The Archaeological Park of Roman Forum and Palatine is part of the visit to the Colosseum. For Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine you need one hour each. So plan on a total of three hours.
You can visit the archaeological park before or after the reserved time for the Colosseum. In total, the standard ticket is valid for 24h, the Full Experience Ticket for 2 days. Both tickets include admission to the Colosseum and one admission to the archaeological park.
With the standard ticket you can visit the Imperial Forums, Roman Forum, Palatine and Colosseum. With the Full Experience Ticket you have additional access to the Colosseum Arena, as well as the museum and some archaeological sites in the park.
The visit to Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea is not included with the above tickets.
Tickets
Book directly with our partners at no extra charge.
At GetYourGuide (can be canceled free of charge):
At Tiqets:
The Forums
The Roman Forum is the oldest forum and belongs to the National Museum of the Colosseum.
Later Caesar and his successor emperors built further forums. These imperial forums are part of the museums of the Municipality of Rome. The visit to the Imperial Forums is included in the Full Experience Ticket.
The Palatine Hill
The Palatine is one of the seven hills of Rome and was probably settled 3,000 years ago. Later dignitaries and wealthy citizens lived here and the emperors built their palaces here. There are several interesting viewpoints on the Palatine Hill.
You can find more details in our article Ancient Rome.
Entrances
There are three entrances to the archaeological park consisting of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. There is also the entrance to the Imperial Forums.
Depending on whether you visit the park before or after the Colosseum and what you want to see, you can choose different entrances. The entrances are:
- Via Sacra: Entrance at the Arch of Titus between the Roman Forum and the Palatine. This entrance is closest to the Colosseum and is open all year.
- Via di San Gregorio: entrance to the Palatine, serves only as an exit in the low season.
- The entrance at Via della Salara Vecchia near the Roman Forum, serves only as an exit in the low season
- The entrance to the Forum of Caesar at Piazza Venezia / Piazza della Madonna di Loreto
- There is another entrance at the Mamertine dungeon and an exit to via Petroselli.
What you can see in 3 hours
It is generally worth visiting the park in before the Colosseum. You can stay in the park until you have to show up at the Colosseum 15 minutes before the booked time. Colosseum tickets are valid for one entry to the archaeological park in a time window of 24 hours before or after the reserved time for the Colosseum. Arena tickets are valid for one entry to the park on the same or the following day.
If you are coming from the city center, take the entrance at Piazza della Madonna di Loreto and begin the tour of the Imperial Forums and Roman Forum there. You can leave the area at the Arch of Titus or continue up to the Palatine.
To visit the Roman Forum after the Colosseum, take the entrance at the Arch of Titus. It is centrally located on the Via Sacra. From the Arch of Titus you can go up to the Palatine on the left or go straight down the Via Sacra to the Roman Forum.
Directly at the Palatine is the entrance on Via di San Gregorio. At this entrance, the waiting times are usually shorter.
The Palatine is very large and it is easy to get lost there. There are some very nice viewpoints and you can take nice photos of the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Roman Forum and the Capitol Hill. It will take you more than an hour to do this.
On the satellite photo we have marked some viewpoints in red.
Seven unique places
With the Full Experience ticket you can visit some archaeological sites of the park and the museum on the Palatine.
The archaeological sites are part of the SUPER Ticket Seven Unique Places to Experience in Rome, currently offered only as Full Experience. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed to visit the different sites at the same time.
For Rome lovers and cultural experts, a visit to these sites is mandatory. Some sites may be closed for restoration work.
The opening times are:
House of Augustus 40 minutes max. 23 visitors
Curia Iulia
House of Livia 30 minutes max. 23 visitors
Santa Maria Antiqua with Oratory of the 40 Martyrs and Ramp of Domitian 30 minutes max. 60 visitors
Temple of Romulus 15 minutes max. 30 visitors
Palatine Museum ~ 1h
Emperor Nero’s Domus Transitoria
Criptoportico Neroniano 12 minutes max. 35 visitors
Aula Isiaca + Loggia Mattei 15 minutes max. 15 visitors
Opening hours
Roman Forum and Palatine have the same opening hours as the Colosseum:
From the beginning of winter time – end of February:
9 am – 4:30 pm
March – end of winter time
9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
From the beginning of summer time – August 31,
9 a.m. – 7:15 p.m.
September
9 am – 7:00 pm
October 1st – end of summer time
9 am – 6:30 pm
The SUPER sites open at 9:30 a.m. and close:
House of Augustus: 90 minutes before the park closes, closed Monday.
Curia Iulia: 75 minutes before closing of the park, closed Tuesday – Friday
Santa Maria Antiqua and Temple of Romolus: 75 minutes before closing of the park
How to get to the archaeological park
To get to the Colosseum, take the Colosseo metro line B station. Tram line 3 also stops at the Colosseum. It goes in the direction of “Valle Giulia” to San Giovanni and on to the zoo, in the other direction to the pyramid, Testaccio and Trastevere. From St. Peter’s Basilica, take bus 40 or bus 64 to Aracoeli / Piazza Venezia.
The entrance to the Roman Forum is on Via dei Fori Imperiali in the middle between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia opposite the intersection with Via Cavour. The entrance to the Palatine Hill is on Via di San Gregorio in the middle between the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus.
Eating around the Colosseum
There are few gastronomic highlights around the Colosseum. The top restaurant Aroma with a view of the Colosseum is located in Via Labicana on the top floor of the Hotel Palazzo Manfredi, In Via di San Giovanni in Laterano you can eat very well at Isidoro and there are also some quite nice restaurants in the side streets. You will find a larger selection if you walk down Via dei Fori Imperiali and then turn right into Via Cavour. Angelino ai Fori is just on the corner. You will certainly find what you are looking for there and in the Monti Quarter beyond. You can also go down Via dei Fori Imperiali to Piazza Venezia and then left to Torre Argentina and left again to the ghetto. There you will find mainly Roman cuisine.
More about the Colosseum
Suggested combinations
After you have rested a little, you can think about how to proceed. The obvious thing to do is to visit the Caelius Hill with the beautiful churches that are located there. Or you can go up the Oppius Hill to the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli and continue towards Monti. Or maybe you’d like to go to the city center to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, and to do some shopping.
If you want to see more ruins, you can also go to the Baths of Caracalla. With the bus 118 or with a hop on hop off line you can get to the catacombs on the Via Appia Antica.
You can take buses 40 or 64 from Piazza Venezia to the Vatican.
Via San Giovanni in Laterano
Via di San Giovanni in Laterano starts from the Colosseum. Past the excavations of a gladiator school and the Basilica of the Dominican San Clemente, this small, cozy street with nice bars, restaurants and shops leads to the Basilica of San Giovanni and the Holy Stairs and on to Via Appia Nuova.
Oppius Hill
On the north side of the Colosseum rises the Oppius Hill, in which Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea is buried. The golden palace can only be visited on weekends because excavations are carried out during the week.
There are picturesque streets on the Oppius. The Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli is a well-known attraction.
If you continue along Viale Monte Oppio, you will come to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
