rome colosseum map and layout

The Ultimate Roman Colosseum Map of Attractions, self guided walking tour

Use the Rome Colosseum map of attractions in the map to view the attractions for your own self guided tour

Use the Rome Colosseum map and guide below to visit the attractions at the Roman Colosseum. You will find a complete guide to the Rome Colosseum with a map of where the points of interest and attractions are located. Follow the attractions map to explore the layout of the Roman Colosseum at your own pace. The Google Map pins list the attractions at the Rome Colosseum with highlights of each attraction including images to guide you. In some cases, the images on the map show a reconstruction of the attraction to show the Colosseum as it looks today and how it looked in the past. Explore the Roman Colosseum at your own pace following the attractions on the google map to guide you.  This is your own personal self guided tour to the attractions at the Roman Colosseum.

How to use the Roman Colosseum google map and plan a self guided tour

Use the tourist map and guide of the Roman Colosseum below. Click on the arrow icon to the left of the title to display the legend with attractions that are both inside and outside the Roman Colosseum. Click on the Roman Colosseum attractions map pins (orange pins) or on the legend (left icon on the title bar). Download the PDF map for additional information, however the PDF printout will only display the first image of each attraction.

The tourist map route highlighted in dark blue will lead you to the Roman Forum while the route highlighted in purple will lead you to the Gladiators barracks and training school, the Ludus Mangus. The Ludus Mangus is an attraction outside of the Roman Colosseum, however during Roman times Ludus Magnus was connected to the Roman Colosseum by underground tunnels.

To download the Roman Colosseum PDF Google Map, click HERE

Roman Colosseum Attractions Map

For the Complete Roman Colosseum Map & guide click HERE

Rome Colosseum Entry Tickets

The lineups to visit the Roman Colosseum are long, the best option is to purchase your “skip the line” tickets online. Book your tickets in advance to avoid the lineups. Options include combination tickets and tours to the Colosseum underground, select the one that best suits you. Combine this with nearby attractions such as the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill forum fast entry tickets and tours.

Rome Colosseum Facts

  • The term coliseum is applied to outdoor stadiums, however the Roman Colosseum is called “Colosseum” and the “C” is capitalized.
  • The name “Colosseum” likely comes from Emperor Nero’s giant 30m bronze statue that was moved to the site by 24 elephants. The giant statue was and referred to as the “Collossus of Nero”.
  • The bronze statue was stripped of its precious materials by Pope Gregory the Great to build the cannons at Castle San’Angelo.
  • The Colosseum took about 9 years to build between 72-80 AD using slaves captured during “campaigns”. It is about 2000 years old.
  • The construction of the Colosseum began with Emperor Vespasian and was completed by his son, Emperor Titus. At a later date, the underground hypogeum was added by Titus’s brother, Emperor Domitian. All three emperors were part of the Flavian Dynasty therefore the Colosseum is often referred to as the Flavian Amphitheater.
  • Over 100,000 cubic meters of travertine limestone was used to build the Rome Colosseum. The limestone was quarried from nearby Tivoli mine and hauled to the site by slaves. There were about 100,000 slaves involved in the construction of the Colosseum.
  • In addition, the Colosseum contained an estimated 300 tones of iron clamps. These were later removed and used to build weapons. The “holes” in the walls around the Roman Colosseum show where the iron clamps were once located.
  • It is the largest Amphitheater that was ever built and the largest one standing in the world today.
  • The opening ceremonies included 100 days of games which took the lives of 2000 gladiators and thousands of animals.
  • The early days of the games included flooding the base and re-enacting navy battles. This continued until the underground hypogeum was built and the base could not be flooded.
  • The floor of the colosseum was covered in sand; the Latin word for sand is “arena”. Today, most of the arena floor has disappeared and the underground hypogeum beneath is exposed.
  • The hypogeum was a network of rooms, tunnels and passageways that housed animals, and was used as a holding area for slaves. It also included a network of man-powered elevators that brought animals to the arena floor through trap doors.
  • The arena contained trap doors and elevator systems that brought up animals from the hypogeum. It was also used to bring up props and changes the scenery to suit the theme of the games.
  • The games were free, and the audience was treated to free food and wine brought around by “waiters”. In addition, encased in small wooden balls were; tokens for prizes, snacks, money and coupons that fell from the “sky” and the spectators grabbed these prizes called sprinklings, “Sparsiones’.
  • The Colosseum was active for over 500 hundred years after which time it ceased to be used as an entertainment facility. As Christianity advanced in the Roman Empire, the games eventually stopped.
  • Every Good Friday, as part of the Good Friday ceremonies, the Pope leads the “Way of the Cross” procession that starts around the Colosseum. This practice dates as far back as Pope Benedict XIV in the 18th century. The practice was revived in 1964
  • Over the years it was re-purposed and re-used for workshops, accommodations, a fortress, and a quarry. The limestone and marble were stripped from the Colosseum and used in other buildings around the Roman Empire.
  • The deterioration of the Colosseum is the result of stripping the Colosseum of its marble, limestone, iron clamps and a series of earthquakes in the 5th century. By the 20th century, two-thirds of the original building were destroyed
  • Over the years, the Colosseum was used as a garbage dump, it was filled with dead animals, rubble and dirt. Eventually a variety of plant life grew from the rubble and the Colosseum became a place of study for botanists.
  • In the early 1900’s the hypogeum was buried in 40 feet of dirt and all traces of its history were erased.
  • In 1930 under Benito Mussolini’s direction, the Colosseum hypogeum was cleared of dirt and the sites history was exposed.
  • The Roman Colosseum is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and visited by over 7 million tourists annually.

Additional Attractions and things to do in Rome:

  • Use the map and take a self guided tour of Rome’s popular Trastevere District and its many attractions. The walking map is available HERE and the guide of attractions is available HERE
  • Take a day trip to Pompeii using this self guided walking tour HERE and the accompanying attractions guide HERE
  • Visit Castle Saint Angelo, the Mausoleum of Hadrian; it is an ancient circular castle and fort.  It is connected to St Peters Basilica by way of a passage called Passetto di Borgo. Over the years it has been used as a Castle, a Fortress, a tomb, hosted events for the Vatican and the site of executions. Its many uses speaks to the transformation of the city throughout the centuries. It is worth a visit if you have time to spare in Rome
  • Take a self guided tour of the many attractions in historic Rome. The tourist map is available HERE and the guide with the many attractions is available HERE
  • The self guided tour to the Vatican Museum is a complete guide to the many museums and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.  The self guided tour map is HERE and the guide to the attractions in the Vatican is HERE
  • Visit St Peters Basilica; the list of attractions in the Basilica are found HERE
  • Take the fast train to Florence to visit this spectacular medieval city. The map for the self guided tour is HERE and the map of attractions for Florence is HERE
  • Visit the lively neighborhood of Ostiense; it is about 20 minutes by metro from the Roman Colosseum. Ostiense is a street art museum turning concrete buildings into walls of art. It has a great night life, excellent Roman cuisine and one can shop at the flea markets. The main street, Via Ostiense was once an old Roman road used to transport cattle from the cattle market. At the north end is the Pyramid of Cestius. The most famous attraction in Ostiense is the Basilica of St Paul.  Outside the Walls (San Paolo). It is the second largest church in Rome after St. Peters. The Basilica was built over the burial site of St Paul. From the Colosseo metro station at the Roman Colosseum, take the Metro Line B Laurentina to Basilica S. Paolo stop

Instructions to download the interactive map to a smart phone:

Take the Map with you when you travel:

Instructions on:

  • Using it offline
  • Using it online – We bring one of our older smart phones when we travel and buy a local SIM card. You can purchase a local tourist SIM card from one of the main local providers, they are usually pretty inexpensive. You may need your passport to purchase as its a tourist SIM if you are an international tourist. You should have them put it in your old smartphone and check that it works before leaving the store. Use it to follow the map online, its the best way to explore

Sign into google using your Gmail account on your smart phone and be connected to the internet. If you do not sign in, this process will not work. You will be downloading this map to save it. You will be saving it in google maps in two places:

  1. Save in “Your Places” for online use and
  2. Save in “Offline map” for offline use
  3. Youtube instructions on link as follows:
    https://youtu.be/_6j9koieMsU

Instructions to save above map:

  1. Click on the rectangle on the top right hand side of the above map [ ] – if you move your mouse to it, it will say “view larger map”
  2. It will take you into google maps on your smartphone and it will automatically save this map. You must be already be signed into google maps with your Gmail account, if you are not signed into google maps then the map will not be saved
  3. In google maps, click on the menu which is the three horizontal lines on the top left of the google map (it is to the left of the search box)
  4. From the menu, click on “Your Places”. This will take you to another screen with a menu at the top. From the top menu bar select “maps”. A list of your maps will be displayed including the map that was just saved. Select the map you just saved
  5. Make sure the map is still onscreen; do not close out of it as you will be downloading this map and it has to be onscreen to download. While the map is onscreen, click on menu again (three horizontal lines top left hand corner)
  6. Select “Offline maps” then select “custom map”
  7. Once you select “custom map”, the onscreen map will be displayed; select the area you want downloaded (zoom in or out to get all the data points into the blue square outline; pinch fingers for zooming)
  8. Click on “download” – this will save the map in an offline area that you can use when you are not connected to the internet
The map is now saved in two places. To see this, click on the menu (three horizontal line on top right hand corner) in google maps:
  1. Click on “Your Places” from the menu, then select “Custom Map”. The map will be listed and you can use the map while connected to the internet
  2. Click on “Offline Maps” from the menu. The map will be listed to use the map offline ie: not connected to the internet (make sure location services is turned on and your will see the blue dot indicating your location as you navigate with the offline map)
  3. After you download a map, use the Google Maps app just like you normally would. If your Internet connection is slow or absent, or if you are in “airplane mode” Google Maps will automatically use your offline maps to give you directions