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Imperial Fora and Trajan's Market, Rome

Curved brick walls of Trajan's Market above forum ruins, the white Vittoriano in the background
Photo: Dora Dragoni, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The essentials in 10 seconds

Entry
Free from the street; museum ≈ €13–15
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Hours
Street views 24 hours; Trajan's Market museum ≈ 9:30–19:30 daily
Time on site
A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes.
1 h
With kids
Fine with kids
From the street
Free, 24 hours — along Via dei Fori Imperiali
Trajan's Market museum
≈ €13–15; entrance on Via IV Novembre
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Museum hours
≈ 9:30–19:30 daily
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Evening show
Summer light show at the Forums of Augustus and Caesar
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Time needed
30–40 minutes' walk, 1.5 hours with the museum
Location
Between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum
Coordinates
41.89444, 12.48556YesGo MapGoogleApple

Key facts

46 BCJulius Caesar opened the first of the fora
SourceEnglish Wikipedia
5 foraof Caesar, Augustus, Peace (Vespasian), Nerva and Trajan
SourceEnglish Wikipedia
AD 112Trajan's Forum opened — the largest
SourceEnglish Wikipedia
≈ 150shops and offices filled Trajan's Market over several levels
SourceEnglish Wikipedia
Mars Ultorthe temple at the heart of the Forum of Augustus
SourceEnglish Wikipedia
Basilica Ulpiathe great hall of Trajan's Forum
SourceEnglish Wikipedia

Can you see the Imperial Fora for free?

Yes — most of the ruins are visible from the pavements and viewing points along Via dei Fori Imperiali, the avenue cut straight through them in the 1930s from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. Only the museum inside Trajan's Market and some guided or evening visits charge. On Sundays and holidays the avenue is often closed to traffic, which makes the walk especially pleasant.

What are the Imperial Fora?

By the late Republic the old Roman Forum was overcrowded, so Rome's rulers began building new ceremonial squares next to it, each with its own temple, porticoes and statues. Julius Caesar went first in 46 BC, followed by Augustus, Vespasian with his Temple of Peace, Nerva and finally Trajan in AD 112, whose forum was the largest and grandest.

What to see

  • Forum of Caesar — three columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix, on the Capitoline side.
  • Forum of Augustus — a towering tufa wall and the steps of the Temple of Mars Ultor.
  • Forum of Nerva — two columns with a frieze, nicknamed the 'Colonnacce'.
  • Forum of Trajan — columns of the Basilica Ulpia and Trajan's Column.
  • Trajan's Market — the curved brick façade above the forum, now a museum.
  • Emperor statues — bronze copies of Caesar, Augustus, Nerva and Trajan along the avenue.

Trajan's Market

Behind Trajan's Forum, cut into the Quirinal slope, rises Trajan's Market — a vast semicircle of brick on several levels. It held some 150 rooms: shops, storerooms and administrators' offices. It's one of the few Roman 'shopping centres' to survive nearly intact, with the ancient Via Biberatica and a vaulted great hall.

Today it houses the Museum of the Imperial Fora, with sculpture, reliefs and architectural fragments from all five fora, plus reconstructions and models. The highlight is walking the ancient corridors out onto terraces overlooking Trajan's Forum and Column. Enter from Via IV Novembre; tickets are about €13–15 according to guides.

How to get to the Imperial Fora

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on footdestinationStreet view

Where are you starting from?

We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.

On foot

  • Trajan's Column is about 4 min away on foot.
  • Vittoriano is about 7 min away on foot.
  • Capitoline Hill is about 6 min away on foot.

More tips

  1. Walk from Piazza Venezia — the fora begin just past the Vittoriano.
  2. From the Colosseum, stroll Via dei Fori Imperiali past all five, 10–15 minutes.
  3. Trajan's Market entrance: Via IV Novembre 94, 5 minutes uphill from Piazza Venezia.
  4. Buses 40, 64, 70 and 87 to Piazza Venezia; Metro B to Cavour or Colosseo.

Best time to visit

Sunday mornings, when the avenue is often car-free, are ideal for the walk. In the evening the ruins are floodlit, and summer brings the light shows. The Trajan's Market museum is rarely busy, so any time works.

Are the Imperial Fora worth it?

Yes, as part of the walk from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum — it's free and passes all five. If ancient architecture appeals, step inside Trajan's Market: its corridors see a fraction of the Colosseum's crowds, and the view down over the forum is superb.

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The Imperial Fora on foot

From Piazza Venezia to Trajan's Column and Trajan's Market, then along Via dei Fori Imperiali to the Colosseum.

  1. Piazza Venezia20 min · Free
  2. 3 min walk from the previous stopTrajan's Column15 min · Free
  3. 3 min walk from the previous stopImperial Forayou are here1 h · Free from the street; museum ≈ €13–15
  4. 12 min walk from the previous stopColosseum2 h · ≈ €18

4 places · about 3 h 53 min with walks · 18 min on foot in total

Go · my route

Nearby and on the way

Trajan's Column

Rome, Italy

15 min · Free · 3 min walk

Vittoriano

Rome, Italy

1 h · Terraces free; lift ≈ €12–18 · 4 min walk

Capitoline Hill

Rome, Italy

30 min · Free · 4 min walk

Roman Forum

Rome, Italy

1 h 30 min · ≈ €18 with Colosseum · 4 min walk

How to do it right

  • Everything is visible free from the pavements.
  • Enter Trajan's Market from Via IV Novembre.
  • The avenue is often car-free on Sundays.
  • Summer evenings bring a light show at the Forum of Augustus.

Questions

Are the Imperial Fora free?

Yes, from the street; the Trajan's Market museum costs about €13–15.

What is Trajan's Market?

A 2nd-century complex of about 150 shops and offices on the Quirinal slope, now the Museum of the Imperial Fora.

How many Imperial Fora are there?

Five: Caesar's, Augustus's, the Temple of Peace (Vespasian), Nerva's and Trajan's.

Where are the Imperial Fora?

Along Via dei Fori Imperiali between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum.

How are they different from the Roman Forum?

The Roman Forum is the old Republican square; the Imperial Fora are newer squares built beside it by Caesar and the emperors.

What are Trajan's Market opening hours?

About 9:30–19:30 daily.

How long do you need?

30–40 minutes on foot, about 1.5 hours with the museum.

Have you been? Was it worth your time?

1 — no, 5 — absolutely

Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.

Sources and fact-check

  • Rome municipal museums (Sovrintendenza Capitolina): Mercati di Traiano — Museo dei Fori Imperiali
  • English Wikipedia, Imperial fora and Trajan's Market
YesGo editorial team · facts checked 10.11.2026 ·
How we checkedHistory of the fora and the market from English Wikipedia. Museum prices and hours and light show dates weren't confirmed with official sources at the time of checking — hence the 'checking' badge.

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