Pantheon Opening Hours, Closures & Last Entry

Knowing the Pantheon’s exact opening times before you book your ticket will save you a wasted trip. This guide covers everything: daily hours, last entry times, public holiday closures, Mass schedules, free Sunday rules, and the best and worst times of day to visit.

Pantheon Opening Hours at a Glance

The ticket office closes at 18:00 Monday–Saturday and 17:00 on Sundays — earlier than last entry for individuals. If you are buying a ticket on-site rather than pre-booking, factor this in. Staff begin clearing the interior approximately 15 minutes before the monument closes.

Public Holiday Closures

The Pantheon is closed on three days each year:

• 1 January (New Year’s Day)
• 15 August (Ferragosto — Italian national holiday)
• 25 December (Christmas Day)

On these dates the monument does not open to the public. No entry is available, with or without a pre-booked ticket. If you have a pre-booked ticket for a closure day, contact the Musei Italiani portal or your booking platform for rebooking options.

Opening hours may also be shortened or adjusted on other religious holidays and during periods of special liturgical activity. Always verify the current schedule on the official Musei Italiani website or the Pantheon’s official page before your visit, particularly if travelling around Easter, the Feast of the Assumption, or other major Catholic celebrations.

Mass Schedule and Ticket Suspension

The Pantheon is not simply a museum — it is the Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres, an active Catholic place of worship. This has two practical consequences for visitors:

Ticket sales are suspended one hour before any liturgical activity begins. If a Mass is scheduled at 17:00 on a Saturday, ticket sales stop at 16:00. This means that if you arrive to buy a ticket at 16:15 on a Saturday afternoon in peak season, you may find ticket sales already closed for the day.

Tourist access is restricted during Mass. Worshippers may enter freely during services, but timed tourist entry is paused. The regular Mass schedule is:

• Saturday and holiday eves: 17:00
• Sundays and public holidays: 10:30

Booking a pre-timed entry ticket in advance avoids the risk of being caught by a ticket suspension window. If your visit falls on a weekend or public holiday, it is particularly important to pre-book. See our Pantheon Tickets guide for full booking options.

Free Entry on the First Sunday of the Month

On the first Sunday of each month, the Pantheon participates in Italy’s Domenica al Museo programme, offering free admission to all visitors regardless of nationality or age. There are no online reservations on these days. All visitors — individuals, families, and groups — must queue at the entrance to collect a free, non-nominal ticket.

These Sundays are among the busiest days of the year at the Pantheon. Queues begin forming well before 09:00, and entry is not guaranteed later in the morning. If you plan to visit on a free Sunday, arrive before the doors open. For a less pressured visit, the standard €5 entry on a quiet weekday morning is often the more comfortable choice.

Last Entry: What You Need to Know

The distinction between the monument’s closing time and the last entry time is important. The Pantheon closes at 19:00 Monday–Saturday, but last entry for individual ticket holders is 18:30 — 30 minutes before closing. If you arrive at 18:35 with a pre-booked 18:30 slot, entry may be denied.

Staff begin preparing for closure at 15 minutes before closing time, so visitors who enter close to last entry will have a shorter time inside than planned. If you want a relaxed, unhurried visit, avoid booking the last available slot of the day.

Name Change Policy (Updated March 2026)

From 10 March 2026, name changes to pre-purchased tickets on the Musei Italiani portal must be made within 72 hours of the date and time of the ticket visit. Only one name change per ticket is permitted. Changes must be made through your personal area on the portal. If you cannot change the name in time and the name on the ticket does not match the identity document presented at the entrance, entry will be denied with no refund.

Best and Worst Times to Visit

Best times

First hour after opening (09:00–10:00 on weekdays): The quietest window of the day. Walk-in queues are short, the interior is uncrowded, and low-angle morning light through the oculus strikes the western wall — one of the most photographed effects inside the building.

Late afternoon (after 15:00 on weekdays): Crowds thin considerably as the peak midday rush subsides. The light quality through the oculus in the late afternoon is also excellent, particularly in spring and summer.

Winter weekdays: Outside of the Christmas holiday period, November through February on weekdays offers the most relaxed visiting conditions of the year.

Worst times

10:00–14:00, April–October: This is the peak window. The interior can hold around 800 people under the dome, and at the busiest moments it feels densely crowded. Walk-in purchase queues regularly reach 45–60 minutes during this window.

Weekends in peak season: Saturday and Sunday visits between April and October attract the largest crowds of the week, particularly between 10:00 and 13:00.

Free Sundays: The first Sunday of each month is the most crowded single day of any given month. Unless early arrival is possible, the free entry benefit is often outweighed by the queuing and crowding.

For a more detailed analysis of crowd patterns and timing strategy, see our Best Time of Day to Visit the Pantheon guide.

Special Events: The April 21 Oculus Phenomenon

Each year on 21 April — the traditional date of Rome’s founding — at precisely 12:00 noon, a shaft of light descends through the oculus and illuminates the bronze entrance doors below in a disc of golden light. The geometry of the sun’s position on this date aligns precisely with the building’s geometry, creating an effect that many scholars believe was deliberate — a solar alignment built into the design by Hadrian’s architects. If your visit to Rome falls near this date, timing your entry for midday on 21 April is one of the most remarkable experiences the Pantheon offers.