Colosseum Rome - come explore

Journey through the ages as you explore ancient Rome, descending to the depths of the Colosseum Underground and following in the footsteps of the Caesars along the cobbles of the Roman Forum. Your exclusive VIP access gets you straight inside the Colosseum, avoiding the multitudes of crowds that first thronged its entrance nearly 2,000 years ago.

Your small, intimate group of no more than 12 guests will fully explore this iconic amphitheater, discovering its forgotten secrets as your expert guide breathes fresh life into it. After touring the Colosseum’s upper level and eerily atmospheric underground, you’ll cross over to the Roman Forum – the ancient epicenter of Roman public life, and a remarkably preserved theme park of temples, basilicas, and historically infused monuments.

Step inside the Colosseum as you leave the modern city behind

We start our Colosseum Underground tour by exploring the monument from above. Gaze down on the arena floor as your guide recounts the captivating history of the amphitheater’s construction. Learn what stood on this site before: part of the emperor Nero’s sprawling Golden Palace, a luxurious complex complete with an artificial lake and acres of woodland where animals ran wild.

Discover what drove the Romans to build such a monument as you learn how they funded it and at whose expense. You’ll come across the answer later in your tour, as you make your way into the Roman Forum. But the story of the Colosseum’s inception is as gripping as that of its construction. For the mighty monument in which you stand took fewer than 10 years to complete from beginning to end.

Your guide will paint images of the scenes that took place on the sands below. The Colosseum’s inaugural games saw the slaughter of thousands of wild beasts, procured from all over the Empire. Discover the brutal events that took place here – not just the gladiatorial contests but also wild-animal hunts, battle re-enactments, and visceral executions of Rome’s condemned criminals.

Descend into the depths of the Colosseum Underground

We then make our way into the bowels of this colossal ancient amphitheater. Explore its network of underground tunnels, uncovering the backstage magic used to create the Colosseum’s gladiator clashes. Ridley Scott’s movie does some justice to the scale of special effects and stage props the Romans had at their disposal. But did you know that as well as land-battles and gladiatorial contests, they also flooded the Colosseum to recreate naval battles on water?

Journey along the atmospheric corridors of the Colosseum Underground, still coated in bright white travertine – just as the whole monument was before being subjected to the weathering effects of the centuries. See for yourself the holding pens where the arena’s sacrificial animals were caged. Visit a faithful recreation of an original wooden elevator which would have winched man and beast alike up to the savage scenes of slaughter taking place above.

Pass by the Arch of Constantine as we cross over to the Roman Forum

This is the first of many victory arches you’ll learn all about today. Go with your guide as they breathe life into the monumental Arch of Constantine, injecting color into its faded reliefs and narrating the stories it tells as if they happened yesterday. From here it’s a short walk to the Roman Forum along the Sacred Way, the route victorious generals used to take while making the way through the city for their triumph.

Here in the Roman Forum we’ll explore the epicenter of ancient Roman life. Among the Roman Forum’s plethora of monuments, we’ll visit the site of Julius Caesar’s cremation, the scene of a near riot in the days following his assassination. We’ll marvel at the Temple of Vesta, where the Vestal Virgins kept their sacred fire eternally lit – they believed for the divine protection of their city.

Stand in the shadows of its timeless monuments

We’ll acquaint ourselves with the Forum’s basilicas: large colonnaded buildings inside which the Romans would hold law courts and conduct all kinds of political and financial business. And we’ll learn all about the Forum’s temples: like the Temple of Saturn – built in honor of the Capitoline gods – and the Temple of Vespasian – built in honor of emperors who shuffled off their mortal coils only later to become gods.

As we approach the end of the Roman Forum, in the valley between the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Hill, we’ll stand in the shadow of the Arch of Septimius Severus. This colossal victory monument commemorates the emperor’s victory and humiliating subjugation over Rome’s most dangerous enemies: the Parthians. For reasons that still elude us, it’s one of Rome’s most popular backdrops for enamoured couples taking selfies.

Finish the day absorbing the stunning sights of the Palatine Hill

Having explored all the ancient city, from the Colosseum Underground and the Forum’s temples to its law courts and victory monuments, we’ll conclude the tour by taking in the sights of where it all began – the Palatine Hill. It was on the Palatine Hill that Romulus, Rome’s legendary founder, set up residence after founding the city. In fact, archaeologists have found huts dating back to the 7th century BC that may well have belonged to him.

Rome’s rich and powerful lived on the Palatine Hill. Safe from the squalor below, they enjoyed easy access down to the Roman Forum. During the age of the emperors, the Palatine was an enormous palace complex – flowing with fountains, pools, reception halls. Looking at it now from the valley of the Roman Forum, such an image of splendor is not hard to imagine.