colosseum substructure and 3rd floor opens oct 19-nov 30

Gaby, I had heard that the Colosseum Underground was to be open from late August thru Oct 2nd, just passed and searched for tickets for it for weeks. I even e-mailed tour guides over in Rome. They knew nothing about it, so I finally gave up.

nobody has heard of this?

Hi Gaby,

The best way to do this is to call the official booking number directly, at +39.06.39967700. (Easiest way would be to call via Skype, a very easy-to-download voice-over-internet program). Someone there should speak English, and they can book you in without a problem, or without you having to put down a deposit. The cost is 12 euros for the entrance, as normal, plus 8 euros for the official guided tour. Any websites that say they will do this for you will, likely, be charging a surcharge.

Hope that helps!

Amanda

www.revealedrome.com

Amanda Ruggeri's excellent site, Revealed Rome (http://www.revealedrome.com/archaeological-sites/) has a feature on this, as well as a link to the booking site, http://www.pierreci.it/16114.aspx . The latter is in Italian. I will be there on the 19th, as luck would have it, and will try to make a posting if I have any clarity to offer. Ciao!

Gaby you would be surprised what local things happen (here in Italy) that no one seems to know about... It sounds like you got some good answers though finally. And now that I have heard about this, I want to go too -

Is this something that needs to be booked beforehand or will I be able to reserve a spot on the tour when I arrive in Rome (fly in on Oct. 29 a.m. and planning to tour Colosseum on Oct. 30 a.m. or maybe Oct. 31 a.m.)? Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the shout-out, Laurel!

And because I've gotten a lot of questions on this, I've just put up a post walking people through how to book step-by-step. You can check it out here: http://www.revealedrome.com/2010/10/underground-at-the-colosseum-how-do-you-get-there.html

Hope that helps!

www.revealedrome.com

Glad to help, Dee! Enjoy the tour - the new areas are fantastic.

Amanda, thank you thank you thank you for the tips on how to make reservation on your website!!! I just called Pierreci via Skype and successfully made a reservation on November 26. Yes they do speak English.

I cannot wait!! Would not be able to do this without your help! I searched online, and you're right, many travel sites are already selling the tickets. They charge at least 6 euros more per ticket!

I want to say thanks too! i did the same and I now have my reservation! It also help the tip that we can still use the Roma Pass
Thanks!

Thanks for the information! Only downside is, with my work schedule, I can't make the call to reserve a ticket (I'm sleeping when Rome is awake!). I'm going to be in Rome in 3 weeks(YAY!) for a 4 day whirlwind visit and planning on hitting the Colosseum on Saturday (with the Roma Pass). I'm just going to let fate rule the day and if I get on a tour (I'm assuming the only tours visiting the substructure and 3rd level are OFFICIAL tours) than wonderful. Otherwise I will just have to shrug and hope that the tours are available when I go back in 2013. I'm going to Rome to enjoy the experience not stress out on whether I get someplace by a certain time.

Hi Andrea,

I'm with you on not stressing, but be aware that that approach most likely won't work. They have been very clear that the tours HAVE to be prebooked. (There is a maximum of only 25 people per tour). They're not like the other official tours of the Colosseum, where they "gather" people from the line up until the last minute. They won't let you on otherwise, to the best of my knowledge, and I can't see how they would, particularly as without a reservation, you won't even be able to skip the normal Colosseum ticket line; you'd have to stand in it, get to the desk, and THEN ask about times and if a tour spot is available, instead.

Also, I'm not sure how you'd know what time of day the tours are, if you just walk up without a reservation?

Anyway, it could work -- but my strong hunch is not. Just so you're not disappointed!

Let us know how it goes, though, and good luck!

www.revealedrome.com

Will this only be going on through November 30th? I'll be in Rome next April and I would love to do this. Do we just need to wait and see if they will keep it going?

Yes, so far they've only announced this through November 30. However, I would bet money on the fact that they are going to not offer these tours only December and January, maybe February too, and then reopen them when it's not quite as dead tourism-wise in Rome. I can't believe they would spend more than $1 million on restorations only to leave these areas closed after November. Instead, I think it's typical Italian not-announcing-things-in-advance.

www.revealedrome.com

Thanks Amanda.. I'll see if I can work it out so I can call but I'm usually at work when Rome is awake! But I doubt I will be disappointed if I miss viewing the substructure or 3rd level (after all its a bonus) because I'll be in Rome and there isn't much that is better than that!

Note that reservations by phone can be made Mon-Fri from 9:00am-6:00pm and Sat 9:00am-2:00pm. Operators are not available to take reservations on Sun. Times, of course, are local time in Rome.