monument
Arena di Verona: Visiting the Roman Amphitheatre, Tickets and Hours
Anfiteatro Arena
The Arena di Verona is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 19:00, with last admission at 18:30; it is closed on Mondays, on 25 December and on 1 January, and it closes early on show days (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). Entry is free with the Verona Card, which also gives priority access through gate 5, and single tickets are sold at the Arena ticket office and on verona.coopculture.it, the civic museums' official online box office (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026b; Comune di Verona, 2026b).
The amphitheatre was built around the middle of the 1st century AD outside the walls of Roman Verona. It is the eighth largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire and once held about 30,000 spectators (Comune di Verona, 2026a). From April to October it hosts shows and events, among them the summer opera festival, so part of the building is fitted with modern stage sets and closed to visitors. This page covers the opening hours, the tickets and pass, what you see on the visitor route, the history, and how a daytime visit differs from an opera night.
Arena di Verona tickets: single ticket or Verona Card?
There are two ways in. The first is a single ticket, sold at the ticket office at the Arena itself and online at verona.coopculture.it, which the civic museums of Verona name as their only official online box office; the Comune warns that entry is not guaranteed with tickets bought through other channels (Comune di Verona, 2026b). The second is the Verona Card, which includes free entry to the Arena and, for the Arena only, priority access through gate 5. No other site on the card gives skip-the-line access (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026b).
From 1 September 2026 the Verona Card costs 33 EUR for 24 hours and 38 EUR for 48 hours, both including ATV city buses. Each site on the card may be entered once (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026b). If you plan to see the Arena, Castelvecchio and Juliet's House on the same day, compare the card with the single tickets; the full calculation is on our Verona Card page.
On the first Sunday of each month from November to March the civic museums and monuments, the Arena included, charge 1 EUR for entry, a promotion that excludes Juliet's House (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026c).
Arena di Verona opening hours and early closures
The published hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00, with last admission at 18:30. The Arena is closed on Mondays, on 25 December and on 1 January (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). An extra opening is announced for Monday 7 December 2026.
The standard hours do not apply on days with a performance. From April to October the Arena hosts shows and events, carries modern stage sets and is not entirely open for visits, and on event days and during the opera festival the closing time is brought forward (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). The tourist office repeats the warning on its Verona Card page: check for changes to the Arena's hours on event days before you plan around them.
For a full visit with the cavea free of scenery, the months from November to March are the safest choice. In summer, go in the morning; by late afternoon on an opera day the stage crews and the early closing reduce what you can see.
What you see inside the Arena
The building is an ellipse of 152.43 by 123.23 metres, with an inner arena of 75.68 by 44.43 metres. Of the outer ring, almost 31 metres high and built of limestone from the Valpolicella, only a short section survives: the Ala, or wing, four arches over three orders. Above the arches you can still read the Roman numerals that guided spectators to their entrances (Comune di Verona, 2026a).
The visitor route enters from Piazza Bra, follows the flat circular galleries and climbs into the cavea, the tiers of stone seating. Information panels stand at the entrance and in the arches; there are no audio guides at present (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). The Comune's brochure marks the areas excluded from visits and notes that they change with the events in progress.
Today the Arena seats roughly half its original 30,000, for scenographic and safety reasons (Comune di Verona, 2026a). From the top tiers you look across Piazza Bra and the city roofs to the hills, and down onto whatever stage is being built for the next performance.
A short history: gladiators, tournaments and opera
The Arena was built around the middle of the 1st century AD, outside the boundary wall of the Roman city. It is the eighth largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire and the fourth largest of the Roman amphitheatres in Italy. Its games were mainly gladiator duels (munera) and hunts of wild and exotic animals (venationes) (Comune di Verona, 2026a).
In the Middle Ages its original function was forgotten. The space was used for judicial duels and executions, the Municipal Statutes of 1276 fined anyone who damaged the building, and from the late 13th century until 1537 the city's prostitutes were made to live in its arches. Later the outer arches were let to artisans and merchants (Comune di Verona, 2026a).
Theatre returned in 1713, when a small wooden stage was built in the cavea for Scipione Maffei's Merope. Rossini conducted a performance there in 1822, Buffalo Bill brought his Wild West show in 1890, and in 1913 Verdi's Aida opened the first opera season, on the centenary of the composer's birth. Since 1984 a large metal comet has stood between Piazza Bra and the Arena at Christmas (Comune di Verona, 2026a).
Visiting by day or going to the opera at night
A daytime visit and an opera night are two different tickets sold by two different bodies. The monument is run by the Comune di Verona through its civic museums. The Arena di Verona Opera Festival is run by Fondazione Arena di Verona, which sells its own tickets online at shop.arena.it, through its call centre and at its box office; its own help pages send anyone asking about monument visits to the Comune's website (Fondazione Arena di Verona, 2026).
If you want to see the cavea empty and walk the galleries, book the day visit. If you want to sit in it as the Romans did, book a performance: in the 2027 season the festival runs from June to September, and the cheapest seats are numbered places on the stone steps of the upper sectors. Seats, prices, dates and what to bring are on our Arena Opera Festival page.
On performance days the gates for the audience open two hours before the show (Fondazione Arena di Verona, 2026), which is one reason the monument closes early to day visitors in summer.
Accessibility, dogs and practical points
The Arena is partly accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. The flat route through the circular galleries needs no special aids, and the cavea can be visited, although access may be limited for safety while stage sets are being built or taken down (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a).
Small dogs are admitted only inside a carrier bag. Guide dogs, assistance dogs and alert dogs are always allowed. Dogs are not admitted during guided tours, events, set-ups and some exhibitions, and the full conditions are in the civic museums' pet policy (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a).
The address is Piazza Bra 1, and the civic museums answer on +39 045 8003204 and at [email protected] (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). There is no cloakroom for opera audiences and bulky bags are refused at performances (Fondazione Arena di Verona, 2026), so if you go on from the airport or the station with luggage, leave it first; the bus and taxi options are on our Verona airport to the city page.
Frequently asked questions
5 questionsWhat are the Arena di Verona opening hours?
Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00, with last admission at 18:30. The Arena is closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January. On days with a show or concert, and during the summer opera festival, it closes earlier, so check the hours for your date before you go (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a).
Is the Arena di Verona free with the Verona Card?
Yes. The Verona Card includes free entry to the Arena and priority access through gate 5, the only skip-the-line benefit on the card. From 1 September 2026 the card costs 33 EUR for 24 hours or 38 EUR for 48 hours, with city buses included, and each site can be entered once (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026b).
Where do I buy tickets to visit the Arena?
At the ticket office at the Arena or online at verona.coopculture.it, which the civic museums name as their official online box office. The Comune warns that entry is not guaranteed with tickets bought from unofficial sites (Comune di Verona, 2026b). Opera tickets are separate and are sold by Fondazione Arena di Verona.
Can you visit the Arena di Verona during the opera season?
Yes, but with limits. From April to October the Arena hosts shows, carries modern stage sets and is not entirely open, and on event days the closing time is brought forward (Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, 2026a). Visit in the morning, or come back in the evening with an opera ticket.
How big is the Arena di Verona and how many people does it hold?
The ellipse measures 152.43 by 123.23 metres and the inner arena 75.68 by 44.43 metres. In Roman times it held about 30,000 spectators; today it seats roughly half that number for scenographic and safety reasons. It is the eighth largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire (Comune di Verona, 2026a).
Related guides
3 guides- operaArena di Verona Opera Festival 2027: Dates, Seats, Prices and How to BookArena di Verona Opera Festival 2027 runs 12 June to 11 September. Seats from 22 EUR on the steps to 305 EUR in the stalls. Dates, sectors, how to book, rules.
- passesVerona Card 2026: Price, What It Includes and Whether It Pays OffVerona Card 2026 costs 33 EUR for 24 hours or 38 EUR for 48 hours with city buses. Free entry to the Arena, Juliet's House and 12 more sights. Is it worth it?
- museumJuliet's House (Casa di Giulietta): Tickets, Hours and the BalconyJuliet's House tickets since April 2026: 5 EUR courtyard, 12 EUR with the house, online booking only via the Teatro Nuovo. Hours, the balcony and Verona Card.