Disappointing photos show what it was really like to visit the Colosseum in Rome

The Colosseum is a symbol of Rome and one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, with about 6 million visitors a year, according to Cititavis Tours.

Ancient Romans built the Colosseum between AD 72 and 80 to host massive events like gladiator battles and reenactments, National Geographic reports.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Colosseum was damaged by neglect and a series of earthquakes in the fifth century, according to the same article.

By the 20th century, two-thirds of the structure was destroyed. Restoration of the building began in the 1990s, according to National Geographic.

I visited the Colosseum during a two-week train trip through Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in October 2022.

When I booked my trip, I started looking up Colosseum posts on my Instagram and found several photos of people touring — seemingly alone — around the gigantic historic structure.

To me, these photos looked quiet and peaceful, and I wanted to have a similar experience.

Although the Colosseum is one of the most popular attractions in Rome, it has a capacity of 3,000 visitors at a time, according to The Washington Post, so how crowded could it really be, I wondered.

Five days before my visit, I booked a self-guided, skip-the-line ticket through Viator for $60. I found other similar skip-the-line services online but thought this was the best value at the time.

A basic admission ticket would have cost me less than $20.

According to Viator, my ticket included direct entry to the Colosseum, allowing me to skip the line, explore at my own pace, and access nearby attractions, the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.

I had no set time to leave the Colosseum, but my ticket suggested a one-hour stay.

According to Colosseum Info, the arena covers roughly 6 acres of land and at one time could seat at least 50,000 spectators.

I wasn't expecting the Colosseum to feel so cramped, loud, and stressful to get around.

The seemingly endless crowds of people throughout made me feel like I was standing in line for the majority of my visit.

Insider asked the tourism boards of Italy and Rome questions about how crowds are regulated. They didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

On my way to the Colosseum on a Wednesday in October, I noticed the streets felt more crowded the closer I got to the attraction.

Along the way, I came up against several people blocking paths and sidewalks as they stopped to take pictures.

This made getting to the attraction itself difficult and frustrating.

I got to my destination at 11 a.m. so I'd have ample time to find my tour guide before my 12 p.m. entry time — and thank goodness I did.

The grounds were packed with people looking for their tour guides and waiting for entry. As noon approached, I started to panic, thinking, 'what if I don't find them?'

It took me nearly an hour to find the tour group's small black flag next to the Arch of Constantine outside the Colosseum's entrance.

Viator didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the flag being challenging to find.

When I finally found my tour guide, she handed me my ticket for entry.

With my ticket, I was able to skip the general admission line, but I still had to wait in a relatively short line to be admitted and go through a security checkpoint.

I encountered people pushing each other forward and arguing about who was in line first.

One woman took her whole tour group and pushed to the front of the line, cutting several people off.

When it was my turn to use the bathroom, another woman shoved me forward as soon as a stall opened up before I even had a chance to take a step.

I was truly shocked at how people behaved in this situation, and it soured my experience at the historical landmark.

There were too many people at the Colosseum to walk up to the edge of the stands.

Instead, people formed lines in front of each viewpoint to get a quick glance at the arena below and take a picture.

While waiting for my turn, I stood on my tippy toes to see the Colosseum above rows of heads that obscured my view.

The tourism boards of Italy and Rome didn't immediately respond to Insider's questions about regulating crowds inside the Colosseum.

More than anything else, I wanted a few moments at the Colosseum to tap into my creativity and visualize the fights that happened in Ancient Rome.

But there were too many people trying to take my place for me to have that time.

I understand that old buildings often need to be restored to stick around for hundreds of years, like The Foundation Experts, a restoration and repair company in Canada, reports.

And I think the current work on the Colosseum will improve the visitor experience.

According to NPR, once restored later this year, the Colosseum will feature a floor-level attraction allowing visitors to step inside the arena and get a gladiator's view of the Colosseum.

But the ongoing restoration I saw at the Colosseum made it feel like one big construction site.

To look at the Colosseum's exhibits, I shuffled along slowly with a crowd while simultaneously taking in as much as I could before people began to move forward.

The exhibits were more packed than almost any museum I've been to, and I only viewed them for about 15 minutes before I became frustrated and gave up.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit the nearby attractions. So I was excited that the Colosseum's interior also has views of surrounding Ancient Roman sites, like the Roman Forum.

But I found that these areas were just as crowded as the viewpoints of the arena, and, since I'm 5'3," I couldn't see past other tourists and their outstretched phones.

According to SOTC Travel Limited, there are fewer crowds in Europe during the winter than at any other time of the year.