Self-Guided Walking Tours in Rome

From the Colosseum to the Roman Forum: Gladiators, Chariot Races and the Mouth of Truth

This free self-guided audio walk starts outside the Colosseum, by the Colosseo stop of Metro line B, and ends on the Capitoline Hill, on a public terrace above the Roman Forum. The route is about 3.3 kilometres long and has ten stops: the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, Via di San Gregorio below the Palatine Hill, the Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth at Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the temples of the Forum Boarium, the Theatre of Marcellus, the Porticus of Octavia in the Jewish quarter, Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio and the view over the Forum. Walking takes about 40 minutes. With the audio, allow about an hour and a quarter. The whole walk is outdoors, on public streets, squares and parks, and you do not need a ticket. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine have their own ticketed entrances if you want to go inside afterwards. Most of the route is paved and level. The Circus Maximus is a park of grass and gravel, and the last part climbs the Cordonata, the broad ramp of shallow steps up to the Capitoline Hill. There is little shade between the Circus Maximus and the river, so carry water in summer. Start on the pedestrian square on the west side of the Colosseum, between the amphitheatre and the Arch of Constantine, and face the great curved wall.

Walking·1 h 6 min·10 stops·3.3 km