The catacombs of Rome opening hours are different for every site: San Sebastiano is open 9:15 to 17:15 and closed on Mondays, Domitilla is open 9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 and closed on Tuesdays, and Priscilla is closed on Mondays, per their official sites. Google Maps lists San Callisto as closed on Wednesdays. If you want to book, my catacombs of Rome tickets guide compares all 9 listings.
I wrote this guide to the catacombs of Rome opening hours for the four catacombs that the GetYourGuide listings visit. Rome has more than these: Wikipedia says five Christian catacombs are open to the public, and the fifth, Sant’Agnese, is not on any listing I compared. For the home page of the site, start from TicketGuide24.
Catacombs of Rome Opening Hours
The catacombs of Rome opening hours by site are below. The “official” column comes from each catacomb’s own site; Google Maps is the second source, and where they differ I trust the official site.
| Catacomb |
Days open |
Hours |
Closed |
Source |
| San Sebastiano |
Tuesday to Sunday |
9:15 to 17:15, last English tour 16:45 |
Monday |
Official site |
| Domitilla |
Wednesday to Monday |
9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, last visit 20 minutes before closing |
Tuesday |
Official site |
| Priscilla |
Tuesday to Sunday |
Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00; Sunday 11:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 |
Monday |
Official site |
| San Callisto |
Thursday to Tuesday |
9:30 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:30 |
Wednesday |
Google Maps |
Treat these catacombs of Rome opening hours as a guide to the slots, not a promise. Google Maps shows Priscilla open on Sunday from 9:30, while the official page says 11:30, so I would trust the later time. I could not open San Callisto’s own hours page, so its row is Google Maps only: check the official site, which says online booking is required, before you travel.
Catacombs Opening Hours and Last Visit
The catacombs of Rome opening hours work by tour slot, not by door. At Priscilla the last morning tour starts at 12:00 and the last afternoon tour at 16:00, so arriving at 16:30 gets you nothing, and the site says a visit takes about 45 minutes. At Domitilla the last guided visit starts 20 minutes before closing. At San Sebastiano the last English tour leaves at 16:45, and the visit takes about 40 to 45 minutes.
Tickets from GetYourGuide add one rule to remember: the listings ask you to show your reservation at the catacomb’s ticket office at least 10 minutes before the tour, 15 at Priscilla for the Touring Company ticket and 30 at Saints Marcellino and Pietro. So the catacombs of Rome opening hours are really the hours of the booked slots.
OPERA ROMANA PELLEGRINAGGI
Catacombs of St. Callixtus Entry Ticket & Guided Tour
- ★ 4.6 (3,781 reviews)
- 30 minutes
- Free cancellation
My pick: The ticket I'd start with if you only have one slot: San Callisto at $16, 4.6 from 3,781 reviews, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
- ✓ Catacombs of Saint Callixtus entry ticket
- ✓ Guided tour
Not included / not suitable
- ✕ Hotel pickup and drop-off
- ✕ Food and drinks
Meeting point: Please go directly to the ticket office of the catacomb and show your reservation at least 10 minutes before the scheduled tour.
To get to the meeting point from Termini Station, take Metro A (direction Anagnina) to San Giovanni then bus 218 (direction Ardeatina) to the stop Fosse Ardeatine. You will find the entrance to the Catacombs in front of you.
Alternatively, you can take Metro B (direction Laurentina) to Colosseo or Circo Massimo (bus stop: Terme Caracalla/Porta Capena), then bus 118 (direction Appia/Villa dei Quintili) to the stop Catacombe di San Callisto. Via Appia Antica, 110/126, 00179 Roma RM, Italy
Languages: Italian, German, French
Duration: 30 minutes
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“Martin Pacifique (Fr) was a wonderful guide, being very knowledgeable and a priest himself. Definitely recommend, although if you're looking to see piles of bones go for another destination like Capucin chapel” – GetYourGuide review
Catacombs Rome Hours and Closing Days
The catacombs of Rome opening hours depend on the weekly closing day, and the dates below are the ones I could read on official sites. Priscilla lists its closures: every Monday, 1 November, 8 December, 24 to 26 December, 1 January, 6 January, 11 January to 1 February 2027 for maintenance, 28 March 2027 (Easter) and 16 to 23 August 2027. Domitilla says it closed from 24 December to 21 January last winter, but the page did not give this winter’s dates.
For catacombs of Rome opening hours over the holidays, I did not find the annual closure dates for San Callisto or San Sebastiano, so assume a closure around Christmas and check before you plan. If your trip falls between Christmas and mid-January, Priscilla and probably Domitilla are the likeliest to be shut.
How to Visit the Catacombs in Rome
You visit the catacombs in Rome on a guided tour, booked for a time slot, and there is no wandering alone. Priscilla’s site says the catacombs can only be visited with a staff member, and groups are capped at 25 people. San Callisto’s site says online booking is required, and the Salesians of Don Bosco have handled guided visits there since 1930. San Sebastiano has a free online reservation that you pay for on site, valid until 15 minutes before the tour.
The booking steps differ. Domitilla asks for a name, email, date, time slot and language on a form, replies by email and then phones to confirm. Priscilla asks you to use its form and to call if there is no answer within three working days. If you would rather have one booking with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, the listings on the hub do that for $16 to $31 per person.
Are the Catacombs in Rome Worth Seeing
The catacombs in Rome are worth seeing if you want a short, quiet guided visit of 30 to 45 minutes with real history, and not worth it if you want a spectacle. Reviewers on the listings praise the guides, and the ratings run from 4.5 to 4.8 on the three busiest. A San Callisto reviewer warned that if you want to see piles of bones, you should go to another place such as the Capuchin crypt. The earliest tunnels date from the 2nd century AD, per Wikipedia, and the catacombs lie outside the old city because Roman law banned burials inside it.
Best Time to Visit the Catacombs of Rome
On the catacombs of Rome opening hours and quiet times, I found no official statement, so I will only use what the data supports. The underground temperature barely changes (13 to 18 degrees, per the official San Sebastiano and Priscilla sites), so it is a comfortable refuge in summer. A reviewer called a San Sebastiano visit a great way to get out of the heat. Rome’s weather matters for the walk to the entrance: per Open-Meteo data for 2025, June had 3 rainy days and 14 hours of sunshine on average, while March had 15 rainy days.
Because most catacombs of Rome opening hours come as short slots, I would book the first morning slot at the catacomb you want and keep the afternoon for a second one. San Callisto and San Sebastiano are close enough, about 9 minutes apart on foot by my estimate, to visit one after the other.
How to Get to the Catacombs of Rome
The three Appian Way catacombs are 4 to 5 km from the Colosseum in a straight line, so you need a bus or a taxi. The San Callisto listing gives two routes: from Termini take Metro A to San Giovanni, then bus 218 to the stop Fosse Ardeatine; or take Metro B to Colosseo or Circo Massimo, then bus 118 to the stop Catacombe di San Callisto. The entrance is at Via Appia Antica 110/126. San Sebastiano is at number 136 on the same road, and Domitilla is on Via delle Sette Chiese 282, about 0.9 km from San Sebastiano (roughly 15 minutes on foot, straight line times 1.3 at 4.8 km/h).
Priscilla is north of the centre at Via Salaria 430, about 8 km from the Appian Way group. A reviewer took a taxi from the Vatican for 20 euros and then a 1.50 euro bus back. Saints Marcellino and Pietro is at Via Casilina 641. The Colosseum, which you can see the same day, has its own guide: Colosseum tickets. The Roman Forum is the next sight along.
What to Know Before You Go
- Opening hours of the catacombs of Rome follow slots. The visit is with a guide and a booked slot. Show your reservation at least 10 minutes before the tour.
- Check the day first. The catacombs of Rome opening hours differ by site, so confirm the closing day.
- Cool air. Bring a jacket: San Sebastiano suggests one in summer, and a reviewer called the Callixtus tunnels really cold.
- Photography. The Priscilla listing says photography and video are not permitted. The golf cart listing mentions no flash. Ask your guide.
- Comfortable shoes. The listings mention uneven underground surfaces.
- Prices. The official sites charge 10 euros (7 euros for ages 7 to 16), and children up to 6 enter free at Domitilla and Priscilla. Priscilla adds a 2 euro presale fee online.
- Languages. Domitilla lists Italian, English, German, Spanish and French; Priscilla lists seven including Slovak and Russian. San Sebastiano’s page names only its English tour.
Time to allow is under an hour at the catacomb plus travel. The Paris attraction with the same name is a different place, covered in my Paris Catacombs guide. Once you’ve picked your catacomb, see every option again in the catacombs of Rome tickets comparison, or check the opening hours of the catacombs of Rome above when you choose a day.