Rome: Colosseum with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill + Arena Optional
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Rome, Italy
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enjoy an introduction to Rome’s most significant ancient landmarks on this tour. Enter the Colosseum through a back entrance and explore areas that are typically off-limits to visitors, including the arena floor. Then, follow your guide to the Roman Forum, where you see ruins ranging from the Temple of Julius Caesar to the Senate House, and continue to Palatine Hill.
- Visit three of Rome’s most important ancient landmarks, in one tour
- Continue to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with your guide
- Learn the stories behind the sights from your guide’s commentary
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Step inside Colosseum like a gladiator on this guided tour, including exclusive access to the arena floor unavailable to general visitors. Explore the first and second tiers, then continue through the iconic Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with expert commentary that brings ancient Rome to life on this immersive, hassle-free way to see the city’s most legendary landmarks.
What's Included
- Access and tour of the restricted Colosseum Arena Floor (if option selected)
- Guided tour of the Colosseum's 1st & 2nd tiers
- Guided tour of the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
- Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access (valued at €24 per person)
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Please note: Colosseum fees as above. The remaining cost of the experience covers other services.
- Expert English-speaking guide
- Guide tips
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Fontana del Colosseo, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Please Arrive 10 Minutes Early. We meet between the 2 green souvenir kiosks in front of the “Colosseo” metro stop - located just outside the lower-level entrance/exit. A representative will be there holding a sign with ''The Tour Guy'' on it.
End point
- Via della Salara Vecchia, 1385, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
This tour ends in the Colosseum Area. Depending on the entrance time of the Colosseum tickets we might visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill before heading to the Colosseum.
Itinerary
1
Colosseum
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Roman Forum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
3
Palatine Hill
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- 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.
- 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.
- We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any walking impairments that require special assistance on our group tours. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 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
4.6
based on 1,468 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Lee_K, Aug 2026
Was brilliant, Eleanor was very informative, enjoyed the whole experience despite the heat, would definitely recommend
Alana_B, Aug 2026
Eddy was an incredible tour guide who managed to keep my 9 and 13 year old engaged for the whole three hours in 38 degree weather! Wonderful guide.
Monica_C, Aug 2026
Eddy was great, funny and made a long and hot day very enjoyable.
Eddy looked for the shade when possible.
Arlette_G, Aug 2026
Good tour, but the August heat made it challenging.
The Colosseum tour itself was good. We booked an 8:30 a.m. tour, but the August heat was still brutal. Our tour guide was helpful and spoke English well enough for us to easily understand the information he was providing.
One thing we really appreciated was how aware he was of the pickpockets in the area. He kept an eye on our group and made an effort to keep us in the shade whenever possible while explaining the Colosseum, which was especially helpful with our family.
The tour continued through the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which were interesting, but by that point, the heat had really gotten to us and our family was ready to be done. The tour was good, but it was long, especially in the August heat. One family member was unable to finish the tour because of the heat.
I personally would have preferred having the opportunity to go inside and explore the Colosseum on our own rather than spending as much time on the guided portion.
That said, I was very impressed that the company followed up with us the next day to make sure our family member was okay. That level of care and concern was greatly appreciated.
Overall, a good tour with a helpful guide, but I would recommend considering the heat and the length of the tour when booking during the summer months.
Stephanie_M, Aug 2026
Our tour guide Nina was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable and entertaining. I’m so glad we did the Roman forum because she explained everything and we were fascinated to learn even more than the colosseum. The only thing worth mentioning would be the coordinates we were given does not match the exact location to meet so make sure you read your tickets well. A suggestion would be to have an employee from “tour guy” to meet at the coordinates and direct people downstairs to the meeting point. That was my only concern. Thank you for a great day Nina!
Brent_T, Aug 2026
Great guided tour. Stephen (Steve) great guide. Skips lines. See all important areas of palatine hill, forum, and colosseum including areas floor
Marcia_G, Aug 2026
very good experience as the guide was extremely knowledgeable and knew how to keep the group out of the sun. Definitely take this in the early day as it was very hot!
Emily_J, Aug 2026
A super informative and fun option for anyone wanted to see and learn more about the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Coliseum ..
Carla_M, Aug 2026
Our tour with Elena was amazing! She was such a great guide, sharing tons of knowledge and really breaking down the complex archaeology and history behind everything we saw.
I 100% recommend the tour. you really need that context to get the ruins. If you're lucky, you'll get our fantastic guide!
Christine_E, Aug 2026
Tour as described but was a little too long for the heat that day. Tour guide was knowledgeable but hard to understand at times with his heavy accent. The headsets stopped working half way through the tour, which was disappointing.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and found your guide knowledgeable. We understand that visiting Rome’s ancient sites during periods of high heat can be challenging, and we appreciate your comments regarding the pace and audio equipment. We’ll share your feedback with our team as we continue working to improve the experience for our guests. Thank you again for joining us!
Allison_d, Aug 2026
Fantastic tour. Gave great history and English was very easy to understand. Easy to find the meeting spot and overall could not have been easier. Such a great experience. I loved the arena access to see from below though it is a bit pricy.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your fantastic review, Allison! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found the meeting point easy to locate. It’s wonderful to know that the history, storytelling, and Arena access made the experience memorable. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you again in Rome!
Bree_B, Aug 2026
Truly 5 star experience with Elenora. She was spectacular. It was near 40 degrees and she made the heat bearable. Terrific history lesson on Ancient Rome.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your fantastic review! We’re delighted to hear that Elenora made your Colosseum experience a five-star adventure, especially despite the summer heat. We’ll be sure to share your appreciation with her. Bringing Ancient Rome to life through storytelling is what we love most, and we’re thrilled you enjoyed the history lesson. We hope to see you again in Rome!
Martha_B, Aug 2026
The Colosseum is a must see and we really enjoyed the full experience of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum including the arena floor. Our guide, Eleanor did a fantastic job of explaining the history and stories of Ancient Rome!
Erin_S, Aug 2026
Lots of walking required. Guide was knowledgeable about history. Headphones worked well but guide was a little dry and hard to understand at times. She was very helpful and thoughtful though
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We're glad you enjoyed learning about Rome's history and found the headphones helpful throughout the tour. We also appreciate your comments about the guide's delivery and will share them with our local team. Thank you for recognizing her helpful and thoughtful approach, and we hope to welcome you back on another tour in the future.
Emily_K, Jul 2026
You walk up and down stairs and bumps on a path. Some ppl complained- but it is a walking tour- you need to know what u can physically do.
The guide was excellent and very knowledgeable.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your review! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour and appreciated your guide's knowledge. You're absolutely right that exploring the Colosseum and the archaeological sites involves quite a bit of walking and uneven terrain. We appreciate you sharing this helpful advice for future travelers and hope to welcome you back again!
Carla_G, Jul 2026
Great tour guide! Positive and knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. It was very hot and crowded when we went. We did have a couple of people on our tour who had to drop out along the way as it was too strenuous for them in the heat. Our guide strived to find shady spots to give us information. These are ruins. Be prepared for stairs and uneven grounds and carry water!
joseph_d, Jul 2026
Lots of walking. Great tour guide. Standing where gladiators stood.. so much to see. You need s a few days
Leticia_R, Jul 2026
The tour was absolutely fantastic. Our guide Sophia (9:45am group 4) was amazing. She knew her history and was so knowledgeable. She was also super sweet and had some jokes that made us laugh.
Keith_P, Jul 2026
Bogdan did a great job showing us all the best parts of the colosseum and Palantine Hill. Highly recommended!!
Raymund_L, Jul 2026
Tour guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed the tour. Very interesting places and rich in history.
Cayla_Z, Jul 2026
Daniel was our guide and he did a wonderful job with our tour. Very detailed information, he had a fun and great personality, we had so much fun!
Brachelle_Z, Jul 2026
We had a fantastic experience on this tour! Daniel was our guide, and he was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the history of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill come to life with interesting stories and facts. The tour was well organized, the pace was comfortable. We never felt rushed and had plenty of time to take photos and enjoy the incredible views. I would highly recommend this tour—and if you get Daniel as your guide, you’re in great hands!
Savannah_S, Jul 2026
Loved our tour guide and the tour! The tour was awesome and very educational. Our guide was very knowledgeable and fun. She kept everyone engaged the whole time. Adults and children alike. Really great experience and would definitely recommend.
Rhonda_P, Jul 2026
Kate was great! It was hot, but she kept us in the shade as much as possible. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. It was a great way to start off our vacation.
Anelyn_T, Jul 2026
Great for Rome first timers and repeaters alike. My husband is an avid Roman history buff and still got so much out of the 3h tour.
Kimberly_G, Jul 2026
Kate was patient, informative and knowledgeable.
We learned so much from this tour.
Thank You for making this excursion memorable
Rebekah_S, Jul 2026
Fabulous!!!!!! Our tour guide was so knowledgeable. She gave us breaks as needed and knew everything about the sites we were seeing.
Erin_A, Jul 2026
Our guide Bogden was excellent, he was fun and funny and looked after us well. Lots of awesome information and being on the arena floor was excellent. We weren't able to complete the Palatine Hill tour because the heat hit our daughter a bit hard - we did the 2:30 time slot and I would recommend earlier in the morning or past 3pm if possible in summer. The sun and heat was brutal.
Kristin_S, Jul 2026
Kate was absolutely the best guide! She was so knowledgeable about the history and the archaeological area. She did a fantastic job of interjecting interesting facts with fun anecdotal stories. The information was just fascinating. However, one thing she did that went above and beyond was to make sure to check in with the group to pause for water and restrooms (3-hour tour on a 100-degree day), and made sure the various comfort levels of the group were considered. I cannot recommend this tour enough; it was one of the favorites of our entire trip to Rome. Hope you get Kate as your guide!
Anna_E, Jul 2026
The tour was great! The guide was very knowledgeable, funny, and interesting, great story teller. We all learn a lot and were captivated by the history and stories, despite 99F. The tour was a way to go since there are not much explanations in the Colosseum and Roman Forum so unless you know a lot or read and prepare on your own before visiting, you not always know what you are looking at. Meeting point was easy to find.
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