Rome

Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum Guided Tour

Rome, Italy

Likely to Sell Out

From $66.56

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Take a guided tour of the Colosseum, including skip-the-line admission, to get the most out of your visit. By exploring the amphitheater’s first and second tiers with an official Colosseum guide, who has a background in history, art, and archaeology, learn about the origins of this iconic Rome landmark. Hear stories about gladiator battles and Roman emperors, and marvel at the engineering of the ancient structure. Then visit Palatine Hill and the ruins of the Roman Forum.

Skip-the-line admission to the Colosseum with a guided tour
Learn about the Colosseum's history and engineering from a knowledgeable guide
Listen to tales of gladiator battles that once took place here
Explore Palatine Hill for views of Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum
See ancient ruins like that of the Temple of Julius Caesar and Arch of Titus

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Tour the Colosseum’s 1st and 2nd tiers with an official guide before heading to the forum.

What's Included

Skip the line Entrance ticket
2.5 hrs Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill guided tour, group max 24 people
Official Guide
Earphones (over 8 people)

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Colosseum's underground (unless you book the special option!)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via delle Terme di Tito, 72, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is at Via delle Terme di Tito on the corner of Via Nicola Salvi. Our Staff will wait next to the park entrance, in front of "Oppio Cafè" with a "Tour in the city" sign on their blue T-shirts. MANDATORY meeting time 20 minutes before tour departure time.

End point

Roman Forum
Via della Salara Vecchia, 5/6, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

What To Expect

With this tour, benefit from the knowledge of an official Colosseum guide, who brings a background in history, art, and archaeology to the majestic ancient amphitheater.
Skip the ticket lines and the crowds struggling to get into the eternally popular attraction, and spend about an hour exploring the first and second tiers while listening to detailed accounts of the historical games and battles. Also, learn about the Colosseum's architecture and engineering from your guide.

Visit Palatine Hill, birthplace of Rome. Here, enjoy panoramic views of the Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum. Learn about the legend of Romulus and Remus, the legendary brothers raised by a she-wolf who founded Rome.

Continue to the Forum, where you spend about 45 minutes visiting archaeological sites such as the Temple of Julius Caesar, the Arch of Titus, and the Sacred Way. Your tour finishes here.

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Customers have a mandatory meeting time stated 25 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time due to managing and organizational reasons.
Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
PLEASE NOTE: as for the Colosseum new management, it might take few minutes to grab tickets for kids (if any of them are in the group) so the activity can suffer 20/30 min variation due to organizational reasons
The order in which the sites are visited during the tour can vary
Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
Discounts for children under 18 years is applied only with a valid ID card!
Please note that for safety reasons the Colosseum can accommodate up to 3.000 people at once.This could lead to delays in access to the site, even for pre-booked visitors.
For security reasons all visitors and their luggage shall be screened.
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Forbidden objects inside the Colosseum: bottles and glasses containers, alcholic beverages and aerosols, backpacks, camping, bulky bags and luggage / trolley

Please notice that the Colosseum Administration, which depends on the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities has the faculty to close the Colosseum, or parts of it, with or without notice, for events, strikes, heavy rain, or any other reason. In which case, we will offer an alternative itinerary as it seems fit and offer a partial refund
Activity not recommended for people with motor lag
No change on a booking can be accepted less than 96 hours before the time of the tour. In that instance, no refund will be issued.
For the safety of all guests, the tour operator reserves the right to refuse service to passengers who are intoxicated or show signs of intoxication. If, as a result, your tour is canceled, you will not be entitled to a refund.
PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED
The meeting point is at Via delle Terme di Tito on the corner of Via Nicola Salvi. Our Staff will wait next to the park entrance with a "Tour in the city" sign. MANDATORY meeting time 25 minutes prior to tour departure time
In case of late arrival or cancellation beyond the limits indicated in the cancellation policy by the customer, a refund is not foreseen.
The duration of the tour may vary according to the time taken to access the monument. The tour duration is always at least 2 hours and will always be at most 3 hours.
Every refund request MUST be done within and not later than 48 hours from the day of the tour
The Colosseum management does not distribute individual tickets. We will have one group tickets for the entire group. For this reason, we cannot give individual tickets to late arrivals.
Not recommended for travelers with walking problems
Not accessible for walker users
We kindly inform you that any kind of disability (visual impairment, hearing impairment,... ) or anything that might prevent you to regularly join the tour, MUST BE communicated in advance to our staff.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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

Reviews

4.5

2,522 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 2,522 reviews

Fascinating tour with an absolutely brilliant Guide.

K_P, May 2024

We would highly recommend this fascinating tour. Our Guide, Andrea was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly knowledgeable and really brought ancient Rome to life for us. There was so much that we would have missed without him. He also looked after the group incredibly well, ensuring that we had shade whenever possible, and that we reached the all the best vantage points. He even offered to take photos of couples and family groups together.

Historical and interesting tour. What did the Romans not do !

Diane_W, May 2024

Great tour guide, lots of knowledge and open to answering lots of questions. Very hot day, take water, with a few water fountains along the tour to top up your bottle.

Great tour

Michelle_H, May 2024

Highly recommend this tour and our tour guide was clearly passionate about it. Great also to skip the queue, even though we still queued a bit it was nothing like the main queue. Just found the whole area awesome

Good but a bit long winded

Alan_G, May 2024

Really enjoyed the colosseum itself. Was disappointed with the guide as he just went on a bit too much. He wasn’t very engaging and we turned off after a while.

Not Recommended - but to be fair, probably depends on the Tour Guide assigned.

Lori_W, May 2024

Sadly, I do not recommend this tour. Our Tour Guide spoke very broken English. The tour started late, so the Roman Forum was cut short. The guide did not take us around the Forum. We stood on front of only 2 landmarks and he spoke about many. The descriptions and information about the area was all over the place. Many in the group left the tour early before the Coliseum portion.

Outstanding

Mary_C, May 2024

Wonderful experience. The tour guide, Caterina, was informative and knew the history of sites. My husband and I left with a thorough understanding.

Go for it.... it's amazing

Jacques_P, May 2024

The guide was amazing! She was passionate about the story telling and really enjoyed the full 3 hours with her.

AMAZING!

Victoria_V, May 2024

I don’t think I could say enough of how amazed I was to be at the Colosseum! It was absolutely beautiful and to know that you are standing where someone stood thousands of years ago is mind boggling! I really like our tour guide Andrea(I believe his name was). He really knew what he was talking about and gave us so much information! He was very engaging and gave and showed us the best of we could get. It was one of my favorite tours so far in my trip of Rome!

Great tour

neal_p, May 2024

The forum area.. so much to see. Guide was very informative about all the history. We skipped the line and didn't have to wait anytime

Colosseum Tour

Yazmin_H, May 2024

A fantastic and well recommended tour! The history to be learnt and the monuments to see will blow your mind! My partner and I had a brilliant day and this tour is the highlight of our short stay holiday. Our tour guide Catalina was very warm and welcoming, fun, very clear and concise with the facts and made the experience even better!

The best of Rome

Rhonda_K, May 2024

Great tour, lots of walking. So much to see but really interesting. Had a great time. The weather was great but alittle crowded. But our guide was full of great stories

Awesome!

Jason_B, May 2024

Ceazar was awesome every step of the way. Not only did he get us to each stop quickly (and safely)- he provided info and history along the way

Well worth the money

Graham_B, May 2024

Excellent guide, Andrea kept us together, gave clear instructions and had obviously planned what he was going to say and where, but took advantage of clear areas to change his plans where that gave us a better experience.

Great experience

Linh_D, May 2024

Caterina was a fantastic tour guide!! She was enthusiastic and friendly and super easy to understand

Great tour

Stephen_H, May 2024

The tour guide was excellent, very knowledgeable, professional, and helpful. She was able to answer numerous questions by multiple people on the tour.

Mediocre tour

Theresa_G, May 2024

This was not well organized. Our tickets were not purchased prior to the time we arrived causing our entry to the Colosseum to be delayed. We did not go up Palantine Hill as described, just viewed from a distance. We spent more time being shown pictures in a notebook than actually looking at the ruins.

Response from Host, May 2024

Dear Client, We are truly sorry to hear that the tour did not live up to your expectations. We understand how disappointing this must have been for you and your group. We have carefully reviewed the feedback from your group's participants and found no similar complaints. Regarding the tickets, it is impossible that we purchased them at the last minute because all tickets were sold out weeks before. Our tour itineraries are planned to allow our customers to maximize their visits and optimize the time available. We include only part of the Palatine because otherwise, the tour would be too long, and it would be impossible to visit everything in only three hours. Our guides are not just experts but also deeply passionate about their work. They are trained to provide the best experience possible, and their dedication is unwavering. This is evident in the positive feedback we usually receive. However, we understand that appreciation is personal and can vary from person to person. Please rest assured that we take your feedback seriously. We have forwarded your concerns to our Guide Management department for a thorough investigation. Our local guides, selected for their experience and professionalism, strive to share their passion for their country and local history. We apologize that the guided tour was disappointing for you, and we will do our best to avoid such situations in the future. If you contact us directly at info @ tourinthecity.com with your comments, please do not hesitate to provide your booking reference number so we can follow up with the relevant people for you. Once again, thank you for leaving us your review. We hope to hear from you soon. Kind Regards, Stefano Tour in the City

Great Tour

Dustin_W, May 2024

Excellent tour. Valentina was knowledgeable & entertaining. We would recommend for anyone wanting to tour the site.

Fantastic

Deby_A, May 2024

Very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable guide - provided so much information on the history of the forum , palentine hill and colosseum.

Brilliant, informative tour

Louise_B, May 2024

Great tour, extremely informative and enjoyable. We had three adults and two kids (9 & 12) and the kids really enjoyed it. Everyone has a headset so you can hear the tour guide. He was easy to follow and made sure the group stayed together, he was more than happy to answer questions. Tour lasted a good 2.5 hrs and we had a couple of toilet breaks. Make sure to bring water, its quite warm in there.

Great guide, beautiful views!!

Joanne_M, May 2024

Skip-the-Line is THE way to go. Lines were incredible to get into the colosseum (as a perk we were lucky enough to be there the day of the 2,777 anniversary so we saw gladiators, senators, etc. dressed and walking and acting around the colosseum). Our guide was very nice, knowledgeable and patient. She offered the elevator to anyone who couldn't do the steps. The hearing devices were very clear no matter where you were in the group - I always too up the rear lol. We did tiers 1 and 2 and, for me, that was enough as my walking stamina is limited. (Only complaint is that the colosseum was the only place my nephew wanted to buy a souvenir - we bypassed the store and ended up with no access to it.) Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum - again more walking but totally worth it. The weather was beautiful (couldn't imagine it at 86 degrees) and the views were spectacular - "that's where Cesar was killed". All statues face the Vatican - so if you get lost, use them as directors. This was a great way to start our trip to Italy. I recommend this tour. We then w

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