Hi All,
What is the best place to get tickets to the Colosseum? Do you need tickets for the other historical sites near there? Do you have to reserve a time or can you just buy the tickets & use them whenever you want? Thanks for all your help in planning my trip.
Rose

I have always just walked up to the Colosseum directly and bought my entrance ticket there. A ticket purchased for the Colosseum entrance also gets you into the Palatine Hill area and museum free. Everything is close by in walking distance (the Imperial forum of buildings) so you could get your other ticket(s) needed close by. Check out this link to the Colosseum for more info on ticket prices http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/tic...-colosseum.php

Alternatively, there is the popular Archeobus, a great all-day bus that visits nearly all the Roman monuments with an on-off option (you can get on and off whenever you want). The ticket costs 7,75 euros per person for the entire day and while it does not include entrance fees to the monuments themselves, it helps in getting around and driving to some of the more out-lying historical sites. http://www.romeguide.it/archeobus_ing.htm

The ticket lines at the Colosseum can be long - it circles around <b>after</b> you're got underneath its structure, so don't be fooled by the short line in the plaza.

Therefore, it's advisable that one buy the ticket at Palatine Hill instead.

There is no reserved time for the Colosseum/Palatine tickts. The forum requires no tickets; entrance is free.

I want to second the advice from rkkwan. Usually there is nobody buying tickets at the Palatine Hill booth, a block up from the Colosseum.
After you get the tickets there, just bypass the line and go in!