Colosseum Night Tour Review: Is it worth it?

original article updated 2026 

It took five years and  six trips to Rome wandering my favorite piazzas, before I went inside the Colosseum. I was resistant. What made me change my mind?  The opportunity to take a Colosseum Night Tour.  The tour included the underground Colosseum areas where the animals were kept, and the arena floor.

Here’s what made this tour unforgettable, and what to look for when choosing a Colosseum experience for yourself.   

What makes the Colosseum night tour different? 

No crowds and small groups

  Small groups really do matter. You have a chance to ask the guide questions without waiting for forty other people to ask theirs. If the group is larger than six people you will be given a headset so hearing is not an issue.

Special access areas: the hypogeum and the underground

No matter who you book your tour with, general admission tickets do not include the hypogeum, the arena floor, and special upper areas where you get the best view. These special access areas make the difference between an ok tour and an amazing tour. The hypogeum is where gladiators and animals waited before emerging onto the arena floor. Being there yourself gives you a much better appreciation for the history and drama of the time. Access to these areas is totally worth the extra money. 

Skip the line is a must

If you’ve not walked by the Colosseum and seen the line that goes on seemingly forever, you’ll thank me for this tip. Do not book a tour with anyone if it’s not a skip-the-line tour. 

A good tour guide is essential 

While the Colosseum is impressive inside and out, a great guide will bring the history to life. You don’t want to waste your time in Rome with a mediocre guide. Look for guides that are expert archaeologists as well as story tellers. My guide, Jeanette, made the story of the Colosseum come alive by sharing some juicy details (some I’ve shared in this article.)  Seeing it at night and gaining access to these previously inaccessible areas made it all the more special.  

My honest review of the experience

First of all, I took this tour with Walks of Italy. I’ve been told by the company that they no longer offer it. So, my review is based on this tour. If you go with another company, you may not have the same experience but I have recommended two other companies that’s I had personally toured with. 

What did I learn about the Colosseum? It was not always called the Colosseum but was previously known as the Flavian Amphitheater. It took 100,000 slaves approximately ten years to build. Not only that, it was constructed over a pond, requiring advanced engineering skills. Those ancient Roman engineers were very sophisticated leaving a legacy of incredible Roman ruins across Europe. 

The Colosseum is the model for arenas as we know them today. There were seating tiers (just like today), and running water. They didn’t have elevators but used a system of pulleys and ropes to accomplish the same tasks.

Though admission was free you still had to have a ticket to get in. The wealthy Roman elites occupied the premium seats closest to the arena floor, while the general public occupied the nosebleed sections above. It seems to me that not much has changed.
The Colosseum was an active arena for 500 years before it closed and became a sort of quarry for the city of Rome. Many of the buildings you see around the historic center used the marble from the Colosseum.

It wasn’t all about blood and guts

I’ve often wondered if ancient Romans were very different than the friendly people I’ve met on my travels there. Were they really so bloodthirsty and cruel?  As it turns out, it wasn’t all about blood and guts.

Remember this is B.C. times. There were no airplanes to whisk us across continents for a safari in Africa.  No televisions for us to watch elephants, lions, and zebras run across the screen on the Discovery Channel. Witnessing the games at the Colosseum was the one chance for thousands of citizens to see exotic animals never seen by anyone in the civilized world before. Somehow this makes me feel a little better about it all…at least it wasn’t 100% about blood and violence.

Gladiators were like rock stars 

What about the gladiators? Jeanette explained that being a gladiator was actually not that bad. They were the rock stars of their time. People had their favorites and dying on a stage in front of 50,000 cheering and screaming fans must have been preferable to hanging out in the hypogeum with the animals, slaves, and accompanying smells. The chances of dying down there were just as great as going to battle with another gladiator or an animal. And there was no glory in it!

Being a gladiator wasn’t just about brute physical strength. Remember, gladiators had never seen these animals before.  Can you picture an ostrich running full speed at you– or a lion who’s been starved for several days being unleashed?  Not only did a gladiator have to be strong and quick on his feet to overpower the animal, but he had to outsmart the animal as well.

The victor was led out of the Colosseum for a victory shower. Outside, waiting for the victors to appear, were the wives of the wealthy and powerful citizens of Rome. Just like rock stars, gladiators got the girls after the gig.

I honestly felt I experienced something really special on this tour and left with a better understanding of the people and times of ancient Rome.

Booking through the official Colosseum webite

Below is the information about booking directly with the Colosseum website. This is not a tour company but a government site. They offer tours. I’ve read mixed reviews. Consider one of the tour companies I recommend below and that I have personally tried.

 

Currently available tours 

While the specific tour I took is no longer running, you can still experience the arena after dark. If you want to book a night experience I highly recommend checking out these trusted alternative options:

• • • The Roman Guy: Known for their exclusive Colosseum Night Tour with Underground Access. I toured with this company in Venice. 
    • GetYourGuide: Offers excellent skip-the-line evening tickets with licensed archeologist guides. I toured Monte Albán with Get your Guide in Oaxaca, Mexico.
    • Walks of Italy: While their night tour is paused, their daytime Gladiator’s Gate & Arena Floor Tour is the next best thing. Their Gladiator’s Gate: Special Access Colosseum Tour with Arena floor sounds similar to the memorable tour I took. 

Other tours I’ve taken with Walks/Devour tours includes a pub tour in London under their Devour Tours group. I also took a Trastevere food tour with Devour which I wrote about for Travel Awaits. 

 

 

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