Colosseum Entry Tickets with Virtual Reality Experience Rome

The Colosseum: Rome's great amphitheatre

Begun around 70 AD and inaugurated in 80 AD, the Flavian Amphitheatre, which the world knows as the Colosseum, is the largest amphitheatre ever built by the Romans. Its oval measures roughly 189 by 156 metres and once held around 50,000 spectators who came for gladiator fights, wild animal hunts and public spectacles. Travertine stone, brick and concrete rise in four storeys, and a great canvas awning could be stretched over the seats to shade the crowd.

With this ticket you walk the public levels of the monument and look down on the arena and the maze of passages beneath it. Most visitors spend about an hour inside. Is the Colosseum worth visiting? Without question, and seeing the virtual reconstruction first makes the broken tiers and bare walls far easier to read. Note that the Underground, the Arena Floor and the Third Ring require a different ticket and are not part of this one.

The virtual reality journey into ancient Rome

Before entering, you meet our partner's staff at the Arch of Constantine and receive a VR headset. The experience takes place outside the monument for security reasons and lasts 45 minutes to an hour. It is a full 3D reconstruction rather than a film: you look around freely while the narration explains what you see in the language you chose at booking.

The first scene places you in the busy square beside the gleaming amphitheatre, among merchants and citizens on a day of games. The second puts you on the sand of the arena looking up at the crowd. The third takes you into the hypogeum, the underground network where animals and fighters waited and lifts raised them into the arena. Because the VR comes first, your Colosseum entry is about one hour after your selected time slot.

The Roman Forum

The same ticket opens the Roman Forum, the valley between the Palatine and Capitoline hills that served as the political, religious and commercial heart of ancient Rome. Here you walk the Via Sacra past the columns of the Temple of Saturn, the remains of the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins, the Curia where the Senate met, and the triumphal arches of Titus and Septimius Severus.

Allow at least an hour for the Forum, more if you like to stop and read the ruins. The ground is uneven, so comfortable shoes matter, and there is little shade in summer. A visit straight after the Colosseum works well, as the Forum entrance is only a few minutes' walk away along Via dei Fori Imperiali or from the Arch of Titus side.

Palatine Hill

Rising above the Forum, the Palatine Hill is where, according to legend, Rome was founded and where the emperors later built their vast palaces. Today you wander among the ruins of the imperial residences, the stadium-shaped garden of the Domus Augustana, terraces planted with umbrella pines and the Farnese Gardens laid out in the 16th century.

The Palatine is the quietest part of the archaeological park and offers some of the best views in the city: over the Roman Forum on one side and down to the Circus Maximus on the other. Plan 45 minutes to an hour here. Many visitors finish their day on the hill, so it is a good idea to bring water and a hat in the warmer months.

Planning your visit: tickets, timing and tips

Colosseum tickets are timed and often sell out days ahead, especially from April to October. Booking this combined ticket secures your entry and adds the VR experience at the start. Time slots begin in the morning and early afternoon. The best time to visit the Colosseum is early in the day, when the light is soft and the heat lower, or outside July and August.

Arrive at the Arch of Constantine ten minutes before your slot. Bring comfortable shoes and a small bag only, since large bags and luggage are not allowed inside. Children should carry a passport or ID card. The VR is not suitable for people with epilepsy or visual impairments, but the archaeological sites themselves can be visited by wheelchair users along the accessible routes.