Type: Historic Monuments, Roman Antiquity, Walking
Length: 4 Hours
Walking: Difficult (a lot of walking and stairs)
Mobility: NO wheelchairs
Guide: Licensed Guide
Language: English

Rome, Italy - The focus of this option is an extensive walking tour of the sites related to Ancient Rome including the Coliseum, Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum.

You are met at your hotel and you immediately drive to the Coliseum which dates back to 80 AD and is perhaps the grandest and most famous of the city's monuments. This enormous arena once featured 76 numbered entrances, marble seats for 50,000 spectators, retractable shade awnings and subterranean passages. Gladiatorial combats against wild beasts and some say even mock naval battles were staged here. Your guide accompanies you inside the Coliseum to explore and explain its illustrious history.

As you leave the Coliseum, you will see the immense Arch of Constantine, built as a memorial to honor Constantine's defeat of the pagan Maxentius in 306 AD. Your guide will lead you through the ruins of one of the world's most important historical sites, the Roman Forum. In Ancient Roman times this was the center of political, religious and commercial life. The grand foundations, columns and arches have survived the thousands of years since Rome controlled most of the known world in its empire.

After your walking tour of the Roman Forum you end at Capitol Hill, the most sacred of Rome's seven hills. This is the site where an Etruscan temple to Jupiter once stood. You can climb the long, sloping steps designed by Michelangelo surmounting the hill at the Piazza del Campidoglio. In the center of the piazza is a bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. To one side is the Capitol Hill Museum and at the back of the square is a view over the famous Roman Forum with the Coliseum rising in the distance.

After you enjoy this extensive walking tour of Ancient Rome, you are brought back to your hotel.