Top 9 Historical Tours in Rome

1.Rome in a Day Tour with Vatican, Colosseum and Historic Center

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 1,042 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $192Our pick

A 7.5-hour Rome highlights tour, pairing the Vatican and Sistine Chapel with the Colosseum and historic center, plus Vatican line skipping.

“Excellent tour and our guide was fantastic! Her understanding of Roman history and architecture was top notch. She made certain that we saw absolutely everything in the city and got behind the scenes knowledge! Be aware that this is a walking tour! We walked nearly 10 miles across Rome’s cobbled streets. Be prepared!!”

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2.Rome Food Tour in the Historic Centre with 8+ Food Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,000 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $118Top rated

Rome food tour in the Historic Centre with 8+ tastings, including homemade pizza, supplì, pasta, gelato, and cannoli, plus history.

“We had a wonderful tour with Massimilliano! He gave us an excellent mix of food information and also general Roman history. His English was excellent. We enjoyed sampling all of the foods and were stuffed by the time the tour ended. Would highly recommend him and the tour.”

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3.Ancient History and Colosseum Underground Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 996 reviews · from $104

Rome Colosseum Underground Tour: walk gladiators' passages, see animal holding areas, skip long lines, then explore Forum and Palatine Hill.

“Fantastic, the guide was brill, very interesting, easy to find the start point, but not so easy to get out of the colosseum”

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4.Forbidden History Walking Tour & Pub Crawl with Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 688 reviews · 3 hours · from $61

Dark Monti street stories and Italian drinks in hand, with priority bar service. A 3-hour night walk from Piazza Madonna dei Monti to Piazza Venezia.

“Ana is a great guide, fun and friendly. At the end of the tour we all became best friends :)”

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5.Colosseum, Vatican Museums & Historic Center in a Day

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 228 reviews

Rome in a day covers the Colosseum, Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel plus key historic-center stops, with expert guiding and quick transfer.

“Our guide Hilaria was wonderful! Knowledgeable, flexible, friendly, and so great at leading our group. She knew all the places like the back of her hand, and was so informative and able to answer any questions we had. She was entertaining and kept our 2 kids engaged and interested as well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this tour to our friends and family. It’s a long day, but if you have limited time in Rome, it’s perfect!”

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6.Historical and Culinary Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 61 reviews · 3 hours · from $80

3-hour Civitavecchia food-and-history walk: cheese, pizza, bruschetta, market tastings, pastry sweets, and wine, led in English.

“Raf was a fantastic guide . She was very knowledgable and a great sense of humour . We really enjoyed the tour and wouldn’t highly recommend it. Well done e Raf. Food scrumptious. Thanks for a wonderful day 👍”

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7.Food Tour of the Historic Center with Rooftop Spritz

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 43 reviews · from $100

Rome street food plus a private rooftop spritz in Trastevere, with 8 tastings, 3 drinks, and expert-led stops from the Jewish Quarter onward.

“This was one the best food tours ever..Ending the tour on the rooftop with some spritzer was the icing on the cake.”

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8.Day drinking in Rome – Scandalous Roman History

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 31 reviews · 2.5 hours · from $65

Small-group Roman history and day drinking walk: wine, Italian spirits, and ancient sights, ending in Trastevere.

“This was a great tour with a knowledgeable guide. Nihan was a blast to spend time with! Hits some of the hidden gems of Rome and what better way to experience them than with a few adult beverages? 100% recommend this trip to anyone that wants a great time with a fun and knowledgeable guide!”

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9.Bologna: Small-Group Tour with the Historic Archiginnasio

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 30 reviews · 2 hours · from $45Best value

2-hour Bologna walk with a guide, Archiginnasio Teatro Anatomico ticket, Quadrilatero Market bites, and Due Torri sights.

“Very disappointing. There was no headphones and it was difficult to hear the guide clearly. We spent over 30 minutes just standing at the Neptune Fountain with very little useful explanation. I could honestly get more accurate and interesting information from ChatGPT than from this tour. At end of tour, we were made to walk from two towers to the Clock Tower, even though this was not part of our package, wasting more time. Overall, the tour felt unorganized and uninformative. Not worth it.”

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