Colosseum and Roman Forum interactive map

Free, no app, and it shows where you are.

A map of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine made for your phone. It marks the 14 must-sees, which sites are open right now and which ticket each one needs, and where the entrances, ticket offices, toilets, water fountains and metro stations are, with the way there along the real paths. It has three walking routes, one of them free, and 57 sights with short stories and photos. Your location stays on your phone.

• Before you go
• Tickets
• Routes
• All 57 sights
• Nearby
• Good to know

How to use the map

• Tap any ruin or star to read about it. The red stars are the 14 must-sees. Slide the card up for the full story and the photos.
• Each sight says if it is open right now and which ticket it needs: green for every park ticket, orange for the SUPER sites, the Full Experience and separate tickets, blue for free.
• Search in English or Italian, or tap one of the buttons under the search field: Must-see, Routes, Tickets, Toilets, Water, Entrances, Metro and Nearby.
• Tap Directions on any sight to see the way along the paths and streets, from where you are or from the nearest entrance. Inside the park the line stays inside; outside it goes round the park.
• Tap Sat to switch to the satellite photo, and 3D to tilt the map.
• Tap the location button to see where you are. Tap it again for walking mode: the map turns with you, the nearest sights appear at the edges of the screen and the screen stays on.
• Pick where you start (the Colosseum, Via Sacra, Salara Vecchia, San Gregorio or where you are), then a route, and walk it stop by stop. A route turns round when that is shorter, and the blue line shows the way to its first stop. Tick off what you have seen: the sights turn green, and the ticks stay on your phone.
• To take it on paper, print the map or save it as a PDF: every sight is numbered on the map, with the list on the second page. Each route can be printed on its own.
• The beige area inside the dashed line is the fenced Forum and Palatine. The orange hatched area is the Imperial Fora, which you see free from the street.

Before you go

Opening hours

The Colosseum opens at 8:30, the Forum and Palatine at 9:00. Closing time changes with the season: 16:30 from the last Sunday of October to the end of February, 17:30 from 1 March to the last Saturday of March, 19:15 from the last Sunday of March to 30 September, and 18:30 from 1 October to the last Saturday of October. Last entry is 1 hour before closing. The SUPER sites open from 9:30 to 1 hour before closing. Closed on 25 December and 1 January.

Tickets

The 24h ticket, 18 euros, gives the Colosseum at the time you book (levels 1 and 2 and the museum, 75 minutes at most) and one entry to the Forum and Palatine within 24 hours. The Forum Pass SUPER, 18 euros, covers the Forum, the Palatine, the Imperial Fora walkway and the SUPER sites for one day, with no time slot and no Colosseum. The Full Experience, 24 euros over two days, adds the arena floor, the underground or the top levels; with the guided underground or the Passage of Commodus it costs 32 euros. The 24h Only Arena ticket, 18 euros, gives 20 minutes on the arena plus the Forum and Palatine. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay 2 euros, under 18s go free but need a free ticket. Tickets carry your name, so bring ID, and go on sale 30 days ahead, only on ticketing.colosseo.it and at the ticket offices. The book-ahead checker shows the exact day for your date, and for the Vatican Museums, the Pantheon and the Galleria Borghese too.

No tickets left?

Colosseum time slots often sell out, above all for the underground and in spring and summer. What still works: the Forum Pass SUPER has no time slot and shows the Forum, the Palatine and the painted SUPER sites, which most people miss, and you can see the Colosseum from outside on the free route. The ticket office on Piazza del Colosseo sells same-day 24h tickets when any are left. On free entry days there is no booking at all. Tour companies and resellers often still have tickets, at a higher price; the park forbids resale by sellers it has not approved and publishes its list of approved operators on colosseo.it.

Which entrance?

With a Colosseum time slot, go to the Colosseum entrance at the west end, by the Arch of Constantine; the 24h Only Arena ticket uses the east side. For the Forum and Palatine, the Via Sacra gate by the Arch of Titus is 5 minutes from the Colosseum, Largo della Salara Vecchia is on Via dei Fori Imperiali, and Via di San Gregorio 30 is on the Palatine side. Only the office on Piazza del Colosseo sells same-day Colosseum tickets; the offices at Salara Vecchia and the Foro Romano gate sell the Forum Pass SUPER only.

Free entry days

The first Sunday of every month, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November. There is no booking: free tickets are handed out at the ticket offices, first come first served, and the queues are long. On those days the arena, the underground, the top levels of the Colosseum, the SUPER sites and the Domus Aurea are closed. The map shows the next free day, and the free museum days calendar shows which other museums in Rome are free that day.

How long do I need?

About 75 minutes in the Colosseum, which is the limit with the 24h ticket (90 minutes with the Full Experience), and 2 to 3 hours for the Forum and Palatine. A full day with breaks. The paths are uneven and the climb to the Palatine has steps, so wear good shoes.

Security and bags

Every entrance has scanners. Bags up to 30 x 40 x 15 cm; there is no cloakroom and no left luggage. Not allowed: glass bottles, knives, selfie sticks, umbrellas wider than 1 metre, trekking poles, and drones or professional tripods without permission. Small dogs under 10 kg only in a carrier, and only in the open parts of the Forum and Palatine.

Toilets and water

Toilets inside the Colosseum on level 1 and near the main Forum and Palatine entrances, and drinking fountains in the park. Outside, the public fountains of Rome, the nasoni, give free drinking water: block the spout with a finger and the water comes out of the hole on top. Bring a plastic or metal bottle: glass is not allowed.

Food

There is no restaurant in the park, and meals are only allowed in the spaces set aside for them, none of them in the Colosseum. Bring water and a snack, and eat before or after in Monti or around the Celio.

Getting there

Metro line B to Colosseo, two stops from Termini, or line C to Colosseo Fori Imperiali, open since December 2025. Circo Massimo on line B is the nearest station for the Palatine side and the Circus Maximus. Buses 51, 75, 81, 85, 87 and 118, and tram 3, stop near the Colosseum.

Without steps

Step-free entrances at Largo della Salara Vecchia, with a lift, at the Via Sacra gate, with a platform lift at the Arch of Titus, and at Via di San Gregorio. In the Colosseum a lift links levels 1 and 2. The top of the Palatine still has short steep or rough stretches. A person with a disability and one companion go free.

Heat and shade

The Forum has little shade; the Palatine has trees and the Farnese Gardens. In summer, go at opening time or late in the day, and refill your bottle at the fountains.

Your location

The map asks for your location only when you tap the location button, and it uses it only on your phone: to show where you are, the nearest sights and the way. This page does not send your position anywhere and does not store it. Tap the button again to switch it off.

Opening hours, prices and rules checked on 12 October 2026 on colosseo.it and in the park’s visitor regulation of 8 October 2026. Sites can close at short notice.

Three routes along the real paths

Each route can start at any entrance or where you are. On the map, choose your start under Routes along the real paths: a route turns round when that is shorter, and the blue line shows the walk to its first stop.

All 57 sights

Grouped by area, must-sees first. Tap a name to see it on the map.

The Colosseum and its square

Arch of Constantine Arco di Costantino

Must-see Free to see AD 315. In Piazza del Colosseo, next to the Colosseum entrance. Free to see; the arch itself is fenced off.

Rome's largest surviving triumphal arch, built with recycled sculpture.

The Senate dedicated this arch on 25 July 315 to celebrate Constantine's victory over his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge on 28 October 312, and the tenth year of his reign. It stands about 21 metres high and 25.9 metres wide. Much of its sculpture was taken from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, with the emperors' heads recut as Constantine. The inscription says he won 'instinctu divinitatis', by divine inspiration, a phrase that could suit pagans and Christians alike.

Look for

• The statues of captive Dacians on top of the columns, from Trajan's time
• Eight round reliefs from Hadrian's reign: hunts of a boar, a bear and a lion, and sacrifices to the gods
• The narrow frieze of Constantine's own time above the side arches, showing his campaign against Maxentius

Did you know? The barefoot runner Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon at a finish line set at this arch, at night.

Colosseum Colosseo (Anfiteatro Flavio)

Must-see Timed ticket Gladiators' arena. In Piazza del Colosseo. Visitors with a ticket enter at the west end, by the Arch of Constantine (Valadier gate). The 24h ticket covers levels 1 and 2, the terraces and the Colosseum Museum, at the time you booked, for up to 75 minutes. About 60 minutes.

Rome's giant amphitheatre, opened by Titus in AD 80.

Vespasian began the Flavian Amphitheatre around AD 70 to 72, on the site of the artificial lake of Nero's Golden House, and his son Titus opened it in AD 80. It measures about 189 by 156 metres, its outer wall rises 48 metres, and it had 80 ground-floor entrances, 76 of them for ordinary spectators. Estimates of the crowd range from 50,000 to 80,000. Gladiator fights are last recorded around 435 and animal hunts lasted until at least 523; afterwards it was quarried for stone, and the earthquake of 1349 brought down the outer south side. The name Colosseo probably comes from the Colossus, a bronze statue of Nero about 30 metres tall that stood beside it.

Look for

• Roman numerals carved above the arches on the north side, matching the numbers on spectators' tokens
• Thousands of holes in the stone, left when medieval scavengers pried out the iron clamps
• On level 2, the Colosseum Museum and Carlo Lucangeli's wooden model of the building, made 1790 to 1812

Did you know? According to the historian Cassius Dio, more than 9,000 wild animals were killed during the opening games.

Colosseum underground (hypogeum) Sotterranei del Colosseo (ipogeo)

Must-see Full Experience ticket Under the arena. Under the arena. Only with the Full Experience Underground and Arena ticket (24 euros, 32 with the guided visit): timed groups, be there 30 minutes early. It sells out first and can close in heavy rain. About 30 minutes.

Where animals waited before rising into the arena.

The hypogeum was not part of the original plan: it was first built in wood for the opening games of AD 80 and rebuilt in masonry under Domitian. Its corridors spread over about half a hectare, some 6 metres below the arena floor. In the Flavian phase, 28 winches worked 28 lifts that raised animals in cages, and running them all at once took 224 people. From the Severan period these were replaced by 60 smaller lifts, and the last documented show was in 523.

Look for

• The 14 corridors laid out on either side of the central passage
• The large chambers at each end that housed the biggest lifts

Did you know? A fire in AD 217, fed by the wooden structures, damaged the whole monument and kept it closed until 222.

Meta Sudans fountain remains Meta Sudans

Free to see The round foundations just north of the Arch of Constantine. Free, in the open.

Foundations of a 'sweating' fountain demolished in 1936.

The Meta Sudans was a tall conical fountain built by the Flavian emperors in the late 1st century AD, near where the Arch of Constantine later rose. Its name means 'sweating turning post': water seems to have oozed down its sides rather than shooting from the top. It probably stood up to 17 metres high and marked the meeting point of several of Rome's regions, where triumphal processions turned onto the Via Sacra. Its concrete core survived until 1936, when it was demolished for Mussolini's road works; excavations later exposed the foundations.

Look for

• The round foundations in the open ground between the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine
• Its spot right beside the Arch of Constantine, where triumphal processions turned onto the Via Sacra

Did you know? An earlier fountain on the same spot, mentioned by the philosopher Seneca, was destroyed in the Great Fire of AD 64.

The Roman Forum

Arch of Titus Arco di Tito

Must-see In every park ticket Spoils of Jerusalem. At the top of the Via Sacra, next to the Via Sacra entrance of the Forum. About 10 minutes.

Roman victory arch showing the looting of Jerusalem.

Domitian built this single arch in about AD 81, soon after the death of his brother Titus, to honour him as a god and to celebrate his victory in the Jewish War, crowned by the capture of Jerusalem in AD 70. Inside the passage, one relief shows soldiers carrying the spoils of the Temple in Jerusalem, including the seven-branched menorah; the other shows Titus in his triumphal chariot. In the Middle Ages the Frangipane family built it into a fortified tower. Giuseppe Valadier restored it in 1821, using travertine for the new parts so they can be told apart from the original marble.

Look for

• The menorah relief on the south side of the passage
• Titus carried up to heaven by an eagle, in the centre of the vault
• The contrast between the original Pentelic marble and Valadier's travertine

Did you know? It was the model for many later triumphal arches, including the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine Basilica di Massenzio

Must-see In every park ticket Giant vaults. On the north side of the Via Sacra, between the Arch of Titus and the Temple of Romulus. About 10 minutes.

Three giant vaults from a 4th-century basilica.

Maxentius began this vast hall in AD 308, and Constantine finished it after defeating him in 312, giving it a new monumental entrance on the Via Sacra side. It stood on a concrete platform about 100 by 65 metres, and its central nave rose about 35 metres. Only the north aisle survives, with three barrel vaults decorated with octagonal coffers. In the western apse stood a colossal seated statue of Constantine; its huge head, hand and feet are now in the courtyard of the Capitoline Museums.

Look for

• The octagonal coffers in the three surviving vaults
• The north apse with niches that once held statues

Did you know? It hosted the wrestling events of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Curia Julia (Senate House) Curia Iulia

Must-see SUPER site Senate house. At the north-west corner of the Forum square. The inside is a SUPER site. The walkway to the Imperial Fora starts here. About 15 minutes.

The Roman Senate House, still standing almost intact.

Julius Caesar began a new Senate House here in 44 BC, and Augustus completed it in 29 BC. The building you see is Diocletian's rebuilding after a fire in AD 283. It survived because it was turned into the church of Sant'Adriano in the early Middle Ages, and in the 1930s it was restored to its Roman form. Inside, three broad steps on each side held the chairs of about 300 senators.

Look for

• The original floor of porphyry and coloured marble inlay (opus sectile)
• The Plutei of Trajan, two marble panels probably showing the emperor cancelling debts and helping poor children

Did you know? The original bronze doors were moved to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano in 1660; the ones here are copies.

Temple of Saturn Tempio di Saturno

Must-see In every park ticket Eight columns. At the foot of the Capitoline, at the west end of the Forum. About 5 minutes.

Eight columns of the temple that held Rome's treasury.

Tradition dates the first Temple of Saturn here to 497 BC, making it one of the oldest in Rome. It housed the aerarium, the treasury of the Roman Republic with its reserves of gold and silver. Munatius Plancus rebuilt it completely in 42 BC. The eight columns standing today belong to a late antique rebuilding after a fire, as the inscription on the front says: the Senate and People of Rome restored what fire had consumed.

Look for

• The inscription SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS INCENDIO CONSVMPTVM RESTITVIT
• Granite column shafts recycled from older buildings
• The tall podium, whose front was used for posting public notices

Did you know? On 17 December, at the Saturnalia, the woollen bands tied round the god's statue were removed, and slaves enjoyed a brief taste of freedom.

Temple of Vesta and House of the Vestals Tempio di Vesta e Casa delle Vestali (Atrium Vestae)

Must-see In every park ticket Vestal Virgins. On the south-east side of the Forum. The round temple stands at the west end of the house. About 15 minutes.

Home of the priestesses who kept Rome's eternal flame.

In the round Temple of Vesta, six Vestal Virgins from patrician families kept the sacred fire, symbol of Rome's eternity, burning day and night. They served for 30 years under a vow of chastity, and breaking it meant death. Behind the temple, the House of the Vestals was a three-storey, 50-room residence around a long courtyard with pools. The temple was rebuilt many times, finally under Julia Domna after a fire in AD 191, and Theodosius I had the flame put out in AD 394.

Look for

• The section of the round temple rebuilt in 1930 to 1931
• Statues and inscribed pedestals of the senior Vestals around the courtyard
• The pools in the long courtyard garden

Did you know? Unlike most Roman temples, it held no statue of the goddess: the sacred flame itself was the focus.

Arch of Septimius Severus Arco di Settimio Severo

In every park ticket At the west end of the Forum square, below the Capitoline. About 10 minutes.

Victory arch with a murdered prince's name chiselled out.

The Senate dedicated this marble arch in AD 203 to Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta, for victories over the Parthians in 194 to 195 and 197 to 199. It is about 23 metres high and 25 metres wide, with three passages. After Caracalla had Geta murdered in 211, Geta's name and images were removed and new words were cut into the gap in the inscription. In the Middle Ages floods half buried it and it was built into a fortified tower.

Look for

• The fourth line of the inscription, recut where Geta's name was erased
• The four big panels showing scenes from the Parthian campaigns
• Holes in the inscription where gilded bronze letters were once fixed

Did you know? In 1742 Canaletto painted it with only its upper half showing above ground.

Basilica Julia Basilica Giulia

In every park ticket Along the south side of the Forum square. About 5 minutes.

Roman law courts, with game boards scratched in marble.

Julius Caesar began this huge hall around 54 BC on the site of the older Basilica Sempronia. After a fire, Augustus rebuilt it and dedicated it in AD 12 to his grandsons Gaius and Lucius Caesar. It housed the centumviri, the court that judged inheritance cases, and its central hall measured about 82 by 18 metres. Burnt again in AD 283, it was rebuilt under Diocletian; today only its foundations, steps and column bases remain.

Look for

• Game boards scratched into the marble paving by idle Romans
• The marble steps running the full length of the Via Sacra side

Did you know? In 1788 and 1789 the Swedish collector Carl Fredrik Fredenheim removed much of its coloured marble floor.

Santa Maria Antiqua Santa Maria Antiqua

SUPER site At the foot of the Palatine, south of the Temple of Castor. A SUPER site with limited places. About 30 minutes.

The Forum's oldest church, with layers of early frescoes.

Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest Christian monument in the Roman Forum, set up in the 6th century inside an imperial building at the foot of the Palatine. Its walls carry paintings from the 6th to the 9th century, and Pope John VII used it as the seat of the bishop of Rome in the early 8th century. An earthquake in 847 buried it under collapsed imperial buildings, sealing it for more than 1,000 years. It was rediscovered in 1900, when the church of Santa Maria Liberatrice above it was demolished, and reopened in 2016 after a long restoration.

Look for

• The palimpsest wall, with at least six layers of paint from the 4th to the 8th century
• The chapel of Theodotus, painted with the martyrdom of Saints Quiricus and Julitta under Pope Zacharias (741 to 752)
• In the Oratory of the Forty Martyrs, soldiers left to die in a frozen lake

Did you know? Sealed for more than a thousand years, it kept early medieval paintings that survive almost nowhere else in Rome.

Temple of Castor and Pollux Tempio dei Dioscuri (Castore e Polluce)

In every park ticket On the south side of the Forum, between the Basilica Julia and the House of the Vestals. About 5 minutes.

Three famous columns of the divine twins' temple.

Legend says the twin gods Castor and Pollux fought for Rome at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 495 BC and then appeared here, watering their horses at the Spring of Juturna to announce the victory. The dictator Aulus Postumius had vowed them a temple, and his son dedicated it in 484 BC. After a fire in 14 BC, Tiberius rebuilt it, and it was dedicated again in AD 6. The three columns that still stand, with their piece of entablature, belong to that rebuilding.

Look for

• The three Corinthian columns and their surviving entablature
• The tall podium, about 7 metres high
• Small chambers between the podium's foundations, once used for business

Did you know? One of the chambers in the podium was probably used by a dentist.

Temple of Venus and Roma Tempio di Venere e Roma

In every park ticket On the platform between the Colosseum and the Forum, inside the park (24h ticket). About 15 minutes.

Rome's largest temple, designed by Emperor Hadrian himself.

Hadrian designed this temple himself and began it in AD 121; according to the Historia Augusta, Nero's Colossus first had to be moved out of the way with the help of 24 elephants. It was inaugurated in the mid 130s and completed under Antoninus Pius in 141. Two shrine rooms (cellae) stood back to back: Venus faced the Colosseum and Roma faced the Forum. After a fire in 307 Maxentius rebuilt it, adding the vaulted apses with coffered ceilings that partly survive today.

Look for

• The coffered vault of a surviving apse
• The porphyry columns re-erected on the platform in the 1930s
• The view down to the Colosseum from the temple's eastern end

Did you know? Cassius Dio claims the architect Apollodorus mocked Hadrian's design, saying the seated goddesses would hit their heads if they stood up.

Basilica Aemilia Basilica Emilia

In every park ticket Along the north side of the Forum square, near the Salara Vecchia entrance. About 5 minutes.

Look for coins fused into the floor in 410.

Basilicas were great covered halls for business and law courts, and the first one on this side of the Forum, the Basilica Fulvia, was built in 179 BC. The Basilica Aemilia replaced it from about 55 BC under Lucius Aemilius Paullus and was finished by 34 BC; after a fire in 14 BC Augustus rebuilt it. Its interior was nearly 100 metres long and 30 metres wide. It was destroyed when Alaric's Visigoths sacked Rome in AD 410, and an earthquake in 847 brought down what was left.

Look for

• Bronze coins burned into the paving during the sack of 410
• The small round base in front of the shops, marking the shrine of Venus Cloacina

Did you know? Part of its sculpted frieze, with scenes from Rome's legends such as the Rape of the Sabine Women, is now in the Roman Forum Museum.

Column of Phocas Colonna di Foca

In every park ticket In the Forum square, in front of the Rostra. About 3 minutes.

The very last monument added to the Forum.

This 13.6-metre column was dedicated on 1 August 608 to the Byzantine emperor Phocas by Smaragdus, exarch of Italy, who placed a gilded statue of the emperor on top. The fluted Corinthian column itself is older, probably made in the 2nd century for an unknown building, and its base reuses a statue base dedicated to Diocletian. It was the last monument added to the Forum, after more than 1,300 years of building. Phocas was overthrown and killed just two years later, in 610.

Look for

• The dedication to Phocas carved on the base
• The stepped base, buried until it was uncovered in 1813

Did you know? The column was probably at least 400 years old when it was rededicated to Phocas.

Lapis Niger Lapis Niger

In every park ticket In front of the Curia. You see the black paving from above; the archaic monuments lie underneath. About 5 minutes.

Black marble over one of the oldest Latin inscriptions.

This patch of black marble in the Comitium, the old assembly place in front of the Curia, was laid in the 1st century BC over a much older shrine. Romans told conflicting stories about it: the grave of Romulus, the place where he was killed, or the tomb of other early heroes. Giacomo Boni excavated beneath it from 1899 to 1905 and found an altar, a cone of tuff and a stone pillar inscribed around 570 to 550 BC. The text runs boustrophedon, changing direction from line to line, and seems to mention a king.

Look for

• The black marble slabs, set apart from the paving around them
• Its position between the Curia and the Arch of Septimius Severus, at the heart of the old Comitium

Did you know? The inscription uses the word recei, an early form of rex, king, from the time when Rome was still ruled by kings.

Regia Regia

In every park ticket Between the Temple of Caesar and the Temple of Vesta. About 3 minutes.

Office of Rome's chief priest, once a royal house.

Roman tradition credited the Regia to Numa Pompilius, Rome's second king, and it was probably first a royal residence or headquarters. Later it was the office of the Pontifex Maximus, Rome's chief priest, a post Julius Caesar held from 63 BC. It also kept the calendar of sacred days and the state's yearly records. After fires it was rebuilt, in marble by Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus in 36 BC, and today only its foundations remain.

Look for

• Low marble foundations of an irregular building between the Temple of Caesar and the Temple of Vesta
• The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina facing it across the Via Sacra

Did you know? Cassius Dio says the sacred spears of Mars kept here shook on the night before Caesar's murder.

Roman Forum Museum Museo del Foro Romano

In every park ticket In the former convent of Santa Maria Nova, just inside the Via Sacra entrance by the Arch of Titus. In the 24h ticket. About 20 minutes.

Finds from Rome's earliest graves and Forum shrines.

The museum fills the ground floor of the cloister of Santa Maria Nova, the former convent of Santa Francesca Romana, where the archaeologist Giacomo Boni founded the first Forum antiquarium in 1908. Two rooms show the Iron Age cemetery that Boni excavated in 1902 to 1905 next to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, which produced 41 tombs. Other rooms hold the marble statues of Castor and Pollux from the Spring of Juturna and reliefs from the frieze of the Basilica Aemilia. There are also finds from the Lapis Niger, the Regia and the Temple and House of the Vestals.

Look for

• Boni's large model of the excavated area
• The statues of the twin gods Castor and Pollux from the Spring of Juturna
• Reliefs from the Basilica Aemilia frieze

Did you know? Giacomo Boni, who ran the Forum excavations until his death in 1925, is buried in the Farnese Gardens on the Palatine.

Rostra Rostri

In every park ticket In front of the Arch of Septimius Severus, facing the Forum square. About 5 minutes.

The speakers' platform where Cicero's head was displayed.

The Rostra was Rome's main speakers' platform, named after the bronze prows, rostra, of enemy ships captured at Antium in 338 BC and fixed to the earlier platform in the Comitium. Julius Caesar moved it here, onto the main axis of the Forum, in 44 BC, and Augustus finished and extended it. The Augustan platform was nearly 29 metres long and stood 3.4 metres above the paving. In 43 BC Mark Antony had the severed head and hands of Cicero, his fierce critic, displayed here.

Look for

• The long platform between the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Temple of Saturn
• The Column of Phocas standing just in front of it

Did you know? The English word rostrum, for a speaker's platform, comes from this monument and its captured ships' beaks.

Spring of Juturna Lacus Iuturnae (Fonte di Giuturna)

In every park ticket Beside the Temple of Castor and Pollux, towards Santa Maria Antiqua. About 5 minutes.

Sacred spring where the divine twins watered their horses.

This pool belonged to a shrine of the water nymph Juturna, and its water was thought to heal. According to legend, Castor and Pollux stopped here to water their horses after announcing Rome's victory at Lake Regillus in 495 BC, which is why their temple stands right beside it. Giacomo Boni excavated the spring in the early 20th century. The marble statues of the twins found here are now in the Roman Forum Museum.

Look for

• The marble-lined basin of the spring
• The small shrine and altar beside the pool

Did you know? In Virgil's Aeneid, Juturna is the sister of Turnus, the hero who fights Aeneas.

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina Tempio di Antonino e Faustina

In every park ticket On the Via Sacra, near the Largo della Salara Vecchia entrance. About 5 minutes.

A Roman temple with a church built inside.

Antoninus Pius began this temple in AD 141 for his wife Faustina, who had died in 140 and been declared a goddess. When he died in 161, the Senate dedicated it to both of them, and his name was added to the inscription. It survived because it became the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda, possibly as early as the 7th century. The church was rebuilt in 1602, and its later front still rises behind the ancient portico of 17-metre cipollino marble columns.

Look for

• The inscription DIVO ANTONINO ET DIVAE FAVSTINAE EX S C on the front
• Deep grooves cut high on the columns, probably from a medieval attempt to pull the portico down
• The frieze of griffins, acanthus scrolls and candelabra along the sides

Did you know? The church door hangs about 6 metres above the foot of its steps, because the ground reached that level before the Forum was excavated.

Temple of Concord Tempio della Concordia

In every park ticket Below the Tabularium, next to the Temple of Vespasian. Only the platform survives. About 3 minutes.

Where the Senate debated the fate of Catiline's conspirators.

Legend says Camillus vowed a temple to Concord in 367 BC to mark peace between patricians and plebeians, though archaeology suggests a first shrine only in 218 BC. In 121 BC Lucius Opimius rebuilt it after the killing of Gaius Gracchus, a gesture many Romans saw as hypocritical. Tiberius rebuilt it on a grand scale and rededicated it in AD 10, filling it with Greek statues and paintings. The Senate often met here, and Cicero gave his fourth speech against Catiline in this temple in 63 BC. Only the platform survives, partly under the road up the Capitoline.

Look for

• The broad platform at the foot of the Tabularium, wider than it is deep
• A piece of the marble threshold carved with a caduceus, the staff of Mercury

Did you know? Its main hall was almost twice as wide as it was deep, an unusual plan forced by the cramped site against the Tabularium.

Temple of Romulus Tempio del Divo Romolo

SUPER site On the Via Sacra. You see the bronze doors with the 24h ticket; the inside is a SUPER site. Behind it, the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano (free, entrance on Via dei Fori Imperiali) has 6th-century mosaics. About 10 minutes.

A round temple with its original Roman bronze doors.

This round building on the Via Sacra dates from the early 4th century AD. The best-known theory is that Maxentius dedicated it to his young son Valerius Romulus, who died in 309 and was deified, but this is disputed and it may instead have been a temple of the Penates or of Jupiter Stator. In 527 it became the vestibule of the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano, built into a hall of the Forum of Peace behind it. Its doorway is framed by two columns of red porphyry, the marble of emperors.

Look for

• The bronze doors, among the few Roman doors to survive, with a mechanism that still works
• The two porphyry columns framing the doorway
• Medieval paintings inside the rotunda, including Christ enthroned between two saints

Did you know? Despite its name, it probably has nothing to do with Rome's founder Romulus.

Temple of Vespasian and Titus Tempio di Vespasiano e Tito

In every park ticket Below the Tabularium, at the west end of the Forum. The columns of the Portico of the Dii Consentes stand just beside it. About 5 minutes.

Three elegant columns at the foot of the Capitoline.

Titus began this temple to his deified father Vespasian in AD 79, and Domitian completed it in about 87; it is now known as the Temple of Vespasian and Titus. It was squeezed in beside the Temple of Concord, against the wall of the Tabularium. Septimius Severus and Caracalla restored it around 200 to 205, and the last word of their inscription, RESTITVER, survives on the frieze. Three Corinthian columns from the south-east corner of its porch still stand.

Look for

• The frieze above the columns, carved with sacred objects of the priestly colleges
• The word RESTITVER on the surviving piece of inscription
• Next door, the Portico of the Dii Consentes with its row of re-erected columns

Did you know? The Portico of the Dii Consentes next door was rebuilt in AD 367 and was the last working pagan shrine in the Forum.

Umbilicus Urbis and Golden Milestone Umbilicus Urbis e Miliario Aureo

In every park ticket Beside the Arch of Septimius Severus, at the west end of the Forum. About 3 minutes.

The symbolic centre of Rome, the city's navel.

The Umbilicus Urbis Romae, the navel of the city of Rome, marked its symbolic centre. The brick stump beside the Arch of Septimius Severus dates from Severus's reign, when the new arch encroached on an older monument, probably of the 2nd century BC. At the other end of the Rostra, Augustus set up the Golden Milestone, the Milliarium Aureum, in 20 BC as the symbolic starting point of Rome's roads. Marble fragments near the Rostra are traditionally said to come from its base, though scholars doubt it.

Look for

• The round brick core, about 4.45 metres across, beside the arch
• The Arch of Septimius Severus right beside it, whose building forced the Umbilicus to be rebuilt

Did you know? Some scholars think the Umbilicus was the visible top of the mundus, a pit seen as a gateway to the underworld that was opened only three days a year.

Via Sacra Via Sacra

In every park ticket The ancient street runs through the Forum from the Arch of Titus to the foot of the Capitoline. About 10 minutes.

Ancient Rome's main street, used by triumphal processions.

The Sacred Way was the main street of ancient Rome, running from the Capitoline Hill through the religious heart of the Forum towards the valley where the Colosseum now stands. Victorious generals rode along it in triumphal processions. After the Great Fire of AD 64, Nero straightened its eastern stretch between the Velia and the Palatine and lined it with colonnades for shops. The western stretch through the Forum still follows the original route.

Look for

• The big basalt paving stones of the ancient street
• The climb from the Forum up to the Arch of Titus on the Velia

Did you know? The poet Horace opens one of his Satires strolling down the Via Sacra, only to be trapped by a pushy social climber he cannot shake off.

The Palatine

House of Augustus and House of Livia Casa di Augusto e Casa di Livia

Must-see SUPER site, closed Mondays Painted rooms. On the south-west side of the Palatine, by the Temple of Apollo. A SUPER site with limited places, closed on Mondays. The House of Livia next to it is closed for restoration. About 30 minutes.

Vivid wall paintings in the first emperor's house.

Octavian, the future Augustus, was born on the Palatine in 63 BC and bought a house here around 41 to 40 BC that had belonged to the orator Hortensius. The rooms excavated from 1956 are traditionally identified as his house, though some scholars doubt it. Their late Second Style paintings, from about 30 BC, include the Room of the Masks with its painted stage sets. Next door, the House of Livia, named after his wife because of a lead pipe inscribed with her name, has paintings of the same date showing Polyphemus chasing Galatea and Io guarded by Argus.

Look for

• The Room of the Masks, painted to look like a theatre stage
• The Room of the Pine Festoons
• The small upstairs study (studiolo) with its delicate paintings

Did you know? Suetonius says Augustus slept in the same bedroom, winter and summer, for more than 40 years.

Palatine Stadium Stadio Palatino

Must-see In every park ticket Sunken garden. On the east side of the Palatine. You look down into it from a terrace. About 10 minutes.

A sunken imperial garden shaped like a racetrack.

Domitian built this sunken, stadium-shaped space beside his palace in the late 1st century AD, about 10 metres below it. It measures about 161 by 48 metres, with a three-storey portico on at least three sides and a huge exedra on the east side, probably a nymphaeum or summer dining room. Despite its name it was probably not a racetrack but a garden and leisure space for the imperial court. Hadrian and later Septimius Severus restored and redecorated it.

Look for

• The long sunken field, best seen from above
• The great exedra halfway along the east side
• The later oval enclosure in the southern half, still visible on the ground

Did you know? Late in its life, perhaps under the Gothic king Theodoric around AD 500, an oval enclosure of unknown purpose was built in its southern half.

Domus Tiberiana Domus Tiberiana

In every park ticket On the north-west corner of the Palatine, above the Forum. The walk through it is in the 24h ticket; the exhibition rooms need a SUPER ticket or the 4 euro supplement. About 30 minutes.

The first true imperial palace, rising above the Forum.

The Domus Tiberiana was the first true imperial palace on the Palatine, spreading over the hill's north-west corner above the Forum. It is probably named after a house of Tiberius, but the earliest phase found by archaeologists dates from Nero, just after the fire of AD 64. Domitian and Hadrian enlarged it to about 4 hectares, pushing arcaded substructures out over the slope towards the Forum. Emperors used it into the 7th century, when Pope John VII made it a papal residence, and in the 16th century the Farnese family laid their gardens on top.

Look for

• The tall brick arcades on the Forum side, built under Hadrian
• The imperial baths and the stucco decoration of the so-called bridge of Caligula along the route
• The seven exhibition rooms, four of them with views over the Forum

Did you know? The name Domus Tiberiana first appears in Tacitus, in his account of the murder of the emperor Galba in AD 69.

Palatine Museum Museo Palatino

SUPER site In the middle of the Palatine. A SUPER site: only the ground floor is open, in small timed groups. About 30 minutes.

Finds from Rome's origins on the Palatine.

The museum occupies the former convent of the Visitation nuns, built from 1868 over the remains of Domitian's palace. Alfonso Bartoli set up a new Palatine antiquarium here in the 1930s, and it was reorganised in the 1990s. The ground floor traces the hill from the origins of Rome to the start of the Principate in the 1st century BC, in rooms that keep the walls of earlier houses. The upper floor, with Augustan finds and paintings from Nero's Domus Transitoria, is closed for maintenance as of October 2026.

Look for

• Walls of earlier houses preserved inside the ground-floor rooms
• Finds from the hut village and the early Palatine

Did you know? The museum building is a 19th-century convent sitting directly on top of Domitian's palace.

Aula Isiaca and Loggia Mattei Aula Isiaca e Loggia Mattei

SUPER site Under the Domus Flavia, on the Palatine. A SUPER site with very few places at a time. About 15 minutes.

Egyptian-style Augustan paintings and a Renaissance loggia.

The Aula Isiaca, or Hall of Isis, was found in 1912 beneath the basilica of Domitian's palace and belonged to Augustus's great residence on the hill. Its paintings, dated to about 30 BC, are full of Egyptian motifs linked to the cult of Isis, such as lotus flowers, snakes and ritual vases. It is visited together with the Loggia Mattei, all that is left of a Renaissance villa built by the Stati family and owned by the Mattei from 1561. The loggia's vault was painted in the 1520s by the workshop of Baldassarre Peruzzi.

Look for

• Lotus flowers, snakes and ritual vessels linked to the cult of Isis
• The zodiac signs in blue roundels on the loggia's vault
• The Wedding of Hercules and Hebe among the vault's grotesques

Did you know? The loggia's wall frescoes of Venus and Adonis were detached in 1846 and are now in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

Baths of Septimius Severus and Circus Maximus viewpoint Domus Severiana e Terme (belvedere sul Circo Massimo)

In every park ticket On the south-east corner of the Palatine, above the Circus Maximus. About 15 minutes.

Huge brick arches overlooking the Circus Maximus.

The Domus Severiana was the last extension of the imperial palaces: Septimius Severus built it out over the south-east corner of the hill on huge brick substructures, because the emperors had run out of space on top. Its baths, possibly begun under Domitian and rebuilt by Maxentius, were fed by a branch of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct, some of whose arches survive. From the edge you look out over the Circus Maximus to the Aventine and the Baths of Caracalla.

Look for

• The tiers of brick arches holding up the terrace
• The aqueduct arches that supplied the baths
• The view over the Circus Maximus, the Aventine and the Baths of Caracalla

Did you know? Severus also built the Septizodium, a showy three-storey facade facing the Via Appia; it was pulled down in the 16th century and survives only in Renaissance drawings.

Iron Age huts (Hut of Romulus) Capanne del Palatino (capanne romulee)

In every park ticket On the south-west edge of the Palatine, near the Temple of Magna Mater. About 5 minutes.

Traces of the huts of Rome's first village.

On the south-west corner of the Palatine, near the ancient stairway called the Scalae Caci, the Romans kept a thatched hut they believed had been the home of Romulus, rebuilding it each time it burned. Excavations in the 20th century found the cuttings of a group of Iron Age huts in the tufa bedrock here. The largest, about 4.9 by 3.6 metres, had six postholes in a ring and one in the middle, and organic finds date the site to about 900 to 700 BC. No remains can be firmly linked to the legendary Hut of Romulus.

Look for

• The oval cuttings and postholes in the rock
• The ancient stairway of the Scalae Caci leading down towards the Circus Maximus

Did you know? The Romans' hut was last recorded burning in 12 BC, when crows reportedly dropped burning meat on its thatched roof.

Temple of Apollo Palatinus Tempio di Apollo Palatino

In every park ticket Next to the House of Augustus, on the south-west edge of the Palatine. About 5 minutes.

Augustus's temple to Apollo, right beside his house.

Octavian vowed this temple after his admiral Agrippa defeated Sextus Pompeius at Naulochus in 36 BC, on land next to his house that had been struck by lightning. It was dedicated on 9 October 28 BC. From about 20 BC it held the Sibylline Books, kept in gold cases under the statue of Apollo, and the adjoining Portico of the Danaids housed Greek and Latin libraries. It burned down on the night of 18 to 19 March AD 363, and only the concrete core of its podium survives.

Look for

• The massive concrete core of the podium, about 37 metres long
• The view from the edge of the hill down to the Circus Maximus

Did you know? Emperor Julian blamed Christians for the fire that destroyed it in 363, but the cause was never proved.

The Imperial Fora (free from the street)

Trajan's Column Colonna Traiana

Must-see Free to see Spiral frieze. At the north end of Via dei Fori Imperiali, near Piazza Venezia. Free to see from the street.

A spiral of carvings telling Trajan's Dacian wars.

The column was inaugurated on 12 May 113 to celebrate Trajan's two campaigns in Dacia, roughly modern Romania, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106. Its marble frieze, nearly 200 metres long, winds 23 times round the shaft in 155 scenes, with Trajan appearing 58 times. The whole monument is more than 38 metres high, and a spiral staircase of 185 steps runs up inside, lit by about forty small windows. Golden urns with the ashes of Trajan and his wife Plotina were placed in a chamber in the base, and since 1587 a bronze statue of Saint Peter has stood on top.

Look for

• The lowest spiral, where Roman soldiers cross the Danube on a bridge of boats
• The small slit windows that light the staircase inside
• The statue of Saint Peter on top, where Trajan's statue once stood

Did you know? One count puts the number of figures carved on the frieze at 2,662.

Forum of Augustus Foro di Augusto

Free to see On the north side of Via dei Fori Imperiali. Free to see from the street and from Via Alessandrina.

Augustus's forum and his Temple of Mars the Avenger.

Octavian vowed a temple to Mars Ultor, Mars the Avenger, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, where Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius were defeated. The forum and temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, still unfinished, some 40 years after the vow. Its porticoes held statues of Aeneas, Romulus, Augustus's ancestors and great Romans, each with an inscription listing their deeds. A wall about 33 metres high, of peperino and Gabii stone, shut the forum off from the crowded Subura district behind it.

Look for

• The three standing columns on the right side of the Temple of Mars Ultor
• The great grey firewall behind the temple
• The medieval House of the Knights of Rhodes built into the forum

Did you know? The temple was built to hold the legionary standards lost by Crassus to the Parthians in 53 BC and recovered by diplomacy in 20 BC.

Forum of Caesar Foro di Cesare

Free to see Beside Via dei Fori Imperiali, below the Capitoline. Free to see from the street; the walkway from the Curia (daily 9:00 to 18:00) crosses it.

Rome's first imperial forum, built by Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar built the first of the imperial fora to extend the crowded Roman Forum: land was bought from 54 BC, work probably began in 51 BC, and it was dedicated in 46 BC. At its end stood the Temple of Venus Genetrix, honouring the goddess his family claimed as its ancestor, which he had vowed on the eve of the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. The temple was rebuilt under Domitian and Trajan and dedicated again on 12 May 113, the same day as Trajan's Column.

Look for

• The three Corinthian columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix, re-erected in the 1930s
• The row of shops along the west side, against the Capitoline slope

Did you know? Caesar placed a gilded bronze statue of Cleopatra inside the temple.

Trajan's Forum and Basilica Ulpia Foro di Traiano e Basilica Ulpia

Free to see At the north end of Via dei Fori Imperiali, by Trajan's Column. Free to see from the street and from Via Alessandrina.

The last and grandest of the imperial fora.

Trajan's Forum, the last of the imperial fora, was built from AD 106 to 112 with spoils from the conquest of Dacia, under the architect Apollodorus of Damascus. To make room, workers cut away a ridge joining the Quirinal and Capitoline hills, removing over 300,000 cubic metres of earth and rock. The porticoed square measured about 300 by 185 metres, with a huge equestrian statue of Trajan, the Basilica Ulpia, and Greek and Latin libraries on either side of his column. Today you see the re-erected columns of the Basilica Ulpia, while part of the forum lies under Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Look for

• The rows of re-erected columns of the Basilica Ulpia
• Trajan's Column rising at the north-west end
• The curved facade of Trajan's Markets behind the forum

Did you know? When the emperor Constantius II visited Rome in AD 357, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus says he stood amazed in this forum.

Trajan's Markets (Museum of the Imperial Fora) Mercati di Traiano (Museo dei Fori Imperiali)

Separate ticket Above Trajan's Forum, entrance at Via Quattro Novembre 94. Separate ticket from the City of Rome, 15 euros for visitors. The great curved front is free to see from Via Alessandrina. About 75 minutes.

Walk a Roman street through Trajan's multi-storey complex.

Built on the slope of the Quirinal in about AD 100 to 110, probably to plans by Apollodorus of Damascus, this complex of halls, shops and offices curves around the back of Trajan's Forum. Inside, the Via Biberatica, named after the taverns and grocers' shops that lined it, still runs between the buildings. The Great Hall is covered by a concrete vault resting on piers, which lets in air and light. Since 2007 the complex has housed the Museum of the Imperial Fora.

Look for

• The great curved hemicycle facing Trajan's Forum
• The ancient Via Biberatica running through the complex
• The medieval Torre delle Milizie rising above it

Did you know? It is often called the world's oldest shopping mall, but many scholars now think it mainly housed offices for Trajan's administration.

Forum of Nerva Foro di Nerva (Foro Transitorio)

Free to see On the north side of Via dei Fori Imperiali, next to the Forum of Augustus. Free to see from the street.

A narrow forum with a carved goddess Minerva.

Domitian began this long, narrow forum before AD 85 over a stretch of the Argiletum, the street linking the Roman Forum with the Subura, which is why it was also called the Forum Transitorium. He was murdered in 96 before it was finished, so Nerva dedicated it in 97 and gave it his name. Its Temple of Minerva stood until popes took it apart for building stone between 1592 and 1606. The best-preserved part is the Colonnacce, a surviving stretch of the side colonnade with its carved frieze.

Look for

• The Colonnacce frieze of mythical scenes, including the story of Arachne
• The attic panel above it showing the goddess Minerva
• The core of the Temple of Minerva's podium at the north end

Did you know? Marble from the Temple of Minerva was reused for the Acqua Paola fountain and the Borghese chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Around the park

Capitoline terraces viewpoint Terrazze del Campidoglio sul Foro

Must-see Free to see Free Forum view. On the Capitoline, behind the Palazzo Senatorio: walk to the end of Via del Campidoglio, to the right of the building. Free, in the open.

The best free view over the whole Forum.

Walk round either side of the Palazzo Senatorio, behind Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio, and the whole Roman Forum opens up below you. The palazzo is built on top of the ancient Tabularium, so you are standing on the edge of the Capitoline, the sacred hill of ancient Rome. In the foreground are the Temple of Vespasian, the Temple of Saturn and the Arch of Septimius Severus, with the Palatine on the right and the Colosseum at the far end. Michelangelo designed the piazza from 1536 to 1546.

Look for

• The view down the length of the Forum to the Colosseum
• The Arch of Septimius Severus almost below you
• The three columns of the Temple of Vespasian in the foreground

Did you know? The Tarpeian Rock, from which traitors were thrown to their deaths, is a cliff of this same hill.

Circus Maximus Circo Massimo

Free to see Between the Palatine and the Aventine, by Circo Massimo metro. A free, open park. The dug area at the curved end has limited, ticketed entry.

Rome's chariot-racing track, now a vast open park.

Rome's greatest chariot-racing stadium filled the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine, measuring about 621 by 118 metres. It could hold over 150,000 spectators; Pliny's figure of 250,000 is probably too high. The last known races were held by the Gothic king Totila in 549. Today it is a public park used for concerts and events, while excavations at the curved south-east end show parts of the seating.

Look for

• The shape of the track, still clear in the long grassy field
• The medieval tower at the curved south-east end
• The ruins of the Palatine palaces towering over the north-east side

Did you know? Two obelisks once stood on its central barrier: Pope Sixtus V had them dug up in 1587, and they now stand in Piazza del Popolo and at the Lateran.

Ludus Magnus (gladiator school) Ludus Magnus

Free to see On Via Labicana, east of the Colosseum. Free to see over the railings.

Rome's largest gladiator school, beside the Colosseum.

Domitian built four gladiator schools near the Colosseum in the late 1st century AD, and the Ludus Magnus was the largest. Its oval training arena, about 63 by 42 metres, was ringed by seating for around 3,000 spectators. Under Trajan the ground level was raised by about 1.5 metres. An underground passage probably linked it to the Colosseum, and the remains were rediscovered in 1937 and excavated from 1957 to 1961.

Look for

• The curved end of the oval training arena
• The view from the street railings straight down into the excavated part of the school

Did you know? Less than half of the school has been excavated; the rest still lies under the surrounding streets and buildings.

Mamertine Prison (Tullianum) Carcere Mamertino (Tullianum)

Separate ticket On Via di San Pietro in Carcere, below the Capitoline, opposite the Via del Tulliano gate of the Forum. Separate ticket; not part of the Colosseum park.

Rome's ancient death cell, where Vercingetorix died.

The Tullianum, Rome's state prison, was traditionally founded by King Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC and was probably first a cistern. Prisoners were lowered through a hole into the lower chamber, built of stone blocks without mortar. Jugurtha, king of Numidia, died here in 104 BC, the Catilinarian conspirators were executed here in 63 BC, and the Gallic leader Vercingetorix was put to death here in 46 BC after Caesar's triumph. Christian tradition says Saint Peter was held here and made a spring flow to baptise his jailers; the church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami stands above.

Look for

• The hole in the floor through which prisoners were lowered
• The column to which Peter and Paul were said to be chained
• The spring in the lower cell

Did you know? Plutarch says Jugurtha joked as he was thrown into the cell: 'How cold is this bath of yours, Romans!'

Nearby: more ancient Rome

Four more places within a short walk of the park, each with its own opening hours.

Going on to Pompeii? The Pompeii interactive map works the same way, and it is free too.

Good to know

• Why is it called the Colosseum? Probably after the Colossus, a bronze statue of Nero about 30 metres tall that stood next to it. Its Roman name was the Flavian Amphitheatre.
• What are the SUPER sites? The park’s name for a group of places with delicate paintings and few places at a time, such as the House of Augustus, Santa Maria Antiqua and the Curia. They open from 9:30 and need the Forum Pass SUPER, a Full Experience ticket or a 4 euro supplement to the 24h ticket.
• Are the Imperial Fora free? You see most of them free from Via dei Fori Imperiali and Via Alessandrina, at any hour. The walkway through them, from the Curia, is part of the park tickets and open from 9:00 to 18:00.

More free tools

• Swiss customs calculator: what you can bring into Switzerland free, and what you pay above the CHF 150 limit.
• Book-ahead checker: when tickets for the Colosseum, the Last Supper, the Alhambra and 27 more sights go on sale, and the one official shop.
• Free museum days: which museums are free on your dates, in 18 countries.
• Entry rules checker: ETIAS, EES, UK ETA, ESTA and Canada eTA at the official price, and how to spot a fake site.
• Vignette and toll checker: which vignettes and tolls your road trip needs, in 27 countries.
• Flight delay compensation: whether the airline owes you €250 to €600, in a minute.
• Train delay compensation: how much the railway owes you when your train is late, from Switzerland to Britain.
• Trip cost splitter: who owes whom after a group trip, in 36 currencies, with the fewest payments.
• Cabin bag checker: whether your bag flies free under the seat, with the sizes of 17 airlines.
• Pompeii map: a free phone map with routes, entrances, water and toilets.

Sources and credits

Map made with MapLibre and OpenFreeMap. Ruins, paths, streets, fountains, toilets and entrances: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, with each author and licence under the photo. Satellite imagery: © Mapbox, © Maxar. Opening times, tickets and rules: Parco archeologico del Colosseo. Texts checked against the park’s pages and Wikipedia in October 2026.

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