If you’re traveling to Rome, Italy this summer, do yourself a favor and book one of the museum “Night Opening” tours. The Colosseum and the Vatican Museum offer evening tours through October 2015. While there are plenty of night tours available in Rome, these are two of my absolute favorites!
Colosseum Night Opening
Last time we were in Rome, most of the exterior of the Colosseum was under construction and it was a bit of a disappointment (not entirely because it’s was still Rome and it was still the Colosseum!). If you take the Colosseum tour instead of standing outside taking pictures, you won’t have to worry about the unsightly construction.
But, if you take a night tour of the Colosseum you get so much more! Not only will you get to stand inside the historic Colosseum, you’ll get a guided underground tour led by an ARCHEOLOGIST! I mean, you seriously can’t beat that. Luckily, the guided tour doesn’t cost extra and you’ll have access to areas that are mostly off-limits during the day. Trust me, you want to do this tour!
Vatican Museum Night Opening
Visiting the Vatican Museum is an incredible experience no matter when you go but there’s something about sitting in the Sistine Chapel at night. I found the night tour to be less crowded and less rushed which gave us more time to admire the beauty of the museum. I believe we sat in the Sistine Chapel for almost an hour and could have stayed even longer.
In the middle of the day, the Chapel is bursting with tourists pouring into one entrance, fighting for a place to sit and being yelled at for talking and snapping pictures. The night tour was much calmer and that’s exactly what you want when visiting the Vatican Museum.
As I mentioned before, there are plenty of tours in the evening but these are two you can’t miss. Whether you’re in Rome for a day or a week, schedule a tour around your dinner plans. Book one of these tours and see a side of Rome you’ve never seen before!
Other night tours: Rome by night walking tour, Rome on a Vespa night tour, Mysteries of Rome/Ghost tour, night walking food tour, crypts and catacombs night tour and much more. Please note, these tours only operate on certain evenings so make sure you check the calendar for availability.
Have you been to the Colosseum or the Vatican Museum? Have you been at night? Tell me about it in the comments!
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