This was the venue used for the Rome Marathon race expo and finish line which I thought was quite apropos. However, the remnants of the race course itself was barely recognizable and a bit of a letdown. For the finish line, they had laid down a track starting from Via dell'Ara Massima di Ercole. read more

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So much to see! I really need to come back and spend a week here exploring! Visited so many fantastic places including Vatican City. Pentathlon, Spanish stairs, the fountain and the colosseum... and so many more! The monuments are breath taking! It was quite busy, but it was Saturday before Easter Sunday and it was the jubilee 2025! I will def return! read more

Circo Massimo - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Rome, RM

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Dating to the first century, the Circo Massimo arena once entertained the masses with chariot races and other entertainment. Partially destroyed in the great fire of Nero's time, it would decay over the next six centuries. On previous visits to Rome, a child was not in tow. From here on that fact will probably never repeat itself at least not until I'm old, ragged or withering. Inasmuch I always try to conceive of or include places to visit where I can point and say "see the ________ over there? Run to it, then run back." It's great exercise for the little's legs and you know they're going to sleep better. Hotel convention halls? Perfect. Huge expanses of land? That'll do the trick. The acclaimed Circus Maximus? Why not? This historic stadium has and will continue to serve many functions. Add: further depleting the energy of travel-weary children to the list. Outside of that, it's not a must-see but it is unique in it's own right. read more

5 stars for the historical significance, 0 stars for how the city of rome has maintained it. Why is the colosseum the #1 tourist spot and circus maximus is treated like a garbage dump? This predates colloseum by 500 years. Chariot races, gladiator battles and much more took place here. Today its nothing but empty dirt and grass. This is where people go at night to drink beer and dump their trash. Its very sad. The city could really fix this place up! read more

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Today, a peaceful and quiet park space. In the past, a racetrack and entertainment arena capable of holding 150,000 spectators. That's a lot of people - the Charlotte Motor Speedway does that many and it's nearly 2,000 years newer! It's a long walk from one end to the other and while I listened carefully, I could hear the muted roar of the crowd and the stomping of the hooves as they raced around the circuit. I was here in late January so there isn't a concert scheduled and there weren't any people sitting on blankets. In the warmer months, music festivals and concerts are hosted here. It was nice to stop by but I wouldn't go out of the way to visit. [Review 19161 overall - 316 in Italy - 131 of 2023.] read more

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Y'know if it wasn't for the signs you'd walk by this open grassland as it's pretty much nothing to see here. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width and could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. Imagine they needed someone with a stentorian voice to address the plebeians. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. Nearly 2000 years ago it was Rome's largest venue for ludi, public games connected to Roman religious festivals. The board game Ludo took its name from the Latin Ludo to play. Ludi were sponsored by leading Romans (private sector funding) or the Roman state for the benefit of the Roman people (populus Romanus) and gods. Public sector funding wasn't unusual 2,000 years ago either. Most were held annually or at annual intervals on the Roman calendar. Roll up to see the killing of wild animals, chariot racing and public executions - social entertainment long before bingo. In the late 3rd century, the emperor Probus laid on a spectacular Circus show in which beasts were hunted through a veritable forest of trees, on a specially built stage. With the advent of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, ludi gradually fell out of favour. The last known beast-hunt at the Circus Maximus took place in 523, and the last known races there were held by Totila in 549 and today of it wasn't for the signage no one would give it a second glance. read more

A historic feature, but not among the most interesting or best preserved in Rome. You can see a long depression where the stadium used to be but that's about it Today, the space is mostly used for rock concerts and other events. read more

Yeah, there really isn't much left of this place. Okay, the race track does remain here, but that is basically it - a shallow depression in the ground. In fact it is probably not really worth getting off one of the tourist buses to actually wander around namely because, as I mentioned, pretty much everything has been removed over the centuries to basically build the city that we see around it, and all that remains is a depression in the ground. Probably best to look at it as you trundle past on a bus as opposed to actually getting off and having a look around. read more

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Uhh ... not much to see here. If you could go back in time and actually watch a chariot race here, now that would be something! But these days, you really have to use your imagination. There's really nothing to see here, except two long dirt paths. And I'm not so sure those have actually lasted 2,000 years. Someone probably remade the sandy tracks within the past 50 years. Who knows. The world's largest Egyptian obelisk was discovered here, but it was dug up and now stands in front of the St. John Lateran church. If you're in the neighborhood, walk past the Circus Maximus and take a picture. But don't go out of your way. read more

Circo Massimo - Starting line for the old chariot races. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Rome, RM

A visit to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill/Roman Forum will put you within 5 minutes of the Circus Maximus. The only problem is that the Circus Maximus doesn't exist anymore. The ruins of the circus are paltry, occupying just the one small corner closest to the Colosseum. In this set of ruins, there are a handful of informational placards. But when I visited, the entire ruins section was gated off for conservation efforts. The flipside is that you can walk around in what looks like a dried up lake bed on the spot where the circus would have stood. In traditional Roman fashion, though, the spot is littered with trash. It's a favorite public hangout for smoking and drinking. read more

#153-2016: Whilst I was descending the stairs that led to this historical place, I couldn't help but overhear a tourist saying "what a shame: such an iconic place, such a trashed out loaction". I couldn't agree more, sign of civilization is when you see respect and decency (which lacked out here with all the trash spread around). I just needed not to focus on the zooming in of beer bottle caps and enjoy the overview of this (once) magnificent piece of history and... NOTHING much comes to mind. So, I close my eyes and start imagining how it would be if I were back during the Roman Era when they held the LUDI, with beasts hunting, gladiators fights as well as festivals to bring about prosperity and richness to the Roman Empire. Such a vast area must have held tens of thousands of people and must have been cause of pride and entertainment. It was also often times used as a chariot-racing circuit, though its main use was that of religious procession venue. Of its original splendor, close to nothing remains (which leads many to have to resort, like I did, to a good dose of imagination). The only standing tower is part of the mediaval fortification. Unlike other Roman Era structures which withstood the test of time, this area was abandoned as of the 6th century and quarried for building materials, which means bits and pieces of the Circus Maximus are probably being admired on more recent duildings throughout Rome without even knowing. Some of the structures withstood the test of time, only to be moved to different locations by 1500s (two obelisks, one of which can now be admired in Piazza del Popolo). Current use of this area is for festivals, large-crowds concerts (Rolling Stones played here on June 22nd 2014) as well as meeting and political rallies. Should you need to read more about Curcus Maximus, please refer to wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus read more

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Just a wide open field that leads to the imagination of how this place once was "Grand" centuries ago. Honestly not worth going to but can be seen when on the other side of Palantine Hill. read more

Circo Massimo - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Rome, RM

A long long long time ago , they did carriages races in here , now they do lots of concerts

If you are into history, which you probably are if you are seeing many sites within Roma, this site is also known as the Circus Maximus. There is not much to see anymore since it is just a public park, but when it was fully used in ancient times, it could hold around 150,000 people. Of the many games which were held there, the chariot races were one of the most popular, and if you see any specials of it on TV, that is probably what they will show. When you are there, all you can do is imagine the how grand it must have been to have that many people watching a sporting event. Overall, attendance here was much larger than at the Coliseum. I would not put this on the top of your list to see, but if you have extra time, it is very easy to get to via the subway. read more

This place is easy to miss. It is not easy to miss because it is small or because it is underground. It is easy to miss because Circo Massimo is supposed to be much more glorious and awesome than what is here now. There are some ruins on one of the far sides of this location, but they are currently fenced off (being excavated or restored) Other than that, this place is a public park that looks like a dirt/sand racetrack with some grassy in-between areas. If it was not posted, and maps didn't exist, I would not even have known where I was standing. I did not find this place un-clean as some Yelpers have put... but there are people and kids and animals in this park, so a little messiness, especially towards the summer months is to be expected. Worth checking out if you are passing by, but unless you want to walk around aimlessly, do not go out of your way to see this place. read more

Excellent area to spend some time outside. Plenty of transportation options to get there. read more

Circo Massimo - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Rome, RM

This is an interesting landmark to see if only for its historical significance. Basically, it is just a remnant now with the track still there to see. You can imagine where the legendary chariot races used to occur but it is a place now to sit, rest, take a break and imagine what occurred here a couple of millenia ago. read more

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All you have to do is imagine as their is not much left from the legendary horse racing arena. If you are having a hard time imaging then watch the movie Benhur they have an awesome race in the movie. It would be good if they rebuild the place and make it a real experience. read more

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There really isn't much to see in it's current state...it's just a grassy oval park (that is below street level) where chariot races and other competitions were held. There is talk in Roma that the facade and course may be restored to it's original grandeur. This could be skipped on your tour of Rome, but if you're in the area, it certainly is worth the gander. read more

We were walking and realized we must be in the middle of something. We looked it up and voile, we're in the circus maximus. It is surreal to see something today and imagine what it looked like. We looked up some info on it and imagined the games they ran in the past. It wasn't anything special in and of itself, but it is interesting to think about. read more

We walked past Circo Massimo on our way to and from town as we stayed outside of the major tourist area, south of the city center. (I highly recommend Althea Inn for your lodging while in Rome!!) It's sheer size is impressive and, just like much of this city, the fact that it is leftover from millennia ago is pretty darn cool. If it's near you or your walking past, definitely stop to admire but you don't need to make a special trip to this part of town to see it. It's impressive to look at but it's fenced off and you can't do anything besides view it from the perimeter. read more

Really not much here... The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. You don't have to do a special tour for this place. You can see it from the Palatine hills where it's also free! read more

What is left is not much, but looking at the Circo Massimo, one can not imagine the famous races that occurred here, with the Caesar's Palace overlooking the place. Just think that people like Judah Ben Hur were racing their chariots here!!! read more

Not much to see. Just a whole lot of grass and one tower. Of course, the grass is really green- beautiful. That's about all I've got to say on its defense. read more