Ultimate Rome: Colosseum, Vatican Museums & Walking Tour

Meeting point

Where

Meet your guide at the top of the big staircase between TMark Hotel Vaticano and Caffé Vaticano (Viale Vaticano, 100). Look for a guide holding a sign with the tour name at the top of the steps. · Open in Google Maps

Departure

08:15, 08:45, 09:30, 09:45, 10:15, daily except Sun; scheduled year-round (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Return

This tour typically ends at the Colosseum or Roman Forum. However, on rare occasions, the endpoint may change due to logistical reasons.

Pickup

No hotel pickup: everyone meets at the start point

Operator

The Tour Guy; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. 1
   Vatican Museums

   Meet your guide just outside the Vatican Museums entrance on Viale Vaticano, where you'll check in and receive your timed entry tickets. Once inside, your guide leads you through the Candelabra Gallery, Gallery of Tapestries, and Gallery of Maps, pointing out key works of Roman and Greek art along the way.

   2h · Admission included
2. 2
   Sistine Chapel

   Still inside the Vatican complex, you'll move into the Sistine Chapel for one of the most awe-inspiring moments of the day. Your guide prepares you in advance with stories about Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes, including The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment, before you step inside to take it all in.

   15 min · Admission included
3. 3
   Rome

   Board a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle for a short drive from the Vatican to the heart of historic Rome.

   15 min
4. 4
   Piazza Navona

   Your walking tour begins in one of Rome's most theatrical baroque squares. Listen as your guide explains the history of the piazza, from its origins as an ancient stadium to the rival fountains commissioned by competing popes, as you take in the grand architecture surrounding you.

   30 min
5. 5
   Pantheon

   A short walk brings you to the outside of one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in the world. Your guide covers the engineering genius behind the Pantheon's 2,000-year-old unreinforced concrete dome and the building's transformation from Roman temple to Christian church.

   10 min · Admission not included
6. 6
   Trevi Fountain

   Enjoy a view of Rome's most famous Baroque fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi and completed in 1762. Standing nearly 26 meters tall, the fountain depicts the god Oceanus at the center of a dramatically sculpted facade built into the rear wall of Palazzo Poli. Your guide provides the history and context from a vantage point nearby before the group moves on.

   15 min · Admission not included
7. 7
   Rome

   Next, take a lunch break (food not included in price of tour) near the Trevi Fountain. Rest your feet and refuel before heading to the Roman Forum.

   1h
8. 8
   Roman Forum

   A short walk from the Colosseum, you’ll find yourself amid the sprawling ruins of the Roman Forum, once the political and commercial epicenter of the Roman Empire. Trace the footsteps of emperors and citizens as your guide brings the area's highlights, like the Arch of Titus, to life, detailing what daily life was like in ancient Rome.

   1h · Admission included
9. 9
   Colosseum

   Timed entry takes you inside the Colosseum's first and second tiers, where your guide sets the scene for the gladiatorial combat and public spectacles that once filled this iconic arena. You'll leave with a clear sense of the scale and spectacle of ancient Rome at its peak. End the tour having seen the best of Rome with out the planning stress.

   1h · Admission included

About this tour, from the operator