Gladiator’s gate:
Step onto the Colosseum arena floor
Destination
Rome, Italy
Duration
3 hours
Tour size
Max 16
Language
English
Overview
Step through the Gladiator's Gate onto the arena floor. Two thousand years of stone rise around you, tiers upon tiers, exactly as the gladiators saw them. There’s the emperor's box to your left, and you can imagine the roar of the crowd all around. Most visitors see the Colosseum from above. This tour puts you at the center of it.
- •Walk the corridors and levels of the Colosseum with a licensed archaeologist or art historian who knows where to stop and what to show you
- •Stand on the arena floor and see the network of lifts, trapdoors, and machinery below that raised caged animals into the roar of the crowd
- •Climb Palatine Hill for sweeping views over the Forum, through the ruins of imperial palaces built on Rome's founding ground
- •Descend into the Roman Forum and trace the temples, Senate house, and triumphal arches most visitors walk straight past
What's included
- Arena floor special access ticket
- Colosseum entry ticket, including ground level and first tier (Full Experience Ticket €24)
- Entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
- Licensed English-speaking guide
- Headsets for groups over 6
You will visit
- The Gladiator's Gate entrance
- The Colosseum arena floor, with views into the hypogeum
- Colosseum first and second tiers
- Palatine Hill
- Roman Forum, including the Temple of Julius Caesar and Arch of Titus
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What to expect
The Colosseum: the tiers, the arena, the machinery beneath
Feel the scale of the Colosseum the moment you set foot inside. Ancient stone corridors, footsteps echoing in the arches, and open sky above the arena. Your guide explains how the seating reflected Roman social hierarchy to the last row, and how the velarium, a vast retractable awning, was rigged across the top on days of intense sun. You’ll stand where 50,000 spectators packed in to watch spectacles carefully designed to project imperial power.
The arena floor: where the gladiators stood
Step out onto the arena floor and see the tiers rise in a full circle above you, the emperor's box to your left. This is the one vantage point in the entire Colosseum that standard entry doesn't reach. Below the wooden platform, your guide explains the hypogeum: the network of tunnels that raised caged animals up through trapdoors and into the roar of 50,000 people above.
"You stop being a visitor looking in and start understanding what this place actually was."
Valeria,
WalksDevour Rome tour designer
"Pine trees, silence, and this enormous view. After the Colosseum, nobody expects Palatine Hill. Nobody wants to leave."
Laura,
WalksDevour Rome guide
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Frequently asked questions
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