Roman Forum and Palatine Hill tickets: one ticket, three sites, three entrances

What the ticket gets you

The Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill are one fenced archaeological area between the Colosseum and the Capitoline, managed by the Parco archeologico del Colosseo, and every ticket to it is really one of two products, at our last check:

• The 24h ticket, €18 plus fee. The standard Colosseum ticket: one timed entry to the amphitheatre plus one entry to the Forum-Palatine area within 24 hours. Almost everyone visits the Forum on this ticket. It does not include the SUPER sites.
• The Forum Pass SUPER, about €24 plus fee. Forum and Palatine without the Colosseum, plus the SUPER sites: the House of Augustus and the House of Livia with their painted rooms, the Aula Isiaca and the Loggia Mattei, the Neronian Cryptoporticus, the Palatine Museum, the Domitian ramp, the Temple of Romulus and the church of Santa Maria Antiqua with its early medieval frescoes. Not all are open every day; the official site lists the rota.

Full Experience tickets (arena floor or underground, €24 plus fee) also include the SUPER sites and give two days. Free and reduced categories match the Colosseum: under 18 free, EU citizens 18–25 €2, first Sunday of the month free for everyone.

One entry means one: once you leave the fence you cannot come back on the same ticket. Plan Forum and Palatine as one continuous visit with the toilets and fountains inside.

Three facts before you go in

1. The Forum was a marsh drained in the seventh century BC by the Cloaca Maxima, which still runs under it and into the Tiber; for a thousand years after that it was the political, legal and religious centre of the city.
2. The Palatine is where Rome began, according to legend, with Romulus’ hut in 753 BC; huts of exactly that period were excavated on the hill in the 1940s. Augustus chose to live there, every emperor after him built on it, and the word “palace” comes from its name.
3. After the empire the Forum became the Campo Vaccino, the cow field, buried under 10 metres of silt; the columns you see at half height were dug out only from the nineteenth century onwards.

What to see, in order, from Via di San Gregorio

Enter at Via di San Gregorio and climb the Palatine first: the Stadium of Domitian (a sunken garden), the Domus Augustana and Domus Flavia with the terrace over the Circus Maximus, the House of Augustus and House of Livia if your ticket includes them, the Palatine Museum for the frescoes and the hut foundations, then the Farnese Gardens and the terrace above the Forum, the best viewpoint in the area. Walk down past the Arch of Titus onto the Via Sacra: the Basilica of Maxentius, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (now a church), the House of the Vestals and the round Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Caesar where his body was burned, the Curia (the Senate house, with its original bronze doors now at the Lateran), the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Rostra and the Temple of Saturn. Exit at Largo della Salara Vecchia for the Capitoline, or back at the Arch of Titus for the Colosseum.

Which ticket or tour to choose

The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill licensed guided tour (T562895) is rated 4.5 from about 360 reviews on GetYourGuide: a small operation compared with the Colosseum flagship, two to two and a half hours with a licensed guide, and the right choice if you have already seen the Colosseum or want to give the Forum the time a combined tour never does. The Tiqets Palatine product (rated 3.6 from about 380 reviews, checked includes the SUPER sites and a 25-minute film at the operator’s office near Piazza Venezia; it is non-refundable.

The Forum is the site in Rome where a guide changes the visit most. Without one it is a field of columns; the walking tours guide covers the operators who do it well, and the broader Roman Forum tours page on GetYourGuide lists everything from two-hour groups to private archaeologists.

Timing is everything

Hours match the Colosseum: 8:30 until one hour before sunset, roughly 16:30 in December and January and 19:15 from late March to August, with last entry an hour before closing, at our last check. Closed 1 January and 25 December. The SUPER sites have shorter hours and rotating days; check the official site the week before.

The Forum has almost no shade and the basalt paving radiates heat; the Palatine has pines and breeze. In summer enter at 8:30 or after 16:30, and do the Forum first while the light is low and the Palatine later under the trees. In winter the reverse: the Palatine terrace at 15:00 gives the afternoon light on the Forum, and the whole area is comfortable at midday.

Crowds follow the Colosseum slots: the Arch of Titus entrance and the Via Sacra are busiest 10:00–14:00 as groups pour in from the amphitheatre. The Palatine is quiet at any hour; most visitors never climb it. The first Sunday of the month is free and very crowded; weekdays in November and February are empty.

For photographs: the Forum from the Palatine terrace or from the Capitoline terrace behind Piazza del Campidoglio (free, outside the fence) in the last hour of light; the Arch of Septimius Severus at 8:30 with the sun behind you.

The insider entry

Three entrances, at our last check, and the choice matters more than at any other site in Rome:

• Largo della Salara Vecchia (Via dei Fori Imperiali). The main entrance, opposite the Imperial Fora, with the ticket office and the longest queue. Drops you in the middle of the Forum by the Basilica Aemilia. Use it only if you are coming from Piazza Venezia and have no ticket yet.
• Via di San Gregorio 30. On the road between the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, 5 minutes from the metro. Rarely more than a few minutes’ queue, ticket office on site, and it puts you at the foot of the Palatine so you climb first and finish downhill through the Forum. This is the entrance to use.
• Arch of Titus (Via Sacra). Directly across from the Colosseum’s south side. Convenient after the amphitheatre, but it is where every tour group goes in, and the scanner queue at 11:00 can be 20 minutes.

Exits are at all three; there is no re-entry. Security is a bag check and scanner: no glass, no large luggage, no cloakroom. Wheelchair users should use Via di San Gregorio, where an accessible route with a lift reaches the Palatine and a level route covers the main Forum; the Palatine Museum has a lift.

How to save

• Do not buy a separate Forum ticket if you have a Colosseum ticket. It is included.
• Buy the Forum Pass SUPER instead of a Colosseum ticket for a second visit: €24 buys the Palatine houses that the €18 ticket leaves locked, and it needs no timed slot.
• Under 18 free, EU 18–25 €2, ID required at the scanner.
• First Sunday of the month free, including the Forum and Palatine but not the SUPER sites.
• Roma Pass treats the Colosseum-Forum-Palatine ticket as one included attraction; reserve the slot on the official site and pay the €2 fee. See the city passes guide.
• See the Forum free from outside. The Capitoline terrace behind the Campidoglio, the pavement of Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via di San Bonaventura path give views of most of the Forum; the Imperial Fora across the road are visible from the street for nothing.
• Skip the audio guide (about €5 at the entrance); the official app and the panels in English cover the same ground.

How to get there

• Metro: line B to Colosseo. Turn right out of the station along the Colosseum’s south side for Via di San Gregorio (5 minutes) or cross to the Arch of Titus (3 minutes).
• Tram: line 3 stops at Piazza del Colosseo and at Via di San Gregorio (stop “San Gregorio”), useful from Trastevere and the Aventine.
• Bus: ATAC lines 51, 75, 85, 87 and 118 along Via dei Fori Imperiali for Largo della Salara Vecchia; line 118 continues to the Circus Maximus and the Appian Way.
• On foot: 5 minutes from Piazza Venezia along Via dei Fori Imperiali to the main entrance; 15 minutes from the Pantheon.
• Taxi: rank at Piazza del Colosseo; drop-off on Via di San Gregorio is possible.

Public transport tickets and passes are covered in the transport guide.

What is nearby

• Colosseum — the other half of your ticket, 3 minutes from the Arch of Titus exit.
• Capitoline Museums — up the steps from Largo della Salara Vecchia; the Tabularium gallery inside looks straight down the Forum.
• Circus Maximus — below the Palatine’s south terrace; free to walk, with the Mirabilia VR visit for a fee.
• Vittoriano — the lift to the terrace at the Forum’s western end gives the aerial view of everything you walked.
• Imperial Fora and Trajan’s Market — across Via dei Fori Imperiali, visible free from the pavement; the market’s museum is a separate ticket.

Booking checklist

1. Decide whether you want the Colosseum (24h ticket) or the Palatine houses (Forum Pass SUPER); they are different tickets.
2. Book the Colosseum slot on the official site and plan the Forum within the 24 hours; check which SUPER sites are open on your day if you have the pass.
3. If your date is sold out, the Tiqets Palatine and Forum ticket or a guided tour covers the archaeological area without the Colosseum.
4. Carry ID matching the ticket name.
5. Flat shoes, hat, sunscreen, a refillable bottle; there are fountains inside but no shade in the Forum.
6. Enter at Via di San Gregorio, climb the Palatine first, exit through the Forum.
7. Use the toilets by the entrance and at the Palatine Museum; there is no re-entry.

Roman Forum tickets are the simplest purchase in ancient Rome: the Colosseum ticket already includes them, the Forum Pass SUPER replaces the Colosseum with the Palatine’s painted houses, and the only real decision is which gate you walk through. Choose Via di San Gregorio, start on the hill, and give the Forum the two hours the combined tours never allow.