Rome: Colosseum with Arena, Roman Forum and Palatine Guided Tour
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The Colosseum is one of Rome's top attractions, so make the most of your visit on a guided tour that gives you special access to enter the amphitheater's arena via the same entrance that gladiators once used for their battles. 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.
- Cover Rome's ancient ruins in a single tour to optimize your time
- Enter the Colosseum directly from the arena floor, a rare privilege
- Visit with a guide or audio guide to gain a better understanding of ancient Roman life
- Choose from a variety of start times to suit your schedule
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
This tour gets you exclusive access to the arena floor, restricted to most visitors.
What's Included
- Official Professional Guide
- Audio Equipment to Hear the Guide
- Entrance to Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
- Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access (valued at €24 per person)
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Note: Colosseum fees are as above. The remaining cost of the experience covers other services
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Santi Cosma e DamianoVia dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is in the square in front of the Santi Cosma and Damiano Basilica, in Via dei Fori Imperiali 1 (halfway, near the Roman Forum entrance). Our staff will be wearing a light blue vest with our logos on. Please arrive 15 minutes early—late arrivals cannot join the tour.
End point
- ColosseumP.za del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
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.
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.
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.
1
Roman Forum
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palatine Hill
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Colosseum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Please note that names provided must exactly match IDs/passports for all participants (including children), or the Colosseum will deny entry. Bring valid ID for everyone—no nicknames, missing, or incorrect names/last names allowed.
- For minors, the age must be 17 or younger on the day of the activity
- The entrance tickets to the Colosseum cannot be changed or refunded
- Each traveler must show a valid ID matching the booking name for entry. Without ID, entry is not guaranteed
- Please show up at least 15 minutes before to do the check in
- Meeting time is subject to change; if this occurs, you will receive a call or message from the activity provider. Please provide your correct phone number and country code
- Late arrivals or no shows will not be refunded
- In July and August due to the heat the duration of the visit is 2 hours
- All visitors must pass through a metal detector to enter the Colosseum. No exceptions
- Not Allowed: Big backpacks, pets, weapons, sharp items, large bags, alcohol, drugs, sprays, glass.
- By purchasing this tour, you agree to our Terms and Conditions
- If you select the semi-private option, our tours generally include up to 7 guests per guide for a more personal experience. From time to time, we may adjust the group size to accommodate families or friends traveling together, and some tours may also run with fewer participants. This flexible approach allows us to offer the best experience possible.
- The Ancient Rome tour involves Steps and a lot of walking on un-even path especially in the Roman Forum . We highly suggest flat confortable shoes. This tour is not suitable for any person with recent surgeries, with disabilities and for people in wheelchairs due to the street level , up street level and steps.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.3
based on 6,000 reviews
Jeremy_S, May 2026
Well I showed up early to the original spot. I guess I got a message after my airplane landed. And I called them up before 10 o’clock to find out where they’re at. I was there at the original spot a hour early. They weren’t in the clothes that they said they were gonna be. But I found them he hand me my pass but said the group was already gone. Because they switched locations. So he gave me a pass and said I will have to go alone. I never was allowed to see the Colosseum inside which I pay for. But I was allowed to see everything else. And I had to stay in line for everything. They seemed a little unorganized and flustered, but they probably gave them less than 24 hours notification just like myself. If you’d like to give me money back, that would be greatly appreciated. Since I didn’t get to see the Colosseum.
Sylvie_Y, May 2026
I got to he meeting point at 432 , 2 minutes late due to traffic. They left without me. It took me a while to find the staff from the group and i was kn he phone with someone as well who was trying to show me where they are. I tried to find them with no success. They were already too fast into the tour. I finally saw them and they had already done the arena floor so i couldnt continue with them because i wanted to see the arena. I had to do the tour by myself. I was very disappointef and felt like i wasted my money and that there was no empathy aor understanding especially that it was just 2 minutes. If the tour was late 2 minutes, do tbey expect us to leave also? If i was late 10 minutes or more, i wouldve understood.
Jane_G, May 2026
Booking a guided, skip the line tour was well worth the money. Our tour guide, Georgia, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and provided an exceptional experience.
Isabel_D, May 2026
Our tour guide was from Peru—unfortunately, I don’t remember her name. The way she explained everything made it feel like she had actually lived through it and been there herself. She was incredibly thorough, detailed, and brought the history and stories to life.
Azucena_M, May 2026
Great tour overall! Would highly recommend! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly it made our tour a wonderful experience.
Erica_O, May 2026
Not at ALL what I paid for. I booked a full Colloseum tour including the arena floor. I got a 20 minute timed visit of JUST the arena floor. We weren’t able to go up in the seats etc no designated time for photos or anything. the guide was informative but SPEED WALKING through the entire tour. Including Roman forum and Palatine hill. Often several steps ahead of the group and all of us basically running to keep up. Everything felt extremely rushed. For the money I paid I am highly disappointed. The guide seemed to be bartering with the colosseum employees to let us in quicker? Our tour was listed as 1.5 hours but really we only entered colosseum at 840. Really really disappointed considering what I paid for this
Elaine_B, May 2026
Good to know about the history but doubt I will remember much of it, our guide was every knowledgeable.
Pablo_J, May 2026
It was excellent, Catarina made us feel like we were living in ancient times, explained everything clearly and with stories to be able to remember them. excellent tour guide!
Ramon_M, May 2026
Excellent tour guide - Diego who explained many different aspects of the six forums along with the emperor’s palace
Mary_G, May 2026
Tour was very expensive and was just average. The tour company should stress that it is a strenuous tour. My family was fine but several participants struggled to keep up and eventually had to drop off. The sites are fabulous but guide and experience were not worth the price. Paid extra for a small group tour with maximum 7 but there were 10 of us. Disappointed .
Ewa_B, May 2026
Amazing! Laura Antonucci, our guide, was informative, amazing, helpful. We could ask her any question about Rome and she knew the answer. That made the trip more personalised. All those small details make a difference in the quality of the guidance. More than 3 hours passed very quickly.
Laura_H, May 2026
This is a bit of a mixed review!
Our tour time changed which we were ok about and when we arrived at the meet point we were just pushed to the side and told to wait on a wall. Our time came and went and a group of us were all left to the side wondering what was happening! The staff where just hanging around chatting, laughing with each other, hugging and cuddling whilst standing around, rolling cigarettes! After half hour after our tour was supposed to start we then get called and as far as we can make out the guide hadn’t arrived so we had another guide who was a little unprepared to say the least. We arrived at the ticket of the colosseum to be separated into 2 groups as you are only allowed 7 at a time and there was 10 in the group!
Once inside the guide was very knowledgeable but it was noisy and hard to hear her with the other background noise. Her English was good but her strong accent made it hard to understand sometimes and found myself nodding along when I didn’t really understand. She had a folder of pictures that were not clear and not in order! I found she spent too long explaining history that when we walked around the grounds we didn’t have much time to sit and reflect. We just waked quickly round and missed some nice spots that we could have stopped at! The tour was 2.5hrs long but we didn’t leave the colosseum until 2.5hr later and then we still had Roman forum to do! We had to leave early as we had other plans made!
I did manage to learn a little about the history of the colosseum so not all was lost but I don’t actually know if it’s correct as I’m not sure I heard well. So I may have to do my own research after.
We may have just been unlucky
Sarah_J, May 2026
Bucket list moments. My son also loved this as a picky teen. Lots of information and great photo opportunities
Michelle_W, May 2026
A trip to Rome is not complete without seeing the Colosseum and Roman Forum! Our tour guide Laura was very passionate about sharing the history and little known facts about this amazing ruin. I liked the use of the pictures to complete the visualization of the past. I highly recommend this tour.
MICHAEL_b, May 2026
Great tour with a small group of our guide was excellent
It took about 3 hours and there is a good amount of stair climbing if that’s an issue for some
Marc_B, May 2026
The ancient Roman ruins is a time capsule of artifacts, relics, and art preserved in time to give us a real view back in time to the Roman Empire. Freshly discovered churches hidden by new builds to hidden frescos and ancient columns rising high above the grounds adjacent to the coliseum. All of this was the perfect ending to our time in Rome and a bounty of local eateries added additional wow experiences for my wife and I. Our time was cut short because we had to rush out to catch our cruise from Civitavecchia (port of call for Roma) which was an hour drive from the coliseum to the port.
I highly recommend this tour to immerse yourself in what you could easily miss adventuring on your own without a guide to educated you on the canvas of this tour.
KARINA_A, May 2026
So much fun. Not too much. Skipping the line was well worth it for just the tour. Book this tour!!!!
Julie_S, May 2026
The guide doesn’t pay close attention to where everyone is so it’s easy to lose him. Also a bit rushed. He was knowledgeable though.
Trevor_B, May 2026
Our tour guide was incredibly friendly, passionate, and knowledgeable. In order to not only appreciate the history of Rome, but really the history of modern civilization, this tour is a must!
Fatina_Y, May 2026
Blown away with the history of the Roman forum and
all. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and fun. Learned so much and f
Really enjoyed.
Tamra_W, May 2026
Our tour guide, Andre, really seemed to know his history. He made the tour fun and interesting. The only drawback was the crowds but that’s beyond anyone’s control. Likely less crowded earlier or later in the day. It was a bit chaotic getting organized but eventually we got going only a little later than scheduled. Definitely better than doing it solo as you do get priority for all the lines. Still lots of waiting about though.
Julia_E, May 2026
There were only 3 people in our escorted tour which was great as it meant our guide, Mircea, could make it more personal. He's knowledge was fantastic and he was absolutely brilliant answering questions. It is mind blowing how large the Colosseum is and we would certainly recommend this tour.
Jake_A, May 2026
We wasn’t expecting much with all the bad reviews but it was definitely worth the money. Our guide was very informative I don’t know how he doesn’t drink any water with all the talking he does. It says 2.5 hours for the tour expect it to be pushing 4 hours. Cues wasn’t that bad considering we went on the first bank holiday in may(10-15mins to get into Colosseum). Get there earlier than the time it states as the meeting zone is crowded and hard to find your group. Other than that it was amazing 9/10.
Garet_B, May 2026
Viator failed to send the vouchers to the tour company conducting the tour even though I booked months ahead. When contacted neither party was able to help getting us into Colosseum and resolved by offering a refund. Got money back but lost a day of great memories. Don’t use Viator.
Becky_H, May 2026
Georgia was a great guide! She was very knowledgeable, friendly and made the tour fun. Meeting spot was a little tough to find using Google Maps, but once located all went smoothly.
Trudie_H, Apr 2026
Great tour learning so much about the history with a great guide.
Downside was only having 10 minutes in the colosseum with the guide .. (we only went onto the arena floor, thought we had more access) & then 2 minutes to get out when he left us.
Marta_T, Apr 2026
We had a terrific guide, who knew so much and had a great way of presenting stories about the Colosseum. Only thing is that there was a lot of waiting involved, where you were just standing for long periods of time.
Cliff_C, Apr 2026
We paid 173 dollars per person for three kids to take the tour. We spent my mother's life savings. I rebooked over and over to ensure we had a small group (paid a LOT of moms money) to get a 10 or less personal group tour for 3 hours, from 1 till 4 and English speaking. As soon as I made final payment, everything changed, right up till the time we left for the tour at 2, which was later than scheduled so the tour was cut short by 1/2 hour, and started 1/2 late. The tour guide did do a great job, nothing wrong with him at all, however one of us could not understand him. There were 23 people on our tour, not 10 or less, it was not at all personalized, there was no sence of small group and close conversations with a small group experience. We were way to big of a group to stay in the know of all that we were taken through. Viator should not use or represent Journy Tours, they we not at all Profesional or forthright. Very very frustraighting and disappointing.
Frederick_P, Apr 2026
The tour was excellent and Mircea Marciu was tour guide. I was expecting a little more on the Palatine hill but maybe there are not many area on or around that hill that can be toured.
There are quite a few long and steep stairs in this tour so folks should consider this if they are not so steady on stairs.
We did this tour on 27 April and the high temperature that day was about 75 degrees F. It was warm. If you do this tour during summer be aware of the heat. Bring water but maybe make sure you stop for a bathroom break BEFORE the tour. The initial waiting to start the tour plus the tour time was about 3 hours and 15 minutes. No bathroom facilities until the end and there were long lines at those toilets when we exited the tour.
Angela_W, Apr 2026
Great tour very informative definitely recommend this tour I saw the sights from the outside the tour took me inside of the colosseum and the forum which was fantastic
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