Discover the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill on a walking tour led by an expert local guide. Don't miss out on the rich history encompassed by the ancient monuments and learn the stories behind the masterpieces of Roman civilization with a guide. Plus, you'll bypass long lines outside of the Colosseum, one of the New7Wonders of the World, with your skip-the-line pass, making this tour perfect for travelers with limited time.

Take a guided walking tour of Rome's main attraction, the Colosseum
Explore the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill
Learn about the ancient history of one of the New7Wonders of the World
Skip the long queues with a skip-the-line pass

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This small-group walking tour of ancient Rome includes guide options in five languages.

What's Included

Guided tour of Colosseum & Archaeological area
Professional guide
Wireless audio headsets
Option for meeting point

Food or beverages
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Arch of Constantine
Via di S. Gregorio, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Via di S. Gregorio

End point

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

What To Expect

Make your own way to the Arch of Constantine to meet your guide for your walking tour.

Your entrance ticket allows you to skip the long lines and enter the Colosseum quickly. Hear from your guide how the Colosseum was developed centuries before the advent of modern engineering in AD 70-80, and how it once held as many as 80,000 spectators.

Just outside, you'll marvel at the Arch of Constantine and then continue to learn about the features of the Roman Forum archaeological site and Palatine Hill. Legend says that on the Palatine, Romulus and Remus were kept alive by a female wolf, thus giving Rome its name.

Your tour ends at the Colosseum where you can continue to explore the area on your own.

Palatine Hill

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Please is mandatory to provide the full names of all travelers when booking.

The areas are not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for individuals who have difficulty walking.
Due to heightened security measures, you may experience delays in clearing security checks
The archaeological area involves walking on medium-hard floors, please wear comfortable shoes and be ready for rain or shine.
Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking
If you have a pacemaker you will need to show a certificate, otherwise you will not be admitted without being screened
Not recommended for individuals with impaired mobility
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

297 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 297 reviews

A tour with Rita.

Trevor_C, Apr 2024

Rita was a very knowledgeable guide. Had a wealth of knowledge and a passion for the history of the area. She had a very pleasant way of leading the tour. The tour covered all the main sites and covered a wealth of information . Jumped the Q with this tour saved time.

So grateful we did the tour!

Niki_W, Apr 2024

We really enjoyed our tour! Our tour guide was very informative and knowledgeable. She was fun and so nice! We really enjoyed getting to know her. I'm pretty sure her name was Lucille but my memory is terrible so that could be wrong. There ended up only being five of us in the group, three from our group and two from another, so we were able to listen and ask questions very easily. She covered a lot of information and had an answer for everything we asked. We felt like we got so much more out of the experience through the tour. I would highly recommend this company!

Not quite as good as I’d hoped

Harvey_G, Apr 2024

The tour covered all of the historical highlights and was the perfect length of time . The only negative was that our guide, while very pleasant and engaging, had such a heavy accent that some of what was spoken was not understandable and the depth of knowledge of the subject was not very deep.

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum Worth the Trip

Daniel_B, Mar 2024

Most informative. Really enjoyed the tour! We found it to be inspiring and educational and a nice part of our trip.

Time wasted.

ASIYA_K, Mar 2024

I can’t say enough good things about the Colosseum itself and surrounding structures. It was mind blowing. I hate to write a negative review but unfortunately our tour guide made it a painful experience for my family. She would made us stand in the first spot away from crowds and structures and gave us a 30-35minute lecture in the structures. Same happened later, we were made to stand for 20minutes in certain spots kind of forced to listen to her then she would hurry through all the places. I thought it was a tour not classroom lecture. Tour to me means getting knowledge, some free time for pictures, and walking at a comfortable pace. Extremely poor time management.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thank you, Asiya, for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We're thrilled to hear that you found the Colosseum and its surrounding structures to be mind-blowing, but we apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment caused by the experience with our tour guide. We strive to provide informative and enjoyable tours that cater to the preferences and expectations of our guests. It's disheartening to learn that your experience did not meet those standards. Your feedback regarding the pacing and style of the tour is invaluable to us, and we will be sure to address these concerns with our team to ensure improvements are made moving forward. Warm regards, Gray Line Rome

Up close-Ancient Ruins

Tamara_G, Oct 2023

The view at the top of Palatine Hill into the Forum was awesome! The views inside the Colosseum were spectacular!

Centuries of Roman history, FAST!

Jeanna_P, Oct 2023

Super Fantastic tour! Letitia was an amazing tour guide! My family was 8 people of a group of 12. For helpful constructive feedback, I'd like to offer that maybe they could keep the "pink heart" flag raised during most of the tour. There were times in the Forum area where it was crowded and we had to scramble to find where our group had gone, and the flag was in its retracted state. I completely understand how it's a pain to hold up a flag all day. Yet this task could be assigned to a tour group member (who could take turns). I offer this feedback because several reviews stated disappointment because they became separated from the group and could never find the group again. I hope this feedback helps improve the tour for future customers. From my family's viewpoint, the tour was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed every minute of it. Skip The Line is the only way to fly, as you get to make wise use of time. We feel like we lucked up and got the very best tour guide in all of Rome.

The worst part of my vacation of a lifetime was the Viator disaster.

Michael_T, Sep 2023

I was unable to attend both the Vatican and the Colosseum tours because i did not have the correct tickets. I only had the confirmation numbers, so we could not join any of the apparently various groups you farm this out to. In addition, by the time I realized this, the period of time to cancel the reservation had expired for the Vatican tour and then as if this was not more than enough, neither my hotel which tried to help and cancel could not cancel the Colosseum either as NO ONE ANSWERED THE PHONE when we tried to get a hold of your organization. Huge rip off of $ 400. I was able to find another tour on site easily and pay for the Vatican tour again myself, another $ 130. What a mess, never again!!!!!!

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Michael, we are sorry for what happened and that you were not able to enjoy the bookings to visit the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum with us. We recommend you to file a complaint with Viator's Customer Service, which will initiate a process in their systems, allowing us to investigate the incident as well. Sincerely, Gray Line Rome

Highly Recommend a guided tour vs doing it yourself!

Adam_G, Aug 2023

This tour was with Grayline and our guide Nicoletta was fantastic. She was conscientious of never losing anyone in our group of 23 and deftly guided us through the forum and palatine hill with lots of information (and ultimately gave lots of information about the colosseum. The forum and palatine took about 1.5 hours and were done first from 10:30am-12:00pm. It was hot but Nicoletta always looked for shade for us. It was also brilliant to save the colosseum for the end as we're not sure if our kids would have paid attention in the sun and heat during the impressive forum and palatine parts of the tour if they already had seen their main reason for doing this tour. Additionally, we waited SO minimally in any line and Nicoletta had all our tickets and got us through all checkpoints with ease. We highly recommend grayline and you may be lucky enough to get Nicoletta as your guide.

Terrible - Guide Lost Us

Patricia_R, Aug 2023

Guide left us behind and never noticed we were missing. She also left another guest in the bathroom she sent her to. Terrible experience and “I Love Rome” unapologetic for that and booking 25 people on a maximum 20 people “small group” experience.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

We sincerely apologize for the experience you had during the tour: we understand your frustration with the guide's behavior and the overcrowding issue. We take this matter very seriously and are currently investigating the situation. To help us further, we would appreciate it if you could provide us with more details about your experience. Please feel free to email us at feedbackteam@graylinerome.it We value your feedback and want to ensure that incidents like these are addressed and prevented in the future: truth is that all major attractions are really crowded during this season even though we strive to maintain a high quality on all our tours. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding. We look forward to hearing from you.

Disappointed

Leah_R, Aug 2023

Unfortunately we were not able to experience this tour that we paid $300 for as our flight was delayed and we were still stuck at the airport. We contacted Viator customer service and they were unable to help us snd we called the tour operator to see if we could transfer to another tour but they didn’t respond to numerous calls/text messages.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you faced due to your flight delay. We understand your frustration regarding the situation and regret that we were unable to accommodate you on another departure. Please be informed that late cancellations are treated as no-shows, and unfortunately, the Colosseum tours are in high demand, making it challenging to secure available spots on alternative departures. Despite our efforts, we were unable to find a suitable replacement for your tour. We also apologize for any inconvenience caused by the lack of response from our side. We strive to provide excellent customer service, and we are disappointed to hear that our response was not prompt or satisfactory in this instance: on our side, we are facing an incredibly busy season and sometimes it's tricky to be able to assist! We value your feedback and will use it to improve our services for the future: should you return to Rome, you may contact us writing at feedbackteam@graylinerome.it

Excellent Experience

Allyala_N, Aug 2023

The guide Evi was excellent. Very knowledgeable and had a sense of humor. It was not rushed and we got to see all the highlights

above

Karen_M, Jul 2023

was very interesting and could tell us a lot about the site It was vey hot and kept us moving and would go to shade when can

Rome

Milena_z, Jul 2023

Alesandra was super nice and knowledgeable about Roman history . We enjoyed the tour. The only thing I am not sure if we slept the line since I saw another line that was going way faster.”

The guide was difficult...

Chantal_R, Jul 2023

The guide was difficult to understand. The route of the tour seemed good, but the accompanying descriptions and narrative wasn’t great.

So sadly disappointed

ANETT_R, Jul 2023

Probably a great tour - but our driver there got stuck in traffic for a long time - so we got out and ran. SO many people at the meeting spot we couldn’t find our guide - contacted him but it was too late - they left without us. Sweaty from running, stressful trying to find our guide & missed the whole thing.

Great time!!

Nicole_B, Jun 2023

Loved this tour from beginning to end. The English tour guide was so insightful and so sweet. She took her time explaining the history and showing us pictures of what sites looked like back when they were built. Highly recommend!

Knowledgeable tour guide

Samantha_L, Jun 2023

Knowledgeable tour guide, learned a lot! Was a little confusing when we got to the meeting spot because we were looking for a "Viator" sign. It wasn't obvious that we had to ask a specific person which group we should join. But overall good experience and would recommend.

Great tour once we finally found the guide

ChristieGoodman, Jun 2023

We enjoyed our tour and guide. I highly recommend including Palatine Hill and the Forum with your Colosseum tour. The structures come from different time periods. With the tour, you get a much better picture of time periods they cover and the personalities and cultural influences. Otherwise, everything looks the same. This tour states clearly that it is not handicap accessible, and they are not kidding. There are many uneven stairs, slopes and rocky paths that cannot be avoided. The only trouble we had was finding our tour group. In fact, we never did. The instructions said to meet at the Arch of Constantine, which turns out to be almost an acre area of land with tons of tour groups gathering in multiple languages. Despite allowing an hour for a 30-min bus trip, we did not arrive early as planned. But we walked all around the arch searching for our guide. Finally, someone was able to point us to the right tour flag. Our group had already left, but thankfully this guide let us join his group. He did not have ear sets for us though. We had to try our best to stay close to him to be able to hear.

Excellent tour, we'll worth cost

Melinda_S, Jun 2023

Good experience, guide was very informative. Viator doesn't tell you to look for pink heart flag so it took a while to find tour group.

...