Appian Way Opening Hours and Visitor Guide

The Appian Way opening hours are simple for the road and different for everything on it. Google Maps lists Via Appia Antica as open 24 hours, every day, and the regional park’s site says more than 16 km of the road can always be walked. The catacombs and ticketed sites keep their own days. If you want a guide, my Appian Way tickets page compares all 10 tours.

I wrote this guide to the Appian Way opening hours for anyone planning the trip, whether on foot, by bike or with a guided tour. For the home page of the site, start from TicketGuide24. The hours and prices of the park-run sites below come from the Parco Archeologico dell’Appia Antica.

Appian Way Opening Hours

The table shows the Appian Way opening hours as Google Maps lists them. Both entries are the same on every day of the week.

Day	Via Appia Antica (Via Appia Antica 200)	Regional park (Via Appia Antica 42)
Monday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Tuesday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Wednesday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Thursday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Friday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Saturday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours
Sunday	Open 24 hours	Open 24 hours

That figure for the Appian Way opening hours describes an open road, not a staffed attraction. The regional park’s site describes the Via Appia as over 16 km that can always be walked (parcoappiaantica.it), and it lists its office at Via Appia Antica 42. It is not an official opening time for a museum, and nothing on the road has a turnstile. The Tomb of Caecilia Metella, the Villa dei Quintili and the catacombs are the parts with a door, and each sets its own hours. The authority that runs the first two publishes them on its visitor information page: Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday, 9:00 to 16:30 from 1 November to the end of February, 9:00 to 18:30 in March and October, and 9:00 to 19:15 from April to September. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, or 75 minutes at the Villa dei Quintili. A single site costs 8 euros (Cecilia Metella with Capo di Bove, or the Villa dei Quintili), and a 12 euro park ticket lasts seven days. The Tombe della Via Latina and Capo di Bove have been closed for restoration since 22 June 2026, with no reopening date given.

How Long Is the Appian Way in Italy

Length matters for planning around the Appian Way opening hours, because a long road means a long day. The Appian Way in Italy was about 540 km long in total, from Rome to Brindisi, according to Wikipedia. Appius Claudius Caecus began and completed the first section as a military road in 312 BC, during the Samnite Wars. Wikipedia also says the road entered the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2024 as “Via Appia. Regina Viarum”, the queen of the long roads.

The question people usually mean is how long the part they can visit is. The answer is far shorter. The regional park’s site gives over 16 km that can always be walked, and Wikipedia agrees that about 16 km can be followed on foot from near the Baths of Caracalla. It adds that the first 5 km are still busy with cars, buses and coaches, so the quiet stretch comes after that. Appian Way how long is it, then, depends on your plan: the 10 tours I compared run from 2.5 hours by golf cart to 5 hours by e-bike, and none of them cover the whole 16 km.

Appian Way Rome How Long Does a Visit Take

A visit to the Appian Way in Rome takes at least half a day, and the Appian Way opening hours of the sites on it decide which half. The tours give the best figures: the Biga golf cart tour takes 2.5 hours, the ESBIKE and Bicycle Roma e-bike tours 3.5 hours, the TopBike tours 4 hours and the Starbike tour with lunch 5 hours. The Walks of Italy minibus tour takes 195 minutes.

Those times begin at the meeting point, which for most bike tours is in the centre of Rome, so add the walk or metro ride to it. On your own, two or three hours covers the road, one catacomb and a snack. A reviewer on the Starbike tour with lunch reported about 20 miles in 5 to 6 hours, with a lot of cobblestones, and another reported a hot day when the cool of the catacombs was welcome.

How to Get to Appian Way from Rome

Before you set out, remember that the Appian Way opening hours are only half the question. The Colosseum is the usual starting point, and the Appian Way is further out than it looks. From the park office at Via Appia Antica 42 the Colosseum is about 2.4 km in a straight line, roughly 40 minutes on foot by my estimate (straight line times 1.3 at 4.8 km/h). The Via Appia Antica point on Google Maps, at number 200, is about 5.2 km from the Colosseum, which is an 84-minute walk on the same estimate. So most people do not walk it.

The public-transport route comes from one tour listing. From near the Colosseo or Circo Massimo metro stop, take bus 118 towards Villa dei Quintili and get off at the Basilica di San Sebastiano stop. The catacomb entrance is at Via Appia Antica 136, next to a drinking fountain, and that is where the Bicycle Roma tour meets. Check the bus times with the city’s transport operator, ATAC, because I did not.

Bicycle Roma

Appian Way, Aqueducts, & Catacombs E-Bike Guided Tour

• ★ 4.9 (110 reviews)
• 3.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: If you want to skip the ride out of the city: this e-bike tour meets at the San Sebastiano catacombs on the Appian Way. $81, catacomb entry included, 4.9 from 110 reviews.

What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say

Included

• ✓ High-Quality E-Bike Rental (Pedal Assisted).
• ✓ Expert Local Guide.
• ✓ Entrance Ticket at the San Callisto or San Sebastiano Catacombs
• ✓ Visit at Aqueducts Park
• ✓ Safety Helmet
• ✓ Poncho (in case of rain)

Not included / not suitable

• ✕ Accident Insurance (Optional, available for an extra cost of €5 per person).
• ✕ Food and beverages.
• ✕ Entrance fees to any museums or monuments not explicitly listed in the "What's Included" section.

Meeting point: To reach us by public transport: Near the Colosseum or Circo Massimo metro, take bus 118 towards Villa dei Quintili, and get off at the Basilica di San Sebastiano stop. In front of Catacombs entrance (next to the drinking fountain), your guide will welcome you and will lead you on foot to the rental point. Via Appia Antica, 136, 00179 Roma RM, Italia

Languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French

Duration: 3.5 hours

Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund

“Our tour guide, Michele, gave us an incredible ride through the historical Roman countryside and an unforgettable experience that we will always cherish.” – GetYourGuide review

from

$81

Check availability

One reviewer of that tour noted they did not realise how far it was from the centre and had trouble finding a taxi back, so plan the return before you go.

Appian Way Entrance

There is no single Appian Way entrance, and so no single set of Appian Way opening hours at the gate, because it is an open road. The places where people join it are the park office at Via Appia Antica 42, the Basilica and catacombs of San Sebastiano at number 136 and the Google Maps point at number 200. The city end is Porta San Sebastiano, which the Starbike tours use as the way out of Rome.

The catacomb entrances are the only ones with a ticket office and their own opening hours on the Appian Way. San Callisto, San Sebastiano and Domitilla are within about 1 km of each other along the road, and my catacombs of Rome tickets page compares the tours that visit them. Each has its own closing day: Google Maps lists San Callisto as closed on Wednesdays, a day one ESBIKE reviewer warned about too.

Appian Hours: Best Time to Visit

Appian hours that matter are daylight hours, and they shape the Appian Way opening hours you can use in practice. According to Open-Meteo data for Rome in 2025, June had about 14 hours of sunshine, 3 rainy days and a sunset at 20:46, while December had about 7 hours of sunshine, 8 rainy days and a sunset at 16:39. January was the wettest, with 11 rainy days. May to September is the most comfortable for a long ride, though in midsummer the road has little shade.

The Appian Way opening hours say nothing about crowds, and I did not find a source for the quietest days or hours on the Appian Way, so I will not guess. What the data does show is the pattern in the reviews: one rider on a Sunday morning tour noted less traffic, and another started in the catacombs because it was hot outside. If you ride, aim for the morning, and use the catacombs as a break from the afternoon heat.

What to Know Before You Go

Beyond the Appian Way opening hours, the old paving is the thing to prepare for. Reviewers describe large cobblestones that are very rough riding if you are not used to them, and the TopBike listing says you should be comfortable on bumpy, gravel and rocky surfaces. The first 5 km out of Rome also carry cars and coaches, per Wikipedia, so keep to the verges.

Bring water and a layer for the catacombs, which stay cool. Helmets are mandatory on the TopBike tours and listed as included on most of the other bike tours. The Bicycle Roma listing offers accident insurance for 5 euros per person and a poncho in the price, and food is not included on most tours. The park authority’s visitor page does not mention a Sunday car-free rule, so I do not rely on one.

Now that the Appian Way opening hours are clear, before you choose between the ten tours, my Appian Way tickets guide shows what each includes. If you are combining the day with the centre, see the Colosseum tickets page for the next stop.