See the Colosseum on a guided tour that gives you special access to enter the amphitheater on the arena, the same entrance that gladiators once used for their battles. This also allows you to skip the line at the main public entrance. Once inside, explore the ancient landmark with a guide, and then head outside to tour the archaeological area of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Select your preferred tour time when booking.

Colosseum and ancient Rome tour with special access
Enter the Colosseum directly from the arena floor, a rare privilege
Skip the main entrance line with priority admission tickets
Explore the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, as well (if option selected)

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Enter the Colosseum by the arena floor, and visit Palatine Hill and the Forum.

What's Included

Guided tour (note that the ticket with host is not a guided tour)
group tour guide for 3 hours
admission tickets
arena floor access

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation to/from attractions
Food and drinks

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Santi Cosma e Damiano
Via dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is in the square in front, OUTSIDE, of the Basilica of Santi Cosma and Damiano, the church is located on Via dei Fori Imperiali (half way) & is close the entrance of the Roman Forum. You will see our staff in front of the Basilica wearing a uniform with the logos of the company.

End point

Via dei Fori Imperiali
Via dei Fori Imperiali, Roma RM, Italy

What To Expect

Your tour begins by meeting your guide at the local tour office near the Colosseum; then walk to the special entrance reserved for members of this tour.

Skip the regular lines and maximize your time at the Colosseum as you enter the amphitheater directly onto the arena floor, where gladiators and wild animals engaged in bloody fights. Visit the ring overlooking the underground sections of the Colosseum, and learn about its history from your guide, who has a degree in either art history or archaeology. Listen to anecdotes about the glory days of the arena and the lives of the emperors and senators of the time.

Next, leave the Colosseum and walk to Palatine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, where emperors and other wealthy residents lived. Take in the view of the Roman Forum and Circus Maximus, and then walk down the hill to explore the ruins of the forum, where your guide shares more stories and uses books and 3D pictures to show you how the site looked during the days of Ancient Rome. Your tour ends with return to your starting point.

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Normal sized backpacks are permitted as huge backpacks will not be admitted.
Colosseums' Rules:Sharps objects, liquid glass bottles, drones, selfiesticks, perfumes & sprays are NOT allowed. Only plastic water bottle are accepted.
Small group tour will average 26 people
Near public transportation
Please be aware that to enter the Colosseum it is necessary to pass a metal detector security check;
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Please be on time or you might lose the entrance for the Colosseum or a part of the tour

There might be a slight change in the departure timing. In this case we will call you in advance.
A current valid passport or ID document is required on the day of the tour for the entrance at the Colosseum
Please make sure you bring comfortable shoes and a refillable plastic water bottle especially during hot weather!
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
There might be a slight change in order of the itinerary due to security and ticket availability.
Please note that due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for any persons with disabilities.
Please show up at least 10 minutes before the tour to do the check in
Please note that you will be asked a full refundable 10 euros deposit at the meeting point in order to ensure all the radios are given back to the guide or our staff. Once you return the radios you will be refunded your 10 euros. If you don't give back the radios you will be charged 30 euros for each of them.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Of course worth the trek, but be sure to wear proper shoes as the walk to the Colosseum is dusty, rocky, and uphill.

Note, it is a lot of walking, bring water and wear comfy shoes!!

Skip the line is a must when visiting these sites.

Reviews

4.5

2,584 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 2,584 reviews

Great tour

breanna_D, Sept 2023

It was a really great tour of the colosseum. Alicia was an amazing guide! Can’t recommend highly enough.

Outstanding

Robert_F, Sept 2023

Wonderful tour! Our tour guide was very helpful and knowledgeable! Highly recommended for anyone visiting Rome!

Walking in History

Erik_S, Sept 2023

Wonderful experience and a very knowledgeable tour guide! I was mistaken that the tour included the unground area of coliseum (I think the VIP threw me off) but the tour was very good and definitely a must when in Rome!

dis appointed

Sean_R, Sept 2023

guide's English was horrible. Could not understand him. The guide we had in Florence was musch better

Informative and interesting

Sarah_C, Sept 2023

This was a very interesting and informative tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and covered a lot of topics. We went on the earlier tour (9am) which meant that we missed a lot of the crowds. I would highly recommend this tour.

Very helpful knowledgeable guide

richard_h, Sept 2023

The colosseum was so good , glad I have finally been to this ancient wonder, it did not disappoint Skip the line tickets are a must have

Great tour! Don’t miss it!

Yelena_S, Sept 2023

This tour was best of all tours we had during our Italy trip! Our tour guy Marcus, was excellente! He’s very knowledgable and so proud of his country’s history that he went behind expectations! Thank you very much Marcus! You made us fell in love with Rome 🙏

Hard to hear

Shannon_G, Sept 2023

Honestly, it was a very well organized group on where to meet and who to follow, but the audio was pretty hard to understand the person who was showing us around and I had it on the lowest volume 1 and it was still hard to understand. I would have much rather walked around myself. Also they didn’t let us look in the gift shop before we left or go around 10-15 minutes on our own at all. We had to stay with the group the entire time.

Amazing best tour so far

Tekla_K, Sept 2023

Loved this tour, so informative and interesting! The guide was so great at taking his time but keeping us moving forward!

Colosseum and Ancient Rome in FULL

Rory_K, Sept 2023

Being able to be on the Colosseum floor was AMAZING. Feeling like I was "present" for its history. Our tour guide was FANTASTIC. He knew everything about every building and ruin around the Colosseum as well as the detailed history of the Colosseum itself. It was a hefty bit of walking on cobblestones but every step was worth it. Including drinking from an ancient roman fountain that is still in use today (many across the city). Will recommend this to all of my friends.

Define small group

Helene_M, Sept 2023

This was not a small group as promised - over 20 people. The access entry was a long wait so not sure the VIP got us anything. Not worth the price at all. I would have enjoyed a slower pace we left the tour 1/2 through

Colosseum tour with arena access

Terry_C, Sept 2023

Well organised great guide Elida perfect mix of history and fun very interesting looked after our group really well

Excellent!

Ginger_W, Sept 2023

The guide was AMAZING! We learned sooo much that we didn’t know. Loved his excitement about the tour.

Ilana our tour guide was...

Liana_P, Sept 2023

Ilana our tour guide was wonderful! She was so knowledgeable and informative, had an engaging and bubbly personality that drew us all into the tour. Would definitely recommend this.

Great worthwhile tour

Chris_V, Sept 2023

Alex our guide was extremely informative and helpful. This was very worthwhile and enjoyed it very much.

Lots of walking

Harry_G, Sept 2023

Three hour tour to the Colosseum with lots of history of the area with a great guide. Lots of details of Palatine Hill that we had no idea of. Guide was knowledgeable and imparted lots of information

Incredible tour !

Corrado_C, Sept 2023

Our guide was incredibly well informed, considerate, well spoken and tastefully funny. The Collusiem is truly one of the seven(8) wonders of the world.

Confirmed booking doesn’t mean confirmed.

William_G, Sept 2023

Confirmed booking doesn’t mean confirmed. The vendor Viator used did not get us tickets. Viator did nothing to stand behind the booking other than cancel our reservation without consulting us. All of this happened on the day we were supposed to tour the Colosseum.

Great experience

Vincent_C, Sept 2023

The host was excellent and very knowledgeable I really enjoyed the tour and left learning a lot. The experience was great.

Excellent tour!

Amy_W, Sept 2023

Our guide is a former architect turned historian. He was energetic, passionate and extremely knowledgeable. He even played gladiator music into our headsets as we entered into the Colosseum, making the experience more fun! The tour of the surrounding ruins was an added surprise, very interesting. Excellent tour!

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