The Best Day Trips from Rome: Tivoli, Ostia Antica and Castelli Romani

Spending a lifetime in Rome wouldn’t be enough to visit everything the city has to offer. Plus, its region has even more hidden spots to discover. Here we listed the best day trips from Rome. The nearest cities, like Tivoli, Ostia Antica and Castelli Romani are very well connected to the Capital by trains and buses. The best way to visit the other destinations, instead, is by car. In fact, if you rent a car, you can visit more than one place in one day and you have full freedom of movement around the region.

TIVOLI

Tivoli is a small city near Rome where you can visit two stunning Villas with garden, one from the Roman era and one from the Renaissance, both UNESCO Heritage sites. Take the train from Tiburtina or Termini station, it’s just an hour journey from Rome. Start with Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa), built in the second century AD. This was the retreat home of the Roman Emperor, where he came to relax from his everyday life. Book a guided tour, so to understand fully how they used to live and enjoy life in ancient Rome.

In the afternoon, proceed to Villa D’Este, a 16-century villa with a beautiful Renaissance garden and many fountains. In fact, the villa has 51 fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64 waterfalls, and 220 basins. Be sure to be nearby the Organ Fountain around one of these times: 10.30 – 12.30 – 14.30 – 16.30 – 18.30. You’ll be amazed by the sound of a hydraulic organ built in 1611 that is activated only during these times.

OSTIA ANTICA

Ostia Antica is the perfect destination for history lovers. In fact, this is a large archeological site and it used to be the port of ancient Rome. Here you can have a better idea of how Roman used to build cities and live at that time. For example, at Ostia Antica you can visit an ancient bakery, an outdoor theatre and even a set of public toilets. Although it’s nice to just walk around the site, getting a guide could give you a better idea of the ancient Roman lifestyle. Getting here is extremely easy and cheap: you can take the train from Piramide for just the cost of the metro ticket. This is why it’s one of the most common day trips from Rome.

After visiting this archeological site, you can proceed with your trip to Ostia, the coastal part of Rome. Enjoy the sunset here, eat gelato and take a walk on the long beach.

CASTELLI ROMANI

Castelli Romani is the name of the wine-producing towns just one hour from the city center. The villages here are not only nice to visit, but they are the perfect destinations for some wine tasting (a must-try is the Frascati DOC wine) and for extremely good food (ask for Porchetta di Ariccia and you would not be disappointed). Between a glass of wine and a bite of Porchetta, take some time to visit Castel Gandolfo, a scenic village on the hilltop. The Apostolic Palace located here was used as the Pope’s summer residence. You can now visit it, since it was converted into a museum. Proceed your tour going to Lago Albano, the largest of the two volcanic lakes of Castelli Romani.

If you have some time left, visit Frascati, Ariccia and Nemi, the nicest of the villages around this area.

Which one of these day trips from Rome did you end up choosing?