**All Colosseum tours require photo ID for all participants; plan to bring your passports on the day of your tour. Failure to show identification will result in the denial of entry to the site.**
Your LivTours Semi-Private Colosseum and Domus Aurea Tour starts just outside the Colosseum Metro Station, where you and your semi-private group will be met by your expert LivTours guide. You guide will then accompany you into the Colosseum with priority access, allowing you direct entry! Once inside, you will be given a brief intro of this impressive 160-foot high structure, which was once the site of gladiator games, mass crucifixions, and exotic animal fights – to name just few uses!
Your expert guide then take you to ancient Rome’s greatest arena, the Colosseum. Making your way up into the seating area, you are sure to be inspired as you stand where over 50,000 Roman spectators once stood in high anticipation of the games. It is here that one million lives were lost in battles, as crowds roared at the gore and emperors smiled with grim satisfaction. The Colosseum is undoubtedly one of the greatest entertainment venues in the world and your expert tour guide will bring the ancient battles to life.
Nero’s Golden Palace – the Domus Aurea
Once you have finished exploring the Colosseum, you and your semi-private group will now take a short walk to the Colle Oppio Park, located just down the street of the Colosseum. Upon arrival, you will be given hard hats to wear during your discovery of the home of one of the most notorious emperors in all of Roman history – Nero. You may have heard these stories of the great Roman fire during Nero’s reign, but it is likely you have not heard what he did afterward. He built himself a palace, covering a mere 200 acres as only Emperors can do. You and your semi-private group will be seeing a few of the highlights of this extravagant home.
By now you will have a good idea of what ancient Rome really looked like through virtual reality simulations. At the Domus Aurea you will enjoy Augmented Reality of Nero’s Golden Palace and what it would have looked like when it was at its height.
Your LivTours guide will accompany you to this active excavation site, so get your hard hats on! Travelers will be left in good hands with a Domus Aurea official English-speaking tour guide who specializes in either Art History or Archeology. Please note that your group will now increase in size (up to 22 people) as per Domus Aurea excavation ground policy. The archeological guides are just as passionate about history.
LivTours has combined two iconic sites of ancient Rome – the Colosseum and Domus Aurea – so you get a complete overview of the life of an average citizen from 2000 years ago and learn how it differed from that of a wealthy citizen or even an emperor.