VIP Colosseum Tour: Gladiator's Gate and Arena Access

Experience the Colosseum like never before with VIP access and a small group tour. Explore the history of gladiators and ancient Rome, and discover the secrets of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 10 days learn more
Highlights
  • Colosseum - This 2.5-hour guided tour offers fast track access to the Colosseum through the Gladiators’ Gate. Our engaging guide will bring ancient history to life. Departing from our meeting point, you will receive personal headsets for better listening. With this entrance, you will access the center of the Arena. Have your camera ready to capture the Colosseum where Gladiators and wild beasts once battled. Enter through the special Gladiator’s Gate and step onto the Arena stage where Gladiators fought!

Included parts of the Colosseum: 1st and 2nd levels, Arena floor.
Please note: the 3rd level and the Undergrounds are NOT included in this tour.

  • Roman Forum - From this stage, you will visit the ring that overlooks the underground areas of the Colosseum. While enjoying the amazing view, your guides will share their knowledge about the history of Ancient Rome and the Colosseum. The guides are all licensed and hold degrees in either Art History or Archaeology, enriching their explanations with fascinating anecdotes about the Colosseum, its spectators, the fights between wild beasts and gladiators, and the lives of the powerful Emperors and politicians of the time.
  • Palatine Hill - Your tour of Ancient Rome continues to Palatine Hill, one of Rome’s seven hills. Here, emperors and wealthy families built their homes to enjoy the stunning view over the Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. Your group will then walk down Palatine Hill and stroll among the ruins of the Roman Forum, an archaeological area that the guide will bring to life with more history and anecdotes about Ancient Rome. Our guides use overlay books and 3D pictures to show you how each column, temple, and building looked in its prime. You will understand what those ruins represented, linking them to the main characters and events of Ancient Rome’s history.

At the end of the tour, you will return to the starting point and can proceed with the rest of your day.

What's Included
  • Entrance to Palatine Hill
  • Colosseum reservation fee (€2 per person)
  • Tour guide and headphones
  • Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access (€24 per person)
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Transportation to/from attractions
  • Food and drinks
Additional Information

VIP Colosseum sharing tour with access through the Gladiator’ Arch and to the Arena floor. Follow the footsteps of the Gladiators by accessing the Colosseum through the Gladiators’ Gate known as the Gate of the Deaths because the death gladiators were brought out after their combats in the roman times! Enjoy a great view of the Colosseum and the below dungeons from the restricted area of the Arena Floor. Your guide will guide you through the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum and share with you many stories and secrets of the roman gladiators. emperors and senators. Your storytelling guide will use during the tour many visual aids to bring past Rome back to life! This tour includes the Colosseum with the restricted area of the Arena Floor, as well as the archaeological sites of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill! Its is a sharing tour in a small group with a dedicated friendly professional guide.

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
  • Most travelers can participate. Not wheelchair accessible. Please note that due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for any persons with disabilities.
  • Please Note: to access the Colosseum you need to add in your reservation the exact name and last name of all participants in your group and children need to be specified. In case of mistake in writing your name and last name in your reservation, if the Colosseum tickets controllers deny the access due to the wrong name and last name we decline any responsibility and NO REFUND will be provided.
  • The entrance tickets to the Colosseum cannot be changed nor refunded. 
  • ID mandatory. Each traveler must present a valid ID card or document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Guests who show up without ID cannot be guaranteed entrance.
  • Please note: by purchasing this tour you accept our Terms and Conditions and you are aware that in case of late arrival you will lose your tour and no refund will be given for no show or for late arrival.
  • Meeting time is subject to change; if this occurs, you will receive a call or message from the activity provider. Please provide your correct phone number and country code.
  • Please show up at least 15 minutes before the tour to do the check in.
  • There might be a change in order of the itinerary due to security and ticket availability.
  • Please be aware that to enter the Colosseum it is necessary to pass a metal detector security check. No visitor can avoid these checks.
  • Please make sure you bring comfortable shoes and a refillable plastic water bottle especially during hot weather! In summer time due to the heat the tour might last about 2 hours.
  • Near public transportation.
  • Normal sized backpacks are permitted, huge backpacks will not be admitted. Not allowed: Pets, weapons or sharp objects, oversized luggage, smoking, alcohol or drugs, sprays or aerosols, glassware, unaccompanied minors, electric wheelchairs.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers.
Location
Santi Cosma e Damiano
Via dei Fori Imperiali
The meeting point is in the square in front, OUTSIDE, of the Basilica of Santi Cosma and Damiano, the church is located on Via dei Fori Imperiali (half way) & is close the entrance of the Roman Forum. You will see our staff in front of the Basilica wearing a uniform with the logos of the company.
Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 10 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 10 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(4254 Ratings)
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Emily_g
Sep 23, 2024
Diego was an amazing tour... - Diego was an amazing tour guide!!! This was my favorite tour in Rome. If you like ancient Roman history this is a must do!
Review provided by Viator
Christina_g
Sep 21, 2024
Good guide and a memorable trip - Patrick (Patricio) gave us a good tour of the Colosseum and managed to sprinkle his stories with some humor. Recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Kev_c
Sep 16, 2024
Great tour even better guide ( Katrina). - Our guide Katrina was so passionate and knowledgeable about all areas of the tour, she was amazing so much detail and able to help visualise Romes past. Such great places with amazing history would recommend this tour to anyone ( especially if Katrina is your guide).
Review provided by Viator
Bill_f
Sep 11, 2024
Worth it - Paolo was very knowledgeable and patient with all my questions. Made it very interesting and skip the line was great.
Review provided by Viator
Brandy_l
Sep 14, 2024
Great tour guide. Organization by tour company so so - Marcus was a great guide and very knowledgeable about all things colosseum and Roman forum. However, the tour company didn’t have the correct names printed on some tickets so our group had to wait 45 mins while they figured the issue out and so our tour was cut short and we had to run through the Roman forum to get to our time tickets of the colosseum. Also you only get 20 mins inside the colosseum on the floor so be ware if you want to see more of the colosseum. Choose a different tour
Review provided by Viator
Patricia_l
Sep 11, 2024
Coliseum - The tour was very well planned and the tour guide was friendly and informed but hard to. Understand. She should not be conducting tours in English.
Review provided by Viator
Andrew_s
Sep 27, 2024
The sites were incredible... - The sites were incredible to experience, but the guide was a bit boring and rambled into odd topics. Several other people noticed this, and by the end of the tour, half the group had left to walk the area on their own.
Review provided by Viator
Connie_l
Sep 21, 2024
Wouldn’t recommend. - We heard other guides with more information and experience. We learned more on our nocturnal tour of the city about the colosseum than this 3 hour tour. Save your money and pick a different group to go with.
Review provided by Viator
Sherim_c
Sep 16, 2024
Disappointed with tour guide and her tour - I have done quite a few tours with Viator, all have been great but I hated this one. Actually upset I paid for it. I understand I am in Italy but asked for English and our tour guide had such a thick Italian accent I had an extremely hard time understanding her. Her explanations were scattered, and what I could hear wasn’t very interesting. I have friends who did the same tour with other guides and thought it was excellent. Mine was terrible.
Review provided by Viator
Eve_d
Sep 11, 2024
Dissatisfied - Was booked on wrong tour and not compensated for the mistake. I have nothing to say. Very disappointed
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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