Imperial Baths

Trier was already a booming merchant city when it was elevated to an imperial residence in the late antiquity. So, at the end of the 3rd century AD, work began on the construction of the Imperial Baths as part of a major construction schedule for an imperial palace district. The powerful ruins became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Today, the underground service passageways are among the areas open to visitors, and there is a viewpoint affording views over what was originally the city’s palace district. In the exhibition area, there is a film animation illustrating the development of the city into an imperial residence and the turbulent history of the Imperial Baths. At various stations, the history of the major construction project and its significance as part of the imperial palace district is explained to visitors through visual displays.

The Imperial Baths were supposed to be the present of a baths complex from the emperor to the people of Trier. Construction on the Imperial Baths stopped in the 3rd century AD before resuming in the 4th century AD. It was now intended as a barracks, possibly for the emperor’s mounted guards. In later centuries, the Imperial Baths were converted and used alternately as a castle, city walls and a monastery. Excavation works in the 19th century revealed the remains of the monument. Some of the windows in the apse were reconstructed in 1984. To this day, the Imperial Baths form part of the city centre of Trier. The distance to the emperor’s palace underlines once again the sheer scale of what was then the palace district.

More excavation work is currently under way in the Imperial Baths. The aim is to ascertain whether the decorative and technical equipment in the baths were indeed incomplete.

Individuals
€4.00    Adults, per person
€3.00    Adults with concessions,* per person
€2.50    Children and young people (7 to 18 years old), per person
Free admission for children under 7 years of age.

Groups**
€3.50    Adults (10 people or more), per person
€2.00    Children and young people up to 18 years old (10 people or more), per person

Families
€4.00    Family ticket I (1 adult with up to 4 children of 7 and over)
€8.00    Family ticket II (2 adults with up to 4 children of 7 and over)
€0.50    Each additional child (7 and over)
Free admission for children under 7 years of age.

Admission included for AntikenCard holders.

* Over 18 years old in full-time education, students, apprentices, those carrying out voluntary service, pensioners, the unemployed and people with severe disabilities – evidence required in all cases.
** Group tickets must be redeemed at the same time by a single person (tour guide, supervisor). Group tickets cannot be issued to individuals (including visitors forming part of groups).

Discover Trier with the AntikenCard

When you visit Trier, you see evidence of the ancient world everywhere you look. There is nowhere else north of the Alps that gives you such an authentic and affordable experience of Roman times, all thanks to the AntikenCard* Trier (combined ticket for the ancient centre).

It is a handy ticket that includes visits to monumental buildings in the ancient Roman city and original archaeological findings. The AntikenCard Basic includes single admission to two Roman buildings and the Rheinisches Landesmuseum. The AntikenCard Premium gives you single admission to Trier’s four Roman buildings (Porta Nigra, the Imperial Baths, the Amphitheatre and the Forum Baths) and the Rhine State Museum. The tickets are valid until the end of the calendar year. For real fans of all things Roman, there is also the AntikenCard (M)ein Jahr, which is an annual pass allowing you to visit the Roman buildings and the Rheinisches Landesmuseum as many times as you like. All three cards include admission for up to four children of 18 and under.

The AntikenCard also includes further discounts and offers for some of the cultural highlights in Trier. It gives you reduced admission to the immersive multimedia theatre experience ‘Im Reich der Schatten’ and to the Simeonstift and Trier cathedral museums. AntikenCard holders are also entitled to a 10% discount on guided tours of Roman Trier provided by ttm – Trier Tourismus und Marketing GmbH. These include the toga tour and costume tours of the Porta Nigra, the Imperial Baths and the Amphitheatre.**

The AntikenCard is available from all Roman buildings, the Rhine State Museum Trier and Trier Tourismus und Marketing GmbH. It can also be sent by post (postal charges apply).

AntikenCard Basic €12.00
Single admission: Two Roman buildings of your choice (Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheatre, Forum Baths) and admission to the Rhine State Museum. One adult with up to 4 children of 18 and under. Valid until the end of the calendar year.

AntikenCard Premium €18.00
Single admission: Four Roman buildings (Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheatre, Forum Baths) and admission to the Rhine State Museum. One adult with up to 4 children of 18 and under. Valid until the end of the calendar year

AntikenCard (M)ein Jahr €25.00
Annual pass for unlimited visits: Four Roman buildings (Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheatre, Forum Baths) and admission to the Rhine State Museum. One adult with up to 4 children of 18 and under. Validity: one year from date of purchase. Additional discounts and extras: 1 x free visit to the multimedia theatre experience ‘Im Reich der Schatten’ in the Rhine State Museum, 10% discount on Rhine State Museum publications when purchased in the museum shop.

AntikenCard Group €10.00
Single admission per person: Two Roman buildings of your choice (Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheatre, Forum Baths) and admission to the Rhine State Museum in a group of 10 people or more. Valid for one week from purchase, no additional discounts.

AntikenCard School €6.00
Single admission per person: Four Roman buildings (Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheatre, Forum Baths) and admission to the Rhine State Museum for a school trip. Valid for one week from purchase, no additional discounts.

* The AntikenCard is issued to a specific person, non-transferable and only valid with the specified name and on presentation of an identity card. In the Rhine State Museum, it only gives free admission to the permanent exhibition and any temporary exhibitions included in the normal museum admission price. Major temporary exhibitions with separate admission prices are not included, although there is normally a ‘Special AntikenCard’ available for the exhibition in question. The AntikenCard is only valid during normal opening hours and does not include participation in special events, guided tours or other offers, except for public guided tours of permanent or temporary exhibitions at the state museum on Sunday and entry to the Roman Festival at the Imperial Baths. Free entry to events by external providers is explicitly excluded and it will not be replaced, returned or reimbursed if lost.

** The number of people taking part in guided tours is limited.

Short Report

The Centre of Antiquity consists of a range of historic buildings. Disabled access therefore varies across different sites and cannot always be guaranteed because of the historic nature of the buildings.

Imperial Baths: The outside area, both below and above ground, is accessible via steps, sometimes with ramps. The viewing tower in the outside area has a lift. The entrance and exhibition areas of the Imperial Baths have full disabled access. There is a disabled toilet on the ground floor. There are two disabled parking bays on nearby Wechselstrasse, which can be accessed via a pedestrian crossing with a different surface.