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Civita di Bagnoregio on its tuff outcrop above the eroded clay valley, seen from the belvedere in Bagnoregio
The Fountain of the Organ at Villa d'Este in Tivoli, with its water-driven organ in the central niche
The Canopus pool at Hadrian's Villa, lined with columns and statues
The Roman theatre at Ostia Antica, with its tiered seating and stage

Things to do in Lazio: Rome and its best day trips

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Photo: Esniom, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tivoli

Time your Villa d'Este visit to the water organ

Check dates and prices

Photo: Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tivoli

Walk Hadrian's Villa from the Maritime Theatre to the Canopus

Check dates and prices

Photo: Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0

Ostia Antica

Take the train to Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient port

Check dates and prices

Photo: Rabax63, CC BY-SA 4.0

Lazio is the region around Rome, and for most visitors it is Rome plus a handful of day trips. The capital has its own page with the experiences worth booking there. This page covers what sits within an hour or so of it: the Renaissance water gardens of Villa d'Este and the ruins of Hadrian's Villa, both at Tivoli to the east, and Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient port, at the end of a suburban train line to the southwest.

Further out the region changes character. To the north lie the Etruscan country around Viterbo, the volcanic lakes of Bolsena and Bracciano and Civita di Bagnoregio, a village on a crumbling tuff spur reached only by a footbridge. South of Rome the Castelli Romani hill towns make the wine of Frascati. Vatican City, inside Rome, is a separate state with its own page on must30.

Places in this region

3 things to do in Lazio

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The Fountain of the Organ at Villa d'Este in Tivoli, with its water-driven organ in the central niche

Time your Villa d'Este visit to the water organ

Tivoli

2 to 3 hoursGo alone or with a tour

A cardinal's hillside garden of fountains fed by the Aniene, where a water-driven organ plays every two hours from 10:30.

Check dates and pricesGuided day from Rome to Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa
The Canopus pool at Hadrian's Villa, lined with columns and statues

Walk Hadrian's Villa from the Maritime Theatre to the Canopus

Tivoli

About 3 hoursGo alone or with a tour

More than 30 buildings on terraces, from an island villa inside a moat to a long pool lined with columns and statues.

Check dates and pricesTransfer from Rome with tickets for both villas
The Roman theatre at Ostia Antica, with its tiered seating and stage

Take the train to Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient port

Ostia Antica

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

Rome's ancient harbour town, about half an hour by train, with a theatre, shipping mosaics, tall apartment blocks and a public latrine.

Check dates and pricesSmall-group guided visit from Rome, entry included

Plan your trip

  • Which places to pick

    Give Rome at least three or four days; everything else is a day trip from there. For one extra day, go to Tivoli and see both villas: Hadrian's Villa in the morning, Villa d'Este in the afternoon. For half a day, take the train to Ostia Antica. With a car and a free day, head north to Civita di Bagnoregio and Lake Bolsena, which are awkward to reach by public transport.

  • Mondays and other closing days

    Most state sites in and around Rome close on Mondays: Ostia Antica, the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Appian Way monuments among them. Villa d'Este opens only at 14:00 on Mondays, while Hadrian's Villa is open every day except 1 January and 25 December, which makes Monday a good Tivoli day if you start at Hadrian's Villa. The Capitoline Museums and the Colosseum also open on Mondays.

  • Getting around

    Rome's suburban trains and the regional Cotral buses cover the day trips without a car. For Tivoli, Cotral buses leave from Ponte Mammolo, the end of metro line B, and regional trains run from Roma Tiburtina. For Ostia Antica, the Roma to Lido line starts at Porta San Paolo, next to Piramide on line B. Northern Lazio, from Viterbo to Bolsena, is much easier with a hire car.

Questions travellers ask

What is the best day trip from Rome?

In must30's view, Tivoli for a full day, with Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa, or Ostia Antica for half a day. Both are reachable by public transport in about an hour or less. Pompeii is in Campania and needs a fast train to Naples first, so it is a long day.

Is the Vatican part of Lazio?

No. Vatican City is an independent state inside Rome, so the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's are on must30's Vatican City page rather than here. You simply walk across from Rome; there is no border check.

Which sights near Rome are open on Mondays?

Hadrian's Villa, the Colosseum, the Capitoline Museums and the Trevi Fountain all open on Mondays, and Villa d'Este opens from 14:00. Ostia Antica, the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Appian Way monuments are closed.

Do I need a car in Lazio?

Not for Rome, Tivoli or Ostia Antica, which are all served by metro, suburban trains and Cotral buses. A car helps in northern Lazio, for Civita di Bagnoregio, Viterbo and the lakes, where buses are infrequent.

Other places to go

Things to do in Italy

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