This ought to be the simplest page on the site, and it is the one where the competition falls apart worst. Checking twelve Pantheon websites in August 2026 we found last entry given as 18:30, 18:45 and 19:15; closures invented for 1 May, 15 August, Epiphany, Easter and 29 June; and one site showing a live widget that said Closed, Friday 28 August 2026 on a day the monument was open. Two of those errors were on the pages of organisations connected to the building.
So, from the ministry that runs it, on the day we checked:
| Time | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | Every day of the year, with two exceptions below |
| Ticket desk closes | 18:00 | On-site sales and machines stop here |
| Last entry | 18:30 | 18:00 for groups and school parties |
| Close | 19:00 | The room is cleared from about ten minutes before |
| Closed all day | 25 December | One of only two |
| Closed all day | 1 January | The other |
Two closures a year. Not Easter, not 1 May, not Ferragosto, not Epiphany. A monument that stays open 363 days is unusual enough that people assume there must be more, and several sites have obligingly invented them.
What a time slot actually is
Entry runs in hourly bands from 9:00 to 18:00, and each one admits up to 1,200 people. That number is published and it is worth sitting with: twelve hundred people an hour into a single round room forty-three metres across.
The slot governs when you go in, not how long you stay. There is no published time limit and nobody moves you along, though staff may ask to see your ticket at any point, so keep it. In practice the room holds a large crowd better than almost any other Roman monument, because there is nothing to file past in single order: you walk in, and the whole thing is already visible.
What the slot does not buy you is a shorter queue. Everyone is checked against an identity document at one doorway. The three separate queues outside are a different subject, and a more useful one.
The horizon
Nothing genuinely exists more than six weeks out
The state sets the Pantheon's calendar month by month, and releases tickets around the middle of the preceding month. That is the real inventory, and it is about six weeks deep.
Which makes it worth knowing that resale platforms will happily show you availability for dates nine or ten months away. Those are catalogue entries with a lead-in price attached, not slots that exist. A booking made that far ahead is a promise by the reseller to obtain a ticket later, which is a legitimate thing to sell and a different thing from what the page appears to say.
If you are planning further out than six weeks, plan to buy nearer the time. There is no advantage to booking early here, because there is no scarcity to beat.
The hours that belong to the church
The Pantheon is a working parish, and its liturgical timetable overrides its visiting one. Mass is at 17:00 on Saturdays and the eves of feast days, and 10:30 on Sundays and feast days.
During Mass, entry is free and the door stays open, but it is open to the congregation: tourist visits of any kind are not permitted while the service runs. This is genuinely one of the better deals in Rome for someone who wants to be inside the building without paying, and it is the single most reliably omitted fact on commercial pages, for reasons that need no explanation.
The Chapter also keeps a handful of fixed dates: 13 May, the anniversary of the dedication; 1 and 2 November; 4 November. On those days the building is doing something other than receiving visitors for part of the day.
Twelve Sundays that work differently
On the first Sunday of each month entry is free to everyone. Nothing can be booked online, the time slots do not operate, and all three queues become one.
That is twelve days a year, twenty-four across the next two, and on every one of them a product sold with a guaranteed entry time cannot deliver what it describes. If you already hold one, this is the thing to check.
Free Sundays are also the only days when Oltre il Pantheon, the walk through the spaces behind the rotunda, does not run.
Evening opening, and why we are not putting it in a table
In August 2026 the Pantheon opened in the evenings, 19:00 to 23:00, every day except Thursdays. It was a good idea and a genuinely different way to see the room.
It was also a trial, agreed in late July 2026 under a specific arrangement, not a standing rule. We are not printing it as an annual fixture, because a page that tells you the Pantheon opens at night every August will be wrong in some future August and there will be nobody to notice. If you are travelling in August, check the ministry's site in the second half of July, which is when the decision gets made.
This is the general principle on this site: things that are structural go in tables, things that are decided year by year get named as such.
Hours, briefly
What are the Pantheon's opening hours?
9:00 to 19:00, every day. The ticket desk closes at 18:00 and last entry is 18:30. Groups and school parties must be in by 18:00.
When is the Pantheon closed?
Only 25 December and 1 January. It stays open on Easter, 1 May, 15 August and every other Italian public holiday, contrary to what several websites say.
Can I visit during Mass?
Not as a tourist. Entry during Mass is free but reserved for those attending: 17:00 Saturdays and eves, 10:30 Sundays and feast days. Sightseeing is not permitted while the service is on.
How far in advance can I book?
About six weeks. The state calendar is set monthly and tickets appear around the middle of the previous month. Availability shown further out on resale sites is a catalogue listing, not a real slot.
Is the Pantheon open at night?
Normally no, it closes at 19:00. There was an evening opening trial in August 2026, agreed at the end of that July. It is not a permanent arrangement, so check the ministry's site in mid-July if you are travelling in August.
How long can I stay inside?
There is no published limit. The time slot controls entry, not how long you remain. Keep your ticket, since staff can ask to see it at any time.
The other half of the timing question
Which month, which weather, and the hour the sunlight reaches the floor.
The last hour, which has four different cut-offs
A sign that says 9:00 to 19:00 hides four separate deadlines, and arriving between any two of them produces a different outcome. This is the single most common way to waste an evening here.
| Time | What closes | If you arrive now |
|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | The last group slot begins | Groups and school parties: this is your final entry band |
| 18:00 | The ticket desk and the machines stop | You can still get in, but only with a ticket already bought |
| 18:00 | Last entry for groups and schools | A group arriving now is turned away, even holding tickets |
| 18:30 | Last entry for individuals | The final moment the door will take you |
| 19:00 | The building closes | Staff begin clearing the room around ten minutes earlier |
The gap between 18:00 and 18:30 is the interesting one. In that half hour you cannot buy a ticket on site but you can still use one, so it belongs to people who bought on the app while walking. It is also, reliably, one of the calmer moments of the day.
The other thing worth knowing about late entry: from October to March you will be arriving after dark, because sunset falls before 19:00 for half the year. The oculus at that hour is a dark disc rather than a bright one, and the interior is lit only faintly. Some visitors find that the better version of the room. Others arrive expecting the sunbeam and find a grey ceiling, which is why the page on the light exists.
Data verified on. Hours, closures, time-slot capacity and group cut-offs from the Direzione Musei nazionali di Roma. Mass times and fixed dates from the Chapter of the basilica.