# Baths of Caracalla, Rome

> The Baths of Caracalla are vast imperial baths built in AD 212–216, where up to 1,600 Romans bathed at once. Walls over 30 metres high, mosaic floors and service tunnels survive. A ticket is about €8, and the site opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 until an hour before sunset; allow 1–1.5 hours.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-caracalla

- City: [Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome), Italy
- YesGo score: 48/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 1 h 15 min
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Ticket: ≈ €8; ≈ €10 from 11 September 2026 to 10 January 2027 during an exhibition
- Opening hours: Tue–Sun from 9:00 to one hour before sunset
- Closed: Mondays
- Free: First Sunday of the month; under-18s always
- Time needed: 1–1.5 hours
- Location: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52; Metro B Circo Massimo, 10 minutes
- Coordinates: 41.88026, 12.49276
- Facts checked: 10.11.2026

## Key facts

- **AD 212–216** — built under Emperor Caracalla (source: English Wikipedia)
- **≈ 1,600** — bathers at a time (source: English Wikipedia)
- **≈ 35 m** — dome span of the caldarium, the hot room (source: English Wikipedia)
- **≈ 25 ha** — the whole complex with gardens and libraries (source: English Wikipedia)
- **Mithraeum** — Rome's largest underground temple of Mithras lies beneath (source: English Wikipedia)
- **Farnese Bull** — found here in the 16th century, now in Naples (source: English Wikipedia)

## Baths of Caracalla tickets and hours

A standard ticket costs about **€8**; from 11 September 2026 to 10 January 2027 a photography exhibition by Frank Horvat raises it to about **€10**. Under-18s go free, and everyone gets in free on the **first Sunday of the month**. Buy online or at the gate — queues are rare.

The baths open **Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00** and close an hour before sunset — around 16:30 in winter and 19:15 in summer. They're **closed on Mondays**. The underground tunnels and the Mithraeum open on separate schedules and special evenings.

## A short history

The baths were built under **Emperor Caracalla** in **AD 212–216** and finished by his successors. More leisure city than bathhouse, the 25-hectare complex held hot, warm and cold halls, an open-air pool, exercise yards, gardens and even Greek and Latin libraries, serving about **1,600 bathers** at once.

They ran for over three centuries until the aqueducts failed in the 6th century. Renaissance digs uncovered famous statues here, including the **Farnese Bull** and **Farnese Hercules**, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

## How the baths worked

Bathers moved in a loop: changing rooms, the **palaestra** exercise yards, then the **caldarium** — a hot circular hall under a dome about **35 metres** across — followed by the warm **tepidarium**, the vast cold **frigidarium** and finally the **natatio**, an open-air swimming pool.

Furnaces in the tunnels heated water and sent hot air under the floors and through the walls. Panels show reconstructions, and for a small extra fee you can borrow a **VR headset** that rebuilds the marble halls, statues and mosaics around you.

## What to see

- **Caldarium and frigidarium walls** — over 30 metres high, the best sense of scale.
- **Mosaic floors** — black-and-white and coloured mosaics of athletes and sea creatures.
- **Palaestrae** — two exercise courtyards either side of the central block.
- **Natatio** — the outline of the huge open-air pool.
- **Service tunnels** — partly open, with furnace rooms.
- **Mithraeum** — Rome's largest temple of Mithras, on a separate schedule.

> **Opera among the ruins** Each summer, usually June to August, the Rome Opera stages an open-air season in the caldarium — opera, ballet and concerts against floodlit walls. It's one of the loveliest things to do on a Roman summer night; tickets are sold separately by the opera house and go early.

## How to get to the Baths of Caracalla

1. Metro line B to **Circo Massimo**, then 10 minutes along Viale delle Terme di Caracalla.
2. Buses 118, 160 and 628 stop at Terme di Caracalla.
3. From the [Circus Maximus](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/circus-maximus), about a 10-minute walk.
4. From here, Porta San Sebastiano and the [Appian Way](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/appian-way) are about 20 minutes on foot.

## Best time to visit

The baths are rarely crowded — one of Rome's calmest big sites. Come in the **morning** or **late afternoon**, when low sun warms the brick. There's little shade, so bring water and a hat in summer.

## Are the Baths of Caracalla worth it?

Yes — especially if the Colosseum felt too crowded. You get the same ancient scale with a fraction of the visitors and a cheap ticket. The soaring walls and mosaics impress on their own, and the VR headset shows exactly what you're looking at. Pair it with the Circus Maximus and the Appian Way.

## Before you go

Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser.

- [ ] Make sure it isn't a Monday
- [ ] Rent a VR headset at the entrance
- [ ] Check the tunnel and Mithraeum schedule
- [ ] Bring water and a hat
- [ ] Look up the summer opera programme

## Ancient Rome: compare and choose

Ancient sites in Rome rated by YesGo.

- [Pantheon](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pantheon) — YesGo score 82/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · ≈ €5
- [Colosseum](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/colosseum) — YesGo score 73/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · ≈ €18
- [Roman Forum](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/roman-forum) — YesGo score 63/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €18 with Colosseum
- [Circus Maximus](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/circus-maximus) — YesGo score 63/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Trajan's Column](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/trajans-column) — YesGo score 60/100 (Yes, go) · 15 min · Free
- [Capitoline Hill](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/capitoline-hill) — YesGo score 58/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free
- [Castel Sant'Angelo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/castel-sant-angelo) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €15–20
- [Arch of Constantine](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/arch-of-constantine) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 15 min · Free
- [Palatine Hill](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palatine-hill) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €18 with Colosseum
- [Mausoleum of Augustus](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/mausoleum-of-augustus) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · ≈ €5, booking
- [Largo di Torre Argentina](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/largo-di-torre-argentina) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free from street; walkways ≈ €5
- [Pyramid of Cestius](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pyramid-of-cestius) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free outside
- [Appian Way](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/appian-way) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free
- [Domus Aurea](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/domus-aurea) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €18, with VR ≈ €26
- [Mouth of Truth](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/bocca-della-verita) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Donation ≈ €2
- [Baths of Caracalla](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-caracalla) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €8
- [Catacombs of Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/rome-catacombs) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €10–12 with guide
- [Ara Pacis](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/ara-pacis) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ €13–15
- [Theatre of Marcellus](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/theatre-of-marcellus) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Vatican Museums](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/vatican-museums) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €25
- [Capitoline Museums](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/capitoline-museums) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · ≈ €15–19.50
- [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12
- [Basilica of San Clemente](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-clemente) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Upper free; excavations ≈ €10–12
- [Imperial Fora](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/imperial-fora) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free from the street; museum ≈ €13–15
- [Testaccio](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/testaccio) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free
- [Palazzo Massimo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-massimo) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €10–12 combined ticket
- [Ostia Antica](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/ostia-antica) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €12–18
- [Hadrian's Villa](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/hadrians-villa) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €12–15

## Southern Rome in a day

The Baths of Caracalla in the morning, then along the Appian Way to the catacombs and the Tomb of Caecilia Metella.

1. [Baths of Caracalla](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-caracalla) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €8
2. [Appian Way](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/appian-way) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free
3. [Catacombs of Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/rome-catacombs) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €10–12 with guide

## Don't mix it up

Rome's Baths of Caracalla are ruins, not a spa — the Caracalla Therme in Baden-Baden is where you can actually swim. Rome's other giant baths, the Baths of Diocletian, are by Termini station.

## Tips

- Queues are rare.
- The VR headset brings the ruins to life.
- Closed on Mondays.
- Summer opera fills the caldarium.

## Questions

### How much are Baths of Caracalla tickets?

About €8; about €10 from 11 September 2026 to 10 January 2027. Free for under-18s and on the first Sunday of the month.

### What are the opening hours?

Tuesday–Sunday from 9:00 until an hour before sunset; closed Monday.

### Are the Baths of Caracalla worth visiting?

Yes — huge ancient ruins, mosaics and few crowds; the VR tour shows how it looked.

### When were the Baths of Caracalla built?

In AD 212–216 under Emperor Caracalla.

### How many people used the baths?

About 1,600 at a time.

### How do I get to the Baths of Caracalla?

Metro line B to Circo Massimo, then a 10-minute walk.

### How long do you need?

1–1.5 hours.

### Is there opera at the Baths of Caracalla?

Yes, the Rome Opera's open-air summer season, usually June to August.

## How we checked

History, dimensions, layout and finds from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours from 2026 guides; we couldn't confirm them on the official price list, hence the 'checking' badge.

## Sources

- Special Superintendency of Rome: Baths of Caracalla
- English Wikipedia, Baths of Caracalla
- artvisitguide.com, 2026 ticket guide

---

This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.