Is the Colosseum Underground Tour Worth it? My Honest Review
Visiting the Colosseum is one of the top things to do in Rome, if you really want to experience the Colosseum on another level, the Colosseum underground tour brings you on a personal level with the gladiators that fell or stood champion at the arena.
On my trip to Rome, it was a no brainer that I wanted to visit the Colosseum but I felt the tour wouldn’t be complete without exploring the underground portion beneath the sands of the arena.
If you are wondering, “Is the Colosseum Underground Tour even worth it?” My short answer is yes! The underground portion offers access to restricted areas and smaller groups.
In this post, I’ll share my honest Underground tour review, what to expect, and why I believe it’s absolutely worth booking this tour in advance.
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Rome’s most popular attraction and perhaps one of the world’s most known historical sites, is the mighty Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.
Rome’s Colosseum was completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus, although construction began earlier under his father, Emperor Vespasian.
The Colosseum was built next to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was built as a grand symbol to show power and provide entertainment, such as gladiator contests, wild animal hunts, and even public executions.
According to information learned while visiting the Colosseum, the original height of the Colosseum was 52 meters and was built out of travertine blocks.
The interior of the Colosseum consists of 80 entrances, 76 were for the spectators and 4 were reserved for the Emperor and other ranking authorities.
The arena itself was a wooden platform that was covered in sand. The Colosseum could hold anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 spectators.
Throughout history the usage of the Colosseum changed. In the 6th century it was under the property of the Ecclesiastical Institutions. Portions or rooms of the Colosseum were used as warehouses or purposed for other needs.
If you look at the Colosseum today, you’ll notice it’s not perfectly symmetrical anymore and portions of it lie in ruins. This is due to damage done by earthquakes and it’s materials being removed to use elsewhere.
What is the Colosseum Underground Tour?
The Colosseum Underground Tour is a guided experience that gives visitors exclusive access to the restricted area beneath the arena floor of the Colosseum.
Unlike the standard Colosseum ticket, the underground tour allows you to explore the hypogeum.
The hypogeum is the underground network of tunnels, chambers, and passageways where gladiators awaited their brutal battles and wild animals were held before entering the arena.
The underground portion is not open to general admission ticket holders, so booking a guided Colosseum underground tour is the only way to see this must visit attraction.
The underground tours typically also include access to the arena floor, multiple levels of the Colosseum, and even the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. In my opinion, it’s highly recommended and you get so much more out of your Colosseum visit.
Booking the Underground Tour
Booking a Colosseum Underground Tour is actually kind of frustrating if you are trying to book through the Archeologico Del Colosseo website.
The Archeologico Del Colosseo is the official website and they offer the perfect Full Experience – Underground and Arena tour for €32. It includes admission to the Colosseum, Underground Levels, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and all other Exhibits.
The problem is, it’s almost impossible to get tickets through the website. Unless you are refreshing the page when they open for that day at lightning speeds, you’ll miss out. I did everything right, and still couldn’t get a ticket.
I searched online hoping that I could at least get a tour booked through Get Your Guide and thankfully, I was able to book this Roman Forum and Colosseum Underground Exclusive Tour.
The tour is more expensive then booking through the official website, but it guaranteed me a ticket to the underground portion of the Colosseum.
Not only did I have access to the underground, but the tour included a guided tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and access to the Colosseum where we could explore on our own once the tour concluded.
👉 Don’t miss out on the opportunity to visit the Colosseum Underground, check availability here.
My Experience: What It's Like Beneath the Arena
After taking the underground Colosseum tour, I am glad I was able to get access to the underground portion of the arena. I feel like general tickets to the Colosseum just are not complete without seeing the underground.
For me, I am obsessed with the show Spartacus, so I was able to imagine Gladiators awaiting their turn beneath the arena, and being there in person was surreal. I could almost hear the crowds from the arena!
The Colosseum is busy, so right when you enter, you feel like overwhelmed and honestly tired of people. But as soon as our guide led us down into the hypogeum, the atmosphere shifted.
The underground was much quieter and felt more intimate. We watched a brief film about the underground which explained the Ludus Magnus and how gladiators would walk from there through a tunnel to the Colosseum.
A Ludus is a gladiator training school and Ludus Magnus was the largest in the Republic.
While touring the Colosseum’s underground we walked on boardwalks throughout the network of passage ways, tunnels, and entered rooms passing by stone corridors, reconstructed wooden lifts, and holding areas where gladiators waited.
Instead of being a spectator in the crowd, I saw the arena through the eyes of a gladiator.
The underground provided a lot more information then I would have gathered had I just done the general admission.
I learned about artifacts found in the drain systems, that she light on the life of the spectators. Archaeologists found evidence of women weaving during the spectacles or men playing board games with dice.
Fans also got board and would carve drawings in their seats. There are even displays of actual graffiti carved into the seat on display.
We learned more about the hunts that would take place in the arena. It seems like the movies glorified the Beast vs. Man combat. In fact, most animals in the arena were slaughtered during wild animal hunts.
Sometimes tens of thousands of animals were slaughtered at the arena in a single day. They found evidence of bones to suggest this.
After getting a chance to explore the Colosseum’s underground, we then made our way to the arena floor. From this vantage point, looking up at the towering walls of the Colosseum, it was crazy to grasp the true scale of the Colosseum.
The Colosseum Underground Tours include smaller group sizes, so the whole time, I was able to hear the guide, ask questions, and take photos without feeling rushed.
The Colosseum Underground Tour truly felt like an exclusive tour and I wouldn’t book a tour to the Colosseum any other way.
Why the Underground Tour is Worth it
If you are debating booking the general access Colosseum tour or the package that includes the underground tour, I’ve outlined a few reasons why I think spending the extra money on the underground tour is genuinely worth it.
✅ Exclusive Access That You Can’t Get with General Admission
The underground portion of the Colosseum is closed to those that have general admission. The only way to see beneath the arena is by booking a Colosseum Underground Tour.
✅ There is More Information You Don’t Read About on the Upper Levels
I Found there was quite a bit of additional information I learned about the Colosseum that I didn’t read when touring the Arena.
✅ Arena Floor Access
You get to stand on the arena floor from a different perspective then others with a general admission ticket.
✅ Smaller Groups = Better Experience
Compared to the crowded general areas, the underground tour felt more intimate and structured. The guide was easy to understand, I was able to ask questions, and take photos at my leisure.
✅ Skip-the-Line Entry
In Rome, any skip-the-line entry is a huge time saver. Rome is one of the world’s most visited cities and the Colosseum is one of the most popular attractions in the world. We avoided all long queues and had more time to explore the arena.
✅ The History Felt Real
I stated earlier, I am a huge Spartacus (tv show) fan and being in the same space where gladiators once stood was a remarkable experience. I felt the crowds in the arena saw the dark passage ways, the same ones famous gladiators walked through.
Know Before You Go!
✅ You Might Need to Buy Tickets Through Third-Party Sites
I found it impossible to book tickets through the Archeologico Del Colosseo website. Instead, I had luck booking this Roman Forum and Colosseum Underground Exclusive Tour through Get Your Guide.
✅ Book in Advance
Colosseum Underground Tickets are limited each day. Tours often sell out days, weeks, even months in advance.
✅ Arrive Early
Even if you have a tour, there is still security screenings you need to go through to access the inside of the Colosseum. Plus it can be confusing navigating to the meeting spot, especially since it can be so crowded.
✅ Wear Appropriate Shoes and Clothing
When visiting the Colosseum and Rome in general, there is a lot of walking involved. The underground of the Colosseum does include uneven stone floors and historic walkways. There are stairs throughout the arena as well.
✅ Photos are Allowed
Take as many photos as you want of the Colosseum. Photos are also allowed during the underground tour.
✅ Bring Your ID
Names on the tickets are checked against identification. Our tour specifically told us to bring our passports because of this and yes, we did need to show our identification.
Conclusion
One of the main reasons I visited Rome was to see the Colosseum. For me, if you are traveling all the way to Rome, upgrading to the Colosseum Underground Tour is absolutely worth it.
Tickets are limited each day and sell out very fast. Make sure to book your tour well in advance.
I hope this post helped sway you in the right direction of booking an underground Colosseum tour. If you’ve been on the tour or plan on doing it, let me know! Safe travels!
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