When visiting Rome for the first time, the Coliseum is on everyone’s must do list. I was no exception. However, knowing that everyone visits the coliseum sent me on a research journey to figure out how to minimize my wait times, minimize the crowds, and maximize the experience.
What I found excited me. It was a night tour of the coliseum. There would be no more than 300 people inside during this time. Imagine, 300 people in an arena built to hold 65,000! This meant no crowds, no jostling for photos, and the ability to hear what the tour guide was saying.
In addition, we got to see parts of the Coliseum that are closed off during the day. We got to go under the stage, where the animals were kept, where there were elevators designed to lift the animals to the surface to make it seem as if they had magically appeared. There were underground streams that still flow. And it gave us the chance to see the architecture of the levels up close.
And without even planning for it, we arrived on a night when there was a full moon shining over the Coliseum.
Our tour began with our small group meeting at a bar nearby where we were served drinks and a snack. We then walked over to the Coliseum, stopping along the pedestrian bridge to take photos of the moon over the Coliseum. We never felt rushed. And while we encountered a few of the other tour groups, we often had an entire area to ourselves.
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