Avoiding line for the Colosseum, Rome

During the high season, there is always a long line for the ticket to Colosseum. If you are standing in the line, you will see tour guide offering group ticket. The group ticket comes with guided tour and quick access to the Colosseum. This way you can enter Colosseum without spending an hour waiting in the line, which is not atypical during high season. By all means, avoid buying group ticket, unless you are really interested in the guided tour.

What you need to do instead is to head to nearby Palatine Hill. Here is the logic, the Colosseum ticket gives you free entrance for the nearby Palatine Hill, so vise versa is true. Hence you can buy your ticket for the Palatine Hill and get free access to Colosseum. Of course the Hill is much less popular, and hence alomost no line. I did that twice (I was in Rome twice) and during the highest season I have less than 5 people in front of me. 

Now, you can dicth Palatine Hill and head straight to Colosseum. Skip the line and try not to wave your ticket to the exhausted tourists who will waste their hours standing in the line. Palatine Hill is just 3 minute walk from Colosseum, in the Forum area. Just follow the arrow.

As for you who are interested in the guided tour, consider that you can always eavesdrop. Just make sure that you are not too obvious . Think of it as free guided tour, and you can ditch your guide if you don’t like him/her and move to the next one. Smart, isn’t it?