Catacombs of San Sebastiano: Hours, Tickets and Capuchin Crypt Combos

Ticket Prices at the Gate and Online

The catacomb's own information page lists the full ticket at $11.18 (€10) and the reduced ticket at $7.83 (€7) for children aged 7 to 16. Children under 6 enter free. Buying online through the official ORP booking system costs $13.41 (€12), so you pay a little more for a fixed slot.

The table below sets the catacomb ticket next to the Capuchin Crypt museum ticket, since most readers of this site plan both on one trip. The crypt's own ticket page lists a full ticket at $11.18 (€10) with the audio guide included.

Tickets Inside a Tour

On the Catacombs and Capuchin Crypt Guided Tour with Transfer at $62 per person, the catacomb entry and its guided tour are part of the price, along with transport from central Rome. You pay nothing extra at the gate. The same holds for the after-hours tour, which bundles both sites and the transfers.

Hours and Closing Days Side by Side

San Sebastiano also closes on 25 December, 1 January and Easter, and it shuts for an annual break from 7 to 27 December. If your Rome trip falls in that window, plan on a different catacomb.

The Capuchin Crypt opens every day from 09:30 to 13:30 and again from 14:30 to 18:30. Last entry is 12:30 in the morning and 17:30 in the afternoon.

A Simple Day Plan

Visit the crypt first, at 09:30 when it opens. Then ride out to the Appian Way for an early afternoon catacomb tour, well before the 16:45 last entry. That order avoids the crypt's lunch break and leaves time for the transfer.

What That Means for Your Day

Arrive with time to join a tour group, not just inside the opening hours. The last entry at 16:45 is the real cut-off for the day.

The Capuchin Crypt works the other way. Its museum ticket includes an audio guide and you walk the six rooms of the crypt on your own. A full visit there takes about 60 minutes, so the crypt is the easier half of the day to fit around a catacomb slot.

What to Wear

The Capuchin Crypt asks for shoulders and legs covered to the knee. Dress for that standard all day, since the catacomb sits under a church too. Tours to the catacombs also ask for covered shoulders and knees, and staff can refuse entry if you are not.

The Two Options

The Catacombs and Capuchin Crypt Guided Tour with Transfer at $62 per person visits one of St. Callixtus, St. Sebastian or Domitilla. St. Callixtus is usually closed on Wednesdays, and on those days the tour goes to St. Sebastian instead. Tours that start at 9:45 visit Domitilla. The crypt visit is not part of every option, so pick the one that names it.

The Rome Catacombs After-Hours Tour with Capuchin Crypt & Transport runs after hours. It normally goes to Priscilla and uses San Sebastiano when Priscilla is closed. It then ends with a closing-time audio guide visit of the Capuchin Crypts.

Want San Sebastiano for Sure?

Then go on your own. Buy the crypt ticket for the morning and take the guided catacomb tour at the gate in the afternoon. You pay $11.18 (€10) for each, and both admit you on the day.

Read about the other catacombs these tours use on the Catacombs of Priscilla guide.

With a Tour

The Catacombs and Capuchin Crypt Guided Tour with Transfer includes private round-trip van transport from central Rome, so you never handle the ride. The after-hours tour starts at Piazza Barberini and includes private transport between the sites. Both take the stress out of the Appian Way leg.

On Your Own

Plan the crypt in the centre first, then head out to Via Appia Antica 136. Check the route in a journey planner on the day, and leave enough time to reach the gate before the 16:45 last entry. Remember the Monday closure before you set out.

Burial and Prayer

Three martyrs are attested in the cemetery: Sebastian, Quirinus and Eutychius. From the 3rd century the site was known as in memoria apostolorum, because relics of Peter and Paul were venerated there. On the triclia, a covered meeting space, hundreds of graffiti invoking Peter and Paul have been deciphered.

Pilgrims scratched them around the year 250.

Where the Word Catacomb Comes From

The cemetery was first called ad catacumbas, meaning near the depression, because of pozzolana quarries at the site. The name comes from the Greek and refers to a dip in the ground along the Appian Way. Later the word spread to every Christian underground cemetery.

The Main Sights

Three mausoleums were built in the middle of the 2nd century: of Clodius Hermes, of the Innocentiores and of the Axe. The galleries run on three levels, and the first of the original four floors is almost completely destroyed. Above ground, Cardinal Scipione Borghese had the baroque basilica of St Sebastian built in the 17th century.

How It Compares with the Capuchin Crypt

The two sites tell different stories. The catacomb is an early Christian cemetery under the Appian Way. The Capuchin Crypt holds the remains of about 3,700 people, mostly Capuchin friars, arranged into decorated rooms in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Seeing both in one day shows two very different ways Rome dealt with its dead.

The Options Side by Side

The table compares a combo tour with doing it yourself. Ticket prices for the do-it-yourself route come from each site's own ticket page.

Which to Pick

Pick a combo if you want a guide at both sites and no bus planning. Go alone if San Sebastiano itself is the point, or if you want a slower day. Whichever you choose, avoid Mondays and the December closure.

For more crypt and catacomb pairings, see our capuchin crypt tours comparison.