Combo Tour: Vatican and Colosseum in One Day
Description
This combo tour is perfect for all those who have a limited time in Rome, and yet want to experience the cradle of Christianity and the centre of the ancient Rome all in one day. The tour starts from the Colosseum: this 3 hour tour includes the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Learn about the history, features and tales behind the greatest Amphitheatre of all times: the Colosseum. After the lunch break, you reach the Vatican Area at the second meeting point, to start the tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel! The Vatican City: The smallest country in the world. An enclave in the city of Rome. Despite its tiny surface area, the Vatican hosts some of the most important monuments and artworks of all times. The Vatican Museums, including the gorgeous Raphael’s rooms and the Sistine chapel are all enclosed spaces, so you can be relatively cool and comfortable while visiting some of the greatest artworks of all Christianity.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Visiting the Colosseum is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is no better time to visit the Colosseum, as visitor numbers have been drastically reduced. This means that you are able to marvel at the awe-inspiring site without having large crowds around you. Learn about the history, features and tales behind the greatest entertainment venue of all times. The construction of the Colosseum, whose official name is Flavian Amphitheatre, was begun around 72 AD and completed in 80 AD. This means it took the ancient Romans around 8 years to complete this engineering masterpiece designed to entertain the citizens of Rome. Find out about the political and social background of the Roman Empire before, during and after the construction of the Colosseum. Get to know its purpose and its role within the Roman society.
Just above the the Roman Forum there’s the Palatine Hill, where Rome was established in 753 BC, 21st of April. This is where the first nucleus of Rome took shape, and where the houses, villas and palaces of the kings, emperors and notable people were. The Palatine hill was chosen by Romulus as it was deemed to be the best of all the 7 hills of Rome thanks to its ideal and central position. The Romans, as other ancient civilizations, tended to choose the high grounds close to rivers for their early settlements. This gave a strategic advantage in case of military attack as well as against the frequent floods of the water streams. Walk on the hill where the history of Rome started from. Learn about the early history of the city, the foundation myth of Romulus and Remus, and how the former managed to become the first king of Rome. Explore the ruins of the once imposing structures of the imperial houses of the emperors of Rome!
A stone's throw from the Colosseum, you can find the Roman Forum: the political, religious, judicial and financial center of Rome and all the Roman Empire. This is where a city that once was barely a regional power became the core of the mightiest empire of the ancient times. This is where the Romans shaped the politics, laws and administrative systems that shaped the world we live in today, and affect the way we think about ourselves and our society. As the first core of Rome grew larger on the close by Palatine hill, the Romans started to settle also in the lower areas. The area occupied by the Roman Forum was once only a marshy land, but already under the regal period was chosen as the social, political and religious center of the city. Here you can find some of the most important buildings of the ancient Rome: the house of the Senate, temples, basilicas and much more. Plunge yourself in the heart of the Roman Empire by visiting the Roman Forum!
The Vatican City: The smallest country in the world. Despite its tiny surface area, the Vatican hosts some of the most important monuments and artworks of all times. St. Peter’s basilica is the most famous church of all Christianity, as well as one of the earliest ever built in history. Its origins in fact can be traced back to the Emperor Constantine, who commissioned the first two Basilicas of Christianity in Rome, St. John and St. Peter’s as early as in the 4th century. Find out much more with your tour at the Vatican. Learn about its history, the artists who worked at it and why it lies on this specific area of the city.
After Vatican Galleries will reach the Sistine Chapel, where you will be amazed by its breathtaking fresco ceiling and by Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. Originally called the “Cappella Magna”, the “big chapel”, it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it in the 15th century. Since then, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity and today it is the site of the Papal Conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. Once again, entering before the general opening will allow you to take in the beautiful frescoes and take home with you wonderful memories.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- The actual starting time and the order of the tours may vary, depending on ticket availability. We will reach out to inform you about any time change.
- Please provide the full names and dates of birth of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- Please note that there are two separate meeting points for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums tour and transfer is not included in the price.
- The costumers need to show up at the meeting point 20 mins before in order to guarantee a timely and smooth departure
- Colosseum Ticket price: Adult 18€ - Children (under18) 0 €
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- Not suitable for travelers with mobility impairments
Reviews(14)
Colessum was amazing and then we arrived at the meeting spot for the Vatican at 2pm as the ticket said 2.45pm we made sure we had plenty of time. Waited until 2.40pm and still no one around and it was confirmed the tour started at 4.15pm not 2.45pm which is what our ticket said. We had been out in the heat all day and could not wait until 4.15pm so we asked to be rebooked as the 2.45pm time was incorrect and they were not able to do the tour then. We were advised by Viator they would follow up with the provider to see if we could be rebooked after several requests for an update we gave up and asked for 50% refund since we missed half the tour which has been refused. We were there for the time on our ticket and the service wasnt able to be given as per the booking yet have been refused a refund. Wont be using this service again
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you chose not to join the Vatican tour. However, we would like to clarify that the product description clearly states that the times shown at booking are indicative and that the actual start times may vary depending on ticket availability. It is also specified that the final schedule will be communicated in advance. According to our records, the message containing the detailed itinerary and confirmed meeting times was successfully sent and delivered the day before your tour. For this reason, we are unclear as to why you are referring to a 2:45 PM start time, as the updated schedule communicated prior to the tour indicated the correct meeting and start times. While we understand that waiting in the summer heat can be uncomfortable, the tour operated as scheduled and the final timing had been communicated in advance. Therefore, we are unable to agree that the service was not provided as booked and advertised. Kind regards, City Walkers Tours
Our guide was animated and knowledgeable. He brought the coliseum to life. But this was not ‘small’ group as advertised. There were 7 in our group and I thought it would be just our group. There were 20 people. Other than my misconception or their misrepresentation , either way it was a good value for the money.
The Colosseum tour was fantastic. Our guide explained how it was built and how it has been restored. Much better than the tour from 30 years ago. The meeting place for the Vatican tour was hard to find. But the tour was good. I think I'd plan a full day at the Vatican the next time.
Inside Colosseum & Sistine Chapel were great sights. Organization of tours, recognition of tour staff & rudeness of some involved need improvement.
I had been hearing lots of nightmares of tour companies canceling at the last minute and I was very worried. We had a miscommunication about meeting spots and I was sure we would miss half of the trip, but they bent over backwards to make it right and we were able to complete our tour! I highly recommend this company and tour. It was a long day, but we felt like we saw the most important things and had freedom to explore more, if we wanted to.
The tour of the colosseum was incredible! Our tour guide was kind and very knowledgeable. They had everything prepared when we arrived and gave us headsets to be able to hear the guide. The guide had the tickets purchased and ready to go before we arrived. The Vatican section is where this all fell apart. We were supposed to meet at 3:00 PM in a specific location. They were impossible to find, no signs or helpful images to locate them among the other tours. The guides then had us meet at 3:15 due to the issues with located the guides. The Vatican closes the entrance doors at 4:00 PM. There was a huge line in the sun, even though some were previously informed that this was a skip the line ticket (it was not). We got into the Vatican museum MINUTES before it closed the entrance doors only to find out that none of the tickets had been purchased, and none of the headsets had either. The guides were standing around talking to each other cracking jokes, when they should have been standing in the line to purchase the tickets, but they waited 15 more minutes until they actually bought tickets. Once we got the tickets we then had to rent the headsets. Mind you, the kick everyone out of the Vatican at 6 PM. Because of this short time, our tour guide was rushing to get us through, we could not stop and enjoy any of the museum because of this and the disorganized nature of this whole entire experience. It was a disaster. We ran through the Vatican in 45 minutes to an hour and then the tour guide just left us and informed that we should enter the Sistine Chapel. There were like 15 more rooms we had to walk through before we got to the chapel that he did not explain at all because he just left us all in the middle of the Vatican. This entire Vatican experience was a complete mess and super unorganized. I would recommend purchasing these tours separate and maybe even from a different seller.
I was lead to believe there would be transportation from the Colisseum to the Vatican and there wasn’t. We are 3 senior citizens (one handicapped) who had to walk miles to get to taxi between the 2 locations then back to the hotel after the Vatican tour. Not what I was expecting
Horrible. They do not wait for you even when lost in a city we are not familiar. We even lost our excursion cost.
We had an excellent experience with this company. Everyone in my group had a ball! The tour guides were knowledgeable and fun!
Collesum tour was excellent. Timing good. Guide was great. I would recommend this one. Vatican was too long. Too much detail. Too many people. Guide did not have a flag. Losing people. Number of people should be limited. Safety hazard
