Colosseum Arena Floor, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Guided Tour

Rome, Italy

Skip the line Gladiators Entrance and Colosseum Arena Express Tour

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up to 10 days in advance

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Maximize your limited time in Rome and bypass the seemingly endless ticket line at the Colosseum. The special ticket further grants you exclusive access to the arena floor where gladiators once stood. Listen as your guide goes beyond what you get in a typical audio guide. Hear the behind-the-scenes history of fighters, spectators, and more. Afterward, use the time you saved to explore other attractions, enjoy Italian food, or simply relax.

Skip the long line to the city’s most popular attraction
Enjoy a comprehensive tour of the Colosseum
Experience the arena from a unique vantage point
Take advantage of your limited vacation time

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This express tour explores both the arena floor and 2nd level in a short period of time.

What's Included

Official Live Guide
Arena Floor restricted area
Entrance/Gladiator Door
Headsets
Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tour
Admission Fees

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Transportation to/from attractions

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Santi Cosma e Damiano
Via 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 Vecchia
L.go della Salara Vecchia, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

What To Expect

This tour makes a comprehensive visit to Rome’s Colosseum as easy as possible and grants exclusive access to the Colosseum arena floor, which is usually off-limits to regular visitors.

Skip ticket lines and bypass the crowds struggling to get into the popular attraction through the gladiator entrance and spend about an hour exploring the site. Follow your guide through the ground floor and second level while listening to detailed accounts of the historical games and battles.

Continue to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, the birthplace of Rome, and spend about 45 minutes touring each attraction before finishing the tour at the Forum.

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Foro Romano

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

45 minutes • 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.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 10 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

3,549 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 3,549 reviews

Great value, but get there early!

Natalie_W, Jan 2025

Incredible tour with a knowledgable tour guide. Word of warning, pay careful attention to the meeting location and definitely be early, as they leave as scheduled, and you will NOT be able to find them if you leave late. Skip the line was as advertised. Tour takes you in the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Victory Road. Highly recommend.

Can’t Miss experience

Robert_V, Jan 2025

Very informative. Lumy, our guide, was wonderful. She was a wealth of knowledge and had a very personable demeanor.

Our guide Tiberius...

Truce_J, Jan 2025

Our guide Tiberius (Tiberio) was so engaging, entertaining & you could tell his passion shines through! Would love to book again!

Extremely informative

Melissa_N, Jan 2025

Must make sure to book the correct language.z. I booked Spanish accidentally , and could not switch tours !

The best experience

Genevieve_B, Jan 2025

Amazing experience. Our guide Lucca had so much information and details to share and was able to answer any questions on the Forum Romanum, Palatine & Colosseum. Best guided tour we have been on and highlight of our visit of Rome. Definitely recommend!

Great guided tour - well worth it!

Rachel_D, Jan 2025

Great way to see the Colisseum and Roman forum with a fabulous guide Gabriel, who was super informative and helpful, answering any questions we had.

Maria, our tour guide was...

Shaun_M, Jan 2025

Maria, our tour guide was full of knowledge and enthusiasm. She made history come to life and made it easy to visualise how things once were. What an experience - highly recommend!

An amazing morning in Rome!

Stephenross58, Jan 2025

Informative , gave different perspectives on the colosseum which we didn’t know about. It was a beautiful day , we celebrated my wife’s big birthday there. Truly a memory we will always cherish. Wouldnt use anyone else!

Knowledgeable & friendly guide

Fiona_H, Jan 2025

Great tour of magnificent Roman monuments. Our guide gave us an in depth history of all we were seeing and was also entertaining and fun to listen to.

Our tour of the...

Lisa_S, Jan 2025

Our tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill was amazing. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and engaging. It was truly a visual history lesson. This was the highlight of my son’s trip and the only reason he wanted to come; that and the gelato!

Wrong name on ticket rejected entrance.

Gordon_N, Jan 2025

One of our group of 4 was not allowed in the Colosseum because the name on the ticket didn’t match my ID I had to present. I had no way to validate names in the Viator App ahead of time. I’m extremely disappointed I didn’t see this once in a lifetime destination because a first name was incorrect on the ticket.

Bad company

phillipleekim, Jan 2025

We were supposed to start at 10:30am but the company had organizational issues leading to a 30 minute wait (and even longer for those of us who arrived 15-20 minutes early as they requested. This is not surprising since they have dozens of groups of 25 going at the same time and it was just chaos. They make a lot of money at the expense of a pleasant experience for tourists. The late start to the tour was not the fault of the tour guide. It’s the company who created this situation based on their lack of thoughtfulness for the consumer. Don’t get a tour from this company.

Not guided!

william_t, Jan 2025

This is not a guided experience! You are simply met, given tickets, the link to an app, and told where to go!

Good and informative tour

Ashley_H, Jan 2025

Good tour with a lot of information on the history. Our guide Valentina was great, she gave us so many interesting facts with the history of the area. It did get a bit difficult to keep up and keep visual once we got to the Roman forum (in fact I turned for a quick photo and managed to lose the whole group for like 10 minutes). I think having a better sign or flag or something might’ve helped but also it’s a big area with several twists and turns and big crowds. Overall I enjoyed it.

History comes alive

Mary_W, Jan 2025

This tour was jammed packed with information that really brought the past to life with all the detail of a daily day of activities and attendees from the Emperors, politicians, unfortunate slaves and the animals. Nichola our guide was wonderful and patient as we traversed the steep stairs.

Good tour!

Carly_B, Jan 2025

Good tour! The colosseum is breathtaking, and worth the money. You see the colosseum and the Roman Forum

My fiancée and I had a...

Victor_M, Jan 2025

My fiancée and I had a great time on this tour. Our guide Lorenzo was very knowledgeable and made sure everyone had a great time. So much history to take in but he was very easy to understand and explained everything we saw with ease and clarity. I’d 100% recommend this tour to anyone!

So, it was good. A few...

Randy, Jan 2025

So, it was good. A few things I wish happened. 1. I personally wished the tour guide realized that some of us came to see the Colosseum. This isn't to say that we didn't, because we did. However, there were moments where I kinda wished he just let the moment speak for itself. Give us a few minutes and take in the beautiful view, take some pics etc. There were a few spots where I thought, this view is amazing, I want to take some pics, but I also don't want to get left. 2. Gift shop. Kinda wished we had the opportunity to visit the gift shop. And there was one right by the exit. Had I known we were done, I would have taken advantage of. Even if he released us by the exit and not outside of the Colosseum, that would have helped. He was very knowledgeable, I just think he missed on those two.

Great tour! So much to...

Peter_E, Jan 2025

Great tour! So much to see and learn. We had a big group but our guide Max held everyone together with humor and grace. Seeing the colosseum floor was a highlight worth the money.

Just OK

Angela_T, Jan 2025

This tour was demanding for older people, uneven ground, steps, cobblestones. Our guide was friendly, however she was late and forgot to bring a flag so we could easily follow her.

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