Rome: Colosseum Underground Private Tour & Arena Access

4.73

(185 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to feel nervous walking up to the Colosseum — it’s just a building, right? But seeing those arches up close, with our guide Marco waving us over (he had this battered sign that looked like it’d survived a few tours), I felt my stomach do this weird flip. The crowds outside were loud, but once we stepped inside for our private Colosseum underground tour, everything seemed to muffle. It was cooler down there too — damp stone walls, echoes bouncing off the old chambers. Marco pointed out scratch marks where animals were caged; I touched one of the rough stones and tried to imagine waiting in the dark. He said most people never get to see these parts. I could smell wet earth and something metallic.

We came back up onto the arena floor — sunlight just poured in and hit us right in the face. It’s strange standing where gladiators once fought; you sort of want to say something profound but mostly you just look around with your mouth open. There was a group nearby doing selfies but Marco steered us away so we could look out over all those seats. My partner tried to whisper “Ave Caesar” but it came out as a laugh. After that we headed up toward Palatine Hill — lots of steps, not gonna lie — and Marco told stories about emperors living up there, which made me wonder what they’d think of all of us wandering through their old gardens now.

The last part was the Roman Forum. By then my legs were tired and honestly I was hungry (should’ve brought a snack), but walking through those ruins felt different after seeing the underground chambers first. There was this breeze carrying some pine scent and bits of conversation in Italian from other guides drifting past. At one point Marco stopped under an archway and let us just listen for a minute — not sure why that sticks with me so much, but it does.