Ever since I have watched the movie ‘Gladiator’ I have been awed by the Colosseum and Gladiators. It is kind of hard not to fall in love with Russell Grove in Gladiator.

As many tourists have done before us we made it to the Colosseum on our second day in Rome .

Tickets

We used Get Your Guide to book our tour . Our tour included skip the line, entrance through the gladiator gate , access to the arena ( where gladiators fought) and entrance to the Roman Forum . We also had a guide for the Colosseum who did an excellent job , and a guide for the Roman Forum .

The company and the tour we used :

The Tour

We met the guide in front of the Colosseum and started our tour around 9 AM .

She was full of information. Some interesting items that she shared with us :

• The Colosseum’s exterior and interior were covered with precious stones and marbles . These were taken by previous Popes and rich families to decorate churches and homes .
• Under the tunnels there is a network of tunnels that was used to support the operation of the Colosseum.
• Exotic animals were brought in from all over the world and at times starved so they fight more viciously with the gladiators and other animals. All to put on a good show for the crowds .

Photos & Commentary From The Tour

The start of our tour.

The Gladiator Entrance . You have to pay extra to enter through these gates . I am always a sucker for paying for extra items .

This is the door gladiators passed through before their fights to enter the Arena . If you buy the normal entrance you don’t get to go through this door or stand on the arena where the fights actually happened.

Arena

Arena is where all the action took place starting about 2000 years ago ! It is where the gladiators stood and stared up to the crowd !

Views From The Colosseum

Second Level Views Into The Colosseum

Artsy Photos

From The Outside

Colosseum Night Time Views

Overall

Colosseum is the number one visited place in all of Rome and it is one of the modern wonders of the world ! It is still standing today after almost 2000 years . Has a very gruesome and colourful history with gladiators and violence. There is something very special about visiting a place that is ancient and intact with countless stories about it !

If you only have time for one attraction in Rome make sure it is the Colosseum!