Gladiator’s Gate: Special Access Colosseum Tour with Arena Floor
- 3 hours
- Skip the line
- Free cancellation up to 72h before
- Guided in English
Highlights
Get a gladiator’s view of the Colosseum, then explore the Roman Forum on a walking tour through the heart of ancient Rome. With special access ticket, you'll enter 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 and second levels with your guide. Finish with a tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum with even more stories that bring the ruins to life.
Inclusions
What's included
- Local English-speaking guide
- Small group of 16 guests maximum
- Colosseum & SUPER Sites option: Access to Roman Forum SUPER Sites
- Colosseum entrance ticket (€24)
- Headset (groups over 6 people)
- Note: Colosseum fees are as above. The remaining cost of the experience covers other services
- Ticket for Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (if option selected)
- Special access to Colosseum Arena Floor (if option selected)
What's not
- Gratuities
- Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
Itinerary
Meet your guide near the formidable hulk of the Colosseum, the gigantic arena that drew Romans of all walks of life to watch violent fights between gladiators and beasts. Bypass the crowds and head straight inside, entering the Colosseum through a special gate once used by gladiators themselves. Walk right onto the arena floor—an area not usually accessible to the public—and learn about the harrowing events that took place here for entertainment's sake centuries ago. If you want to enter through the legendary Gladiator's Gate and walk directly onto the arena floor, select the Gladiator's Gate Group Tour option at time of booking. Short on time? The Arena Express option offers a streamlined experience with a guided tour of the Colosseum arena floor and the Roman Forum. While the Colosseum Express option includes a guided tour of the Colosseum's first and second tiers (no arena floor) and the flexibility to explore the Forum on your own afterward.
If option with the guided Roman Forum selected: The adventure continues at the Roman Forum. You’ll appreciate having a historian as a guide here. As you wander the streets, they can make sense of the ruins for you, pointing out the subtle differences that reveal whether the structure is a moneylender’s shop, public bath, or any number of common ancient structures. Learn what life was like in the days of Caesar, Nero, and Hadrian, and how Roman society functioned.
Finally, climb the hill to see the palaces of Palatine Hill, built on the grounds where Romulus and Remus were discovered by the she-wolf in the legend of Rome’s founding. After an incredible day of making ancient history come to life, you’ll part from your group feeling more in touch with the beautiful ruins of Rome. If you choose the Colosseum & SUPER Sites tour when booking, your Palatine Hill and Roman Forum tour (which will take place before your Colosseum visit) includes access to the SUPER Sites. Normally off-limits to visitors with standard access tickets, these are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful ancient ruins in all of Rome. One highlight is the Casa di Augusto, the house of Caesar Augustus, with vibrant frescoes that rival those in Pompeii.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 72 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.7
- 53,564
- 4277
- 3116
- 241
- 1164
Ratings come from 4,162 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Get away with friends
Check in was easy and our guide was great giving us enough time at each location to absorb what all we were seeing!
2Dissapointed
There was no access to the area described. I did a coliseum tour the day before and saw the same things.we where taken to a platform above the ground and had to just look down as you can do from many areas. However the guide was fine . Content wasn’t as advertised.
5We had an amazing time!...
We had an amazing time! Our guide was wonderful! She’s was very knowledgeable and explained everything very thoroughly. She had all the little details you won’t read about in a book.
5Great tour
Great 2 hour tour covering the Colosseum, Palatine and the Forum. Our guide, Niccolò from WalksDevour, was fantastic. Extremely knowledgeable, giving us many interesting facts about life in the time of the gladiators. I would recommend good footwear- trainers or similar- as the paths can be slippery and uneven in parts. There is also a fair bit of walking (some uphill) so having water with you, and a hat when it’s hot, is sensible.
5Great day learning about the colosseum in Rome
Enzo was great. He was a wealth of knowledge, and shared so much about this party of Rome. We enjoyed it!
5Great tour!
Great tour with a great guide! Very energetic & full of knowledge - you could definitely tell that she enjoys her work!
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- This tour meets at Via delle Terme di Tito, 72 (Oppio Caffè). Meet directly across the street from Oppio Caffè at the gated entrance to Colle Oppio Park. Meet your guide at the entrance of Colle Oppio Park on the corner of Via di Terme di Tito and Via Nicola Salvi.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 16 travellers
- Operated by
- Walks - Italy & Spain
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments or with wheelchairs, or strollers.
- This is a walking tour. Guests should be able to walk at a moderate pace without difficulty.
- The full names of all participants must be provided at the time of booking and match the names on their ID. The Colosseum requires all guests (including children) to present government ID at the time of entry. Therefore any guest that does not submit their name in advance of the tour, or who does not bring their ID to the meeting point, will be refused participation without refund. Name corrections are possible up to 7 days before the visit. After this, changes may not be possible.
- The Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill may close occasionally. We'll notify you of any changes in advance if possible. For last-minute closures, updates will be given at the start of the tour.
- Walks is an Official Parco Archeologico del Colosseo Operator approved to lead guided tours of the Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill.
- Please note: This tour offers multiple options. Take a moment to choose the one that best suits your interests.
How it compares in Rome
- Its from-price is 60% below the median of the 8352 experiences we list in Rome.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 23 of 8352.
About Rome
Rome layers nearly three thousand years of history into one walkable city, from the Colosseum and Forum to Baroque piazzas and Vatican art.
Ancient Rome is still in plain sight. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill sit together at the city's heart, the Pantheon still stands with its open oculus, and fragments of temples and aqueducts turn up between apartment blocks. Across the Tiber, Vatican City holds St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Top-ranked sights in Rome: Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel.
Special offers in Rome
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
Likely to sell out20% off
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