Traveled: August 2015

I admit I did not know much about the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill prior to visiting it. My focus was entirely on the Colosseum. It just so happened that our Colosseum tour included the Forum. And thank Zeus it did.

The Roman Forum is chock full of various decades of history. It was basically the downtown of multiple generations of Romans. Some of these generations are separated by decades of neglect creating a literal layering of history. Connected, or part of, the Roman Forum is Palatine Hill.
I highly suggest a tour guide for this portion as the amount of history is a bit staggering and unless you want to spend your whole time reading, a guide will really help. Our tour brought us from the Colosseum (right next door) to the Forum.

After the tour guide took us around we were free to roam the forum for as long as we liked, so don’t worry about not getting to see what you want. The tour was booked through Viator.com, Skip the Line: Colosseum and Roman Forum Tour.
Some highlights from this area were:
The House and Temple of the Vesta cult. You can see the outline of the courtyard and many of the statues still stand (crumbling). You can easily imagine the Vestals lounging by the pool and watching over Vesta’s fire.
Flavian Palace (on Palatine Hill). The palace has gone through several renovations over the years. As an American that grew up with about 300 years of history in the local sites, this one is staggering. Romulus (founder of Rome) lived here and set up Rome, starting on the Palatine Hill.
The Arch of Septimius Severus. While I do not know the history of Septimius Severus well, his arch is incredible! The level of detail and intricate artwork is astounding.
There is SO MUCH MORE in the forum than just these items. Plan to spend plenty of time exploring this area. Be prepared, there are no restrooms or eateries in the Forum. I would also suggest bringing water as access to Italy’s great, public fountains are not in this area.