• Private Tour
• Family Friendly
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Get below street-level and discover a whole new side of Rome. From ancient churches to underground archways and perfectly preserved Roman houses, together we’ll uncover thousands of years of history on this off the beaten track private tour.

Destination

Rome, Italy

Category

Art Culture Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Italiano

Included

• Private guide

Excluded

• Entrance tickets (20 Eur per person)

What you can expect

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 Lia Beatrice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Via della Navicella - 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. Ancient Roman Path

   Stroll through ancient Rome on a two thousand-year-old path

4. Historic Houses

   Explore perfectly preserved houses from the Basilica period

5. Secret Passageways

   Descend even further to Rome’s oldest and most hidden paths

6. Spiritual Stop

   Visit an ancient shrine used for worship by Rome’s previous locals

7. Local Insights

   Hear my suggestions for more hidden areas to explore in Rome

8. 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.

I can personalize this tour for you

• Tell me your preferred date and group size
• Tell me your preferences and wishes so I can customize the tour for you
• Wait for my personal offer in your inbox!

Contact me

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

Mike

26 February 2025

A great tour to learn about the layers of Rome. Lia was very informative. She took us to the less touristy areas and taught us about how Rome really came to be. Lia was a lot of fun. I would recommend this tour to anyone.A fun afernoon with Lia

bzgarcia

15 February 2025

Sarah🇺🇸 United States

27 October 2024

Anne

3 May 2024

I want to thank Lia so very much for her tour, which was amazing. She pointed out details and had so much information about what we were seeing that we would otherwise not have been aware of. More importantly, however, she was an absolute delight to spend a few hours with. She was accommodating to my mother, who is unwell and needs to move slowly. She had us laughing constantly. And at the end of our tour, she was uncommonly helpful with helping us navigate the complex transportation to our next destination. I wish I could hang out with her more often ☺️ And thank you again Lia, for giving me a memory with my mother that I can keep after she leaves. ♥️♥️♥️Lia was spectacular!

kelli🇺🇸 United States

21 April 2024

Lia was personable, knowledgeable and just fun. We thoroughly enjoyed our underground tour of churches, stores and homes from the 1st century to the the 12th century. Loved it!Excellent tour?

hugo🇺🇸 United States

29 February 2024

We spent three wonderful days with Lia (Jan 25, 26 and 28). We had a wonderful time with her!! First, we pre-planned what we wanted to do and see and Lia helped us and offered suggestions on how best to optimize our time. We arrived in Rome and we met her on the first day at the Caracalla Baths. We spent the afternoon walking amongst the ruins and listened intently as she explained the history of Rome and the baths. She was thorough and answered any question we had and allowed us time to take photos because the light in the afternoon was perfect. We walked along the Circus Maximum and then through old Rome. As we walked, she explained the history of Rome, the Emperors and how they viewed the games, she pointed out old Churches built aside ancient temples. What was apparent through her story telling is that Rome is a city that is eternal, centuries of buildings built next to one another, buildings repurposed, etc. We walked through Rome, stopped at the Pantheon, on to Trevi Fountain and finished our evening at the Spanish Steps. Every step of the way was filled with facts, stories, folklore, tidbits about Italian culture, restaurant recommendations – we were captivated with Lia. On our second day we met her in the afternoon at the Vatican. Again, a day filled with wonderful stories about wars, Popes and art as she guided us through the Vatican. She thoughtfully got all of our tickets ahead of time and we bypassed every line for all 3 days. Our treasured moments came when we entered the Sisteen Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. She took us thoughtfully through each and allowed us time to enjoy and savor the spaces. On our third day together, we toured the Colosseum. Lia arranged a rare opportunity for us to go down beneath the Colosseum – a glimpse at the underground as Lia told us stories of the gladiators. We finished our day having lunch and then walked to the Basilica of San Celemente. It was a treasure trove of Roman ruins beneath it. We went here on Lia’s suggestion - and it was well worth it. Lia is amazing and we would highly recommend her. She is relatable, funny, witty, and knowledgeable. She allowed us time to really enjoy all the places we visited. She was thoughtful and gave us opportunities to break when we needed. We found her to be incredibly flexible and she was able to accommodate us with last minute changes. After our time with her I knew I had a better understanding of Rome’s history and felt like I learned something. Plus, I really enjoyed Lia’s personality and charm. We will be back to Rome in the Fall and will gladly book more time with Lia. Thank you, Lia, for an incredible experience!!!Magical. Lia is amazing!

Patrick

5 December 2023

Lia was the perfect guide for this tour, she was very informative and funny. The tour itself I would highly recommend and Lia was Fantastic. Awesome

Cyndy🇺🇸 United States

31 August 2023

Kristin🇮🇹 Italy

29 December 2022

Lia Beatrice was lovely - personable and knowledgeable. The tour was quite interesting and I learned a great deal. I would not necessarily recommend this tour for children. Although Lia Beatrice tried very hard to engage ours, it was a lot of information for our 9 and 6-year-olds and they were antsy. She managed to interest our 11-year-old which was no small feat! And she was very kind about our younger two needing to move around. All in all, would highly recommend. Wish I could go again sans children :)Great experience

Stephen🇺🇸 United States

30 October 2022

We had a private tour with Lia for five people. She was a wonderful guide - easy to understand, very personable and extremely knowledgeable about this subject. As a trained archeologist, she was able to give insights on the multiple layers that is Rome! Great experience!Underground with Lia

victoria🇮🇹 Italy

5 September 2022

Lia Beatrice is hilarious and fun. She really knows her subject and despite my husband and I being somewhat late, hot, and having done far too much wine tasting the night before, really did a great tour. Would highly recommend. Excellent time

Marnie🇦🇺 Australia

5 September 2022

Lia has the best personality and so knowledgeable and really took the time to make it a personal experience for us. She was so happy to answer all of our questions and more. She is also a lot of fun to be with and we had so many laughs. We would definitely say it was a life changing experience and of all the tours we took over Italy this was hands down the best!!! Her English is fantastic as well. Thanks Lia, we hope to meet with you again xxExperience of a lifetime!!

Oneida🇺🇸 United States

3 September 2022

Lia provided an excellent tour! Her knowledge of the art and architecture added so much to seeing the historical underground sites. And, she is quite fun also!Excellent, in-depth tour

Greg🇺🇸 United States

10 June 2022

My family and I did a private tour with Lia. We had a great time. She was very personable and incredibly knowledgeable. My wife has recently had surgery to remove a kidney and we requested the tour be at a slower pace… she was very patient and allowed us to take the time we needed. We would strongly recommended her and this tour. Smart, considerate, funny, and accommodating. Until next time! Greg Lia was great!

Paul🇬🇧 United Kingdom

17 May 2022

Something I've thought about doing for a long time and finally got round to it ! Well worthwhile and would have been wasted without our expert local to guide us. So much knowledge and ability to convey the stories we uncovered, Lia was simply great. Recommendation : don't do this tour without a guide you would miss so much of the story - if you want a great guide then select Lia Beatrice Revelations in Rome with an underground tour

Kerri🇺🇸 United States

29 April 2022

Lia was fabulous - super knowledgeable and catered to our group of 6!Wonderful time

Remko🇳🇱 Netherlands

31 March 2022

We had an enjoyable and informative private tour with Beatrice. She knows so much and can tell the story. She is perceptive enough to know when we got too much information, a really great quality. We went to Mozes in Chains and to the Basilica with the underground churches and Roman cellars. Will book her again when we return to Rome. Great private tour

Davide🇩🇪 Germany

3 November 2021

tuesecherjensen🇩🇰 Denmark

31 October 2021

Lia is an excellent and knowledgable tour guide and a lovely person. She is very flexible in order to give you a tour that matches your wishes. She is very qualified with her extensive knowledge in Roman history, architecture, and archeology. There is so much to see in Rome and at the attractions, that you must have someone as skilled as Lia to give you the details about what you see and to answer your questions. It was our first time in Rome and we had many memorable experiences exploring the St. Clement Basilica and underground excavations. She made sure we were enjoying ourselves and comfortable. She gave us great tips on where to go for drinks and dinner. Pick Lia as your guide and you will not regret it!

JENNIFER🇬🇧 United Kingdom

23 February 2020

Lia was lovely and friendly from the moment we met her. She took us to a couple of subterranean museums and told us all about their history. She is knowledgeable and entertaining, and her English is impeccable, making her very easy to understand. We feel we had a much better time than had we attempted the museums unaccompanied. This was an experience away from the ordinary Roman tourist places, and I can highly recommend Lia if you wish to spend a few hours learning in a fun, relaxed way. Great, educational, fun

Denise🇩🇪 Germany

20 January 2020

Mary🇺🇸 United States

17 January 2020

Our family had a wonderful tour with Lia investigating the depths of history under present day Rome. As we descended she explained the various levels of buildings, churches and homes under the present day structures. She was a wealth of information on the frescoes and mosaics and sculptures that were revealed below ground. We would highly recommend this underground Rome tour with Lia Beatrice. Lia Beatrice Knows the Depths of Rome

Vilma🇬🇧 United Kingdom

3 November 2019

It was a stunning experience for me and my 13 years old son. One of the best tour in my life!!! Lia is not only very professional, knowledgeable guide, but she is amazing, very kind and intelligent person as well. During your tour you not only learn a lot about the history, architecture and art, but you will have a possibility to be immersed in Ancient Rome atmosphere, beauty of the greatest artists in the world. Thank you, Lia very much!!! Vilma Absolutely Amazing!!!!

Timothy 🇨🇦 Canada

30 October 2019

Lia was a great guide and even though she wasn’t feeling well, she did a amazing job of explaining all the details of construction from the early times and I enjoyed it thoroughly and will be using lia again on our next trip. Underground tour is great

Yvette 🇳🇿 New Zealand

21 October 2019

This was the favorite tour of our 4 days in Rome. Lia was wonderful and we would never have known about these secrets without her. Thanks Lia!Great tour with excellent guide

Trent🇦🇺 Australia

25 September 2019

Lia is the perfect guide for those with an appreciation of history, architecture and archaeology. Her command of English is impressive, her knowledge of Rome is exceptional and she glows with enthusiasm! A superb tour, time well spent!Exceptional Tour!

Shane🇦🇺 Australia

25 September 2019

We spent an amazing few hours with Lia walking through 2 very different places. It was incredible to see the many layers that Rome has built over itself over the last few thousand or so years. Roads and alleys going through places that were incredible. Thank you for your time it was great.Underground catacombs tour

Chris🇬🇧 United Kingdom

30 June 2019

Spent a great two hours with Lea. A very pleasant and knowledgeable lady who showed us some surprising sites and delivered her wealth of information in an easily understood way. The highlight was standing in a 2000 year old street several metres underground, amazing.An archaeologist with humour

Nicolette🇺🇸 United States

12 June 2019

My husband hates tours and fought me on this but I wanted the kids to see something other than the attractions mobbed by (other) tourists. Lia was a great presenter and had an abundance of information. My husband loved the tour as did the rest of the family.Amazing tour!

Andres🇦🇺 Australia

14 April 2019

This was one of our favourite tours in Rome - once you have done all the obligatory places like the Colloseum, Vatican, etc, get some in-depth background on the eternal city. Lia’s experience as an archaeologist makes her the perfect guide to peel back the layers of Rome’s increadible history. Her knowledge is outstanding and she has a passion for the subject that she imparts to her tour guests. Would definitely do another tour with Lia next time we visit Rome. AndresWow! Great tour, such in-depth knowledge

Maryclaire

18 March 2019

She was incredibly dedicated and had great historical knowledge including the short anectodes from the past. She is very fluent in English and very friendly. Hidden Underground City of Rome

Jacopo🇳🇱 Netherlands

13 March 2019

I am an true Italian from Torino and met Lia during my visit in Rome in March. I had lovely conversations about Italian culture and history. She is very knowledgable and definitely can show you Rome and all its hidden secrets :)Pick Lia as your guide

Lisa

5 March 2019

Lia was terrific- knowledgeable funny energetic and engaging Hidden Underground City of Rome

Elias

4 January 2025

Fue muy acelerado la visita, no cumplió nuestras expectativas Acelerada

Corinne🇨🇭 Switzerland

1 January 2025

Lia was a very nice and pleasant guide. She is definitely very knowledgeable about the history and culture in Rome. We can certainly recommend her to other tourists. We spent a very nice morning with her in the Vatican museum and the St. Peter’s church.

Peter🇷🇸 Serbia

1 January 2025

We had an interesting day. We initially planned the Trajan markets but they were closed without notice. Irrespective, Lia Beatrice came up with a new and innovative program where she took me to other historical sites of interest and during the entire time she transferred valuable knowledge about the Roman history. I really enjoyed my tour and access to such a wealth of knowledge Highly knowledgeable

Petr

16 December 2024

Beatrice made our tour just perfect! She is a fountain of knowledge and knows everything about everything, but she is also very kind, nice and fun person to spend your time with. I can 100% recommend this wonderful woman ❤️ Thank you once again Beatrice, you are amazing ⭐️Amazing Beatrice

Michele🇺🇸 United States

3 November 2024

Lia was not only knowledgeable, but so personable and fun. We had the best tour of the Vatican and Saint Peter‘s basilica. She was able to get us into the Sistine Chapel, which was amazing. So worth the money. Such a wonderful experience.Lia is amazing!

Laurie🇺🇸 United States

2 November 2024

Our afternoon tour with Lia was the best part of our stay in Rome! She was fun, knowledgeable, informative, and gracious. She personalized our tour to focus on our interests and left us with a far better understanding of the city and its history. Brava e’ grazi a Lia!Best 3 hours in Rome - tour with Lia!

Nancy

29 October 2024

We are so glad we booked this tour with Lia. Her knowledge of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill is amazing. We had a wonderful time soaking in all this knowledge. It was nice to follow her lead and not have to think about where to go next. We have a greater understanding of the Roman Empire and its significance in world history. Highly recommend touring with Lia

jay🇺🇸 United States

27 October 2024

It was a pleasure being taken through the coliseum and Forum with Lia. She knows her history and told us more than we ever knew. She had a sharp and funny sense of humor. Good tour guide.Great history lesson

Martha🇺🇸 United States

12 October 2024

Lia was very knowledgeable about the Vatican. We enjoyed her sense of humor and enthusiasmKnowledge Guide

hariolf🇩🇪 Germany

3 September 2024

perfect time with lia she is very sympathic and she has enormous knowledge about rome . thank you lialovely lia

Caro🇧🇪 Belgium

25 May 2024

We still give 4/10 because Beatrice is a lovely lady who know a lot about the history and culture of Rome! But for the tour we expected something completely different; we thought we would see 'breathtaking views, arts and crafts from locals in pretty streets and information about how the locals live'. We got a completely different tour in alleys where you don't want to come with explanation about architecture of the 'normal' buildings...Lovely lady, not the tour we asked for

Mark🇺🇸 United States

3 April 2024

We did an Appian way walk and had a good morning out in the country seeing Rome from a unique vantage. An excellent guide to history

Michael🇬🇧 United Kingdom

9 February 2024

Lia was very knowledgeable and amusing. She guided us through parts of Rome that are less well known as well as the more famous places. She was also happy to talk about current politics - something you can only get from a local and we always find interesting. She was flexible when we had suggestions of something we wanted to see but also happy to suggest places. We enjoyed the tour enormously.A really enjoyable and informative tour!

David🇦🇺 Australia

14 January 2024

We had a great time with Lia, and she was able to find things that were interesting and engaging for our 6 year-old and also our 75 year-old. We are very glad we booked the private tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill since otherwise we would be staring at rocks and wondering what they meant. I particularly liked her metaphor that “Rome is a lasagne” in that it has layers. Awesome: informative, flexible, engaging.

Nicole🇺🇸 United States

1 January 2024

Lia brought the ruins of the Colosseum to life with every step we took. Through her eyes we saw how the structures reveal the history of Rome, as each transfer of power saw architectural changes. Layer upon layer, we learned the story of the City through the millennia. Lia was the perfect guide for me and my 18 and 23 year old children. She knew exactly how to talk to young adults and clearly understood their mindsets, always stopping at the perfect spot for selfies or group photos. When we ended the tour in driving rain, Lia became a second mom as the two of us tried to talk my kids into going back to the apartment to change clothes. lol. We all loved her. Kind and Deeply Knowledgeable

Matilda🇺🇸 United States

27 October 2023

This was my first time using WithLocals and I was incredibly impressed. My husband and I bought a tour of the Vatican with Lia. She is a wealth of knowledge - about the history of Rome, the art and sculptures and tons of little details that might be overlooked with a different tour. Lia was funny and engaging and really helped us get the best experience possible. I highly recommend Lia and cannot thank her enough !!Lia is an exceptional tour guide !!

Susan🇺🇸 United States

4 October 2023

My husband and I visited the Vatican at a very busy time. Lia Beatrice was able to secure tickets and provided a great tour. She was able to guide us around the crowds (we would never have been able to navigate the crowds without her guidance) and explain everything in great detail. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great tour of the Vatican or other areas of Rome.Vatican Tour