43905ROM
Guided visit of the catacombs along the Via Appia Antica
· Allow approximately 2 hours for this excursion
· You need cash/Equals card for entrances and to tip the guide
· Check which catacombs are open, according to the day of the week you make this excursion (see yellow pages)
· All catacombs are closed between 12.00 and 14.00 (apart from San Sebastiano which is open from 10-16.30)
· Remind the group to take a light sweater, even in the summer it is always chilly underground.
Leave Rome by the Via Appia Antica. The first (and best) catacombs are those of San Callisto, about 1km outside the city walls. A little further on are the catacombs of Santa Domitilla and San Sebastiano. All have large bus parks. On Sundays the Via Appia Antica is closed to traffic. You can reach the catacombs via the Via Cristoforo Colombo (direction EUR).
Keep the group together whilst you buy the tickets – ask for an English-speaking guide. Distribute the tickets. The guide gives a general introduction and then takes the group underground for a visit.
After the tour tip the guide.
There are toilets, a bar and souvenir shops at all the catacombs.
For groups interested in WWII: If you visit San Callisto and have time, a great added visit is the Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeatine, about a 10-minute walk from San Callisto. Extremely moving WWII monument with a chilling backstory (read about the Via Rasella attack and subsequent German retaliation at the fosse (mines). One of Italy’s darker WWII’s stories).