Colosseum

All my tours include priority skip-the-line entry, and my Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill tour is no different. Stepping straight inside the Colosseum and past the crowds of flustered tourists, you’ll make your way to the upper levels for a bird’s eye view of the arena.


Imagine the scenes that played out below you – not just gladiatorial contests, but also wild-animal hunts, battle reenactments, and gruesome executions. Learn how long it took to build the Colosseum (the answer will surprise you!), and which city’s destruction funded its construction (hint: the answer begins with ‘J’).


My Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill tour is the perfect introduction to ancient Rome as the ancient amphitheatre was a microcosm of Roman society. The seating was stratified according to class (find out who sat where and see if you can still see their places!) and the scenes that took place below – and the animals procured for them – reflected the reach and dominance of the Roman Empire.

Arch of Constantine

The Colosseum might be the city’s blockbuster building, but the Forum is where Rome’s history was written. At this point in your Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill tour, we’ll pass by the Temple of Venus and Rome, built by the emperor Hadrian, and enter the Forum along the Via Sacra (Sacred Road).


Triumphant generals returning from successful campaigns would parade along this road, through the Forum and up to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline. As we enter the Forum, I’ll show you one of these parades, carved into the relief of a triumphal arch in the 1st century BC. We’ll then follow in the footsteps of such names as Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Tullius Cicero as we make our way into the Roman Forum.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a true treasure trove for the keen-eyed archaeologist. I’ll show you the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins – my personal favourite site. The Vestals were the cougars of ancient Rome: priestesses consigned to chastity in their youth but unleashed when richer, and in older age, on the young men of ancient Rome.


During our time in the Roman Forum, I’ll regale you with stories of the scandals, seditions and intrigues that made this public space the city’s beating heart. Using visual props and aids, I’ll bring the ruins you see before you to life, injecting life into the stone and travertine through the tales they tell and the names associated with them.


We’ll pass by the Temple of Romulus (not Rome’s founder, but another one). We’ll see the remains of the Temple of Caesar (yup, Julius), and we’ll admire the awe-inspiring architecture of the Basilica of Maxentius, an emperor who was cancelled, subjected to damnatio memoriae, after being killed in battle by his rival. We’ll also explore the Forum’s lesser-known sites, even visiting the place where Caesar was cremated. Having mined it for its treasures, we’ll then ascend the Palatine Hill to see where Rome’s history began.

Your Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill tour finishes where Rome began

The Palatine Hill has gifted us a lot: it’s from the Latin word ‘Palatinus’ that we derive our word ‘palace’. Such was the wealth of those who lived there – from Cicero to Augustus Caesar, Caligula to Nero. As you’ll see on this Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill tour, you can still see traces of its imperial grandeur in the architecture of the palaces that line it.


But the Palatine Hill is famous for another Roman legend. For it was here that one of Rome’s founders, Romulus, settled while his twin set up camp on a neighbouring hill. Why did Romulus choose the Palatine? What caused the conflict with his twin brother? And is there any historical or archaeological trace of Rome’s first ‘mythical’ king?

Coming soon!

Cancellations made 8 days or more prior to the scheduled tour will be in receipt of a full refund. 

No-shows and late cancellations are subject to a 100% penalty fee.

I always purchase your tickets in advance (to save any waiting in line) so they are non-refundable.