Tours › Colosseum · Rome
Colosseum Guided Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
From €44.80 per person
- Duration
- 2.5 hours
- Group size
- Up to 25 people
- Entry
- Skip the line
- Guide
- GBITESDEFR
The Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine in one guided walk
Your guide meets you at our tourist hub on Via delle Terme di Tito, a few minutes on foot from the Colosseum, and from that moment the ticket line stops being your problem. Inside the amphitheatre you follow the route the Roman public followed, from the entrance corridors up to the tiers above the arena, with the machinery of a Roman spectacle explained while you are standing in it. The same ticket then takes you across the Roman Forum and up the Palatine Hill: the square where the city governed itself, and the hill where the emperors chose to live.
Two details decide how a visit to a site this size actually goes. The first is the radio headset, included on every departure: the Colosseum is loud, and without one you spend the morning drifting to the edge of the group trying to catch half a sentence. The second is the order of the three sites, which depends on the entry slot the Colosseum assigns us that day. You may begin at the amphitheatre and finish among the ruins of the Forum, or the reverse. Your guide knows which sequence keeps you off the Palatine Hill at the hottest hour, because up there the shade is almost nonexistent.
At a glance
- Duration
- About 2.5 hours
- Group size
- Up to 25 people
- Languages
- English, Italian, Spanish, German, French
- Entry
- Skip the line, all three sites on one ticket
- Meeting point
- Our tourist hub, Via delle Terme di Tito 93 - look for the Enjoy Rome logo
- Where it ends
- Inside the Roman Forum or at the Colosseum, depending on the day's entry order
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 hours before the start time
- Best for
- First-time visitors who want the three sites explained in one morning
Highlights
- Skip the ticket line at the Colosseum with a reserved entry slot
- A licensed guide in the language you book: English, Italian, Spanish, German or French
- Roman Forum and Palatine Hill on the same ticket, with no second queue
- Radio headsets on every departure, so the guide reaches you over the crowd
- A group capped at 25, small enough that questions still get answered
What’s included
- Guided tour with a licensed guide in the language you book
- Skip-the-line entry to the Colosseum
- Skip-the-line Entry to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill
- Radio headsets for the whole tour
- Assistance at our tourist hub before departure
Not included
- Arena floor access, which is our Colosseum Arena and Gladiator Gate tour
- The Colosseum underground, the hypogeum
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Itinerary
Meeting pointOur tourist hub, Via delle Terme di Tito 93
We start indoors, at our hub a few minutes uphill from the Colosseum. You are checked in, handed your radio headset and introduced to your guide before anyone walks anywhere, which means the group leaves together and nobody is left hunting for a flag in the crowd outside the metro. Arrive fifteen minutes early: the check-in closes when the group leaves, and the Colosseum entry slot cannot be moved.
1ColosseumThe Flavian Amphitheatre, opened in AD 80
You enter through the visitors' gate with a reserved time slot and walk the corridors that once sorted fifty thousand Romans onto the right tier by rank. From the first level your guide explains what the arena actually was: the wooden floor under sand, the lifts and trapdoors of the hypogeum below it, the awning that shaded the crowd, and how a day of games was staged and paid for. You look down onto the arena from the seating tiers, where the Roman public sat.
2Roman ForumThe square where the Republic governed itself
Down the hill you walk into the Forum along the Via Sacra, the road every triumph took. Your guide takes you past the Curia where the Senate met, the platform where Caesar was cremated, the arches of Titus and Septimius Severus and the surviving columns of the temples that ringed the square. This is where Roman politics happened out loud, in the open air, and where the buildings were designed so that a crowd could see who was speaking.
3Palatine HillThe hill where Rome began, and where the emperors stayed
The tour climbs to the Palatine, the hill Romulus is said to have chosen and the address every emperor from Augustus onward kept. You walk through the remains of the imperial palaces, look down over the Circus Maximus from the terrace the emperors used to watch the races, and see the vantage point that explains the whole layout of ancient Rome below you. There is almost no shade up here, which is why the order of the visit matters.
Good to know
- Bring a valid photo ID or passport for every participant, children included
- The full name of each participant must match the booking, or entry cannot be guaranteed
- There is an airport-style security check at the Colosseum entrance, and it can queue
- The order of the three sites can change depending on the entry time the Colosseum assigns
- Wear comfortable shoes and bring water: the Forum and the Palatine are uneven and largely unshaded
- The tour runs in all weather, so dress for the day
- Large bags, glass, pets and sharp objects are not allowed inside
- The route is not suitable for wheelchair users or visitors with limited mobility
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time; after that the booking cannot be refunded
Who this tour is for
This tour is for
- First-time visitors to Rome who want the three sites connected into one story instead of three separate queues
- Travellers who would rather ask questions than read panels
- Anyone who wants the Colosseum explained in Italian, Spanish, German or French rather than English
- Families with older children who can walk for two and a half hours
Look elsewhere if
- Visitors who specifically want to stand on the arena floor, which needs the Arena and Gladiator Gate tour
- Anyone hoping to see the underground level, which is not part of any of our Colosseum tours
- Wheelchair users and visitors with limited mobility: the route has stairs, gravel and uneven ancient paving
- Travellers who prefer to move at their own pace, who are better served by the ticket and audio guide
Not sure which Colosseum tour to pick?
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill?
With a guide, about two and a half hours for all three, which is what this tour is built around. On your own the same circuit takes most people three to four hours, because the Forum and the Palatine are far larger than they look from the road and it is easy to lose half an hour working out what you are looking at.
Is one ticket valid for all three sites?
Yes. The standard Colosseum ticket covers the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, and your tour includes it. The Forum and the Palatine are a single archaeological area, so you do not queue twice.
Do I need to book the Colosseum in advance?
In practice, yes. The Colosseum sells timed entry slots and the popular hours go days ahead in spring and summer. Turning up without a reservation usually means either a long wait or an entry time late in the afternoon.
What can I bring inside?
A small bag, water and a camera. Large backpacks, glass bottles, alcohol, sharp objects, tripods and selfie sticks are refused at the security check, and there is no cloakroom at the entrance to leave them in.
Can you take photographs inside the Colosseum?
Yes, for personal use, and there is no flash restriction in the amphitheatre. What is not allowed is anything on a pole: tripods, monopods and selfie sticks are stopped at security.
Do children need a ticket?
Everyone needs a ticket, including infants, and everyone counts in the booking. Under-18s enter the Colosseum free, but the free ticket still has to be issued in their name, so book a place for every member of your party.
Is the Colosseum interesting for children?
For children who already know what gladiators were, very much so. The part that lands is standing above the arena while the guide explains what happened below it. The Forum asks more of them, because it is a field of ruins rather than a building, and the walk totals two and a half hours.
How do I reach the meeting point?
Our tourist hub is at Via delle Terme di Tito 93, a few minutes uphill from the Colosseum and from the Colosseo stop on metro line B. Look for the Enjoy Rome logo at the entrance.
What is the difference between this tour and the arena floor tour?
This tour looks down onto the arena from the tiers where the Roman public sat. The Arena and Gladiator Gate tour enters through the gladiators' gate and stands on the arena floor itself, at the level of the fighters. Both cover the Forum and the Palatine.
Is the Colosseum underground included?
No. The hypogeum, the network of tunnels and animal lifts below the arena floor, is a separately ticketed restricted area and is not part of this tour.
What happens if it rains?
The tour runs. The Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine all stay open in the rain, and much of the amphitheatre visit is under cover. Bring a light waterproof rather than an umbrella, which is awkward in a group.
Is the site accessible for wheelchair users?
The Colosseum itself has lifts, but this tour also crosses the Roman Forum and climbs the Palatine Hill, where the ground is gravel, cobble and uneven ancient paving. We do not recommend it for wheelchair users or anyone with limited mobility. Write to us and we will tell you honestly what is workable.
Can I cancel or change my booking?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before the start time and you are refunded in full. Inside the last 24 hours the booking is non-refundable, because the Colosseum entry slots have already been issued in your names. If you need to move to another date, write to us as early as you can and we will do whatever the availability allows.