Take a trip back in time to ancient Rome on our small group tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine hill, including an exclusive visit to the awe-inspiring amphitheatre’s arena floor.
Highlights
Hidden Gems
- The Flavian Amphitheatre
- The House of the Vestal Virgins
- Palace of Domitian
- Temple of Saturn
Tour Includes
- Expert guide
- Skip-the-line tickets
- Exclusive Arena floor visit
Create Your Custom Journey
Our dedicated team is here to help you design the perfect trip. We’re happy to assist every step of the way.
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Can’t make your trip? Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, minus any ticket costs.
Itinerary
What To Expect On Your Tour
The Colosseum
Relive the bloody drama of the Colosseum with an expert guide
A true Roman icon, there are few experiences in travel more exciting than your first sight of the Colosseum; a visit to the extraordinary Flavian amphitheatre is a must when in the Eternal City. The best way to experience the Colosseum is in the company of an expert guide, and on our tour of the ancient city, you’ll be in the engaging hands of one of our highly qualified archaeologists. During the glory days of the Roman empire the Colosseum could seat over 65,000 people, and the city came to a standstill to drink in the gruesome spectacles of death that unfolded here: brutal gladiatorial combats to the death, wild animal hunts that brought some of the world’s most exotic animals to the brink of extinction and shocking public executions all took place on the sand of the Colosseum’s arena floor. Learn all about what a day at the ancient games was like and get the full picture of gladiator combat in the ancient world, right where it happened.
Arena Floor
Follow in the footsteps of the gladiators and walk out onto the Arena floor
Have you ever imagined what it must have been like to step out onto the sands of the Colosseum, a tiny and insignificant speck looking up at rows upon rows of men, women and children screaming for the spilling of your blood? The baying crowds might be no more, but the unique opportunity to tread the very ground where the gladiators practised their brutal art thousands of years ago is a very special experience. On our tour, you’ll get to follow in the footsteps of the gladiators and walk out onto the stage where the bloody drama unfolded almost two millennia ago.
Discover who the gladiators were and what exactly took place on the sands of the arena; see the imperial box from where the emperor watched the combat, and learn how the games played a vital role in the society of ancient Rome. Access to the arena floor is only possible for a limited number of visitors each day, but on our tour, you can be sure that you’ll get to channel your inner Russel Crowe as you visit this exclusive area of the Colosseum.
The Roman Forum
Explore the beating heart of antiquity in the Roman Forum
Whilst the Colosseum was the most important entertainment venue in the ancient city, the nearby Roman Forum was the political heart of ancient Rome. A valley filled with temples, courthouses, triumphal arches and much more, the Roman Forum is where you can witness the splendour of ancient Rome in all its variety. On our tour of the Roman Forum, we’ll take a stroll along the Via Sacra, the ancient city’s most important road, and explore the enormous basilica of Maxentius. Learn all about the mysterious Vestal Virgins, sombre guardians of ancient Rome’s sacred flame, in the beautiful house they called home, and gaze on their ancient portraits. Relive the dramatic assassination of Julius Caesar in the temple dedicated to him after his death, and admire the soaring columns of the awe-inspiring Temple of Saturn.
Palatine Hill
Discover the opulent palaces of the emperors on the Palatine Hill
Your tour will also include an in-depth exploration of life in ancient Rome on the beautiful Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill is a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is Ancient Rome, and its spectacular ruins are far too often overlooked by visitors. The Palatine is where the long history of Roman civilisation began, and where the powerful Emperors of the Imperial age ruled over one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. On our tour, we’ll get to grips with the history of Rome, learning the legendary tale of Romulus and Remus and tracing the evolution of Rome from a Republic to an empire. Exploring the ruins of the vast Palace of Domitian (including a private racetrack) with spectacular views over the Circus Maximus, you’ll get a vivid sense of the incredible grandeur of the ancient world’s most important city.
Create Your Custom Journey
Our dedicated team is here to help you design the perfect trip. We’re happy to assist every step of the way.
What Our Guests Are Saying
Guests Reviews
Great tour
valerie was excellent. She is highly trained and knowledgeable. Our tour was great and i highly recommend it and through eternity.
Colosseum tour
our guide was excellent even though she wasn’t feeling well on that particular day. We learnt so much about the colosseum, roman forum etc.
Best tour of our trip.
Amazing. Tons of information, but at a great pace. Perfect balance of history and stories about rome. The forum is so huge, but this was a great way to get an idea of what went on. You could literally walk around the forum for an entire day, so it was nice to have a guide. The colosseum was probably my favorite experience of the entire trip. Alessandra was an awesome guide. Gave us enough time to ask questions, take pictures, and take it all in, while still giving us a ton of great backstory.
You take the good, you take the bad
phillipo our guide was great, very friendly, knowlegable and personable. That said, the person at the office who i dealt with when i found the directions to our meeting spot was less than satisfactory. The directions were very confusing and i reached out for more details ie: which subway stop exit to use as some stations have multiple entrances, the person (eva) refused to give me more info and said that i have a problem, not the info sheets. I was also told to use google maps but how should i do that when my internet connection is on another continent ffs?! The tour itself was very detailed but the audio system was not as good as the one used at the vatical tour which was an earbud. This tour used an over-the-ear hanger which was heavy and not very secure. After an hour of it, my ear was sore but it did not work on the opposite ear. Also, the volume control did not work, it was either too loud or turned off completely. It was also difficult to wear for a person who needs vision correction glasses or even sunglasses, add a hat and it was just pure frustration trying to keep the stupid thing on and in place. The audio system needs to go. All in all, i’m glad i did a tour because figuring out the byzantine ticketing systems in italy is beyond my patience level and te takes care of all that and eliminates waiting in lines. My final critisism is that the tour passes a nice gift shop on the second level close to the end of the tour but the tour finally ends back down on the ground level, i thought i would be able to walk back up and buy something only to find out that the staircases are one-way and you can’t go up a 2nd time so i was very disappointed, i suggest letting people have some time in the shop or letting them know that the tour is nearly over and giving them the option to stay in the store.
Best tour i’ve ever had!
I’ve gone on many tours over the years and traveled fairly extensively. This is definitely one of the best tours i have ever been on and the rest of my group of eight agreed. This was my 3rd visit to the colosseum, 3rd to forum but 1st to palatine hill. Ricardo brought everything into perspective & helped us understand not only what we were seeing but why & how these things fit politically, economically & socially into the history of rome. He answered our many questions & was sensitive to one member of our group who was needing to go a little slower.
I cannot recommend ricardo & through eternity enough!!! You will not go wrong booking with this company! I also recommend if you are interested in history, then pay that little extra for the super sites. They are truly worth it! We saw newly opened house of tiberius, house of augustus & livia. The murals were stunning and rivaled those we have seen in herculaneum. It gave provided wonderful insight into the lives of the rulers of rome.
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