Pantheon Opening Hours 2026: Mass Times & Best Time

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The Pantheon opens at 9:00 and closes at 19:00 every day of the year except 1 January and 25 December. That simple rule has three exceptions: Saturday evening Mass, Sunday morning Mass, and free first Sundays.

Here are the hours, the service times, and the queue we'd expect at each hour of the day.

The quick answer

Open daily 9:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:30. Closed 1 January and 25 December. Closed to sightseers during Mass on Saturday at 17:00 and on Sundays and holidays at 10:30; ticket sales stop about an hour before. The quietest times are 9:00 to 10:00 and after 17:00 on weekdays; the worst are 11:00 to 14:00 and free first Sundays.

What are the Pantheon opening hours in 2026?

Every day from 9:00 to 19:00, with last entry at 18:30. On-site ticket sales close at 18:00.

Those are the hours on Turismo Roma and the chapter's own site, pantheonroma.com. The Pantheon closes on 1 January and 25 December. RomeWise mentions 15 August as a possible closure; check the official page before planning a visit on that day.

Day	Open to visitors	Watch out for
Monday to Friday	9:00 to 19:00	Last entry 18:30
Saturday	9:00 until the 17:00 Mass	Ticket sales stop about 16:00
Sunday	9:00 to 19:00, with a gap	Mass at 10:30; no sales from about 9:30
Public holidays	As Sunday	Mass at 10:30
1 January, 25 December	Closed	n/a

When is Mass at the Pantheon?

Saturday at 17:00 and Sunday and public holidays at 10:30, plus Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The building closes to sightseers during services.

The Pantheon has been a church, Santa Maria ad Martyres, since 609. Ticket sales stop about an hour before a liturgy, so a Saturday visit has to start by about 16:00, and Sunday mornings lose the hours from about 9:30 until the service ends.

Holidays with a 10:30 Mass include All Saints on 1 November and the Immaculate Conception on 8 December. In 2026, 1 November is also a free first Sunday: expect the hardest morning of the year.

The high altar of the Pantheon seen across the rotunda — The high altar. The Pantheon is a working church with services every weekend.

Can tourists attend Mass at the Pantheon?

Yes, and entry for Mass is free. You come for the service and stay to the end; it is not a free sightseeing slot.

Arrive early, dress as for any church, and expect a queue on special days. Mass is in Italian. For Pentecost, when rose petals fall through the oculus at the end of the 10:30 Mass, people line up hours ahead; the Pentecost 2027 post has the date and the plan.

How long is the queue at the Pantheon, hour by hour?

Short at 9:00, 20 to 30 minutes by late morning, easing after 15:00. Free first Sundays run to 90 minutes or more.

What we'd expect on a normal day in spring or summer, based on ArtVisitGuide, RomeWise and guest reviews:

Time	Ticket line	Inside
9:00 to 10:00	Short	Calm; the best light for photos without crowds
10:00 to 11:00	Building	Filling up
11:00 to 14:00	20 to 30 min, longer in summer	Tour groups back to back
14:00 to 17:00	Easing	Busy but moving
17:00 to 18:30	Short	Second quietest window (not Saturday)
First Sunday	90 min to 2 hours in peak season	Packed

November to March is quieter all day. A pre-booked ticket gets you into a shorter line, not past security. One audio-ticket guest still queued "for about 20 minutes" in May.

A reserved slot and a guide who knows the lines: 45 minutes, from $14.

Check dates for the 45-minute guided tour

What is the best time to visit the Pantheon?

A weekday at 9:00. Second best: a weekday after 17:00. Skip Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

At 9:00 the rotunda is half empty. Book the first slot and you get the room before the groups. The late window works too, but on a cloudy evening the interior is dim: the oculus is the only window.

For the beam of sunlight, go on a clear day around midday. The disc moves across the dome and walls through the day, and around the June solstice it reaches the floor. More on the light in the oculus guide.

A disc of sunlight on the marble floor of the Pantheon — The sun disc on the floor, a summer midday sight.

Is the Pantheon open in the evening?

Not usually: last entry is 18:30. In August 2026 it opened from 19:00 to 23:00 every day except Thursdays, a summer initiative of the culture ministry.

The August evenings were announced by Turismo Roma, with tickets on the Musei Italiani app and at the office until 22:00. Watch for a repeat in summer 2027. The rest of the year, the floodlit portico is free to see from the piazza after dark, and an evening walk such as the sunset tour passes it (without going in).

Rome at Sunset: Navona, Pantheon and Trevi

Navona, the Pantheon square, Trevi and the Spanish Steps in the evening light. The Pantheon is seen from outside.

★ 4.9 · 2 hours · from $52

Explore the sunset walk Tour details

How long do you need inside the Pantheon?

Ten minutes to see it, 25 to 40 minutes to take it in, 45 to 60 with an audio guide.

Add the line. Off-season you can be in and out in under an hour from arriving on the piazza. Guided tours run 45 minutes to an hour in total. If you're timing a day around it, the Pantheon fits between Piazza Navona (five minutes away) and the Trevi Fountain (about ten).

Which days should you avoid?

First Sundays, Sunday mornings, Saturday after 16:00, and public holidays. Pentecost Sunday is its own event.

Dates to plan around: 1 November and 6 December 2026, 3 January, 7 February, 7 March, 4 April, 2 May and 6 June 2027 (free first Sundays); 8 December (holiday Mass); 24 and 25 December; and Pentecost on Sunday 16 May 2027. A weekday morning in November or February is about as quiet as the Pantheon gets.