Colosseum Arena Floor, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tour
Rome, Italy
+7
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Make the most of your time at Rome's Colosseum with exclusive access to the Arena Floor—something most visitors miss out on. Explore the site independently as you listen to a behind-the-scenes history of fighters, spectators, and more with an audio guide. Next up, join a guide to visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and learn more about daily life for the ancient Romans.
- Step onto the Colosseum’s Arena Floor—only available to select visitors
- A guided tour of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is included for added value
- Gain insight you'd miss if exploring independently
- Explore the Colosseum at your own pace, without a guide or group
What's Included
- Official Live Guide for Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
- Arena Floor restricted area and Entrance/Gladiator Door
- Colosseum Entrance with Audio Guide
- Headsets
- Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access valued €24 per person
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Basilica of Saints Cosmas and DamianVia dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Meet in front of the Basilica San Cosma and Damiano. Look for tour greeters in red Show Me Italy jackets/shirts. They will be waiting next to the large red pillar just in front of the church on the Via dei Fori Imperiali.
End point
- Largo della Salara VecchiaL.go della Salara Vecchia, Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
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
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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.
- 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.
- The meeting time is subject to change. In this case, you will be contacted in advance via email
- Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time of the tour
- Refunds will not be provided for no-shows or late arrivals. If you are late to the meeting point, you will not be able to join your tour.
- Toilets are limited, use the toilet before arriving for the tour. (Breaks made when possible)
- No weapons (pocket knives), glass bottles or large backpacks
- Tours will run rain or shine (unless closed for safety reasons)
- There are mandatory security checks al all entry points to the sites. The wait time time for the security check can be considerable during peak times/seasons and has nothing to do with the ticket line
- The names provided at the time of the booking cannot be changed.
- The itinerary may vary, the tour may start at either the Colosseum or the Roman Forum.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 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
4.2
based on 9,773 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Ryan_W, Aug 2026
Sergio was a fantastic tour guide! Provided a wealth of information and was very attentive to each question and showed our group a great time. Highly recommend to orient yourself around the Roman Forum and Coliseum!
Joanne_C, Aug 2026
Our tour guide Patricia was so knowledgeable, and pleasant in her interactions. She spoke very good Italian English and was more than happy to answer as many questions as needed. Our only disappointment was that the local tour company that Viator booked us through were no longer allowing tour guides to take groups through the Coliseum and that was what our original booking included. In saying that, Viator announced a very partial refund would be given.
The tour itself was great! We only had 24hrs in Rome, and were happy to have chosen this tour.
Ady_C, Aug 2026
Alex delivered an exceptional Colosseum tour. His expertise in Roman history, clear and engaging communication made the experience outstanding. He provided detailed context about the architecture and the cultural significance of the site, all while keeping the group comfortable and highly informed. I highly recommend Alex for anyone seeking a top‑tier, well‑organized tour of the Colosseum.
Matthew_S, Aug 2026
Tour guide was very informative and entertaining. Kept us in the shade as needed while ensuring we all definitely got our moneys worth.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that your guide was both informative and entertaining, while also making sure everyone stayed comfortable in the shade. We’re glad you felt the tour was well worth it and hope to welcome you again soon!
Arthur_C, Aug 2026
Bring a water bottle, comfy shoes and don’t buy the water bottles that are sold at the event.
Great time and would highly recommend.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your recommendation! We’re so glad you had a great time. And absolutely—comfortable shoes and plenty of water are a must! We really appreciate your feedback and hope to see you again soon.
rosa_d, Aug 2026
Palatine Hill, Roman forum and access to coliseum first level and upper level but not the basement . Dispite the heat, the knowledge & information from Giorgio was great
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that Giorgio’s knowledge and engaging information made the experience enjoyable, even in the heat. We’re glad you enjoyed exploring the Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and Colosseum. We hope to welcome you again soon!
Alexandria_W, Aug 2026
We loved this experience, it is a lot of walking so be prepared for that and bring a water bottle because our guide let us stop and fill up in fountains the several times. Our guide was great, explaining the history and providing fun facts the entire time. Your guide does not join you for the colosseum portion so you get to do that one at your own pace. It was awesome getting to go on the floor. Don't forget your ID though, as it is checked at least 4 times while entering.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour and appreciated the guide’s knowledge, fun facts, and helpful tips along the way. We’re especially glad you enjoyed exploring the Colosseum floor at your own pace. We hope to welcome you again soon!
AMANDA_D, Aug 2026
Excellent tour guide was very gud and knowledgeable bit disappointing the guide wasn't with us for colosseum but still a Excellent tour
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour and found our guide knowledgeable and helpful. We really appreciate your feedback and hope to see you again soon!
Nicola_H, Aug 2026
Alex was a great tour guide. We all enjoyed it - kids, 20 something and 40 somethings. Alex was informative and entertaining, keeping everyone engaged. He was great at finding nice shady spots too as well as showing us so many sites. We also appreciated the tour supporters who you meet at the meeting point - they were really helpful with making sure we were all together even though some of our party booked separately.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your lovely review! We’re thrilled to hear that Alex kept everyone engaged and that the whole family enjoyed the tour. We’re also glad our support team could help make everything run smoothly, especially with separate bookings. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with Alex and the team!
Charlotte_C, Aug 2026
I was contacted a couple of days before the tour to say that my tour would not go inside the Colosseum as advertised. I had chosen an expensive tour for this reason and was disappointed. The tour company ‘Show me Italy’ said they would give a 20% refund as an apology. I still have not received it. I have contacted the company several times about this and they have not replied.
Matthew_E, Aug 2026
This vendored lied or gave mis information. Tour guide was canceled inside the Collesium. I was told in writing that tour guides were not allowed. There was more than 50 tour guides inside the Collesium. If the company said it was short staff, I would have accepted it. Blaming someone else shows lack of accountability. Guide we had was old, and aloof. Guide past by water fountains and everyone stop to get water. Guide kept going for a 100 meters unaware 24 people stopped. The third time this happened we just started laughing. Beautiful site, but the Guide was below average.
William_D, Aug 2026
Suggest hand fans and wet towels for heat. Don’t make me write 100 characters or I won’t do future reviews
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for the helpful suggestion! We’ll definitely keep the heat in mind and consider recommending hand fans and wet towels for guests during the hotter months. And we hear you on the 100-character requirement—we appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! 😊
LindaA_M, Aug 2026
This was a very long tour on a very hot day. Although we were informed before our tour about no tour guide inside the colosseum we were very disappointed to see other groups with tour guides. Maybe Viator is not the company to use for tours.
The day before we did a Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s Basilica 3 hour tour through Viator. Too much time was spent on the museum and we sailed through the Sistine Chapel and didn’t see St. Peter’s.
I’m mentioning this because 2 in our group of 10 were overcome by the heat and we’re unable to do the Colosseum tour the next day.
Caitlin_H, Aug 2026
The tour and tour guide was great. He was super informative and answered all of our questions. My only complaint is the lack of communication from the company. We were told a few days before the tour that our guide would not be going into the Colosseum with us and would receive a 20% refund for the inconvenience. I still haven’t received said refund and I’ve made multiple attempts to contact the tour company since that email about a few things and have heard nothing. Overall the tour of palatine hill and the forum was great. The rest of it was self guided.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and found our guide informative and helpful with all your questions. We’re also glad you enjoyed exploring Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. It was a pleasure having you with us, and we hope to see you again in Rome! 😊
Carol_L, Aug 2026
Book an early tour. We started at 8:45 am, before the massive crowds and heat. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and personable. I highly recommend.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for the great review! We’re glad you enjoyed the early start and were able to beat some of the crowds and heat. It’s wonderful to hear that your guide was knowledgeable and personable. Thank you for recommending us, and we hope to see you again in Rome! 😊
Seth_F, Aug 2026
Max was a wonderful tour guide! We had a great time learning the history of the Coliseum and the exterior attractions.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for the lovely review! We’re delighted to hear that Max made the tour such a great experience and that you enjoyed learning about the history of the Colosseum and the surrounding sights. We’ll be sure to pass your kind words on to him. It was a pleasure having you with us! 😊
Vincent_I, Aug 2026
The tours was excellent. The guide explained everything in full detail not leaving the guest wondering about anything. The guide was open to questions and stopped and took breaks. It was a pleasure to go on this tour.
Chialin_L, Aug 2026
Very great experience, our tour guide was excellent ( sorry I didn’t catch her name but he had a lots of cute cat accessories ) it was a perfect tour where we got to listen to the guided tours then last tip is the arena so we don’t need to rush and can take our time on the arena. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! We’re thrilled you had such a great experience. It’s also great to hear that you enjoyed having time to explore the arena at your own pace without feeling rushed. Thank you for recommending us, and we hope to see you again in Rome! 🇮🇹
Maryrose_S, Aug 2026
The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. She did a great job answering questions, telling stories and correcting myths.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found our guide both knowledgeable and friendly. We love bringing the history to life, answering questions, and separating the facts from the myths! 😊 It was a pleasure having you with us in Rome!
Estefania_G, Aug 2026
This was a great experience. Everything that was needed for this tour was provided. Tour guide also gave great advice for colossiem
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re really happy to hear you had a great experience and that everything you needed was provided. We’re also glad our guide’s advice helped you make the most of your Colosseum visit. It was a pleasure having you with us! 😊
Irina_M, Aug 2026
Our guide is an archeologist. He is responsible, quite funny explaining things quite well. wait for us.
Somehow, I lost a physical ticket into the Colosseum. So I call the tour company. They picked up immediately and WhatsApp me the ticket.. very thankful.
One suggestion would be to email the Colosseum ticket to the customer as well as as giving them the physical ticket just in case they lost a physical ticket.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and that our archaeologist guide made the history interesting, fun, and easy to understand. We’re also very happy we could help when you lost your ticket and get you a replacement quickly. 😊 Thank you for your trust, and it was a pleasure having you with us in Rome!
Anne_K, Aug 2026
I was extremely excited about this tour, but quite disappointed with it in general.
Our guide was good at getting us in quick & explaining security etc, and at delivering the information.
However, we felt it moved it moved too slow. She gave us tons of historical information, but kept us in each spot way long.
Much of the information could have been given while we were talking.
I do appreciate she kept us in the shade as much as possible on an extremely hot day, & that photos were shown as part of the explanations. I also feel she was trying to keep us as close as possible for our colosseum entry time, but we did lots of standing around listening & looking rather than moving forward.
My group was disappointed with colosseum in general. We didn’t spend as much time there as we wanted because: 1) it was hot, 2) too many people moving in close proximity, 3) people moving in all directions & 4) very poor marked directional signage.
By the time we wanted to leave, and were looking for a quick exit, we had to walk all the way around anyway.
We did have a non-wheelchair ADA person in our group, so we were moving slow anyway, (we didn’t take advantage of elevators at Colliseum), but because this was our last tour of a 13 day journey, the # of people in the coliseum, and poor signage, we didn’t get to see as much as we would have liked.
We purposely did an early tour to avoid some of these issues, but it didn’t work in our favor.
John_R, Aug 2026
The tour operator changed the time of my tour without confirming with me before making the change. Once I arrived at the meeting point the guide informed me the tour time changed and gave us the tickets and and told us we will need to wait in the normal line. No briefing was given to my family and I which was very disappointing. We waited over 45 minutes to get through the line. The operator said they can no longer provide a guide, we notice numerous other tour guides inside during our visit. I would not recommend this company. Please don’t waste your money. I sent the operator a message requesting a refund three days ago and they have not responded. Terrible experience! Don’t let this happen to your family.
Kaci_C, Aug 2026
Very informative. Our tour guide Alesandro was excellent. Funny and kept us engaged. Would recommend
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and that Alessandro kept you entertained and engaged along the way. We’ll be sure to pass your compliments on to him! Thanks again for recommending us, and we hope to see you again in Rome! 😊
d4p2zsdg4t, Aug 2026
Max our guide was very knowledgeable and made the best of a very hot day. Make sure you bring a something for water, it’s alot of walking but very beautiful and time well spent!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that Max made the tour enjoyable and shared so much of his knowledge, especially on such a hot day. And yes, definitely bring some water there’s quite a bit of walking, but the sights are absolutely worth it! 😊 It was a pleasure having you with us!
Laxmi_P, Aug 2026
I was disappointed with this tour. On the plus side, our guide seemed knowledgeable and passionate about her work. However, The guide was not prepared with a script for this tour. She kept rambling (immigrant illegals selling stuff, a new tour, gelato shops, various obscure places around Rome). The tour started late, she didn’t have the earphones, the radios were not working and so she had to go again to get new ones, There was almost no information on the Colosseum. We were late to reach the Colosseum’s timed tickets. I had reached out multiple times many weeks before the tour to make sure these guides could enter the Colosseum. 2 days before tour they sent an email that their guides could not enter and will tell us what we need to know from outside. Our guides did not manage the time and had none left to explain by the time we reached Colosseum.
Michael_A, Aug 2026
Do not do this experience with a guide, the forum was rushed and you don't have chance to look around at your own pace, missing the majority of the forum. Also, paying extra for the arena is not worth it at all.
Emeley_R, Aug 2026
Easy to find tour group. Learned a lot but did not go to the arena floor as advertised. Suggest comparing the price to other tours that don’t go to the arena floor
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your review! We’re glad you found the meeting point easily and enjoyed learning about Rome with us. It was a pleasure having you on the tour! 😊
Lois_H, Aug 2026
Our tour guide was great. Very knowledgeable and took us through the history of the area. Colosseum was great but very busy and very hot. Not much that could be done about that given the heatwave.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your review! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and that your guide brought the history of the area to life. The Colosseum can definitely get very busy, especially during a heatwave, so we really appreciate your understanding. We’re happy our guide helped make the experience enjoyable despite the heat. It was a pleasure having you with us! 😊
Josh_L, Aug 2026
Despite the unrelenting heat, we really enjoyed our tour. Our guide was very informative and made the experience pleasant for the entire family. It was well worth having a guide.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re really happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed the tour despite the heat. It’s great to know that your guide made the experience both informative and enjoyable. We truly appreciate you choosing to visit with us, and we hope to see you again in Rome! 😊
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