Roman Forum Tickets: how to buy, prices and discounts

It was the epicenter of social and economic life during the Roman Empire: it housed houses, temples, palaces and squares where Romans gathered.

It is next to the Colosseum and is one of the essential visits in Rome. Of course, get tickets to the Roman Forum in advance to avoid the huge queues of tourists that form at its gates.

The best combination

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tickets

Travel to Ancient Rome with this combined ticket set

Enjoy the most impressive attractions of the Italian capital: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Make the most of your stay in Rome and maximize your sightseeing itinerary with this option.

From $45 at Hellotickets

With these tickets you can visit the main attractions of the Eternal City such as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. No queues or waiting, you can organize your day of sightseeing in the city and visit them in the order you want.

Visit the Colosseum, one of the wonders of the ancient world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This ticket also includes a digital audio guide, so you can learn all about the history of Rome and the importance of this amphitheater in Ancient Rome.

For 24 hours before or after visiting the Colosseum, you will have access to the following:

• Roman Forum: epicenter of ancient Rome that gathered commercial, political, social activity and even military parades. It is one of the most important archaeological attractions in the world and still preserves monuments such as the Arch of Titus and the Temple of Janus.
• Palatine Hill - the origin of modern Rome, from where Romulus in his time, decided to found a new city. There today you can see the structure of the Temple of Apollo Palatine, which in its time featured decorations in white marble and doors covered with gold and ivory.

Recommended if... you do not want to miss any of Rome's tourist attractions and prefer to organize your itinerary in advance. This combined ticket will allow you to maximize your time, your stay and your money.

Very easy: all Colosseum tickets also include access to the Roman Forum, so you will not need a different ticket or pay extra for this visit.

However, the best advice I can give you to get tickets to the Roman Forum is not to delay too much and buy them online and in advance: being one of the most popular and most visited places in the city, tickets are highly coveted.

At the ticket office there are usually long lines that you will have to endure under the sun, so if you can, buy them in advance and online. Online you can compare schedules, rates, types of guided tours and you will ensure a place for the day and time you want to make the tour of the Roman Forum.

As I said, the price is included in the package of tickets for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill: it is around 23€ in Hellotickets.

If you just want to buy a standard ticket and visit the Forum on your own, the entrance to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum costs about 17 € at the box office, but you know that the queues that await you can be kilometers long. In addition, without a visit you would miss much of the context of what you are going to see. In that case I would recommend that you hire an audio guide separately.

See more details on how much it costs to enter the Roman Forum in my article on Colosseum ticket prices.

Yes, very much so. If in the Colosseum we already recommend guided tours, in the Roman Forum it is even more essential. Keep in mind that much of what you will see are ruins and archaeological remains.

Although some of them are very well preserved, the vision and explanations of an expert guide will help you to mentally reconstruct the buildings. You will understand what daily life was like during the Roman Empire, what their main hours were dedicated to and how social life developed in the Forum.

A journey through time that would be a shame to miss if you just stroll through its narrow streets without understanding what you are seeing.

Whether you do it on your own or with an expert guide, it will take you at least an hour and a half to walk through the entire Forum. Along the way you will stop to see the most important buildings, stroll along the Via Sacra, marvel at the Arch of Triumph and the Column of Trajan.

Of course, once you enter the Forum, you will not be able to reuse that ticket, so you will have to think carefully when you want to use it.

I have made a small practical guide on the duration of the visit to the Colosseum and the entire archaeological area of the Roman Forum that can help you organize your visit.

The Roman Forum, despite being open air, is enclosed and fee-paying, so you will need a ticket to access it. However, on the first Sunday of each month, both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum open their doors free of charge to all visitors who dare to visit them.

Keep in mind that the influx on those days is usually massive, so if you do not feel like making this visit surrounded by thousands of tourists, my recommendation is to flee from those dates and buy a ticket to visit them on your own during the week with more tranquility.

If you still want to keep the budget low, there is an option to have a good view of the Forum (from farther away, of course) for free. From the Via dei Fori Imperiali (pedestrianized all day on Sundays), which connects Piazza Venezia with the Colosseum, you will have an elevated view of much of the Forum, one of the best views in Rome.

Early in the morning is definitely the best time: keep in mind that there is hardly any shade in this area, so during the central hours, the heat will be too much and the visit could become more uncomfortable.

On the other hand, large groups of visitors tend to arrive later, so if you get up early you will most likely be able to avoid them. If you can, if possible, avoid weekends or holidays, when the Colosseum and its surroundings are also crowded with national tourists.

If you want your visit to the Roman Forum to be a relaxing walk and enjoy it to the fullest, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Wear comfortable shoes. the ground is cobblestone or covered with sand, so I would avoid uncomfortable shoes, heels or sandals that do not fit the foot well.
• Protect yourself from the sun: with refreshments, caps, hats and sunscreen. Believe me, even if you don't travel in summer, the temperature (or the wind chill) here is more oppressive than in the rest of the city.
• Buy tickets in advance to avoid queues: the long lines at the gates of the Forum and the Colosseum can be kilometers long. Buy tickets online to avoid entering the Forum already tired.
• Beware of tourist traps: the restaurants are neither the best nor the cheapest (I recommend my article on where to eat near the Colosseum). Beware also of men dressed as gladiators: they will approach you kindly to greet you but if you take a picture with them they will ask you for a tip afterwards.
• Be wary of unofficial guides or tickets: the area around the Colosseum is full of touts or unofficial guides who will offer you tickets and guided tours at "bargain" prices. Be wary of anything they offer you because you may be disappointed if the tickets are not valid or the tour is not what you expected.

If you want more tips or details about it, do not hesitate to consult my article with tips to visit the Colosseum.

Visiting the Roman Forum with children is highly recommended. They will enjoy the fascinating stories of Ancient Rome, they will let their imagination fly by mentally reconstructing temples, buildings and squares and they will feel like the protagonists of a movie.

There is a virtual tour in which the guide provides them with virtual reality glasses that help them to reconstruct everyday scenes of the Forum. They will be amazed!

If you are thinking of going to Rome as a family, you may be interested in reading my article about visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum with children.