Rome Colosseum Disabled Access Review by John Sage

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Disabled Access at the Rome Colosseum

Rome Colosseum disabled access is provided by a step-free main entrance, a flat smooth interior, and an elevator to the upper level. Some parts of the interior have steps, and there are cobblestones with 3 star smoothness outside the entrance. Disabled access at Rome’s Colosseum is better than at the nearby Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Accessible guided tours of the Colosseum also visit the Roman Forum and have step-free access. Taking the tour (or buying your ticket at the nearby Roman Forum) enables you to by-pass the long ticket line.

Consider combining your visit to the Colosseum with visits to nearby attractions including the Roman Forum to the northwest, St. Peter in Chains to the north, or one of the wheelchair accessible bus tours to the south. Several wheelchair accessible hotels and apartments are available near the Colosseum.

We gave the Colosseum a 4 star Sage Accessibility Rating because it has a step-free entrance and most of it is accessible in a wheelchair. It did not get a 5 star rating because it has cobblestones at the entrance.

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Aerial image of the Colosseum (facing east):

If you visit the Roman Forum first, you won’t have to wait in a line to buy the Colosseum – Roman Forum combo ticket. The flat, smooth sidewalk connecting the Roman Forum and the Colosseum is shown on the left. It’s surprising to many people, but the Colosseum (aka Flavian’s Amphitheatre) is not round. The amphitheatre design is based off the combination of two theatres and has an elliptical shape (shown in the image on the right).

The Rome Colosseum handicapped accessible entrance to the building is located at the main entrance where there is a ramp shown in the image on the left. Wheelchair users and other disabled tourists will be able to by-pass some of the lines shown in the images on the right.

The ticket booth is shown in image on the left. Wheelchair users will be able to go through a gate to get around the turnstiles shown in the picture on the right.

After you pass through the turnstiles, you’ll travel over a concrete path that is wheelchair-friendly. You’ll be on this path for about 1/4 of the way around the Colosseum until you get to the elevator.

Inside the Colosseum a wheelchairramp leads to an elevator which you can take to the upper floor. Once you get to the upper floor you will have a great accessible view of the interior of the Colosseum. If you want to get to the interior from the ground level, you’ll need to go over about 5 meters of cobblestones shown on the right.

On the ground level, you can easily view all of the ruins from a wheelchair (the image on the left is taken from the ground level). A paved path leads about 1/4 of the way around the Colosseum.

You won’t be able to circumnavigate the lower level in a wheelchair because of the steps shown in the images below. You can backtrack to find to exit the Colosseum.

Just to the southwest of the Colosseum, you can view the Arch of Constantine. It is surrounded by cobblestones with 3 star smoothness that wheelchair users may find challenging. A taxi stand (shown in the image on the right) is available on the east side of the Colosseum (the opposite side of the Colosseum entrance).

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