Also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, the Colosseum is located in the center of Rome, Italy. Providing an incredible insight into Italian and European history, the Colosseum is a great place to explore with your little ones. With our Colosseum Rome tours, you can experience it for yourself and walk among the footsteps of the Romans!
Built in 70-80 AD, the Colosseum is made of travertine limestone, tuff, and brick-faced concrete - and it held at least 50,000 spectators. It was used for gladiator contents, mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions and dramas based on classical mythology. A lot of these things have fallen by the wayside in modern day, making the Colosseum a brilliant place to teach your children about historic events and activities. It is also listed as one of the ‘New7Wonders’ of the world: it is totally iconic, and somewhere that is great to explore as a family.
We offer a variety of Colosseum tours. Rome is a beautiful city, and one you should definitely consider visiting with your family no matter what age your children are - we recognize this and have created different tours that will ensure you have the perfect day in the city.
Colosseum Family Tour
Our fun, interactive Colosseum Family Tour is perfect for young children. It is two hours long and operates daily (except for Tuesdays) at either 9.30am or 3pm. It was designed by a childhood education specialist, with kids aged 7-12 in mind. The tour includes Skip-the-Line access to the Colosseum (as well as the Roman Forum) meaning your little ones won’t be standing in line getting bored for hours on end! You’ll be in a group of no more than 25 people, with other families too. There are visual aids, props and re-enactments used in this tour: it is kid-approved, and really brings the history and stories of the Colosseum, the Forum and the Romans to life.
The family tours are led by enthusiastic English-speaking guides who love working with families and have so much energy when it comes to teaching your little ones about the vivid history of the Colosseum and life in ancient Rome. It is an open and interactive environment, and your children should feel encouraged to ask and answer questions, participate in the challenges and enjoy the role play and visuals on offer. At the end, there’s the chance to enjoy a refreshing gelato after all that learning and walking!
Colosseum Underground Tour
If you’re travelling with teens, they’ll love our underground Colosseum tour. Rome has such a fascinating history, and it can be pretty dark at times - which is what this tour aims to explore. The tour includes Skip-the-Line access to the ‘backstage’ section of the Colosseum and the Forum, and you’ll be in a group of less than 24 people making it the perfect size to really imagine the horrors of ancient Rome.
Tours operate multiple times daily, and last 3.5 hours. Guides are expert historians, and the tour allows you to really put yourself in the shoes of a gladiator. This tour leads you to the back entrance of the Colosseum where you will enter and see the inner workings of the amphitheater. You will then head up through the main gladiator entrance to the arena floor, where fighters walked themselves all those years ago. The guide will then lead you up to what is known as the vomitoriums, where you can get a feel for what it was like to experience a gladiator fight from relative safety. The tour then visits the Forum and Palatine Hill.
This Colosseum tour really helps visitors to understand the horrors and reality of ancient Rome, and what went on beneath the surface of a city so important to world history.
Colosseum Arena Floor Tour
For families with older children and teenagers, the Colosseum Arena Floor Tour is a great option. It lasts for 1.5 hours, and you’ll be in a group of 25. The tour runs several times per day and is in English. There’s an audio headset too - so you don’t have to worry about missing a thing!
Due to the Skip-the-Line access included in this tour, you will have the privilege of entering the Colosseum through the recently opened Gladiator’s Entrance. Trace the footsteps of those same gladiators as you walk out onto the partial reconstruction of the arena floor and look up at the tiers that once seated the spectators who came to watch the fights that were part of daily life in ancient Rome. You’ll have a real 360-degree perspective of the amphitheater, and your local expert guide will be able to fill you in on all of the archaeology and drama that makes up the history of the Colosseum.
On this tour you can experience panoramic views of the Colosseum, a glimpse into the inner workings when you visit the backstage area, and even a look at where the Emperor’s box would once have been. These are all special-access areas that make this tour such a worthwhile one, and one that your children will be excited about. The tour then takes you on to the Forum for a brief bit of history about what happened there, before you have the opportunity to walk up to Palatine hill to see the city laid out beneath you. This really is an incredible tour for families with older children who may want to experience something a bit different when visiting the Colosseum in Rome.
Following on from any of these tours, we also offer Rome walking tours where you can explore the other sites the city has to see. These include the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon - all famous, bucket-list sites - as well as Piazza Navona and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. You’ll even stop for a gorgeous Italian gelato during this 2.5-hour walking tour. The Eternal City is the perfect place to vacation with your family, and our tours help you to explore and learn at the same time.
