Get a gladiator’s view of the Colosseum, then explore the Roman Forum on a walking tour of ancient Rome. With a skip-the-line ticket, avoid the long entrance lines and access the arena via the Gladiator’s Gate. Stand where gladiators once fought, hear tales of ruthless crowds and emperors, then explore the Colosseum’s first level with your guide. Finish with a tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, with stories that bring the ruins to life.

Skip the line for fast-track entry to the Colosseum
Enter via the Gladiator’s Gate and stand in the arena
Learn about the gladiators and the battles they fought
Explore the Colosseum’s first level to see where the crowds cheered

What's Included

Local English-speaking guide
Expertly guided walking tour
Small group of 24 guests maximum
Skip-the-line ticket for Colosseum (via Gladiator's Gate)
Special access ticket to Colosseum Arena Floor
Skip-the-line ticket for Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Headset (groups over 6 people)

Gratuities
Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Via delle Terme di Tito, 72
Via delle Terme di Tito, 72, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Meet your guide at the entrance of Colle Oppio Park on the corner of Via di Terme di Tito and Via Nicola Salvi. The entrance is opposite Oppio caffè. Colle Oppio Park is located on the corner of Via di Terme di Tito and Via Nicola Salvi. Your guide will be holding a Walks sign.

End point

Foro Romano
Foro Romano, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Colosseum/Roman Forum

What To Expect

Make your own way to a central meeting point in Rome to meet your guide and group.

Walk over to the Colosseum with your skip-the-line ticket in hand, then bypass the main entrance lines to head straight inside the arena via the Gladiator’s Gate. Transporting you back in millennia, your guide regales you with stories of the gladiators who fought here to their death.

From the arena, head up to the first floor to see where the bloodthirsty Roman crowds bayed, and gaze out over Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum—your next stop.

Leave the Colosseum, and walk over to the forum as you hear tales of imperial-era Rome. Wander around the main ruins and monuments of the ancient plaza, which was a center of political activity in the city’s heyday.

Finish your tour near the Roman Forum.

NOTE: There is a new rule at the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill that only small backpacks and regular-size handbags are allowed inside. Guests with larger bags are not allowed to enter (there are no storage facilities) and all guests must now pass through a security check before entering the Colosseum.

Colosseum

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

1 hour 25 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
This tour is in English.
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
This is a walking tour. Guests should be able to walk at a moderate pace without difficulty.
The tour meeting time is 15 minutes prior to the start time. No refunds or re-bookings can be provided for late arrivals or no-shows.
If you cannot join your tour at the last minute (running late, etc), please contact us. We may be able to reschedule your tour with a small amendment fee depending on availability.
All guests (including children) must bring ID on the day of their tour.

All guests must pass through security. No weapons or large items will be permitted. Only small backpacks and handbags are allowed inside (no bag check).
The Colosseum is subject to occasional closures. If modifications are needed and time permits, we will reach out to you prior to your tour. For last-minute closures, modifications may be communicated at the tour start time.
Most travellers can participate
Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
Walks comply with all local government regulations. You may need to wear a mask or provide proof of vaccination to enter certain venues. Please refer to Italy government guidelines for the most up to date information
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact the Guest Experience team at +39 068-596-0143 (Italy) or 888-683-8670 (USA) to make alternative arrangements.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

Worth going early and having lunch in the cafe in the used for the meeting place (Opius I think it was).

If you have small children or are elderly this tour can be challenging to withstand due to length of time on your feet and in the sun.

Reviews

4.5

2,382 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 2,382 reviews

Terrible tour

Scott_S, June 2023

Terrible tour. Spent 45 minutes in a corner looking at photos from encyclopedia. No useful information.

Crowds and hot!

Maureen_D, June 2023

Actually a group of 25 for a small group tour. Very crowded -not the guides fault with that-she was informative . The guide said a break between the Coleseum and the Forum no break but very quick walker and did not wait for anyone-so if you’re a little older and not a fast walker this tour may not be for you.

Smart, Knowledgeable, Engaging Guide

Natalie_A, June 2023

We were assigned to Georgio after some confusion between Viator (the US company through which I booked our tour) and the local provider (Walks in Italy) resulted in our family not being on the tour list for the day despite me having a voucher and Viator sending me a "reminder" text 15 minutes before the tour was set to start. An employee of Walks in Italy (the local provider) solved the problem, fitting us into a "premium tour" that was a smaller group than I had booked, but had an itinerary that didn't include the arena floor entrance for which I'd paid extra. Once reassigned, we considered ourselves lucky for the mix-up because Georgio was fabulous! He kept our group of 15 together, provided endless history about Roman civilization, and was clearly passionate about the Colosseum. I highly recommend Georgio as a guide and Walks in Italy as a provider. Tips: the area around the Colosseum is beyond crowded and many of the tour groups are meeting up, so arrive at least 15 minutes before your tour. Also, I probably missed it in my instructions, but look for people with clipboards that say "Walks" (I was looking for Viator signs) and check in to get your "color" sticker indicating to which guide you are assigned. Plan to wait in line quite a bit because of the sheer number of people with advance tickets and have coin euros handy if you want to quickly buy frozen water as you make your way with the group. I recommend the smaller group if you can swing it because it becomes difficult to stay with your people in the crowds.

Don’t miss this tour!!!

joty_V, June 2023

Our guide was amazing! She engaged us with a in depth look into the history and brought the coliseum to life.

Great service & great information!

Brittany_R, June 2023

Guide was extremely informative as we explored the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Even was able to get us access to the museum on Palatine Hill to see beautiful Roman artwork!

Gladiators

JoAnn_C, June 2023

Great tour; awesome guide!! We highly recommend this one to anyone that wants to experience this. Do it!

Skip the line = win!

Bradley_B, June 2023

Nic was a very nice guide and was very informative. You spend most of the trip on Palatine Hill. Only a small portion of your trip is actually in the Colosseum. However, once in the Colosseum, you can spend as much time as you'd like after the short tour. The best part of this package is that you skip the line at the Colosseum, which for lack of a better word, is colossal. Will likely save you hours.

Great information!

Renee_I, June 2023

Our guide was very knowledgeable and kind, excellent information throughout small group tour, skip the line was very good/ smooth, found shade to expound on information/ and regular stops for restrooms and water. Grazie!!

Preservation of history.

Neal_J, June 2023

The colosseum visit was very informative. Rosaria, our tour guide was very good and explained the history and the current restorations. The tour is 3 hours, so be prepared to walk a lot. Wear comfortable shoes. Not a great tour for people with mobility issues.

An experience

Fanny_S, June 2023

Our guide was EXCELLENT- bright, articulate with a wealth of knowledge that she shared with us. The group size was 48 people instead of a maximum of 25 people as advertised. This made it much more difficult to ask questions during the tour if you were not near the guide. I blame Viator for this, not the guide. She did her best under this difficult situation. In addition, at the end of the tour the guide DID NOT tell us how to get out of the Coliseum because so many of the roads were blocked by fencing on both sides of the road due to the culmination of the bike race which ended in Rome. It took my daughter, granddaughter and I an almost an additional 2 hours to get out. It was beyond exhausting.

The size of the Colosseum...

DonaldL_H, June 2023

The size of the Colosseum and the stories told by the guide. There were large crowds all over which detracted from experience.

Great simple tour

Kyle_M, June 2023

Great tour of the colosseum. The meet up location was easy to find. There is a lot of walking on this tour.

An Amazing and Colossal Experience.

Anne_H, June 2023

Every aspect of our visit was tended to with professionalism and care. We learned so much about the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill - it was almost like being transported back in time.

FANTASTIC !!!!!

Joe_M, June 2023

Absolutely fantastic tour . Very informative . Carnt believe how good it was. Colosseum was breath taking for us. We take away a great memory.

Poor experience!

bryce_p, June 2023

I will start by saying our tour guide was great with what she had to deal with. Very knowledgeable and did a great job. The tour it self was great. However… we booked our tour for June 1st at the end of March. This was to be a birthday tour for our son. We planned our whole day around this tour and got to the meeting place for our time at 9am 15 mins before the start time. Once there we were told sorry you have been moved to 11:15. No explanation other than blaming Travelocity which we had not booked through. We had booked through Viator. No apology at all and we were not the only ones. Another couple beside us had the same experience and also got bumped to a different type of tour! We had even got the payment and booking confirmation a few days before as promised at booking time confirming our time and tour etc. when on a trip like this where things need to be booked in advance in order to experience everything, a two hour change in a tour time can really mess up all the careful planning! Not impressed with the bump in time and the zero accountability by the staff at the location!

Anniversary in Rome

David_A, June 2023

The original tour needed to be changed due to one of the tour guides being sick. The gentlemen who took us was fantastic. Funny, informative, and was well educated on not just the Coliseum, but the history of Rome. He deserves a 10/10 rating.

Imporant Sights of Rome.

Gaurav_A, June 2023

The Colossuem and the Palatine Hill are amazing. You get a complete sense of the Roman culture and the lifestyle. The Guide was excellent and shared proper information with time to take photos as well. I would say that once you do the tour in the morning, must go in the evening for a casual visit as it looks wonderful under lights.

Emily D is a terrific...

Bruce_H, June 2023

Emily D is a terrific guide -- knowledgeable, efficient, entertaining, connecting well with people -- an excellent teacher. The Walks tour company could improve it's directions for where to meet. The directions said someone would be holding a "Walk" sign but no one was holding any sign. Saying "above the train station" in the directions would have helped us (and others trying to find the tour meeting point) a lot and would have saved us many meters of walking in confusion. But Emily's tour more than made up for the initial confusion about where to meet.

Gladiator tour is fantastic

Annette_W, June 2023

Our tour guide, Francesca was very informative and interesting. I was with a group of 4 and we all enjoyed the tour immensely.

Terrific!

Serge_D, June 2023

It was all wonderful. Fabulous guide! Knowledgeable, calm, friendly, and organized. It was exciting to reimagine the Roman world by walking its streets and releasing its ghosts.

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