Even if you’ve been to Rome, chances are you’ve never toured the Colosseum by moonlight. Rome-based Through Eternity tours offers in-depth walking expeditions with a different perspective on some of the Eternal City’s most monumental sites for private and small groups, led by local experts. In two new tours, participants experience Nero’s palace and the Colosseum by torchlight — just as the ancient Romans would have — and, with the assistance of 3D virtual reality, view the long-ago splendor of Nero’s golden rooms in recreated glory.

The guided Colosseum by Night tour includes the structure’s two underground levels, where participants learn about the terrifying circumstances where animals and gladiators awaited their fate and discover the sophisticated stage machinery used to operate elaborate sets and manipulate the staging. Departing the famous arena, the tour continues via the Roman Forum en route to the Piazza Campidoglio, imagined by Michelangelo and completed during the 17^th century.

During the Domus Aurea, Nero’s Golden House tour, participants ascend Palatine Hill overlooking the Colosseum, crossing the ground above the 200-room Domus Aurea. Demolished by the Roman Senate and Rome’s citizens as a visceral outcry protesting Nero’s astonishing excesses, the palace was excavated and is open for select visits twice each week. Eternity’s tour includes virtual animation viewed with 3D glasses, bringing to light the site’s sumptuous courtyards, gardens, grottos, waterfalls, spaces filled with paintings and sculptures, and the Octagonal Room with its perforated ceiling for stargazing. The tour concludes with a glass of Prosecco and snacks enjoyed on the rooftop.