• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Can you imagine walking the same paths as the rulers of ancient Rome, amidst the grandeur of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum? Discover the cradle of civilization as we peel back the layers of history, revealing the epicenter of power, politics, and culture in the ancient world.

Destination

Rome, Italy

Category

Art Culture Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Italiano, Español, Deutsch

Included

• Private Licensed Guide
• All Withlocals tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Tickets

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 7 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at On the left side of the ticket office, close to the lamp post - Rome to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Journey's Start

   Our exploration begins at the entrance to the Palatine Hill, ready to uncover the stories of Rome's legendary origins and its rulers' lives.

4. Imperial Residences

   Discover the personal and public spaces of Rome's emperors, marveling at the art and architecture that defined an era.

5. Heart of the Empire

   Enter the Forum, walking through the center of Roman public life, where politics, religion, and society intersected.

6. Curia Julia and the Temple of Saturn

   Centers of Power and Faith: Visit the core institutions of Roman governance and religion, understanding their role in shaping the empire's destiny.

7. Via Sacra and the Arch of Titus

   Concluding with Triumph: Conclude our tour along the Via Sacra, beneath the Arch of Titus, reflecting on the legacy of Rome and its lasting impact on the world.

8. Discover the House of Augustus

   Emperor's Private World: Explore the intimate quarters of Augustus, adorned with remarkable frescoes, offering insights into the personal life of Rome's first emperor.

9. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Karen

(About local Pietro Paolo)

22 February 2025

Pietro was very knowledgeable about the Forum and Roman history and was full of fascinating stories that made the Forum visit both entertaining and interesting. Informative and fun

Bob

(About local Cecilia)

12 February 2025

Cecilia was very knowledgeable and very pleasant. She really tried to help us conceptualize what we were looking at.VERY THOROUGH TOUR

David🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Sara)

26 January 2025

Sara was a wonderful tour guide who brought all the history to life in a very engaging way. She is an expert historian who is super friendly and an amazing source of knowledge and stories. We came away so much more informed about the history and life of ancient Rome and cannot recommend this tour more highly. Top Colosseum, Palatine Hill & Forum Tour!

Lucija

(About local Eleonora)

13 December 2024

We loved it!

Jakob

(About local Pietro Paolo)

8 December 2024

Super knowledgeable and fun guy. Definitely worth it.Great tour

Tina🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Pietro Paolo)

17 October 2024

Pietro's in-depth and informed narrative, great humour and passion for Rome brought the Forum and Palatine Hill to life! Not only hugely knowledgeable but with a great sense of humour and tremendous wit, he kept us spellbound for 2 1/2 hours while he took us on a journey through the history of this famous and much loved Roman Antiquity. He is to be thoroughly recommended. Thanks Pietro!Pietro - Rome Guide par excellence!

Gregory🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Pietro Paolo)

13 September 2024

Paolo was an amazing tour guide. The way he wove in historical and mythological stories along with information about construction and architecture was so well done. We could have stayed at the forum all day with him to learn more! We can’t recommend him enough. Best Possible Forum Tour

Eleanor🇺🇸 United States

(About local Pietro Paolo)

8 March 2025

We had a great time touring the Colosseum and the Forum with Paulo! He was very knowledgeable and thorough. The pace was excellent, and we all came away feeling like we learned a lot about the history of Rome. He was great with adults and kids. Would absolutely recommend him and use him again! Thank you, Paulo!Incredible tour with Paulo!

Ruth🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Carlo)

7 March 2025

We had a fabulous tour with Carlo at the Vatican. He is knowledgeable, friendly, very attentive and engaging. Thank you Carlo so much. Carlo is wonderful

Jon🇺🇸 United States

(About local Sara)

3 March 2025

Sara was perfect! Her knowledge of local foods, traditions and local history made the whole afternoon a memorable and wonderful day. I would highly recommend Sara for any tours in Rome!Taste of perfection

Marius

(About local Federico)

27 February 2025

We had a very interesting and informative time with Federico in Rome. It was a very special experience to see Rome and its wonderful corners with a real Roman. We can recommend everyone to take a tour with Federico. If we are in Rome again we will contact Federico. Thank youAmazing Rome

Marius

(About local Federico)

27 February 2025

We had a very interesting and informative time with Federico in Rome. It was a very special experience to see Rome and its wonderful corners with a real Roman. We can recommend everyone to take a tour with Federico. If we are in Rome again we will contact Federico. Thank youAmazing Rome

Mirka🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Yanira)

26 February 2025

We had a Colosseum tour with Yanira and we couldn’t wish for a better guide. Yanira is very friendly, extremly knowledgeable, she explains the history facts in the best possible and un a such interesting way. Do not hesitate to book her for your memorable Rome tours. We wished we had booked more tours with her. Yanira is your best guide in Rome

Iain

(About local Federico)

24 February 2025

Thank you Federico for a thoroughly enjoyable and informative afternoon. You really managed to bring the experience alive with your incredibly knowledge and insight in to Roman life. I cannot recommend Federico enough.

rhq66vr8tj

(About local Eleonora)

23 February 2025

My son and I enjoyed our private tour it was all we were looking for and more! Eleonora provided an individualized experience full of interesting facts and background information, and even sparkled a few refreshing more light-hearted pieces of information into our tour. I definitely recommend Eleonora, and will book her again next time I will come to Rome. John

Andrea🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Pietro Paolo)

20 February 2025

The tour with Pietro Paolo was fantastic. My son is seven and has a passion for the Roman Empire. Pietro Paolo made it all come to live on our tour through the Colosseum and the Foro Romano. He made the history of these places very interesting and had a lot of funny and astonishing facts as well as pictures that showed what it was like at the time. I can recommend this tour 100 %. Excellent Tour - The highlight of our trip

Clare

(About local Federico)

20 February 2025

We had a great time with Federico. He was incredibly knowledgable and understood our needs for the time he spent with us. He is also a really lovely person to spend time with and we would highly recommend him.Fantastic tour guide

James🇺🇸 United States

(About local Cecilia)

20 February 2025

Very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about art. Great session!!Excellent!

Lorna

(About local Pietro Paolo)

18 February 2025

Paulo was a fantastic guide and I couldn't recommend him too highly. From the point of booking, his communication was excellent, clear and very helpful indeed. We booked Paulo for a tour of the Colosseum, wanting to gain a better historical understanding than we might have done from the audio guide or the boards around the site. And we had a much, much better experience than we could possibly have hoped for - Paulo really is a passionate historian and incredibly knowledgeable about all of Rome. We had already covered so much of the history even before we walked through the archway and onto the Arena floor and Paulo made it completely come to life for us as we entered the Arena. He answered our questions brilliantly - the history, the architecture, the nature of the games, the animals, the gladiators, the emperors and the citizens and so much more AND his many pictures and historic images helped to further illuminate and enhance the experience. I think our tour over-ran a bit as Paulo was happy to answer all of our questions in great detail and with true depth of knowledge, being very generous with his time and knowledge and very patient with all our questions. If you are looking for a guide who will bring historic Rome to life, is a font of fascinating information, as well as being charming and helpful - pick Paulo for your tour!.Fantastic guide, highly recommended

Bibiana

(About local Eleonora)

6 February 2025

this is the second time we do this tour, this time with our kids too, and they loved it! Absolutely the best tour we have done so far thanks to Eleonora. She couldn't be any better!Fantastic!

David🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Cecilia)

26 January 2025

Cecilia was a wonderful tour guide with expert art history knowledge who brought everything to life for us. We were able to beat the crowds and see all the artwork and sculptures and more in this very enjoyable and informative tour. Cecilia was amazing and we highly recommend her tour. Fantastic Vatican and Sistene Chapel Tour

Monia

(About local Eleonora)

25 January 2025

I learned a lot thanks to our guide Eleonora. Her enthusiasm for the city of Rome is contagious! Despite being in the city for a short time, I was able to see some hidden gems and also the most iconic landmarks of the city. Definitely the highlight of my trip! Grazzie!!The highlight of my trip!

Janine

(About local Pietro Paolo)

16 January 2025

Paolo was a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and funny guide. We loved every minute of our tour. Paulo was informative and relatable to 4 teenagers. We would highly recommend Paolo. Amazing personal tour

Tiel

(About local Cecilia)

15 January 2025

We had the most amazing tour with Cecilia in and around the colosseum. The experience would not have been the same without Cecilia‘s wealth of knowledge. The tour was not rushed which is incredible given the amount we managed to pack into the time we had. Thanks so much CeciliaThank you so much Cecilia!

Margaret

(About local Eleonora)

14 January 2025

Eleonora is an amazing, funny, and knowledgeable guide. We had a lot of schools touring around us so it was busy but she navigated around them well and was fantastic throughout the whole tour!Amazing Colosseum tour with Eleonors

Sandra

(About local Federico)

13 January 2025

Thankx to Federico, our visit to the Vatican couldn't be better! His knowledge about the Vatican, the Catholic religion, and his views are exceptional. The choices he made to show us en tell us about during the tour were phenomenal! We learned a lot of things for certain, and he made history alive for us, also to see things from another perspective! He made this experience Rome's best memory! Magnificent!

Isabel

(About local Eleonora)

11 January 2025

What a great tour! Our guide Eleonora made us learn about some roman food specialties but also about the neighborhoods we visited and about Italian culture. She was so funny that the 2.5 hours we spent with her were flying. I could have followed her for a few more hours. Thanks for this wonderful experience, Eleonora!Great tour thanks to Eleonora

Joshua

(About local Cecilia)

9 January 2025

Very much enjoyed our tour of the coliseum and the forum. Cecilia is a wonderful guide with a lot of history and details about the monuments. Highly recommend. A great day

Fosca

(About local Eleonora)

7 January 2025

I was just in Rome with my daughter and nephew and booked a guided visit of Ancient Rome in English with Eleonora. The tour went above and beyond my expectations. Eleonora was knowledgeable, fun and perfect for our little group: a college student majoring in history, a high schooler with a keen interest in the classics and history, and me, a lifelong learner. Eleonora led us expertly through the ruins, alternating intriguing stories with hard facts giving us a solid foundation and understanding of life in Rome in the past, through the centuries, and up to the present day. The three of us absolutely loved our time with Eleonora and learned a great deal from her and our tour. I cannot recommend her highly enough! Book a tour with wonderful Eleonora!

Rosy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alessandra)

3 January 2025

Alessandra is amazing and really outstanding in every way possible - she is very knowledgeable, extremely receptive to her audience and understanding of their needs (history and culture in our case) and excellent company (lovely personality and really easygoing and smart). We really enjoyed our time with Alessandra - we learned so much and her storytelling style really helped to bring home historical facts in the best way possible for us to remember them. We love “With Locals” to see places but Alessandra takes With Locals tours to another level altogether. A rating of 10 as an overall satisfaction score is unable to capture her skills and her talent - she exceeds it in every way. Our entire family recommends her without hesitation - you cannot do better than Alessandra on a tour of Rome! Alessandra is outstanding!

zchian🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Pietro Paolo)

2 January 2025

We had a great time with Paolo. He brought Rome alive with all the interesting stories about the place. Good recommendation for other places to go too!Insightful Tour

Brigitte

(About local Pietro Paolo)

1 January 2025

We enjoyed a most delightful afternoon in the coliseum and forum romanum with Paolo. He tailored the tour for our family‘s interests and needs! Perfect! We highly recommend him. Kind, engaging and incredibly knowledgeable he shared his passion for the city and its rich history! Just lovely! Thank you Paolo! Rom coliseum experience at its best

Candice

(About local Pietro Paolo)

28 December 2024

This was a highlight of our time in Rome. Pietro was so knowledgeable and made the tour fascinating for both adults and our teenage boys. We did the arena and underground with Pietro, he made the history fun and relatable for our kids. Highly recommend ta tour with Pietro!Fantastic tour, kept the kids engaged

Verified

(About local Eleonora)

26 December 2024

we highly recommend this tour as one of the first activities to do in Rome. Great introduction to the city. Our guide Eleonora was very funny and knowledgeable. We learnt a lot but, also, she gave us some tips about how to get the best out of our holiday. It was nice not to be in a big group. Great value for money!Great introduction to the city

Cody🇺🇸 United States

(About local Yanira)

24 December 2024

Yanira was extremely knowledgeable and made the experience at the colosseum very enjoyable. She was very easy to talk to you and made sure you could understand and hear her during the tour! I would recommend her for anyone looking for a VIP tour with someone who knows it all! Amazing

Danielle🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Sara)

22 December 2024

Sara guided our family (including our three children 19,17 & 15yrs) around the Coloseum and Palatino hill area. Sara was excellent communicating with me from the time of booking and she assisted me w other arrangements beyond what I’d have expected. Sara’s manner was warm, funny and incredibly informative. She answered all of our questions (including silly ones) with ease and good humour. Would highly recommend Sara. Exceded our expectations

Daniel🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Sara)

20 December 2024

What a great way to start our time in Rome! Sara is so wonderfully warm, engaging, helpful and highly knowledgeable - we absolutely loved wandering through the streets, tasting delicious flavours and learnt so much along the way! Would highly recommend :)Highly Recommend Sara

Ruth🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Yanira)

18 December 2024

Rome is historic and can be daunting to explore/ discover. But Yanira made it so easy and she brought the Roman history to life! She was also patient with my children - which is a plus point, especially in winter! Pre-tour, she followed up and explained the necessary documents and details we'd need to provide. Because Yanira has an art history background, she gave us great insights as we toured the Vatican museum, and before, background upon seeing the monuments which were undergoing restoration ahead of the Rome Jubilee. ## Do note that the queues to the sites, the security checks etc are all mandatory and as a tour guide, she has to prep everyone in the group. Also, note that tickets to the Vatican/ Basilica are timed and you shouldn't miss those timings to have the maximum time allotted inside. Our tour was on a Wednesday and she customised it so we could still visit all the sites, even with the Pope's papal audience. We managed to get pastries, gelato and even pizza along the way and ended at St Peter's Basilica. What a lovely way to spend a morning! Lovely walk with a local History Expert!

Suzana

(About local Eleonora)

15 December 2024

Out tour guide Eleonora was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her work. We truly got a true sense and understanding about the coliseum, and learned information we would never had ever imagined without a guide. 5 STARS!!!5 STARS!!!

Rheda🇺🇸 United States

(About local Eleonora)

11 December 2024

Eleonora was a great tour guide and this was a perfect tour for use to take just hours after arriving in Rome. Plenty of food was included and she provided us with the name / address of a place to try porchetta. Food tour with an architect.

Patricia

(About local Eleonora)

10 December 2024

Elle was FANTASTIC! So informative but appropriately warm and humorous. A wonderful person and tour guide!!!!!A wonderful person and tour guide!!

Janet

(About local Eleonora)

8 December 2024

Did a tour with Eleonora today and she was amazing! Yes this was a food tour but we also learned about the history of Rome and the area we were touring while walking. We learned so many things about the different foods that the Romans love and how the foods were produced to make them more regional. We were warned to come hungry and we did however we still couldn’t finish all of the different foods we were offered. We couldn’t even eat dinner tonight because we were still full!!Amazing Food Tour!!

Veran🇿🇦 South Africa

(About local Pietro Paolo)

4 December 2024

Our experience with Pietro Palo made our trip to Rome come alive. He is extremely knowledgeable about Roman history and we were fascinated by the many stories and accounts he shared. He assisted us in visualising the colesseum, palantine hill and the forum back in the day. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him!Colesseum , Palantine Hill and the Forum

Rosalie🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Federico)

3 December 2024

1

I truly recommend the Colosseum tour with Frederico. He knows so many interresting informations about history of the place and is very helpfull for recommendations about restaurants and places to visit in Rome! I would chose him again for an other tour if I come back to Rome!Great tour with Frederico

Bill 🇺🇸 United States

(About local Cecilia)

1 December 2024

My family and I recently visited Rome and had the pleasure of doing a tour of the Borghese museum. Even prior to our visit Cecilia kept in contact with usto make sure we be sure we the appropriate tickets. Her knowledge of the museum And its priceless works was extraordinarily helpful. Going to the museum without her would have been confusing and we would’ve not learned nearly as much. I highlyrecommend Cecilia as a tour guide for this museum and likely other? Thank you for a memorable and informative visit.Great experience, great museum & guide

Mark

(About local Eleonora)

28 November 2024

We met up with Eleonora on a cold and very rainy afternoon, feeling miserable and thinking we didn't really want to do this tour! Eleonora soon dispelled any negative feelings we had and we embarked upon a wonderful tour of some key tourists venues but also some little known "hidden gems". Eleonora was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and extremely good company. We enjoyed an espresso in a nice cafe surrounded by statuary and a spritz in an upbeat bar popular with the locals. we continued with the tour which included a visit to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. we almost forgot about the rain and cold. A very pleasant afternoon despite adverse weather conditions. A very pleasent afternoon despite adverse weather conditions

Charles🇺🇸 United States

(About local Eleonora)

28 November 2024

Eleonora is clearly passionate about Rome, and it shows in the joy with which she presents the city. She made us feel comfortable while learning a lot. She was patient with our questions and requests for elaboration. Her perspectives on the city were interwoven with urban planning, archeology, architecture, environmentalism, culture and other subjects.Pleasant, enlightening, and fun

Jennifer🇺🇸 United States

(About local Yanira)

26 November 2024

Yanira was wonderful, I highly recommend her! We were a blended family group of 9, including grandchildren, parents, and grandparents, with Spanish-only speakers and English-only speakers. Yanira did a wonderful job of switching back-and-forth, not just juggling historical information in multiple languages, but also supporting our widely-varying needs - spotting the lift for elderly grandparents who might have had difficult managing the Colosseum steps, unerringly navigating to the toilets for the pregnant woman in our group, finding the nursing room for our nursing mother. Yanira’s great guidance helped us enjoy both the Colosseum and our family time together - exactly what I was hoping for!Warm, personable, and knowledgeable!

Michiel

(About local Cecilia)

25 November 2024

Cecilia is an outstanding guide, she made the tour for me (Colosseum and Forum) and my son (10) an unforgettable experience!Fantastic experience!

Sadie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Cecilia)

22 November 2024

Cecilia is great! She communicated with us leading up to our trip to ensure a smooth tour of the Colosseum, helping to make sure we bought the right tickets. She was always quick to respond to any message. The tour itself was fantastic. Cecilia is very friendly and knowledgeable, and she really brought things to life. She was so engaging with our children and struck a perfect balance of entertaining and informing them, while keeping the tour interesting for us adult, too. We really couldn’t have asked for a better guide than Cecilia!Fantastic tour with Cecilia!