Domus Aurea Tickets: Friday to Sunday Only, and No Longer Guided-Only
Nero’s Golden House opens Friday to Sunday only. There is now an 18 euro self-guided ticket alongside the 26 euro guided visit with VR.
Sammie O
Nero’s buried palace trips people up in two opposite directions: they assume it is open daily, and they assume you can only see it on a guided tour. Both were once half true. Neither is now.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday only
The weekend-only restriction still holds. Visits run every 15 minutes from 09:00, with last admission at 15:30 and the site closing at 16:30. It also closes on free-admission days — first Sundays of the month and the national free dates — which catches people who assume free entry days help.
Two honest caveats about the official page. It lists an €18 slot at 17:00, after the stated close — the page contradicts itself and we cannot resolve it. And its printed 2026 closure dates match the 2025 calendar, so the list looks stale even though the underlying rule is sound. Check your date on the operator’s page before travelling.
Two tickets now
- €26 — guided route plus the virtual reality experience. The VR reconstruction of the octagonal room is the reason most people come, and it is genuinely good.
- €18 — ticket only, no tour, no VR. Listed at the 12:00 and 17:00 slots. This option is new; the site was guided-only for years.
Groups cap at 25 including the guide, and the visit runs 75 to 90 minutes depending on ticket. Booking is mandatory. There is also a monthly themed visit, Domus Aurea Highlights, on the third Thursday at 17:00.
It is a separate site on the Colle Oppio — nothing about a Colosseum ticket includes it. The operator publishes no accessibility statement for the route, so if that matters, contact them before booking rather than after.
Source: colosseo.it, checked 26 August 2026.
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