Roman Forum
Roman Forum
4.5
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
About
Located at the foot of Palatine Hill, the Forum is surrounded by ruins of Rome's most important government buildings. It's usually visited alongside the famous Colosseum.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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from $34.05
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Top ways to experience Roman Forum
The area
Address
Neighborhood: Campitelli
How to get there
- Fori Imperiali-Colosseo • 5 min walk
- Colosseo • 5 min walk
Best nearby
Restaurants
7,054 within 3 miles
Attractions
2,166 within 6 miles
See what other travelers are saying
- ERFSU82Wellington, Florida1,135 contributionsA walk through history.Entering the Forum is like stepping through a time portal. The history is extraordinary, and the ruins hint at how impressive this area was 2,000 years ago. We spent about an hour wandering the site on our own, which was enough time (especially for our teenagers), although it would be easy to spend more time. TIP - Watch out for private “tour guides” offering you tickets outside the Forum, especially near the Colosseum. Some will even approach you as you wait in line at the ticket office (which sits between the Forum and the Colosseum). If you can plan ahead, it’s best to buy your tickets online from the official website (for the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo). If you are looking for tickets on the spot, start with the official ticket office, where tickets are least expensive. If they are sold out, a private tour guide may be able to get you in on a tour, but it will be much more expensive.Traveled with familyWritten November 29, 2022
- theoriginalchrzWhiteley, United Kingdom91 contributionsAbsolutely incredible walk through some of the most significant ruins in historyThe Roman Forum and Palatine Hill was by far the highlight of our visit to Rome. This incredible archeological park has you walking the 2000 year old roads of ancient Rome, getting up close with the remains of temples and other major structures of this important area. You really feel the energy of history flowing. The view from Palatine Hill (the platform through the garden) is fabulous, with the dome of St Peter’s Basilica at one end, sweeping around to the Colosseum at the other. The park opens at 9.00 and highly recommend getting there early as you can enjoy much of it, including the Hill view without the crowds and the heat which build by mid morning. We spent around 3 hours. Online booking is required unless you have a free slot on the Roma card or are visiting as part of the Colosseum ticket.Traveled as a coupleWritten April 14, 2022
- travellingmatt57220 contributionsMust do if you want to experience ancient RomeYou can stand on the street and look over the fence and get a feel for some of the ruins but if you want to get up close you need to walk around the site. Buy a ticket before you travel, you can get them from coopculture.it (you can combine with a Colosseum entry too). We did a self guided tour which was fine because you can go at your own pace. Once you use your entry ticket you cannot go out again so make sure you allow enough time (2-3 hours). There is a small reasonably priced snack bar near one of the entrances and there are also frequent drinking water taps where you can top up a bottle.Written August 5, 2022
These reviews are the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews for fraud.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
25,076 reviews
Excellent
17,799
Very good
5,704
Average
1,249
Poor
210
Terrible
114
Robin M
4 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
An excellent site, however it is unfortunately marred by the visitor experience being unworthy of such a gem.
There's a lot to see, but be aware that visitor interpretation on site is poor.
They may publish a closing time of 16.30 and you might budget your time to get round the site based on that information but be warned... the staff would seem to wish to go home at exactly that time, so will start closing off sections of the site and sweeping visitors toward the exit 45 minutes before, telling you that the site is closing by 16.15, but because there are a lot of people in the archaeological park (hardly any one visitor's fault - and let's face it, when is it not busy) they have to start pushing people out well before the published time, being prepared to lie about the true closing time to get you out.
Apparently in March they move the closing time later due to longer daylight, but this doesn't happen till then. So if you go in February especially to avoid summer crowds, be aware of the closing time being an hour before sunset- and be warned that what time they publish they close is not what time you have.
There's a lot to see, but be aware that visitor interpretation on site is poor.
They may publish a closing time of 16.30 and you might budget your time to get round the site based on that information but be warned... the staff would seem to wish to go home at exactly that time, so will start closing off sections of the site and sweeping visitors toward the exit 45 minutes before, telling you that the site is closing by 16.15, but because there are a lot of people in the archaeological park (hardly any one visitor's fault - and let's face it, when is it not busy) they have to start pushing people out well before the published time, being prepared to lie about the true closing time to get you out.
Apparently in March they move the closing time later due to longer daylight, but this doesn't happen till then. So if you go in February especially to avoid summer crowds, be aware of the closing time being an hour before sunset- and be warned that what time they publish they close is not what time you have.
Written February 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
FL T
3 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
The young security man at the exit to via dei fori imperiali was so rude and need some training how to provide customer Serivce! When our family of 4 were exiting the park, my wife decided to go the toilets before exiting while my 16-year-old son already at the exit line. I called my son back to waiting for family, the security started his very rude command to force all 3 of us who were still in the park out. I kindly explained to the personals at the gate and asked my son to wait for us ourside if the gate. But the security man was still pushing all of us out of the park! This is terrible!!!!! We paid the 4 tickets and why were forced leaving??? Any manager or supervisor there seeing this argument should report to your management and fire or educate this security man. It is unacceptable service for paid customers and it is absolutely a damaging behavior from one unqualified person. Anyone who experienced the same should report here too to make such kind of bad apple out of his employment.
Written July 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
PaintedLadyHan
Birmingham, UK25 contributions
Feb 2022
The Forum itself is of course absolutely amazing and a fabulous thing to see. I don't need to say any more about that. It is one of the must see sites of Europe! I would give the Forum itself 5 balls!
......however, my 3 balls is for the visitor experience. Having waited in very long queues to get in our ticket said the site closed at 4:30pm. Unfortunately this meant the staff wanted to be in their cars and on the way home by 4:30pm. They wanted everyone out by 4:15pm and started closing off large areas of the site at 3:45pm not allowing you to visit them, so we ended up missing a large chunk at the bottom end which we had left to do to finish our visit, so we were really disappointed.
Also the interpretation and information on site could do with updating. the information about the key buildings uses words to describe architectural features which, if you don't know how Roman architecture works or those terms you wouldn't be able to picture it. Some good reconstructive drawings of some of the key buildings would be really useful and more user friendly descriptions.
......however, my 3 balls is for the visitor experience. Having waited in very long queues to get in our ticket said the site closed at 4:30pm. Unfortunately this meant the staff wanted to be in their cars and on the way home by 4:30pm. They wanted everyone out by 4:15pm and started closing off large areas of the site at 3:45pm not allowing you to visit them, so we ended up missing a large chunk at the bottom end which we had left to do to finish our visit, so we were really disappointed.
Also the interpretation and information on site could do with updating. the information about the key buildings uses words to describe architectural features which, if you don't know how Roman architecture works or those terms you wouldn't be able to picture it. Some good reconstructive drawings of some of the key buildings would be really useful and more user friendly descriptions.
Written February 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Coryy20
Port of Spain, Trinidad4,582 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
The Roman Forum is near the Colosseum. It is just as popular as the the Colosseum. The Roman Forum needs at least a couple hours minimum, to see it all and of course comfy shoes to walk through the ruins and well preserved ancient ruins and architectures.
It is also not free and you must visit with a tour guide who will walk you through and give explanations as to the history.
It is a sure essential visit especially if you are already in the vicinity of the Colosseum.
It is also not free and you must visit with a tour guide who will walk you through and give explanations as to the history.
It is a sure essential visit especially if you are already in the vicinity of the Colosseum.
Written June 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
angelo m
Frankfurt, Germany8 contributions
Nov 2022
this is the most historical place in Rome. It was a splendid experience walking in the archeological park with all historical hold roman monuments. We suggest to do it early in the morning and buya ticket which include Colossum, Palatine and Roman forum it costs only 18 €
Written November 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
chimayred
Durham, NH2,300 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
NO way to buy tickets online. Better still no way to buy tickets at entry points.
Apparently if tickets are sold out the website (coopculture) doesn’t bother to tell you that. It just takes you thru the purchase process until the end when it flips you back to the beginning of the website after all your data is deleted. Oh, and it skips between Italian and English at whim. So when we went to buy tickets at the kiosk there was no one there. Ticket takers for those who were fortunate enough to get tickets just did the shrug and said no way to buy tickets. An infuriating country unfortunately over represented by cheats who simply can’t be bothered to help anyone and whose sole function is to dampen the enthusiasm for the Roman’s and Italians who do want to be honest gracious hosts.
We finally each bought a $40 guided tour to colosseum and forum which got us in and was worth it.
Having said that, the Forum was astounding. Five star all the way. Probably the greatest concentration of history in one place I’ve ever seen.
Apparently if tickets are sold out the website (coopculture) doesn’t bother to tell you that. It just takes you thru the purchase process until the end when it flips you back to the beginning of the website after all your data is deleted. Oh, and it skips between Italian and English at whim. So when we went to buy tickets at the kiosk there was no one there. Ticket takers for those who were fortunate enough to get tickets just did the shrug and said no way to buy tickets. An infuriating country unfortunately over represented by cheats who simply can’t be bothered to help anyone and whose sole function is to dampen the enthusiasm for the Roman’s and Italians who do want to be honest gracious hosts.
We finally each bought a $40 guided tour to colosseum and forum which got us in and was worth it.
Having said that, the Forum was astounding. Five star all the way. Probably the greatest concentration of history in one place I’ve ever seen.
Written September 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Stardoe
Dubbo45 contributions
Jan 2020
Bought tickets for this as a combination with the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, but be warned, they are NOT three different venues with three different entries. Forum and Palatine Hill are the ONE entry so give yourself at least 3 hours to see both of them at once. You have to choose a time to visit the Colosseum, so best to do that first then Forum and Hill after lunch. Or Colosseum at about 3pm after a whole morning in the Forum and Hill. The Forum is extremely interesting and well worth stopping to read all of the information and also to go inside one of the Temples where there is a small museum. The small Forum ticket office just down the road from the Department of Defence building is the best place to enter as it's not obvious and there was no crowd at all.
Written January 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
andrea Du
1 contribution
Oct 2022
we recommend it to all those who love culture and history. Walking through the ruins of the Roman Empire is something very exciting. However, we recommend reading a guide or a book on the history of Rome before the visit so that you can understand the uniqueness and power of the Roman Empire.
Written November 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Braxmaier
Germany27 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
... be aware it is really badly organised, so don't do it on yourself, take a guided tour with skip the line. If you don't you will have to queue for an hour minimum due to security checks, then you can buy a ticket for Forum Romanum und Colosseum, which means after you visited the Colosseum you leave it, go to the Forum Romanum directly next door and spend another hour or more for the next security check. No skip the line here without guide though.
TIP: make sure you have no bigger bags with you as they'll just send you away after queuing for hours. There is no place to store your luggage !!!
SKIP THE LINE: you can book skip the line tickets even with Google, but there are certain entry time so make sure you do that on advance.
TIP: make sure you have no bigger bags with you as they'll just send you away after queuing for hours. There is no place to store your luggage !!!
SKIP THE LINE: you can book skip the line tickets even with Google, but there are certain entry time so make sure you do that on advance.
Written February 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Mairwen1
United Kingdom7,866 contributions
Jun 2022
The Roman Forum is a large, sprawling and often confusing archaeological site. I don’t think I’m alone in finding it confusing. For starters, there are several forums in the same general area. It can be hard to tell where one ends and one starts and what’s left is mainly in ruins. To get the most out of it, you need a guide or really good guidebook and map of the layout.
For the most part, what you see are isolated groups of columns, missing statues, patches of flagstones and discarded blocks of marble and stone.
However the Roman Forum was once the beating heart of ancient Rome and despite the passing centuries, there are still some fairly substantial structures here.
The most impressive are the Curia (Senate House), the triumphal Arches of Septimius Severus and Titus, and the Temple of Saturn (see separate reviews). These are the better preserved buildings and structures and can clearly identify them. You can actually go inside the Curia, where you find remnants of the original marble flooring, some frescos, mosaics and relief fragments.
ENTRY:
* It is worth noting that you cannot buy a separate entry to the forum. It is included in the combo Colosseum/Roman Forum ticket. You have two days to use the pass but it's essential to book ahead.
* It is also possible to see quite a lot from the roadside, without buying a ticket, if you are walking up the to the Capitoline Museums
For the most part, what you see are isolated groups of columns, missing statues, patches of flagstones and discarded blocks of marble and stone.
However the Roman Forum was once the beating heart of ancient Rome and despite the passing centuries, there are still some fairly substantial structures here.
The most impressive are the Curia (Senate House), the triumphal Arches of Septimius Severus and Titus, and the Temple of Saturn (see separate reviews). These are the better preserved buildings and structures and can clearly identify them. You can actually go inside the Curia, where you find remnants of the original marble flooring, some frescos, mosaics and relief fragments.
ENTRY:
* It is worth noting that you cannot buy a separate entry to the forum. It is included in the combo Colosseum/Roman Forum ticket. You have two days to use the pass but it's essential to book ahead.
* It is also possible to see quite a lot from the roadside, without buying a ticket, if you are walking up the to the Capitoline Museums
Written July 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Giorgio Bracaglia
Frosinone, Italy6 contributions
I bambini sotto 14 anni entrano gratis?
Angelo
Rome, Italy111 contributions
Controlli sul sito. Saluti
LiorM
Israel69 contributions
What are the opening hours in December? Each website says something different :)
DRUIDAMINERVA
Alicante, Spain303 contributions
The official website,say from 08:30 to 16:30 in December. They close early.
Silvan Tara
Iasi, Romania3 contributions
Should i visit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum or Palatine Hill first? Which order do you reccomend?
Arvind Kumar Yerram
Hyderabad, India1,390 contributions
No specific order as such. Roman Forum is in Palatine hill - these both go together. You can plan based on your time. We did colosseum first and these later.
matt_ravens
Atchison, KS2 contributions
Anyone know if the church of Santa Maria Antiqua will be open the first week of October 2019?
LOUKAS Z
Ymittos, Greece265 contributions
It is open from 14:30, I visited last week!
Aydın
Istanbul, Türkiye
Hello everyone. I just want to see the Forum and the Palatine Hill. I've heard there is less crowd at the ticket office for the forum, which I plan to visit at 14.30 on Friday. How long do you think I would wait and do you think it's a feasible plan? Many thanks in advance.
europeanchild
Berlin, Germany37 contributions
Hi. I visited the roman forum this month and queued for around 30 minutes from 12:00. I suggest going before midday if you want tickets that include the colosseum as these run out quickly, but as you just want to see the forum this should be no problem. Hope this helped, and have fun!
Julie H
Columbia, TN439 contributions
We just want to tour the Forum and Palantine Hill. Is this ticket available online, if not-I heard there is an entrance somewhere else where the queue is very insignificant compared to the other locations? About how long are the lines to get into just the Forum?
Scrumpy J
Long Beach, CA133 contributions
When we went last month, the Forum and Palatine Hill didn't really get crowded until around noon. Most of the long lines in the morning were to be found over at the Colosseum. I think that if you were to go directly to Forum and Palatine Hill around the time they open in the morning (0830 hours), you won't have a problem. Going in the morning is a good idea also because it's cooler. In the summer months, it really heats up during the day, and there isn't a lot of shade in that area.
Silvia🌏
Spino d'Adda, Italy408 contributions
Ciao volevo sapere il costo del biglietto
E se hai dai 18 ai 25 è vero che si paga 2 euro ? Grazie
Gianluca D
46 contributions
confermo. tutti i dettagli li trovi su facilitane sul sito ufficiale dove puoi comprare online i biglietti
per invece lo spettacolo di Piero Angela puoi vedere i prezzi qui "viaggioneifori"
buona visita ne vale la pena!
I am visiting Rome in July, and want to visit the Forum. All the timed tickets for the Colosseum for our dates are now sold out in the Co-op site. We don’t want to do a guided tour.
We don’t mind missing the Colloseum as we’ve been before but We really want to see the Forum. Is it still possible to buy tickets on the day for the Forum? And would we need to be there early to get them?
Thank you.
dene s
Adelaide, Australia66 contributions
Hi
When we were there in May there were a lot of people selling tickets with their tours to both at the entrance around the Colosseum. We had prepurchased entry tickets, but did book a tour to go with the entrance tickets.
Our ticket included Mamertine Prison, Forum and Pallatine Hill which was very cheap - prepurchased. If you try to buy this kind of ticket, try to book in advance, but I also think you can do so at the Mamertine Prison, get there ready for opening time, and there will likely be less of a queue as it is quieter, however there are less likely to be touts selling tickets there if there are none left.
Remember we were there in May, so likely very different to peak season.
I would say also that we found the guided tour of the Forum incredible and well worth it - unless you have extensive knowledge of everything yourself, the signage and information at the site is very very limited, and we would have had no idea. Also in the heat to have someone focussing on key stories and sites is helpful to avoid wandering around aimlessly getting hot. If you did a tour, you could spend the rest of the day wandering and exploring on your own, which is what we did do. tiqets
Cristiano850
Rome, Italy15 contributions
Vorrei andare a visitare il Foro Romano durante la domenica gratuita. Secondo voi visto che l'ingresso apre alle 8:30 a che ora devo andare per evitare di stare troppo tempo in fila? Qualcuno ha esperienza diretta?
Mary13
20 contributions
Salve, siccome parliamo di luoghi di un certo valore ed essendo molto gettonati nelle domeniche in cui la visita è gratuita, consiglio di presentarsi un 45 minuti prima 😉
Roman Forum (Rome) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Roman Forum
- Roman Forum is open:
- Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
- Roman Forum admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost $33.93, while a popular guided tour starts around $5.49 per person. See all 1,074 Roman Forum tickets and tours on Tripadvisor
- Roman Forum can be crowded, so we recommend booking e-tickets ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund. See all 1,074 Roman Forum tickets and tours on Tripadvisor
- According to Tripadvisor travelers, these are the best ways to experience Roman Forum:
- Colosseum Ticket-Palatine Hill & Roman Forum Included (From $33.93)
- Self-Guided Tour Colosseum Skip-the-Line Ticket (From $26.29)
- Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum Guided Tour | Skip the Line Tickets (From $65.98)
- Colosseum, Piazza Pantheon and Roman Forum Small Group Tour Skip the Line (From $64.89)
- Gladiator Gate and Arena Floor Special Access Colosseum Tour (From $64.89)
- Hotels near Roman Forum:
- (0.11 mi) Residenza Maritti
- (0.08 mi) Hotel Romano
- (0.11 mi) Residenze Argileto
- (0.10 mi) Hotel Forum Roma
- (0.14 mi) Nerva Boutique Hotel
- Restaurants near Roman Forum:
- (0.10 mi) Pizza della Madonna dei Monti
- (0.11 mi) La Prezzemolina
- (0.10 mi) Flor Gelato Italiano
- (0.09 mi) Caffe Valorani
- (0.12 mi) La Nuova Piazzetta