How to Visit Rome Colosseum's Arena

The scene of thousands of battles and the home of the gladiators during Ancient Rome, the Colosseum is full of intricacies and its walls hold stories that we are all dying to know when we travel to Rome.

The most authentic experience to visit the Colosseum is the one that takes you to see its Arena and the underground level, from where you will get a unique perspective and feel what the gladiators felt when they jumped into the ring. For this, you will have to take a guided tour of the Colosseum with underground and the Roman Forum.

The most complete option

Colosseum Guided tour with underground & Roman Forum

Discover the magic of the Italian capital's most iconic landmark

See the Colosseum without the queues, explore the underground level area, relive the history of the arena and stroll through the forum on this three-hour guided tour.

From AED 380 at Hellotickets

With this guided tour of the Colosseum with underground and the Roman Forum, you will enjoy a mind-blowing experience that will take you to see the Colosseum of Rome and the Roman Forum as you would never have imagined. An expert guide will give you all the details and tell you the most epic stories of the spectacles that took place in the arena.

In addition, you will visit the Colosseum Arena and enter the underground level, an area that has been restricted for years and shows the darker side of the Colosseum, where the gladiators of ancient Rome prepared themselves physically and mentally before going out into the arena to fight for their lives. Have you ever wondered what the gladiators were thinking and feeling in those moments before the battle? By taking this tour you will be able to experience it in person.

Recommended if... you want to get to know the Colosseum in its entirety, all its nooks and crannies, stories and battles.

The visit to the Arena of the Colosseum with access to the underground level is much more exclusive than a standard visit to the rest of the amphitheatre. The seating capacity is smaller, therefore far fewer tourists get to step inside this special part of the Colosseum.

If you buy your tickets to the Colosseum in Hellotickets, you will see that is available the visit to the Colosseum with underground access and the Roman Forum (this also includes the Palatine Hill).

The price of the guided tour including the Arena and the underground level costs from 96 €. These are more exclusive areas where not all groups or visitors can enter and you will only be able to access this area with an expert guide.

Compared to the price of a standard tour, which does not include these two areas, the price is €44, but it is well worth paying a little more to descend into the bowels of the amphitheatre.

Yes, visiting the Colosseum Arena and the underground level will be the most important part of your visit inside the amphitheatre: you will have access, not only to tread the Arena as the real gladiators did, but you will have a much more detailed perspective of all the underground tunnels that crossed the Colosseum underneath.

The explanations vary a little, the guide will go into more detail about what went on behind the scenes of each fight, he will explain how the arena worked and you will experience first-hand a real journey back in time. If you visit the Colosseum with children, this part will blow their minds.

The visit to the Arena and the underground is part of the rest of the guided tour of the Colosseum: in Hellotickets, for example, there are guided tours that take you to both locations and last three hours in total. The duration also includes the walk through the Roman Forum. There is also a guided tour that excludes the underground.

If you don't want to spend so much time on the visit, there are Colosseum express tours that last only one hour and skip the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, but these do not include access to the Arena and the underground, so you would be missing the best part; and there are also tickets for the Colosseum with access to the Arena, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill from 29€, but they exclude access to the underground level and you will not be accompanied by a guide, so you won't get as much out of the visit.

The current state of the Colosseum

Today, you will find that half the floor of the Colosseum is covered by sand (this is a recreation, not the original arena) and the other half is open to the air, exposing the tunnels where the wild beasts waited their turn to fight on the stage.

The best views of the amphitheatre from the inside

This layout not only gives you the best view of the Colosseum, allowing you to stand in the centre of the "ring" and imagine how imposing those grandstands filled with Romans cheering their idols were.

Detailed views of the galleries and the underground

You will also be able to look into the authentic galleries (which are also very well preserved) and understand how the shows worked. For example, you will see how the trapdoor system that was developed to lift the wild beasts onto the stage worked, or how it was converted into a stage for naval battles. A true work of engineering in Ancient Rome.

The stories of the battles

The guide will share with you several anecdotes and legends: for example, he will tell you why the floor of the Colosseum was covered with sand: to absorb the blood of the fights and prevent slips and falls during the show. Spooky, isn't it?

What will it be like in the future?

Note that there is currently a project to completely cover the floor of the Colosseum and return it to its ancient state, completely covered with sand.

Although this reconstruction will keep the monument more faithful to what it once was and allow better preservation of galleries and underground tunnels, it is possible that the visit will lose that part of interest in the future, so if you are going to Rome soon, take the opportunity now to visit the Colosseum Arena before it is transformed.