National Roman Museum - The Baths of Diocletian

National Roman Museum - The Baths of Diocletian

National Roman Museum - The Baths of Diocletian
4.5
Ancient RuinsPoints of Interest & LandmarksHistory Museums
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Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area

Address
Neighborhood: Esquilino
Old school vibe from the very beginning is the only way to describe the Esquilino neighborhood. The Esquilino takes pride in being one of the oldest areas in Rome for its key location on one of the city’s famous seven hills. From an ancient neighborhood to its modern incarnation as a multicultural hub, Esquilino always has something going on—polyglot vendors debate street artists while kids play pick-up basketball games. Look around you: this area isn’t like the historic center. Liberty architecture, large piazzas, and long boulevards mix with archaic arches, secret side alleys, and beautiful churches like Santa Maria Maggiore.
How to get there
  • Repubblica - Teatro dell'Opera • 4 min walk
  • Termini • 4 min walk
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See what travelers are saying

  • Conseiller99
    Roseland, New Jersey1,490 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent exhibits and artifacts, but viewing the ruined baths is a bit of a challenge since things are not well-marked.
    This was an excellent experience wtih the exhibit on Dacia, and the various other National Museum artifcats and exhibits. Our one drawback is that the directions on how to visit the baths were really poorly marked and not easy to follow, unlike the much-better marked Baths of Caracalla which we visited the day after. For one thing, they don’t make it clear where you are at any given time as you walk around the ruins. You see the pool with a sign saying “Frigidarium” with an arrow, but where? We recognized that Michelangelo was instructed to build a church in the middle of the baths, but what they don’t make clear is that is NOT PART of the ticket. We found out after our visit that you can see the excellent remains of other parts of the baths by visiting (for FREE) the adjoining Basilica of Santa Maris dell Angeli, which is what Michelangelo was responsible for…so we’re going over there tomorrow to see that. You really shouldn’t do one without the otherm, but that doesn’t seem to pop up anywhere.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 19, 2024
  • spedubec
    Bologna, Italy5,799 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Exhibition on the Dacians among the ruins of the baths.
    This morning I was in Rome because I had a lunch commitment. Having time available, I went to see the splendid exhibition on the Dacians set up inside the Baths of Diocletian and so I took advantage of the opportunity to also see the rest of the museum, as it was included in the ticket price. The visit was necessarily rushed because the museum is very large, so I suggest going here with time available to see the interesting finds from ancient Lazio and Rome from the era of the kings. The lapidary set up in the perimeter of the cloister is wonderful.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written February 24, 2024
  • MILOUW
    New York City, New York1,419 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Largest Roman era baths ever built
    It is an awesome sight to contemplate the height of the walls and of the vast foot print of the largest baths built by the Romans. Currently there is a small but fairly interesting temporary exhibition on the Dacia region and it's links to the Roman Empire. The museum also gives access to two cloisters from a nearby Church.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written April 2, 2024
  • R0bzer
    22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Pleasant museum full of history
    Nice museum, cool with several parts including gardens in the sun. Very interesting with immense remains of the largest baths in Rome. Some explanatory videos in the museum on epigraphy. Very pleasant staff.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 2, 2024
  • Claudio_A
    Rome, Italy1,558 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A billboard would suffice
    Visit to the Baths of Diocletian and the National Roman Museum in Piazza dei Cinquecento, at Roma Termini station. Many interesting things to see: first of all the Baths, social and economic icon of ancient Rome, with the particular environments of the frigidarium, tepidarium and calidarium. After almost a thousand years of neglect, Pope Pius IV then had the Basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli built inside the Baths and entrusted Michelangelo Buonarroti with the construction of the Great Cloister, now open to visitors from the Baths and embellished with an incalculable number of statues of ancient Rome. And then there is the museum, which is spread over three floors, two of which are equipped with air conditioning, which collects statues, vases, amphorae, tombs, furnishings and objects of daily life, dated between the third century BC and the fourth century AD. An interesting site and a must-see, too bad that in the railway square the baths go a little unnoticed and are not properly exploited. A large billboard would be enough to attract the many tourists who, while waiting for the departing train, could get distracted and excited among the wonders of antiquity
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written August 4, 2024
  • 58Dj
    Brussels, Belgium1,126 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Thermal baths?
    We really thought we were visiting thermal baths. In fact, the visit is doubled by a beautiful museum on several floors (with elevator) and the gardens, in square courtyard, brings a plus. To be seen in combination of the Baths of Caracala close enough
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 15, 2024
  • Traveling Mario
    Seoul, South Korea2,652 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Museum converted from bath house
    This large complex used to be a bath house in Roman days. It is now a branch of the National Roman Museums. It is located near Termini station, a short walk from Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, another, larger branch. In the main building, there are exhibitions on Roman writings and statues. It is a quiet place with not many visitors and is a good place for a leisurely stroll.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written September 29, 2024
  • José Luis Hevia
    Oviedo, Spain187 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoyable visit
    Relaxed and quiet visit away from places crowded by tourism. We could enjoy its rooms, the cloisters and the visit to the baths almost alone. It is not a museum comparable to others in the city, such as the Vaticans or the Capitolines, however the visit is enjoyable, discovering another part of Roman history
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written October 7, 2024
  • Andrea Z
    Sheffield, United Kingdom522 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful although improveable
    Beautiful complex of the ancient Baths of Diocletian, now incorporated into the National Roman Museum. The evening opening is really stimulating. The spaces are beautiful, but the impression is that even more could be done in terms of lighting and display care. In any case, Recommendation.
    Visited October 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written October 22, 2024
  • IanPuk33
    Slough, United Kingdom6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Superb hidden gem - well worth visiting!
    Outstanding little gem - easy to miss but well worth going to. Very good value - can combine ticket with other museums too for only €12! Amazing array of statues, monuments and other Roman artefacts. Just kept going - room after room after room of amazing things to see! Would strongly recommend! Very close to the metro/bus terminal.
    Visited October 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written October 31, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles793 reviews
Excellent
406
Very good
253
Average
97
Poor
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soinic
Lux.3,012 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Entering this place you leave behind you the chaos, dirt, noise ... around Roma Termini!

The cloister hosts a very interesting museum which shows special artefacts explaining Roman everydays life a long time ago.

Magical! The fountain of Anna Perenna merits your attention!

A ladies handheld fan which was found in a tomb looked very special too!

A lot of sculptures, mosaics, sarcophages etc

The remains of the Diocletian Baths are very huge and special ....

Not very busy, it was a very interesting visit. Plan enough time because there is so much to see.

We bought the combiticket which includes also the Palazzo Massimo museum (both should be a good alternative to the usual overcrowded tourist places in Rome).

You can have a quick glance and very short walk for free at the garden in front of the entrance to buy/show your ticket.
Written August 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joe M
Glen Cove, NY986 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
The museum’s standing collection is nice but unremarkable - lots of statues, sarcophagi and frieze fragments which are quite common throughout Rome.

The thing that really impressed me was the special exhibit they had on Roman conquest of Dacia in the immense halls of the baths of Diocletian (which are the biggest in the Roman world). Both the exhibit content and exhibition space were excellent!

If you’re reading this in Feb or March 2024, I would definitely recommend a visit!
Written February 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Richard H
Leeds, UK419 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Solo
I bought a combined ticket which included access to this site plus Palazzo Massimo & Palazzo Altemps. The ticket cost me €19 - which is higher than usual because there is a special exhibit at the Baths of Diocletian.
The Special exhibition included exhibits from Pompeii and various other places.
This site is vast and includes things like tablets from the Arval brothers, lots of statues etc.
Written July 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Clem H
4 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Family
A seductive place by the superimposition of architectural elements of antiquity - the Baths of Diocletian of monumental dimensions- in the seventeenth century, as well as by its museographic content: many ancient funerary inscriptions.
Regrettable: having to pay for a contemporary art exhibition that spoils more than it highlights the beauty of the place. The lack of explanations that do not allow easy access to the neophyte...
Automatically translated
Written November 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rf27
ItalyForEver154 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2024 • Solo
What can I say, the potential is there but it should be exploited much better.
The museum offer is very wide, an infinite number of finds displayed on 3 floors and the ground floor, in addition to the external environments: but the display of the finds is that of a museum from 30 years ago!!!
Everything should be better valorised starting from the information labels which are sometimes illegible because they are discolored or faded by light and time.
The external environments are "wild", apparently without maintenance starting from the entrance garden to the museum; the Michelangiolesco cloister is very neglected: tall grass, weeds everywhere, the fountain in the center with the water overflowing and flooding the surrounding area... a sadness.
Not to mention the area outside the museum (not belonging to the museum) where it feels like walking in the worst suburbs of the worst city, among all kinds of dirt and wild vegetation.
Perhaps Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano should make a "private" visit to these places instead of staying locked in his office.
Money for culture and not for bridges!
Google
Written April 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cecilia p
Bonn, Germany386 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
My assessment is aimed at the exhibition currently being presented in the Baths of Diocletian about the Dacian people, who lived in what is now Romania and whose history is closely intertwined with that of the Roman Empire. You may have come across some Dacian sculptures in the Vatican Museum or at the Arch of Constantine, and so this topic is interesting in itself. The objects are also worth seeing, many of them shown outside Romania for the first time. In this respect, this exhibition is undoubtedly worth a visit. In my opinion, the presentation and the museum's educational approach need to be improved. The exhibition is not structured chronologically, but the thematic structure is not so easy for the visitor to understand. Secondly, although the exhibits are explained in writing, you often have to bend down to be able to read everything. The type of explanations remains, as is so often the case, long-winded and technical, and multimedia effects are completely missing, so that I, as an interested layperson, find it difficult to find a real approach to the topic of the exhibition. The exhibition runs until April 21st, 2024 and more than 1000 works are on display. Admission costs 8€. The thermal baths are located opposite the main train station (stazione termini), opening hours are from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., the ticket office closes at 6 p.m.
Google
Written February 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KoliShropshire
Shropshire43 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Couples
This is an extraordinary collection of objects dating back to ancient Roman times, along with the ruins of the baths (which are not as complete as those in Bath but more so than those in Nice). The objects are very well displayed with about the right amount of information (a brief read, not a great screed). It's just a shame that this phenomenal expertise is let down by those currently in charge of running the museum. Why do I say this? First, information about ticket options is only legible when you reach the front of the queue, so there is little time to choose the best one. Second, we found NO soap and no paper towels in the washrooms (despite the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over). Third, fire extinguishers were sadly lacking despite the importance of the collection (we saw empty stands). I do recommend a visit in soite of these shortcomings. It's very good and could be even better.
Written September 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ted C
18 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Couples
The Baths house some truly interesting collections in a beautiful location. The story of archeologists uncovering the lives of the earliest Romans is fascinating… unfortunately, this museum suffers from a very poor layout, further let down by an absence of sign posting or advice on how best to navigate through the exhibits. Outside there is a beautiful courtyard full of sculptures - a large majority of the identifying tags on the sculptures have faded to illegibility in the sun, leaving you with no idea what you are looking at. No sign of an audio guide being available - if there is one, I suggest you grab it. What remains of the baths are awe inspiring - but the only signage seems intent on describing how the baths were destroyed and built over, rather than how they were used and what part they played in Roman life. Topping off our experience, some sort of alarm was going off the entire time we were at the museum, making it impossible to hear anything. The only two staff members we saw in the museum were totally uninterested in the alarm or literally anything else. Despite all this, this exhibit, and the story of the history of early Rome, is worth seeing… but it deserves a lot better.
Written September 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marla7
Naas, Ireland829 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
I absolutely loved the baths as well as the museum!
Unfortunately some halls of the baths were closed when I visited, but the ones that were accessible were really impressive, and something unusual to visit (for me at least!)
The museum is also incredible and contains a lot of pieces you don't see very often. The epigraphic museum is super interesting and I loved the section of the magic items from the Anna Perenna fountain. Michelangelo's cloister is very impressive too. Other interesting, unusual items are the friezes from the cult of Mithra.
I was also very lucky to be visiting on the first Sunday of the month, the entrance was free, and despite that I didn't have to queue.
Written October 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TravelingSoccerLoon
Saint Paul, MN8,045 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
Enormous public baths built by Emperor Diocletian around AD 300. Much of the complex was incorporated into the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli but a section of the original baths remains. It was interesting to see but the organization of the whole complex was disappointing. Poor signage with no explanation of anything that I was looking at. The inside of the adjacent church was quite beautiful, and the attached Cloister of Michelangelo was picturesque.
Written December 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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National Roman Museum - The Baths of Diocletian - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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