Walking Tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Rome, Italy
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
With archaeological treasures dating back 3,000 years, Rome is considered the jewel in Italy’s crown—but exploring alone means missing out on the hidden history. On this walking tour, take in the UNESCO-listed Colosseum and Roman Forum, plus admire sweeping views from Palatine Hill. Your guide brings Rome’s past to life, sharing stories of powerful emperors and brave gladiators who shaped the city.
- See the best of Rome's ancient sites in one comprehensive tour
- Hit top sites of interest including the Colosseum and the Forum
- Panoramic city views from Palatine Hill
- Your guide shares stories of Rome’s rich history
What's Included
- Headsets for groups of 6 people or more
- Local guide
- Professional archaeologist, historian or art historian guide
- Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €18 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.
- Food and souvenirs
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via di San GregorioVia di S. Gregorio, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
If you come by metro or on feet, as you go out of Colosseo metro stop (B line), cross the street and keeping the colosseum to the left, you'll get to the arch, the meeting point is to the right of it, at a small column close to a street lamp. Search for Rome in tours sign!
End point
- Largo Corrado Ricci, 42, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
The tour ends at the roman forum, very close to the church of Saint Peter in chains, where you can find the Moses of Michelangelo, and you'll be close to the Metro stop Cavour B line, 1 stop from Termini station
Itinerary
1
Colosseum
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palatine Hill
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Roman Forum
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress properly.
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a valid ID at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- For people with mobility impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair, please have a look at our private tour (https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Private-tour-of-the-Colosseum-Roman-forum-and-Palatine-hill/d511-63534P7) so the itinerary can be customized to your needs
- A valid ID is required for participants under 18 at the Colosseum entrance
- 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.
- The first Sunday of the month the access to the monuments is free. This means that we cannot pre buy an entrance slot but clients have to show up and make a line with the guide to get a ticket. So you will meet your guide at 8am in order to avoid the crowds but be aware there will be a waiting time before entering the colosseum. The guide, by the way, will use this time to properly introduce the tour and keep you entertained
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
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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.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 79 reviews
Christina_C, Apr 2025
My husband and I were visiting Italy on our honeymoon and decided a skip the line tour was our best option for the Colosseum - especially with all the craziness happening in Rome. Boy, did we make the right choice! Ferdinando was an excellent guide! We were the only two people who signed up for the tour that day - so it turned into a private tour! A lot of bigger companies might have canceled for lack of participation, but Ferdinando led us through the tour alone, which was awesome! He was so knowledgeable about everything and, even more importantly, passionate about the history he was sharing with us. Thank you for a wonderful tour! This was my fifth time in Rome and this tour was among one of the best I’ve had of the Colosseum!
Maryann_S, Oct 2024
Francisco has Experience, knowledge, personality! Totally would recommend if you want an informative enjoyable tour! Can’t say enough about him ..5+ stars
John_A, Sep 2024
Ferdinando gave us interesting information and highlights that we enjoyed and understood! As an Archaeologist, he really knew his stuff and his English was excellent.
Chris_H, Jul 2024
Extremely informative! Our guide was engaging and entertaining. We saw all the sights we wanted to see and got a lot of stories that enanced the experience. HIGHLY Recommend!!!
Julie_B, Jul 2024
Ferdinando is an excellent guide and teacher! He contacted us the night before our tour with detailed directions to the meeting point and he did an excellent job of guiding us through the Colosseum at a pace that was good for me and my daughter.
He holds a PhD in archeology and had wonderful stories and examples to share from his own experience with excavations in Rome (complete with sketches and pictures in a book he assembled for the tour).
The whole tour was very enjoyable and informative!
I highly recommend booking this tour with Ferdinando!
Glen_M, Jun 2024
Ferdinando was great! As a PhD archaeologist, he shared his own experience and extra insights into the history of excavations around Rome. Plus we had the luck of booking on a slow day, so we actually got a private tour.
He was very personable with fantastic English and a good sense of humor. He also provided great answers to every question I could think to ask. He painted a picture with everything we looked at, and he used a thick book of renderings to illustrate what things looked like in the past.
Also, it was almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit that day and he was very considerate to use the shade, break up the walking, and give us time for photos.
Out of all the guided tours across our three weeks touring Europe, this was probably the best!
Brendan_F, May 2024
Ferdinando was wonderful. A real expert and offered us insights that only someone with his background could add. Would highly recommend.
Roberta_C, May 2024
Our guide Ferdinando was very informative! He made the tour come alive with his knowledge of the Colosseum and history
Alfred_V, May 2024
Ferdinando our guide was phenomenal. Other Viator tour we had to search to find the location. Our guide emailed the night before and sent a picture of the location as well as the address and detailed directions
Roland_B, May 2024
Ferdinand was a knowledgeable guide who navigated the structure and the crowds to show us the best vantage points and interesting spots.
He had a low-key delivery, and used the information he had accumulated during his studies of Roman archeology to make this tour absolutely fascinating.
He helped make our trip to Rome memorable.
RoseHeeJ_C, May 2024
The view from Palestine hill of Roman Forum and around was just unbelievable. When we reached the Colosseum that was another WOW moment to see the 2000 years old ancient history. Our tour guide Ferdinando has archeology background and very deep knowledge of these historical sites. I felt like having a really valuable lecture in the middle of Colosseum. Strongly recommend to have a trip there to feel it.
Jessica_L, May 2024
Our tour guide was excellent! She shared so much knowledge with our group about the Colloseum. We would give her 10++ stars. My son was with me and he walked with her at the front most of the time. We highly recommend this tour and tour guide! Best tour we had in Rome and we tried a few different companies.
AprilYunHui_L, Apr 2024
The tour was eye-opening and engaging thanks to our guide, Mr Ferdinando. He was able to give us in-depth explanation based on his archaeological knowledge, and even prepared and shown us reconstructed impression pictures of archaeological sites back in the days.
Kimberly_C, Mar 2024
Amazing tour! Ferdinando was so knowledgeable and made the day very easy, informative, and not just a memorized speech. Highly recommend!
John_H, Feb 2024
An incredible experience. Ferdinando knows everything about Roman archaeology. Not surprising since he is an archeologist. Also he made the day most enjoyable. I give Rome in Tours and Ferdinando my highest recommendation. Book this tour. You will not be sorry.
Michelle_S, Dec 2023
I had to book this tour last minute since my original one was cancelled, but I thoroughly enjoyed the tour! It was just me, one other person, and the tour guide. He was in constant communication with me before the tour, which I was almost late for. He was an actual archeologist and had done a dig near the Colosseum in the past, which was very neat. He was super nice and very knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
RickyAnn_B, Nov 2023
I appeciated the tour guide sending us a message the day before our tour confirming the meeting point and time as well as giving us his phone number. Our group was small, only 3 people which made is easy to hear his explanations. As a degreed archaeologist he gave us a very clear and detailed explanations of these ancient Roman buildings and ruins. He came prepared with many drawings depicting how the buildings looked like in Roman times. Sure was wonderful skipping the ticket lines.
Max_L, Oct 2023
Ferdinando was a fantastic, knowledgeable, and fun tour guide. He made the tour engaging and brought Ancient Rome to life for us.
Loreen_A, Oct 2023
Ferdinando was Awesome!!! we met up with him at the Colosseum & right from the start he was kind, fun & full of knowledge, he adapts to your needs & made this tour a wonderful experience for us, we left knowing so much about the Colosseum & surrounding area, it was breathtaking! We thoroughly enjoyed his company & he made us feel like we were friends, We would definitely book a tour with him again & would recommend everyone to also take the tour, with this number 1 tour guide
Daniel_L, Oct 2023
The history of the Colosseum. The amount of construction done without and pieces of heavy equipment.
Theodore_H, Sep 2023
Ferdinando did a terrific job on this tour. He sent a text with pictures to let us know when and where to meet for the tour which was extremely helpful. On the tour, he was incredibly knowledgeable and shared his knowledge and passion for archeology and the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill in particular. He had a great personality and was a pleasure to have as tour guide. We certainly hope to go on other tours with him in the future.
cristina_L, Jul 2023
We have become fans of guided tours, and know it's the guide that makes all the difference. We cannot say enough about Ferdinando, who owns and operates this tour, for his pre-trip communication (not only was he thorough, he dropped a pin on the exact location for us to meet him on a VERY crowded, free first Sunday of the month) and his knowledge and ability and desire to share the very obvious passion he had for the sites. His expertise as an archaeologist made the tour come to life. Bravo, Ferdinando!
Elizabeth_S, Jul 2023
Ferdinando was a phenomenal tour guide. His vast knowledge of archeology, history, and the specific sites we visited (Roman Forums, Palatine Hill, Colosseum) made the tour fascinating for the adults and teenage boys in our group. He was engaging and interested in the people on his tour. We only wish we had time for another tour with Ferdinando! Highly recommend.
JackelynViera_I, Jun 2023
Best and hardest working tour guide - Ferdinando - a true archeologist and historian - gave us insights and background to put into context the history and meaning behind what we were viewing! Very enjoyable, highly recommend taking this tour! Could have spent much more time in the Coliseum, it was so good!
Sharon_B, Jun 2023
This tour was fantastic and everything we hoped for! We were visiting on one of the most challenging days -- a first Sunday of the month in summer. It's not possible to get skip the line tickets on those days as all museums and landmarks are free and open to the public. Sure it was an initially long wait to get through the queue to get our entry tickets to the Colosseum but it was time well spent with an exceptionally interesting PhD'ed archaeologist with tons of interesting information. We would highly recommend this tour operator. Our guide was Chiara and she was simply amazing!
Kerry_D, May 2023
This was a great tour. Our tour guide, I wish I could remember his name, had a PhD in Archaeology and it was very apparent. His passion for history made the tour so much more enjoyable than just pointing out buildings.
Amy_D, May 2023
Ferdinando was a very informative and interesting guide! He answered all our questions throughout the tour.
Dejan_S, Apr 2023
Ferdinando was simply the great, has a PhD in archeology and was part of real life exacavations on this specific sight, so there is no one in whole Rome to pass the historic facts regarding this tour like him. My family loved him and we did some other tours but no one is near close to Ferdinando. 3 hours of pure pleasure. Keep the good touring Ferdinando and wish you and your family all the best. Best regards from Croatia!
Paul_T, Sep 2022
Very Good. Well educated on ever subject related to the Colosseum and ancient Rome. Speaks English very well and eager to answer any questions. This guide is professional, personable and pleasant. I highly recommend him because he cares about your touring experience.
Alexandra_Y, Jul 2022
This was our favorite tour in Rome! Ferdinando was a great guide! He was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He made sure we had time to enjoy everything and took time explaining all of the history while also answering our many questions. Ferdinando also made sure to contact us the day before to confirm our tour and make sure we knew exactly where to meet. 10/10 would recommend!
From $232.58
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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Walking Tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
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