Roman Forum Tickets: how to buy, prices and discounts

It was the epicentre 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 must-see sights in Rome. Get tickets to the Roman Forum in advance to avoid the huge queues of tourists that form at the gates.

The best combination

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tickets

Travel to Ancient Rome with this combination of tickets

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 maximise your sightseeing itinerary with this option.

From £36 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. Without queuing or waiting, you can organise your day of sightseeing around 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 amphitheatre in Ancient Rome.

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

• Roman Forum: the epicentre of Ancient Rome that brought together commercial, political, social 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 white marble decorations and doors covered with gold and ivory.

Recommended if... you don't want to miss any of Rome's tourist attractions and prefer to organise your itinerary in advance. This combined ticket will allow you to maximise your time, your stay and your money.

Very easy: all Colosseum tickets also include access to the Roman Forum, so you don't need a separate ticket or to 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 in advance: being one of the most popular and most visited places in the city, tickets are highly coveted.

There are usually long queues at the ticket office, so if you can, buy them in advance and online. Online you can compare schedules, prices, types of guided tours and secure a place for the day and time you want to tour the Roman Forum.

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

If you just want to buy a standard ticket and tour the Forum on your own, the entrance to the Colosseum and Roman Forum costs about €17 at the box office, but you know that the queues can be long. Also, without a tour you'll miss a lot of the context of what you're going to see. In this 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 at the Colosseum we already recommend guided tours, at the Roman Forum it is even more essential. Bear in mind that most of what you are going to 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 constructions. You will understand what day-to-day life was like during the Roman Empire, what their main hours were devoted to and how social life in the Forum developed.

A journey back in time that would be a shame to miss if you just wander through the narrow streets without really 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 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 Trajan's Column.

Of course, once you enter the Forum, you won't be able to use that ticket again, so you'll have to think carefully about when you want to use it.

I've made a small practical guide about the duration of the visit to the Colosseum and the whole archaeological area of the Roman Forum that can help you to organise your visit.

The Roman Forum, although open-air, is enclosed and fee-paying, so you will need a ticket to enter. However, on the first Sunday of every month, both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum open their doors free of charge to all visitors who wish to visit them.

Keep in mind that the crowds on those days are usually massive, so if you don't feel like doing this visit surrounded by thousands of tourists, my recommendation is to avoid those dates and buy a ticket to visit them on your own during the week with more peace and quiet.

If you still want to keep your budget low, there is an option to have a good view of the Forum (from further away, of course) for free. From the Via dei Fori Imperiali (pedestrianised all day on Sundays), which connects Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum, you'll 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: bear 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 uncomfortable.

On the other hand, large groups of visitors tend to arrive later in the day, so if you get up early you are likely to avoid them. If you can, if possible, avoid weekends and public holidays, when the Colosseum and its surroundings are also crowded with domestic tourists.

If you want your visit to the Roman Forum to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Wear comfortable shoes. the ground is cobbled or covered in sand, so I would avoid uncomfortable shoes, heels or sandals that don't fit your feet properly.
• Protect yourself from the sun: with refreshments, caps, hats and sunscreen. Believe me, even if you don't travel in summer, the temperature (or 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 Colosseum can be kilometres long. Buy tickets online to avoid entering the Forum already tired.
• Bewareof tourist traps: the restaurants are neither the best nor the cheapest (see my article on where to eat near the Colosseum). Also beware of men dressed as gladiators: they will approach you politely to greet you but if you take a photo with them they will ask 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 in for a disappointment if the tickets are not valid or the tour is not what you expected.

If you want more tips or details, don't hesitate to consult my article with tips for visiting 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 run wild as they mentally reconstruct temples, buildings and squares and they will feel like they are the stars of a film.

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.