I want to book the Colosseum guided tour with both underground and Belvedere (Panoramic?). On Coopculture. It says I have to call in order to get a timed entrance. So does that mean I don’t skip the line? I’m assuming that’s why the ticket says regular entrance. And I’m assuming the tour is just at the Colosseum and not the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Do I need a tour guide for them? So confused.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7482 posts
This was 6 1/2 years ago, and somewhat off-season, in December, so things might be different now. Not familiar with Coopcultire myself. We showed up (no lines present) and signed up for the next underground tour that would be going, in 20 minutes - well worth doing Underground for the extra access to the lower level parts, different vantages of the structures, and guided insight and question/answer opportunities. But then we toured the upper parts ourselves, having gotten some tips from the underground guide.
The next day, we visited the Palatine Hill and Forum on our own, using the 2012 Rick Steves Italy book as our guide. Those two sites are so expansive, we were able to see plenty just with Rick’s book. If your tour doesn’t cover them, you can do them on your own schedule, but having Rick Steves book, audioguide, or other resource would be helpful for context.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15863 posts
Things are very different now than they were even a year ago! Coopculture is the official website for Colosseum, Forum and Palatine tickets and tours, and they've made so many changes in the past year that it's difficult to keep up with them all. Heck, they made another one just this week. Anyway, no, you can't just walk up and get onto one of their tours anymore.
Kathy, Underground and Belvedere tours are the most in-demand tickets for this very busy attraction. Neither of these two areas or the arena floor can be accessed without a guide. This is the tour you want:
The price includes your entry to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine ( € 12,00) plus the price of the guided tour (€15,00) plus € 2,00 booking fee. These tickets release on a pre-set time schedule so you must read details on the website carefully, and be aware that they can sell out within minutes of becoming available. Go to this page:
https://www.coopculture.it/en/the-colosseum.cfm
On the right side is loooong column of text and some of it might be hidden: if you see a [++] sign at the bottom of the page, click on it to reveal the rest of the text, although not all of it will apply to your purchase. If you are going to Rome in October, this is the text you want to pay attention to:
QUARTERLY OPENING OCTOBER-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019
Thursday, July 25th at 6.30 pm ROME TIME (UTC+1) The pre-sale for the underground tour and the combined underground, arena and third level tour, in quarterly availability for the months of October, November and December 2019 will be available online only.
You will need to have the booking page up and ready to go right at the stated release time/date. Also note that they're specifying that this tour is for the underground, arena (meaning arena floor) and third level. The Belvedere tiers are above the third level and have been closed for repairs since April, and it looks like they don't expect them to be accessible until further notice. Underground-only tour tickets also release at this date and time, and they include entry to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine as well.
To book just the Underground tour via the quarterly (ticket release at date/time above) or the monthly availability (date/time below) this is the tour you'd choose:
Every first Thursday of the month: Pre-sale of the underground tour
only online: September 5th at 6.30 pm (UTC+1) in the monthly availability for the month of October
Tours will be for a specific time and you'll need to show up early to pass through security at your assigned gate.
(Edited to correct a link and pricing, and to add info for just the underground tour)