Rome: Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics Walking Tour
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Delve into the early days of Christianity with this unique tour that traces the evolution of this important world religion from paganism through its formative stages. Explore four of Rome’s most storied churches with a guide to learn about early Christian history and view a number of holy relics said to be from the Crucifixion—including a nail and wood from the cross—as well as the Holy Stairs.
- An immersive journey through early Christian history in just a few hours
- Venture beneath the Basilica of San Clemente to admire pagan temple ruins
- See Rome’s cathedral and the Holy Stairs that Jesus is said to have climbed
- Stop in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, home to impressive Christian relics
What's Included
- Live professional guide
- Headsets to hear clear your guide
- Entrance fees
- All Fees and Taxes
- Optional gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Piazza di San ClementePiazza di S. Clemente, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Meet us at Piazza di San Clemente, 00184 Rome. Please arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled starting time. Look for a member of staff holding a yellow label.
End point
- Basilica di Santa Croce in GerusalemmePiazza di S. Croce in Gerusalemme, 10, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
1
Basilica of San Clemente
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Please note: In the event that certain areas of one of the churches are closed, your guide will adapt the itinerary by highlighting alternative sites. As a result, the overall duration will remain unchanged
- An appropriate dress-code is required in order to enter the churches: knees and shoulders should be covered.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes: a moderate amount of walking is involved.
- This tour is not wheelchair-accessible.
- This tour is subject to weather conditions and/or liturgic-calendar events. If canceled you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund.
- Not recommended for people with claustrophobia
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 78 reviews
Amber_L, Mar 2026
Our tour guide was very informative! She was super friendly and answered all of our questions. It definitely felt like a very personal/intimate experience since it was such a small group. She was very easy to understand and so very sweet! Definitely recommend this tour and everything you get to see, loved it!!!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground churches and relics tour!
Seth_G, Mar 2026
Excellent experience, some walking involved as with all, and Excellent guide! Beautiful churches, relics and steps are a must see!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you for your kind review, we are so glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics tour!
Sue_S, Nov 2025
Very educational. Saw some different parts of Rome. Guide (Mario) was well educated in what we were seeing.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you!
We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the Underground Temples and Relics guided tour with Mario :)
Jan_V, Oct 2025
I would highly recommend. Our tour guide Kiara was knowledgeable and made the tour amazing. Seeing the relics was a humbling experience. The Bascilica’s were beautiful. A must see in Rome
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you for your review, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Relics guided tour with Chiara!
Karen_W, Oct 2025
Arguably the best tour we have ever been on! Our guide was amazing. His historical knowledge was unmatched.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed our walking tour of the Roman Basilicas :)
Josephine_L, Oct 2025
Daniel was an outstanding tour guide. We received an in depth explanation of all the churches. It made the Jubilarian experience extraordinary. He was knowledgeable and explained complex subjects in an understandable manner - a fine skill in a tour guide. He was respectful of the holy sites.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you for your review! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided walking tour with Daniel.
Vanessa_C, Oct 2025
Wonderful! Very educational and interesting. We enjoyed leaning about all the relics and walking through history. Our guide Daniel did a great job—I only wish we had a bit more time at the steps where Jesus walked.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics walking tour with Daniel :)
William_P, Sep 2025
Outstanding. The best tour we took in Rome. Note there is a lot of walking as the buildings toured were generally a few blocks apart.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much - we appreciate your review and the comments about the Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics tour!
Eileen_B, Sep 2025
This tour was very interesting and our guide Francesca was excellent . She was knowledgeable and attentive . This was a lot of walking but even in the heat, it was worth it .
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you! We appreciate your review regarding the guided tour with Francesca at the Basilicas!
Geri_A, Sep 2025
Fantastic tour of underground churches, churches and so much more. Francesca was an excellent guide -extremely knowledgeable and made the tour a 5 star.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much! We're delighted to hear that you have enjoyed our Underground Temples and Relics walking tour :)
Jennifer_A, Sep 2025
We explored an active archeological site and learned more about Roman architecture. I was moved by the devotion of people visiting the Holy Stairs. I enjoyed the tour and our guide provided us with great insight into the sites we visited.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you!
We appreciate your feedback and are really glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour of the Underground Temples and Relics.
Radha_G, Aug 2025
Francesca was my tour guide and she was exceptionally thorough and thoughtful in her explanation of the four churches that we visited.
It was very helpful to hear the explanation from Francesca while climbing down the levels of centuries from 12th to 4th to 1st AD and see the waters of ancient Rome at the Basilica of San Clemente. She thoroughly explained the frescos, the statues, the stones used in building the church and it's history. Then I took the opportunity to climb the Scala Santa on my knees and walk through Porta Sancti in Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. Francesca took the time also to explain the differences in the art work among the frescos and paintings seen in the churches and their time period. At the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, it was unbelievable to see some of the relics of the crucifixion of Christ and the copy of the shroud of Turin. I highly recommend this walking tour to see the 4 holy churches and the relics., and having a guide like Francesca adds more depth in the understanding of the visit. Grazie Francesca. I hope to do this tour when I visit Rome again!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you so much!
We are really glad to hear that you enjoyed the tour with Francesca and truly appreciate the comments you've made about the experience.
Looking forward to welcoming you back to one of our other tours in Rome!
Vanessa_C, Jul 2025
Our tour was supposed to cover 5 churches, 3.5 hours. Our tour ended up being 2 hrs 40 mins and we missed key highlights because our tour guide changed the order so we entered one during mass. Due to the route change we then had to buy metro tickets to return to our hotel vs a short walk if we ended with the original church. Info on churches and Christianity was limited and given the fast pace, missing key relics, we could have done this on our own.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Good morning,
We are sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience overall.
We also spoke to the guide assigned for the tour, and he said that he felt like you wished for the tour to be faster, as he quoted that you mentioned the tour was too slow.
We understand that your tour started earlier than usual, and ended about 20 minutes earlier, for the above mentioned reason.
We also would like to remind you that you booked a group tour however you had the chance to have this tour as a private one, since it was just your family and the guide — and you could have decided your own tour path (which site you wished to see the most, and where you necessarily needed to end in order to be able to walk to your hotel).
We understand that this activity was not to your likings and we apologise for any inconveniences you might have met.
Have a good day.
Robert_D, Jul 2025
The tour was both informative and enjoyable. Our guide Fransesca was fantastic and very knowledgeable on all the sites. If you have seen the major sites already in rome this tour is for you as it shows some of the earliest Christian artifacts and churches. Moderate walking
Theresa_C, Jul 2025
The guide was very knowledgeable and witty. It was a very hot day so he made the best of it for our group. All of the churches were fantastic.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics Walking Tour!
Allyson_M, Jun 2025
Mario was great as a tour guide! Loved this tour. Be prepared to walk a lot from church to church. Prepare for heat. You’ll be going in to churches so no showing your belly or shoulders and no short shorts.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for your review, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour with the guide Mario!
We definitely recommend being prepared for the heat (bringing water!) and covering shoulders and knees to enter the Churches.
We look forward to seeing you again in one of our tours in Rome :)
Harun_Y, Jun 2025
Francesca is a superb guide. She is knowledgeable and competent. She answered all my questions and I usually ask many. We enjoyed our tour with her very much. We are looking forward to our next tour with her. Thank you!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for such a detailed feedback, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed the guided tour with us and Francesca!
Julia_H, May 2025
The meeting place was very easy to find and the staff were friendly and helpful. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and made the tour fun and engaging. I really enjoyed this tour. Seeing the gladiator tunnels and animal cages was surreal. If you enjoy history or just want to learn more about the colosseum that I highly recommend this tour.
Nicholas_H, May 2025
This was an incredible experience. For anyone who has even a passing interest in Christianity this will be a worthwhile tour, for those with a deeper connection it is a must-do. Highly recommended!!
Cassie_C, Apr 2025
Really enjoyed learning about all the history about the churches we visited and especially finding out about churches we didn’t know of.
Josh_P, Mar 2025
There was so many things to see- Jesus thorns, nails, Thomas' finger, and pieces from His cross. Our guide was very knowledgeable!
Raul_Q, Feb 2025
In the fifteen years we have visited Rome and its surroundings, we have never encountered a guide as good as Paul.
His knowledge, understanding, and communication with the group were exceptional. I am sure Paul will have forgotten more about the subject than I will ever know.
The tour was incredibly educational and most appreciated. We spent significant time at the first basilica (San Clemente). There is so much to see and learn in a relatively small church.
We visited four additional churches, and Paul was exceptional in his knowledge and experience in each one.
If I had one suggestion, it would have been nice to know that the amount of walking was relatively high. The statement on Viator's website describing the event was: Wear comfortable walking shoes; a moderate amount of walking is involved. The latter is not accurate. We must have walked 3-4 kilometers. While this may not seem like a big issue to most, some group members struggled to keep up with the pace.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you so much for your kind words and your detailed feedback!
It is a pleasure to hear how much you have enjoyed your tour with Paul and found it to be educational!
We appreciate your detailed feedback concerning the high amount of walking and will take it into consideration in order to ensure a smooth experience for our future customers!
We hope to see you again on one of our tours here in Rome! :)
Melanie_B, Feb 2025
Fantastic experience - our guide was very knowledgeable and did not rush us through the different sites we visited
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for your feedback!
We are very glad to hear you enjoyed this experience with us! :)
Byron_B, Dec 2024
Great tour and great experience tour guide was extremely knowledgeable! Would highly recommend to others
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you for your feedback!
We are very happy to hear you enjoyed this experience with us and we hope to see you again in the future on one of our tours here in Rome! :)
Precious_O, Nov 2024
My tour guide was really knowledgeable, insightful, and easy to speak to. The building we saw had so much history to it, it was an interesting tour.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!
We are happy to hear you enjoyed this experience with us!
Mary_b, Nov 2024
Mario was a superb tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and managed our time well to ensure we saw all of the relics on this excellent tour. So far, this has been the highlights of our Rome trip. I highly recommend!!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!
We are delighted to hear you have had a good time with Mario!
Dawn_K, Nov 2024
Our tour guide Kiera was amazing and so knowledgeable. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the history behind all of the churches frescos and relics.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you so much for taking your time to share your thoughts! We hope to see you again in the future on one of our tours!
:)
longostein, Oct 2024
This was a very interesting tour, starting at San Clemente with its 3 levels of churches/temples, followed by stops at several other churches that house relics, said to be from the Crucifixion and related events. Our guide (unfortunately I didn't get her name) was knowledgeable and funny. There was a lot of walking and standing, with no built-in breaks like other tours. We skipped the last stop as we were tired and it would have been a 30-minute walk.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your detailed feedback!
We are very pleased to hear you enjoyed this experience with us and hope to see you again in the future on one of our tours! :)
Kelli_W, Oct 2024
Excellent knowledge and presentation by tour guide. One of the best tours I’ve ever been on! What a privilege to see up close the famous and inspirational relics of our Lord Christ Jesus!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!
We are very happy to hear you enjoyed this experience with us and hope to see you again in the future on one of our tours! :)
DrBambang_A, Oct 2024
Our tour leader Tom, he was amazing. He explained everything in details….
We loved it and it’s enriched our knowledge about Rome Catholic history
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your feedback!
We are glad to hear you had a good time with Tom!
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