosseo.it as the online purchase site on its Colosseum page.[3] For the Forum Pass SUPER it names the Trajan's Column ticket office and, online, the park's own website and CoopCulture's.[4]

The same Colosseum page warns that the Roman Forum and the Palatine are one archaeological area, so once you have entered it you cannot enter again on the same ticket.[3]

What XTOUR does not tell you

XTOUR does not publish prices, opening hours, last-entry times, free-admission days, time-slot rules or when sales open for the park. The park's own pages set those, and they could not be read when this page was checked; Turismo Roma itself sends readers to colosseo.it for updates.[3] XTOUR does not sell or list Colosseum tickets.

For the rest of ancient Rome, see the guide to Rome's ancient sites beyond the Colosseum; for the city as a base, the Rome destination page; and for St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums, which are in another country, the Vatican City and Rome explainer.