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Visiting the Colosseum at night is a unique experience, and is not one that everyone who is travelling to Rome will get to do. Possible only by taking a guided tour, read on to discover my Colosseum by night tour review and discover if a Colosseum by night tour is worth it.
Lovers of Ancient Rome in search of something a little different will be delighted to discover that you can see the Colosseum at night.
Once the sun has set and general entry to the Colosseum has ended, it is possible for a handful of lucky few to walk around the Colosseum under the milky light of the moon.
This you can do by taking a Colosseum at night tour, where, with just the company of your group and an expert guide, you can walk in the footsteps of gladiators through the underbelly of the mighty Colosseum before ascending to the arena floor, to find it bathed in moonlight and devoid of tourists.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the experience of a Colosseum tour at night, whether I think it’s worth taking and alternatives for visiting the Colosseum if you feel that a Rome Colosseum at night experience is not for you.
Since writing this post originally, I’ve also gone on to write a roundup of the best Colosseum night tours – with my number one choice being the tour reviewed in this post! Read on to learn all about it.
Quick links – Colosseum tours recommended in this post
Reviewed tour: VIP Colosseum At Night Tour With Underground & Arena Floor (1800+ 5* reviews)
Alternative (daytime) ways to visit the Colosseum:
Skip the Line: VIP Colosseum Underground Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Gladiator’s Gate: Special Access Colosseum Tour with Arena Floor
1.5 Hour Colosseum Express Tour with Arena Stage Visit
Self-guided:
Skip-the-line Colosseum tickets entry tickets
Roma Super Pass (includes the Vatican & St. Peter’s Basilica also)
But first – a little bit about the Colosseum & why you should visit it
What is the Colosseum famous for?
First things first, it’s important to understand a little about this incredible structure’s history, and just why the Roman Colosseum is so important to Rome.
The Colosseum is one of the most famous structures ever built. Recognisable worldwide today for its worn, weathered stone and its distinct, crooked shape due to the collapse of some of its upper levels on one side, the Colosseum didn’t always appear as thus.
In its heyday it was a perfect sphere, adorned in gleaming white marble, with its now empty arches filled with statues. It was capped by a gargantuan, retractable velarium (or awning), which kept its 50,000 spectators shaded from the intense heat of the summer sun.
Built by Vespasian in 72 AD, the Colosseum was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater and was the scene of many bloody spectacles.
Games were organised and paid for by the ‘editor’, often the emperor himself, and were used at the time to curry political favour with the people (it was free to attend) or to celebrate great events, such as victory in war.
A day at the games would kick off with the wild beast hunt, where exotic animals like elephants, leopards and lions would be pitted against one another, or against highly skilled hunters. Either way, the animals were always the real victims in this line up.
In 80 AD for the Flavian Amphitheater’s inauguration, the series of games held by the Emperor Titus resulted in the death of 9,000 animals.
Astonishingly, the statistics grew even worse – a mere 30 years later, Trajan held a series of games to celebrate his conquest of the Dacians, and sadly, some 11,000 animals were slaughtered.
At midday, it was time for public executions. Some of the condemned were set upon by wild animals; others had to fight each other with swords.
Sometimes, the deaths were even more elaborate, with scenes from Greek mythology reenacted, where the victims played the part of a character – such as the part of Hercules, who was burnt to death before becoming a god. Heart-warming stuff.
Finally, came the main event – the gladiatorial fights. Gladiators were highly skilled fighters. The best gladiators were rewarded with riches and fame, but they were also slaves, otherwise forced into servitude until their retirement age.
Descent into ruin and the importance of the Colosseum today
In the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Colosseum was used for a number of purposes. Primarily, it was used as a quarry and was stripped of its marble, statues and stone for other building projects.
In fact, much of the marble from Ancient Roman constructions was used to build many of Rome’s most famous churches and palaces, including the Vatican.
The Colosseum was also effected by earthquakes and lightning strikes and over time, its great hypogeum (the underground part that acted as ‘backstage’ for the games) was filled with rubble, and used as a store and dump.
The passageways above ground become home to blacksmiths, cobblers and priests and the Colosseum even found itself acting as a fortress for the 12th century Frangipane warlords.
Preservation of the Colosseum only really started in the 19th century, under efforts led by Pope Pius VIII.
In the 1930’s, in one of Mussolini’s less abhorrent moves, the hypogeum was cleared of earth as part of his drive for the glorification of Classical Rome and in the 1990’s, a large restoration project was undertaken.
Today, the Colosseum is one of Rome’s most important tourist attractions, along with being one of the most famous ones in the world to boot.
It stands as an important relic of Ancient Rome’s power and might, as well as evidencing its impressive engineering prowess. Receiving over 7 million visitors a year before the pandemic, it is also a huge source of revenue to Italian tourism.
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Is it better to see the Colosseum at night or day?
The best time to visit the Colosseum is when it is at its quietest. There are two times of day that win out. The second quietest time of day to visit the Colosseum is first thing in the morning.
If you queue for security about half an hour before they begin operating, you’ll likely be amongst the first visitors to the Colosseum that day, so you’ll get a good 15 – 20 mins in relative peace and quiet before it starts to fill up.
The absolute quietest time of day is after hours, at night, when general admission has ended and when privately led Colosseum night tours are the only ones permitted inside.
You’re not side-stepping other tourists and there is really time to look at things properly, and to take it all in. It’s all quite thrilling, really, especially if you’ve visited the Colosseum before during the day and can attest to how busy it gets.
There’s an almost eerie calm and the only sounds you can hear are your group’s footsteps, your guide’s voice and the humdrum of distant traffic from beyond the Colosseum’s great walls.
Without the clamour of the Colosseum’s crowds during the day, your imagination can really fire into action and you can imagine the clang of swords, the excited roars of the crowd and all the glamour and gore that were part of a day at the games in Ancient Rome.
In my opinion, visiting the Roman Colosseum at night wins out to visiting during the day.
Colosseum by night tour review – my experience with TakeWalks
So you can understand what a night time Colosseum tour entails, the best way is to take you through the tour I took with TakeWalks, from start to finish.
The specific tour I took was the VIP Colosseum At Night Tour With Underground & Arena Floor, which is a circa 2.5 hour group tour of a maximum of 19 people. It might sound like a slightly larger group, but in a space as large as the Colosseum, it didn’t feel like there were that many other people at all.
We met outside a café close to the Marcello Theatre, where we were handed headsets so that we could hear our guide properly. Then, the tour began!
Night tour of Colosseum part 1: Marcello Theatre
First stop on our Rome Colosseum at night tour was the Marcello Theatre, or Teatro di Marcello.
Located to the side of Piazza Venezia and close to the steps that lead to the top of the Capitoline hill and museum, if you haven’t seen the Colosseum before you may be forgiven for thinking that the Marcello Theatre is it.
Here, our guide Michela imparted some interesting facts about the theatre; including how it is still in use today as apartments and is under the ownership of a noble Italian family.
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Night tour of Colosseum part 2: Capitoline Hill & Piazza del Campidoglio
We then made our way across the road to the impressive set of steps that lead up to the Piazza del Campidoglio. Here, we learned how Michelangelo restored harmony to the square, making an awkward shape symmetrical by designing two of the palazzo that now form part of the Capitoline Museum.
We looked down upon the Roman Forum from the back of the square, learning about Rome’s origins and some of its most important buildings and streets during the time of Ancient Rome.
All these tales were regaled with great enthusiasm and humour and we then made our way down a winding road from the back of the hill towards the ground level of the Forum, and the Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Night tour of Colosseum part 3: Approach down Via dei Fori Imperiali
While we made our approach towards the Colosseum, we stopped to take in some important sights along the way. We learned why local Romans don’t like the Alter of the Fatherland on Piazza Venezia, before pausing at the the former Trajan’s Market.
Here, I came to the conclusion that ancient Roman shopping and commercial centres weren’t a whole lot different to our own today!
As the dramatic, spot lit mass of the Colosseum loomed larger and larger as we made our way along the pavement, we made our penultimate stop of the night at the Basilica of Maxentius before making our way towards the entrance for the main event of our Roman Colosseum night tour – the Colosseum itself.
Night tour of Colosseum part 4: Night tour of Colosseum
We checked in through security and Michela handed us over to archaeologist, Gianluca. Once inside the walls of the Colosseum, all TakeWalks Colosseum tours at night are led by an expert that specialises in Roman history and architecture.
We made our way down a gangway, moving deep inside the hypogeum on the lowest level of the Colosseum, which really made it feel like we were descending into the belly of a beast.
It is only when you are deep inside the structure when you really get a sense of the sheer scale and complexity in its design.
The last time I visited the Colosseum was before the hypogeum had been exposed and opened to the public – there had been a fully intact arena floor in place. Now, there is a completely different proposition on offer.
As part of a Colosseum underground night tour, visitors can now access the part of the Colosseum that formed the backstage to its great events and receive a behind the scenes look at how the spectacle that were the games was made possible.
The hypogeum is a veritable warren of passageways, lined with cells that would have held gladiators, captors and animals as they prepared to face combat on the arena floor above.
It’s absolutely incredible to be granted such access and I felt compelled to touch the walls that so many would have passed through and which are so significant historically.
From an engineering perspective, the Colosseum underground area is absolutely fascinating, too. Peppered in amongst the cells and passageways are horizontal channels and semicircular slices in the walls beside them.
The horizontal channels served as ancient elevator shafts and the semicircular spaces contained capstans, which would have been turned by hand to raise compartments and cages to the arena.
Some of these have been recreated, so you can see in person what these would have looked like. This elevator system would have raised men, animals and scenery to the arena floor, keeping spectators and fighters guessing as to where the next challenge may spring from.
At its peak, there were sixty capstans in operation – forty of which lifted animal cages to the arena floor, with the remaining twenty used to move scenery.
If the notion of the games in the way they are described seemed in any way fantastical to you before visiting the hypogeum, all doubts will be put to rest when you do see it, as you can see the level of ingenuity that went into the construction of the Colosseum.
Having taken in the mind-boggling hypogeum, we made our way to ground level for a more birds-eye look of maze that lay below, which really helped but into perspective how the whole event was orchestrated.
We learned about the experience at the games for the crowd and where different levels of society would have been seated.
I won’t go into too much detail in telling you all the facts learnt at this stage of the tour, but there was ample time to consider the Colosseum from where the gladiators would have stood.
It’s really not too different from our stadiums of today (and in fact, was probably a whole lot glitzier than then) and you can’t help but imagine the swell of the crowd, the excited roars and suspense-ridden gasps, together with the clang of metal on metal when taking it all in.
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So, is a Colosseum by night tour worth it?
In my opinion, yes – a Colosseum by night tour is definitely worth it. You don’t have to deal with the daytime crowds and while the only way you can visit the Colosseum at night is with a tour guide, this is also an added bonus in itself as you’ll take far more from your visit than you would if visiting on your own.
So, is the Colosseum better at day or night? The answer to this one is not as straightforward and depends on whether you have visited the Colosseum before, want to combine the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill in the same visit, or want a more extensive tour of the Colosseum.
During the day, you’ll get to see the upper level of the Colosseum too (we didn’t visit this as part of our Colosseum at night tour) and while you’re not missing out on too much, you will miss out on a great view of the Roman Forum from some of the arches of the upper tiers.
To help you make your choice, I’ve included a list of pros and cons below.
Pros
- You’re one of a very small few in the Colosseum at the time, so you escape the crowds of daytime
- You’ll have to visit with a guide, which I think is a bonus in itself due to what you’ll learn
- You have time to take everything in
- You also pass through some other key sights of Ancient Rome
- Perfect if you’re looking for a unique & memorable experience
Cons
- You are tied to visiting with a guide, at a set time. This might not work for everyone.
- If you wish to visit the Forum, you’ll have to do so separately and will need to purchase a ticket.
- You won’t get to visit the upper levels of the Colosseum
- Expense – as part of a guided tour, this is more expensive than visiting on your own.
Booking your Rome Colosseum at night tour
I’d highly recommend the Rome Colosseum tour at night that I took with TakeWalks. TakeWalks are true experts in their field and offer great tours within Italy. I took this Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tour with them during the same trip and it’s one of the best tours I’ve ever done.
All TakeWalk tours are led by a highly accomplished, English-speaking guide and many have qualifications in the fields of history, architecture, archeology and art history.
From my experience of TakeWalks tours to date, their passionate guides have brought their subjects to life, imparting stories about people and places with humour, intelligence and sensitivity where required, resulting in some unforgettable travel experiences.
My research (and subsequent experience) has led me to the conclusion that TakeWalks offers the best Colosseum night tour, but if, however, you would like to compare the TakeWalks tours against some other Colosseum by night tours, you can check out this tour by City Wonders:
Alternatives to a Colosseum night tour – some other ways to visit the Colosseum
Besides from Colosseum at night tours, the majority of Colosseum visits happen during the day. There are two main ways that you can visit the Colosseum during daytime:
- Visit the Colosseum on your own in a self-guided way
- Visit the Colosseum as part of a guided tour
Visiting the Colosseum on your own (self-guided)
If, having read my review above, you’ve decided that a self-guided daytime trip wins out over a night at the Colosseum, then I’d strongly urge you to a) visit first thing in the morning and; b) to purchase your tickets in advance.
This especially goes for if you are tied to visiting later in the day, as queues can grow very large and you’ll save yourself the hassle of joining the crowds by being able to just show up and waltz through security at your allotted time.
How to purchase skip the line tickets to the Colosseum
Tickets to the Colosseum also include admission for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I’d recommend that you purchase your tickets via Tiqets. Tiqets is a highly reputable ticket booking platform that I use regularly that provides entrance to iconic attractions and experiences.
It has a clean user interface and is great for booking tickets to multiple attractions in one destination, as you can keep them all in one place.
Booking skip the line tickets for the Colosseum
Your first option is to book skip-the-line tickets to the Colosseum. This includes entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill also.
Book skip-the-line Colosseum tickets here
If you’re planning on visiting multiple attractions in Rome, then it may make sense to purchase a combi-ticket that includes entry to a number of sights. The Roma Super Pass includes entry to the Vatican, the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica.
Purchase the Roma Super Pass here
Visiting the Colosseum as part of a guided tour
There are several different types of guided tours of the Colosseum that you can do.
Underground + Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Firstly, if you’re going to visit the Colosseum, then it’s highly likely that you’ll also visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, so try choose a tour that incorporates both.
Secondly, is a Colosseum underground tour worth it? I’d be inclined say that visiting the underground is unmissable – it’s the most interesting part of the Colosseum in my opinion – so I’d also choose a tour that incorporates both.
This TakeWalks tour fits the bill: Skip the Line: VIP Colosseum Underground Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Gladiators Gate + Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Offering an alternative Colosseum experience to the above, on this tour you will enter the arena via the Gladiator’s Gate, where combatants would have made their way onto the area floor of the ancient amphitheatre.
This is a special-access area that will be closed off to other visitors, from which you can really absorb the fascinating history of this truly iconic monument.
Again, TakeWalks runs a great tour: Gladiator’s Gate: Special Access Colosseum Tour with Arena Floor
Express Colosseum Tour
Lastly, is the best option for when you’re in a hurry. This express tour of the Colosseum is 1.5 hours long and focusses only on the famous monument itself. It also includes entry via the Gladiator’s Gate, from which you will get to experience the arena floor.
Learn more and book here: 1.5 Hour Colosseum Express Tour with Arena Stage Visit
FAQ about visiting the Colosseum underground by night
Can you visit the Colosseum at night?
Yes, it is possible to visit the Colosseum at night but only by guided tour, which operate at limited times and with limited capacity – which makes the experience that extra bit special.
This post provides an overview of visiting the Colosseum at night time, reviews an excellent night time Colosseum tour and discusses alternative ways to visit the Colosseum if you decide that an after hours visit is not for you. Scroll up to read it in full.
Where can I buy Colosseum by night tickets?
You can buy tickets for Colosseum night tours online and it’s highly advisable that you book them well in advance. Only a limited amount of vendors have the licences and special permission to run night tours so during popular times they will book out.
I highly recommend the Colosseum underground by night tour that I took with TakeWalks. Another alternative vendor is this one.
What is the best Colosseum night tour?
A tour company that I really like and recommend for tours in cities like Paris, Rome, Florence, Seville etc is TakeWalks. After all of my own research of Colosseum night tours, I decided to take their VIP Colosseum At Night Tour With Underground & Arena Floor and was really happy that I did.
Group numbers are capped at 20 and the tour is led by Ancient Roman ex
What’s it like to visit the Colosseum at night?
Visiting the Colosseum at night is an altogether different one to visiting during the day. The arena is quiet and still, devoid of the daytime crowds and you really get a chance to examine the structure and imagine what it was like in its heyday. It’s a thoroughly unique experience.
Visiting Rome? Essential reading:
- ROME TRIP PLANNING | How Many Days Do You Need in Rome? [For Weekend Getaways, Cultural Immersions, or Something in Between]
- ROME ITINERARY | The Perfect 4-Day Rome Itinerary – Food, Culture & A Little Luxury
- ROME BY NIGHT | 19 Things To Do At Night In Rome, From Culture To Cocktails
- BEST COLOSSEUM UNDERGROUND TOURS | 9 Best Colosseum Underground Tours – Dive into Gladiatorial Rome
- ROME, NAPLES & AMALFI COAST | A Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast Itinerary for Culture, Food & Scenery
- FLORENCE, ROME & AMALFI COAST | A Sophisticated Florence, Rome & Amalfi Coast Itinerary
- COLOSSEUM BY NIGHT TOURS | Best Colosseum by Night Tours: 9 Top Picks for 2024
- BEST COLOSSEUM TOURS | 10 Best Colosseum Tours [2024] + Insider Tips to Choose Correctly
Visiting more of Italy? Read next:
- FLORENCE ITINERARY | How To Spend 2 Days In Florence – A Comprehensive Guide
- SIENA CITY GUIDE | The Perfect Way To Spend A Day In Siena, Italy
- AMALFI COAST ITINERARY | The Perfect 10 Day Amalfi Coast Itinerary For A Luxurious But Authentic Trip
- TUSCANY ROAD TRIP | Tuscany Guide – How To Have A Very Memorable Tuscan Road Trip
- RAVELLO GUIDE | Ravello Travel Guide: Where To Stay, Eat + The Best Things To Do In Ravello