Find your way to Rome's famous Colosseum at 9:30am to meet your guide and small group of just 6 participants. Upon booking the tour, your confirmation email will invite you to download a simple app. Bring your phone to the tour, and your guide will gift you a cardboard headset, yours to keep. After a brief introduction, slip your phone into the headset and get your fist peek of the magic of virtual reality: a reconstruction of the Colosseum and the surrounding valley from the outside.
Breeze past the often-long entrance lines and proceed directly into the Colosseum. Explore the first two rings of the arena while you listen to stories of Caesar, gladiators, games, and entertainment. Learn about the architecture and engineering of the arena, then don your glasses to view what it must have been like on the arena level and on Caesar's balcony.
Continue on to Palatine Hill, climbing as you hear about the origins of ancient Rome, including Livia and the House of Augustus. Get a view of the valley between the Palatine Hill and the Aventine Hill where Circus Maximus used to be, then don your glasses to see the reconstruction of Circus Maxiumus.
Descend into the valley to visit the Roman Forum, where you'll see the Arch of Titus, the Basilica of Maxentius, and the Temple of Antonino and Faustina. Once you reach the main square, you'll learn about the Temple of Julius Caesar, the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Rostra, the Basilica Aemilia, and the Temple of Jupiter atop Capitoline Hill. After your guide fills you in on the history and architecture of the important structures, slip on your VR glasses, you'll be able to see some of the structures reconstructed in their original glory.
