Easy Ways to Tour the Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
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The Colosseum is an icon of Rome, and seeing it is a must on everyone’s list while visiting the Eternal City! With 2,000 years of history, it is one of the world’s most well-known structures. Next to it, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is a rectangular forum or plaza surrounded by the ruins of the ancient city that’s honestly just as captivating. Below, I’ll dig into the best way to tour the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
But let’s start by going over what you can expect to see on your first visit!
Quick Overview of the Colosseum’s History
The Colosseum is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world despite its age.
Construction began under Emperor Vespasian in 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir, Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian. The three emperors who were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty.
The name Colosseum is believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero which was located on Palatine Hill and modeled after the Colossus of Rhodes. The statue eventually fell, possibly to reuse its bronze. But by the year 1000, the name “Colosseum” had been coined to refer to the amphitheater.
The Colosseum was built so the public could enjoy gladiatorial combats and other forms of entertainment. In 80 A.D., Titus opened the Colosseum with 100 days of games, including gladiator combats and wild animal fights.
Building an Amphitheater
Early amphitheaters were dug into hillsides to provide adequate support. However, the Colosseum is a freestanding structure made of stone and concrete. It has three stories of arched entrances supported by semi-circular columns.
Each story contained columns of a different style (order). The bottom columns are of a simple Doric order, a design that originated from the Etruscans. Followed by Ionic and topped by the ornate Corinthian order.
The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic meters (3,531,467 cubic feet) of travertine stone. Set without mortar, they were held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.
Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria, passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind—allowing spectators to quickly get into their seats and exit within only a few minutes. Sounds familiar, ya?
The name vomitoria is derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit. Yuck…
Are You Not Entertained?
The Colosseum has a wooden arena floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an underground structure called the hypogeum. Little remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible above.
The hypogeum contains a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena. Gladiators and animals were held before battles in this area.
I could not visit this area on the Omnia card, so the best way to tour the Colosseum’s subterranean section would be to book a tour in advance. I’ll cover more of that later in my section on the best ways to tour the Colosseum, but if you zoom in on the photo above, you can see the people on that tour.
Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath. Larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. If you’ve seen Gladiator, you’ll get an idea of what this looked like years ago.
Interesting Facts About the Colosseum
- Built in 10 years
- Measuring 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters)
- Seated more than 50,000 spectators
- Top story awnings which were unfurled to protect the audience from the hot sun
- Gladiatorial combats, hunts, wild animal fights and mock naval engagements
- For naval entertainment, the arena was flooded with water
- Gladiators were mostly men, though there were some female gladiators
- Gladiators were mostly slaves, condemned criminals or prisoners of war
The End of an Era
The Colosseum remained active for over 500 years. The last recorded games were celebrated in the 6th century.
The Colosseum’s use ended with the Western Roman Empire and the change in public tastes. Even before then, the arena had suffered damage from lightning and earthquakes.
After the games, the vaulted spaces in the arcades were converted into housing and workshops. Around 1200, the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle. The Colosseum has also been abandoned completely at times.
Sometimes, it was used as a quarry for building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia, and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. The bronze clamps that held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks.
A Rebirth of the Colosseum
Beginning in the 18th century, various popes made efforts to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site.
By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect, and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of its marble seats and decorative elements.
Restoration began in the 1990s and has progressed over the years. And thank goodness, else we wouldn’t even be talking about the best ways to tour the Colosseum!
Overview of The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Right next to the Colosseum, you’ll find the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. For centuries, the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome, the site of processions, elections, public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches.
As well as the center of commercial affairs and a marketplace for the Roman citizens. The Roman Forum has been called the “most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.”
Below, you’ll also find several facts about the Roman Forum that you can expect to discover for yourself as well when visiting!
Please note, I’ve only posted highlights, this does not cover the Roman Forum in entirety.
Guide to the History of the Roman Forum
The quoted facts about the Roman Forum I’m providing here are straight from the placards I read while visiting the Roman Forum. Think of this as your own personal guide as to what you can expect while on your visit!
There were signs in Italian and English all around the area, which was very helpful for someone like me who had only brushed up on Italian before my trip.
Facts about the Roman Forum
Although the Forum was “rediscovered” in the Renaissance, scientific interest only began in the late 18th century. This led to systematic explorations by archeologists in the 19th century, which uncovered the ancient ground level of the Forum, a few meters beneath that of the surrounding city.
The most extensive excavations were undertaken in the early years of the 20th century of the square, the Temple of Caesar, the Lapis Niger, the Regia, the archaic necropolis, the Temple of Vesta with the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Spring of Juturna and the church of Santa Maria Antiqua. Subsequently, the Basilica Aemilia was excavated, and the Curia was restored.
In the following decades, explorations (though limited) continued in various areas, including the Comitium, the Basilica Lulia, the Arch of Augustus, the Temple of Castor, and Pollux, the area around the modern via della Consolazione, which was destroyed.
Setting for Important Events in Rome’s History
“The Forum hosted games, political meetings and assemblies. It is described by legend as the setting for some of the most important events in the first few centuries of Rome’s history, including the Rape of the Sabine Women.
Particularly between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, the intense activities carried out here led to the construction of the first buildings with specific sacred and public functions.
An initial road network also began to take shape between the temples and basilicas: the Via Sacra, the Vicus Tuscus, the Clivus Argentarius, etc.”
Hut Village
“On the summit of the Palatine facing the Tiber, excavations have brought to light a small hut village, usually linked to the foundation of Rome.
Their existence is indicated by trenches and holes dug into the soil, from whose form archaeologists have deduced the presence of two huts with beaten earth walls, supported by a framework of wooden poles and with a roof of interwoven branches.
The position of the huts, coinciding with that described by ancient authors, has suggested that this was the place where the founder Romulus traditionally lived.”
Farnese Lodge
“A small two-story building known as the Casino del Belvedere stands on the remains of one of the nymphaeums (a monument consecrated to the nymphs) at the sides of the large triclinium belonging to the imperial palace of the Domitianic period (AD 81-96).
Dating to the 16th century, it was rebuilt by the Farnese family who added a two-order loggia (room with one or more open sides) covered with frescoes and a travertine balustrade.
The paintings, which still survive, depict bucolic landscapes on the walls and grotesques on the vaults, adorned with ovals dedicated to deities such as Venus or mythical figures like Hercules, Cacus or the Argonauts.”
Domus Augustana Overlooking the Circus Maximus
“In this sector of the palace are some of the rooms overlooking the por-ticoed courtyard on the underground level 10 metres below, which hosted private apartments still accessed today via an ancient staircase.
There are also the remains of a suite of rooms arranged symmetrically and with the typical recesses for triclinia (couches). Each room opened onto a semi-circular courtyard, adorned with a fountain and communicated through doors with the porticoed panoramic terrace, which closed the façade of the palace on the side facing the valley of the Circus Maximus.”
The Palatine Stadium
“This area provides a view from above of the “Stadium”, an important sector of the Flavian Palace which is never given this name in the ancient Rome sources. In fact it was a garden, more specifically a hippodromus, the word with which it was described by late authors.
Hippodromes, originally areas where horses were exercised, came to be, in Rome, elongated rectangular spaces with paths and flower-beds. Deriving from the Greek gymnasiums, these were luxurious garden areas present in important villas. The Palatine “Stadium” (160 x 48 m) had a rounded south end and was surrounded by a portico supported by marble-clad engaged columns.
The central part consisted of a broad curved avenue for strolling on foot, on a litter or even in a carriage, a custom described by Martial and Juvenal, authors of the Domitianic period (AD 81-96). On the eastern side is a large exedra from which to enjoy views over the garden below, luxuriously decorated with sculptures and two semi-circular fountains at either end.”
So-Called Temple of Romulus
“On the basis of a depiction on a coin this building – unusual in shape for Roman architecture – is identified as the temple built by the emperor Maxentius in AD 307 in honor of his son who died in childhood.
The circular building is flanked by two apsidal halls opening onto the front with little porticoes decorated with porphyry columns. The bronze door is original and the lock still works. Pope Felix V turned the monument into the vestibule of the Church of St. Cosmas and Damian but the entrance to the Forum was reopened in 1879.”
I actually really enjoyed the Temple of Romulus since it was one of the few buildings you could enter while visiting the Roman Forum.
Archaic Burial Ground
“Numerous tombs dating to between the 9th and 7th centuries BC were excavated in this area in 1902, with two types of burials: cremations and inhumations.
The former, the oldest tombs, usually contained a funerary urn in the form of a hut with the remains of the deceased; in the inhumations the body was buried directly in the earth or in wooden or tufa coffins. The funerary equipment found in the tombs (clay and bucchero vessels, bronze jewelry) is held in the Forum Antiquarium.”
The Vestal Virgins
“The priestly order of Vestals dates back to Romulus or Numa (8th – 7ths centuries BC). Priestesses had to be young aristocratic virgins and were chosen by the Pontifex Maximus when they were between the age of 6 and 10.
Their service as priestess lasted for 30 years and brought them wealth and privilege, but also required chastity and observation of rituals. The Vestals kept alight the public fire that burned in the temple of Vesta, looked after sacred objects and celebrated annual festivals. On these occasions the Vestals prepared the mola salsa, a mixture of flour and salt, which was sprinkled on sacrificial victims.”
Temple of Caesar
“Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC in the Curia of Pompey in the Campus Martius and was cremated in the Forum, in front of the Regia. On this spot Augustus raised a temple, dedicated in 29 BC.
Set on a high podium with six columns at the front, it was decorated with the rostra (large platform) taken from the ships of Anthony and Cleopatra captured by Augustus, two years earlier, at the Battle of Actium.
The altar, in the hemicycle of the podium, replaced the commemorative column. Staircases at the sides led to the interior of the building, of which only the cement core survives today.”
Arch of Septimus Severus
Built in 203 AD the arch was built to commemorate the victories of Emperor Septimus Severus. Measuring 76 feet hight x 82 feet wide (23 meters high x 25 meters wide), it’s one of the most well preserved and intact monuments in the Roman Forum.
Best Ways to Visit the Colosseum
When I visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, I got the Omnia Card. However, if you’ve read my review of the Omnia Card, you’ll know I don’t think it’s the best option for a trip to Rome.
However, to be fair, I’ll review how that tourist pass worked for these sites and then tell you what I would do instead so that you can judge for yourself what the best way to tour the Colosseum is.
Read on for your Colosseum tour options…
Using the Omnia Card
I took the hop-on, hop-off bus provided as part of the Omnia Card to get to the Colosseum from my Roma hostel. With the Omnia pass, you can explore the top-tier walkways, exhibitions, and artifacts and skip the line. However, you do need to check availability first, as the pass does not guarantee entry.
When I went, an audio guide was part of the Colosseum tour, which was very easy to follow and provided tons of information on the Colosseum itself and several artifacts.
According to the Omnia Card site, they now provide a discount for the audio guide, and entry is part of the Roma Pass section of the card. However, this Pass only provides 2 free admissions to your choice of more than 45 museums and archaeological sites (for example, the Colosseum and Roman Forum plus the Borghese Gallery).
The Omnia Card allows entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill and temporary exhibitions in progress at the Park (the museum is excluded).
When I went, they didn’t provide an audio guide, so I read the placards instead. However, I know how tedious reading all those signs can be, so I’d highly recommend checking out the audio guide Omnia offers if you prefer listening to reading.
All in all, unless you already have the Omnia Card, I don’t think this is the best way to tour the Colosseum.
Visiting the Colosseum Underground
Something else the Omnia Card does not cover is tours of the underground structure.
Many friends told me to do this tour before my 3-day Rome trip. However, had I known it would sell out so quickly, I would have booked it in advance. So I’m warning you now if you wish to see the underground book in advance!
If you’re looking for a great tour, my friend recommends the Dark Rome to the Colosseum. You can bypass lines and access parts of the Colosseum not open to the public, such as the rarely-seen Colosseum underground with its 2000-year-old original arena floor.
Book Activities & Tours:
Self Guided Tour of the Colosseum
You can, of course, buy tickets directly when visiting the Colosseum and Roman Forum from their official website.
Their new MyColosseum app is the free official tool for visitors. It allows you to find Colosseum tickets, explore the routes, and listen to stories of ancient Rome. Available for iOS and Android, it contains free interactive audio guides in Italian and English.
The audio guide automatically follows you along the visit route, making it super easy to use! Making this option the best way to tour the Colosseum if you’re looking for a self guided tour.
However, I’m told the app is rather large so best to download it back at your accommodation where you have Wi-Fi. I also recommend bringing along a set of headphones, as the Colosseum is a rather busy tourist attraction.
Their app also appears to cover the Roman Forum now, although when I was there, I was thankful that the signs were around. The signs helped to provide context and acted as my Roman Forum guide.
Using Get Your Guide Tours
What I believe is the best way to tour the Colosseum and Roman Forum is to purchase a Get Your Guide Tour. If you don’t know what Get Your Guide is, it’s a website that lists tours worldwide.
I love booking with them because if any issues arise, I can easily get a refund up to 24 hours before the tour. Their tour operators are also affordable and reliable and offer small group tour or even private tour options.
Why is this my pick for the best way to tour the Colosseum? Over the years, I’ve increasingly liked having a live tour guide, and this option would provide me with that. Tours I’ve found this way to have entertaining and knowledgeable tour guides, which, as a major history nerd, I appreciate.
I also don’t have to deal with audio guide apps that may cause me trouble as they have occasionally in the past.
Book Activities & Tours:
The Best Way to Tour the Colosseum
All of the above options are easy ways to visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum. However, the best way to tour the Colosseum will depend on you.
Are you itching to get the Omnia Card cause you’re going to cover a lot of ground?
Are you okay with only an audio guide on a self guided tour of the Colosseum?
Or are you the type of person who prefers the personable approach of a guided tour?
Or maybe you’re dying to go on an underground tour of the Colosseum, so the best way to tour the Colosseum to you would be to have that included as part of your admission?
Once you figure out which one you are, it’ll inform which is the best way to tour the Colosseum and Roman Forum for your first visit.
Helpful Tips for Visiting The Colosseum
Walking Around the Roman Forum
I spent the better part of a day at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It is HUGE, so get ready for a LOT of walking!
A note on the Roman Forum. It is not even ground throughout as the roads are rather old and not paved like modern ones. I did go up some paths and stairs and meander around. If you have serious trouble walking, this may be a struggle for you in some areas.
Getting from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum
If you’re wondering how easy it is to get from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, worry not—they are right next door to one another!
How Long to Spend at the Colosseum and Roman Forum
If you’re wondering if you can plan on visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum on the same day, you can! I’ve seen online 1-3 hours for both the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I’d actually alott a bit longer as I really covered every corner of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill after seeing the Colosseum, and that took 3.5 hours total based on timestamps from my photos.
Of course, this all depends on how fast you move and how much ground you want to cover.
How to buy Colosseum tickets?
You can buy Colosseum tickets directly through their official website, through a tour provider such as Get Your Guide, or through a tourist pass such as the Omnia Card.
Do you need a tour guide for The Colosseum?
You do not need a tour guide for the Colosseum. However, having visited with just an audio guide. I know I would have strongly preferred a tour guide now as the Colosseum is massive and it would have allowed me to visit the underground.
Should I go on a Colosseum guided tour or not?
I highly recommend going on a guided tour of the Colosseum. It’ll avoid the headache of having to tour this massive tourist attraction solo. Having a guide will also grant you special privileges to areas now allowed with the general Colosseum ticket.
How much time do you need at The Colosseum?
You need at least an hour to see the Colosseum. However, I’d allot more time if you’re planning on also visiting the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
Can you do the Colosseum and the Vatican in one day?
I would not recommend visiting the Colosseum and the Vatican in one day as they a) aren’t close together, and b) if you plan on seeing the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and climbing the dome, that’s a day all by itself.
Final Thoughts on the Best Colosseum Tour
If you have any questions on which is the best colosseum tour for you, feel free to comment below or reach out via email!
Update: All visitors must have a booked or reserved Colosseum ticket. Two ticket offices (Salara Vecchia and Piazza del Colosseo) offer day-of tickets, but they are limited. Additionally, all tickets now need to match the name on an ID.
Looking for More Rome Tips?
- How to Build a 3 Day Itinerary for Rome Italy
- Omnia Card: Discount Pass for Attractions in Rome
- Reviewing Comics Guesthouse: The Best Hostel in Rome Italy?
- Easy Guide to What to See in the Vatican Museums
- How To See This Remarkable View From St Peter’s Basilica Dome
- 8 Free Things to See at Night in Rome Italy
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