Roman Agora tickets
The Roman Agora of Athens stands in the Plaka district, framed by the marble Gate of Athena Archegetis and watched over by the octagonal Tower of the Winds. Visitors planning ahead can book their Roman Agora tickets online to secure a timed-entry slot, avoiding the on-site queue and locking in a specific hour at the gate.
Book your ticket to visit Roman Agora
What can you see at the Roman Forum of Athens?
Tower of the Winds and Agoranomion
Inside the Roman Agora, the Tower of the Winds and the Agoranomion stand as two architectural highlights. Built around 50 BC by Andronicus of Cyrrhus, the octagonal Tower of the Winds is a Pentelic marble masterpiece that served as a combined timepiece and weather vane, featuring reliefs of wind gods, sundials, and a hydraulic clock.
East of the main courtyard, the first-century AD Agoranomion rewards visitors with its preserved facade, featuring a broad stairway leading to three arched doorways. An inscription on the architrave dedicating the building to the Divi Augusti and Athena Archegetis suggests it functioned as a Sevasteion for imperial worship rather than a strictly commercial structure.
Plan your visit
Opening hours
Planning your visit requires checking the Roman Agora opening hours, which change seasonally:
- During the summer, the site is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:30).
- In winter, hours are reduced from 08:00 to 15:00, requiring entry by 14:40.
- Autumn brings gradual early closures due to decreasing daylight:
- From September 1st to 15th, the site closes at 19:30 (last entry 19:10), shifting to 19:00 until September 30th (last entry 18:40).
- In October, hours run from 08:00 to 18:30 initially (last entry 18:10), before finally closing at 18:00 from October 16th to 30th (last entry 17:40).
What should you know before visiting the Roman Agora?
- Most visitors spend between thirty minutes and one hour inside the Roman Agora, and the layout is compact enough to circle without doubling back.
- The space is open and bright, with limited shade, so summer mornings before mid-morning and late afternoons under the long evening light are the easiest hours to visit.
- Carrying sunglasses between June and September is sensible, since the marble pavement reflects the sun across the central courtyard.
- Photography for personal use is permitted across the site, and the Tower of the Winds, the Gate of Athena Archegetis and the open colonnade of the eastern propylon are the three views most visitors photograph. Commercial photography, drones and tripod-based filming require advance authorisation from the Ephorate of Antiquities.
- A dedicated ramp at the main entrance and wheelchair-friendly paths through the central courtyard make the site accessible, and a small number of signs are written in Braille.
- The Roman Agora is smaller than the better-known Ancient Agora that sits roughly three minutes west on foot, and the two sites cover different periods of the city.
- Combining the Roman Agora, the Ancient Agora, and the neighbouring Library of Hadrian into a single walking circuit through the Plaka district is one of the best things to do in Athens for a half-day itinerary.