Best colosseum tour with kids-plus tips for Nero’s palace and Galleria Borghese

I thought the underground was very worth seeing. Its got what you expect, but it adds depth to your perspective to be able to see and imagine the area where the slaves and animals were held, and the elevator that raised them up (shown in The Gladiator). We got "underground and third tier" tickets through coop culture by calling in advance (at the time, calling promptly when the office opens Rome time the first monday of the month preceding the vistit. Now the process is different I believe). For Borghese tickets we also called well in advance, per instructions on the website. Entry happens in two-hour blocks. So you get tickets for entry for a set two hours (9-11, 11-1, etc)

Thank you Jessica! I am having a hard time finding when tickets for both the colosseum and Borghese go on sale. I know this stuff seems to change all the time too.

I thought I saw on the Borghese Gallery website that tickets go on sale 90 days before entry. Maybe I misread it.

Are you sure your 5- and 9-year-olds will want to spend two hours in an art museum ? Borghese Gallery is lovely for art-loving adults, but the kids might prefer seeing the zoo in the same park.

I was interested in the night tour but the coop culture website says
it is finished. Any thoughts on whether or not it will return?

I would keep checking the coopculture website to see if they open bookings again for the night tours beyond 1/5/2019. It's possible that they won't start them doing them again until spring so will delay booking availability for a bit.

Is the underground worth seeing?

Up to you but personally I think it can be skipped. You can see down into that area from the general-public viewing area above.

With the tickets you purchase on the coop culture website, do you get
to walk the arena floor?

Only with specific tickets/tours which includes it; not with general-entry tickets of audio/video guides.

Colosseum coopculture tour tickets for May are not on sale yet, and they changed the ticketing procedure so many times over the past year that it's uncertain when they'll do so in 2019. It is possible they'll go on sale on the first Monday of the every month for the following month and/or offer quarterly availability for April - June. For now, just keep an eye on the website.

Additionally, this is a very good resource for info about coopculture Colosseum tours. Reference both dbabe's lead-in post (which she usually updates when big changes occur) and most RECENT posts on that thread. You may very well find that someone else has asked the same questions you have:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187791-i22-k11966332-2018_underground_panoramic_booking_process_Sept_Dec_31rst-Rome_Lazio.html

For questions regarding general-entry tickets (no tours) only:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187791-i22-k12017137-Booking_coloseum_entry_tickets_October_December_2018-Rome_Lazio.html

Galleria Borghese official ticketing website:
https://www.tosc.it/tickets.html

They are currently showing ticket bookings available only through Feb. 3, 2019 so a little over 30 days in advance BUT I would definitely keep an eye on the site after tomorrow to see if they extend that to 60 days in advance or more.

(Edited a bunch of typos. Stupid fingers anyway.)

Hi Billie. If you haven't seen already, coop culture is selling tickets for Nero's Palace; I just bought mine. We also bought tickets for the Colosseum that includes the underground and panorama view. Hope you have a great time!

Thanks David! Are they selling the tickets for June?

No, tickets are not available yet for June.

I just returned from a trip to Rome with my two teens who are good travelers and nerdy and like museums. We had signed up for a 2 hour tour for the Borghese Museum and in preparation had each done a little presentation to our family on one of 4 Bernini sculptures at the Borghese (ie each one of us researched one of the magnificent sculptures and did a presentation to the rest of the family). We have traveled to many European cities and always go to museum and this approach has always worked to maintain their interest in what we are about to see. So there we were at the Borghese. After 45 minutes on the tour, both my kids asked if they could meet us in the cafeteria. !!!! This has never happened before. Not at the British Museum, not in Spain, Germany, Paris, or a previous trip to Rome. I cannot imagine a 5 year old in the Borghese Museum or a 9 year old. If you are traveling with another adult, you might consider one of you going to the park/zoo while the other one goes to the museum and then switching places.

The Domus Aurea has a virtual reality experience with goggles that is the most amazing thing I've ever seen, a re-creation of the palace. I thought we would put on the goggles and look at the walls and see what the walls looked like and there is some of that but it actually seems like you are walking around the palace. It feels like you are moving from indoors to outdoors, even though you are in reality sitting in one place. It is astonishing. Each person has to sit on a block of wood that is about 3 ft away from every other block of wood, with the goggles on. You might want to have your 5 year old sit on your lap bec the virtual reality experience seems so real that for a 5 year old it might be a bit disorienting. Note: only available on Saturdays/Sundays and well worth planning your schedule around it and purchasing in advance. Give yourself plenty of time to find it, it is not well marked, HAVE FUN!

SuzieeQQ, Billie had both the Vatican Museums and the Borghese on her sightseeing list in a previous thread. If one had to do at least one art museum, I'd advised for the Borghese over the Vatican because of the 2-hour time limit and excellent crowd control. There was concern about young, very short individuals being completely overwhelmed/trampled by the high-season crush at the Vatican. It's a mess.

Both early-entrance tours and Friday night late openings (if the kids weren't completely knackered by the 7:00 PM hour) were offered up as alternatives if the Vatican HAD to be done but still.... All kids are different so hard to know how well the OP's would tolerate either one. Anyway, I don't think I'd book a tour of the Borghese with young children; best to do it independently so they aren't dealing with instruction 'above their heads'.

I appreciate everyone’s input! I booked the early morning Vatican tour because it is a must for us. Touring Borghese I may do on my own while my husband takes them to the park. Park is open to the public? I’ll discuss it with them and let them decide. I think my husband and daughter would welcome the opportunity to bow out an go to the park but I think my son would want to go.

Park is open to the public?

Yes! And it's very large so he should make sure to have a map on him.