How to visit Colosseum’s underground

[revised January 2026] In the last years, the visit of the Colosseum has been enriched with new areas, i.e. the underground layer, the arena, the third tier called the attic, Commodo’s corridor. Unfortunately people interested in this kind of visits are more than the available slots and the way these tickets are put on sale is not exactly “transparent”.   We have tried in the past to assist our guests in securing these tickets, but every year it gets more difficult and frustrating, tickets are sold out after few minutes they are put on sales: check our post explaining the issue. We understand the fascination of the dungeons and the attraction of exclusiveness,  but there are few things you should be aware of:

• you can see the whole structure of the Colosseum even without this special access, from the ground level or second tier which are open to everybody with a standard ticket. It is mainly a matter of perspective.
• private slots are almost impossible to get  but you can join an internal group tour, this is a bit easier to purchase and we can meet you afterwards (approx 1 hr later) to continue the visit in the archeological park (or before). The slots are open to sales exactly 30 days ahead of your required date.
• There are several big companies which invest a lot of time and money  to buy the largest amount of tickets they can and resell  these tickets at higher price in conjunction with their tours. Of course this secondary ticketing practice results into a lack of availability: finding a slot now is as hard as buying a ticket for Taylor Swift’s concert!!!

Conclusions:

• you can decide a standard tour of the Colosseum is enough, you will learn everything about the Colosseum in any case and we can combine this standard visit to an “Underground Rome” tour, including other sites nearby, in order to  understand the stratification of Rome.
• you can check the official website of the company managing the tickets of the Colosseum here and you can try to secure tickets on your own. They sell the simple access or you can buy the internal guided tours of the Colosseum (approx 75’ long). If you are interested in a visit of the Forum/Palatine area (these sites are included in the ticket you buy for the Colosseum) we can meet you earlier or later outside the Colosseum and tour these areas with you.
• this internal company has several guides at disposal, we know some of them, most are archaeologists and well prepared tour guides. It has to be said they reiterate this tour more than once a day and several days in a row. They know their stuff, but sometimes they lose freshness and enthusiasm.

Be informed and chose what’s best for you!

Three final notes: 

1. a little trick if you really want to “be there” even without an explanation, is to check the guided tours in Italian, they are usually less requested
2. arena access is something easier to secure, you can buy the Full Experience ticket or the Arena Only ticket and get there, even with us (but in these case, you need to secure a free ticket for the guide as well)
3. the “attic” can be reached by an elevator whose max capacity is 8 people, counting your guide too, which again needs the free ticket to join you, so remember to book that as well.