Essential of Rome in 1 Day: Vatican Musems & Colosseum
Description
Unleash your cultural exploration in Rome with our Complete Vatican Museums & Colosseum tour. Dive into a day filled with art and history, guided by our expert art historian. Enter the Vatican Museums and access to the Ancient Roman sites. Immerse yourself in the city's finest offerings without the usual crowds. Maximize your vacation: discover all that Rome has to offer while saving money by combining our top-selling Rome tours into one thrilling day! Listen to engaging commentary from our English-speaking guide as you visit the Eternal City's most significant attractions: the stunning Vatican Museums, the iconic Sistine Chapel, and the historic Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill. With a small group, we ensure an unforgettable experience that will leave a lasting impression!
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Itinerary
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, or simply Saint Peter's Basilica is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal enclave that is within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initially planned by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the aging Old St. Peter's Basilica, which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
This museum houses a large collection of artifacts from Ancient Egypt and also many Egyptian works of Roman production in nine rooms. The Carlo Grassi Collection of bronzes is part of the collection. Such material includes papyruses, sarcophagi, mummies, sculptures and reproductions of the Book of the Dead
The Colosseum is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian. The three emperors who were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named the Flavian Amphitheatre by later classicists and archaeologists for its association with their family name (Flavius).
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum (Italian: Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly.
The Palatine Hill, which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire. The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites. Imperial palaces were built there, starting with Augustus. Before imperial times the hill was mostly occupied by the houses of the rich. The hill originally had two summits separated by a depression; the highest part was called Palatium and the other Germalus. Using the Forma Urbis its perimeter enclosed 63 acres; while the Regionary Catalogues of the 4th century enclose 131 acres
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- This tour visits religious sites, and there is a dress code to be observed. Visitors must be dressed appropriately: no sleeveless blouses, no miniskirts, no shorts, and no hats are allowed
- Please provide the full names 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.
- Due to heightened security measures, you may experience delays in clearing security checks when entering the Colosseum
- Entry to the Vatican Museums is based on strictly timed tickets. For this reason, late arrivals cannot be guaranteed access. All visitors must have a photo ID for the security check
- Bags (Colosseum): Bulky bags, trolleys or backpacks are not allowed at the Colosseum. No glass bottles are allowed. There is no cloakroom in the Colosseum
- Important: If you have a pacemaker you will need to show a certificate, otherwise you will not be admitted without being screened
- For the Colosseum tour: The schedule is subject to changes pending more precise information from the Colosseum management
- 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
- Please be advised that the tour itinerary may change, but the guided tour is always guaranteed
Reviews(11)
TERRIBLE….. dropped off while it was raining, only to be passed around from one street salesman to the next. Could not locate our representative which led to our tour time expiring. Called Towns of Italy and they did not care because they already took our money. Street representatives only wanted us to buy more tickets instead of helping. Towns of Italy would not even provide us our vouchers so that we could enter the Museum on our own. 0/5 Would not recommend!
Dear Guest, Thanks for your precious feedback. We are truly sorry for your disappointment and the difficulties you faced. Please note that our meeting point is always the same and our guests normally meet their guide there. In case of any issue, we are glad to provide real-time assistance by phone. Vouchers are always sent directly to the client or to the booking agency. Our genuine interest is not simply to take money, but to make every guest happy with their experience. Kindest regards, Towns of Italy Customer Care
Mitia was fantastic, and very helpful. Highly recommended 👌 great tour guide, very friendly. And became friends with everyone instantly.
Both trips, Vatican in the morning and Colosseum in the afternoon went very smoothly. Meeting up was good and the radios worked really well for hearing our guides. Our English ears found our local guide to the Vatican a little difficult to understand much of the time but he was a really nice guy and we got enough out of the tour to enjoy it. Dmitri. our Russian guide in the afternoon was very easy to understand and I think the lighter subject matter made the Colosseum/Forum tour the more enjoyable of the two. Both tours were just 6 people in the group so the attention from the guides was very personal. Overall a very positive experience and we would recommend the tours versus doing these visits unguided.
This was a fabulous experience. Marco was an excellent tour guide. He provided fabulous explanations of what we were seeing. I’m glad that we went.
Towns of Italy did not book the second half of our tour. We have confirmation proving. Lady’s in Rome apologized. Came from US Atlanta GA. Very upset with you.
Dear Guest, Thank you for reaching out, and please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience you experienced. We are truly sorry to hear that part of your tour was not properly arranged — we completely understand how frustrating this must have been, especially after traveling all the way from Atlanta. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, and we’re currently reviewing the details of your booking to understand what went wrong and how we can make it right. Please know that your satisfaction is very important to us, and we deeply regret the disappointment caused. We will follow up shortly with more information. In the meantime, thank you again for your patience and for giving us the opportunity to look into this. Warm regards, Towns of Italy Customer Care
Great experience visiting the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Perfect organization and very punctual. I was pleasantly surprised by the welcome. I have to thank Mitia for the welcome at the meeting point, she provided us with all the necessary information and was really very kind. I was the only Italian in a group of Englishmen but thanks to him I immediately felt comfortable. I must say that he welcomed with the same warmth all the other foreign guests and also took action to go and catch up with the latecomers, always welcomed with kindness and professionalism. The visit lasted 3 hours and the guide was able to highlight even the most curious aspects related to both the Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
A busy time in Rome yet my tour guide was wonderful. I learned so much and wish I could more. It was my first time in Rome and I want to return.
This is the worst experience we have ever had with a tour company. Metia (tour guide) was very unhelpful and told us he would stay with us until our issues were resolved, but left us stranded two minutes after. We booked and paid through a trusted and well respected travel agency, and had a reference number and confirmation number for our tour. Towns of Italy did not update their records for them to see our booking made weeks in advance. We called our travel agency and they said they COULD find our records and that it was confirmed by TOI. The tour guide we met at the top of the stairs (Metia), said he would talk to his “big boss” and stay to resolve this with us. He took 20 minutes to get back to us saying that they couldn’t see our reservation and that we would be reached out by his boss in a couple minutes to get this resolved. Not only did his boss never reach out, they were very rude in trying to “help us”. I blame this to laziness, a lack of people skills, and unprofessionalism. This tour was recommended by the Pope, but I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to book this tour. THIS IS A SCAM. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY, EVEN THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT. For my whole life, me and my children always wanted a tour of the Vatican City. Sadly, we leave tomorrow and this was our last opportunity for my kids to have their lifelong dream of seeing the Vatican City, and potentially the Pope. This review will also be posted on the Wall Street Journal in New York Times. Tune into good morning America as well.
Dimitri was a fantastic guide! He met us exactly were stated and was informative, funny, and interesting. It was a long day seeing the Vatican, the Colisseum, the Palatine Hill, and overlooking the Forum (which we then walked on our own); however, it was well worth it to see so much in a short time. Our guide Marina was also great at the Vatican. Super knowledgeable. Skipping the lines is essential.
The guides are so passionate about their history. It was wonderful to hear the past through their stories. Both tours are 3 hours long. By the end of the day our feet were so sore. If we knew we would of split the tours over two days, but, in saying this we had limited time in Rome and another full day tour the following day. Highly recommend.
