day trip from Rome

Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 01:54 PM
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day trip from Rome

Hi! I discovered this site a couple of months ago and am hooked!! I have been responding to different threads, but this is is my first time actually asking a question - I appreciate any help you can give.

I am booked with a tour group for a week in Rome in October, for the canonization of the first (and only!) saint from Indiana. However..... I am going by myself 4 days earlier to actually spend time on my own exploring. (I have been to Rome twice before, and both times just got to walk AROUND the Colosseum, not go in. Not this time!!!!!) Am planing on a full day spent in the Forum/Colsseum area and am getting a Rome Pass, based on the advice I've seen here.

Anyway, to get to my question....

where would you suggest for a day trip out of Rome, via train. I had thought Pompeii, or Ostia Antica & Villa D'Este, but would love any other suggestions you can provide.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:02 PM
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A lot depends on what you want to do. You can go to Tivoli and make just about a day of it, seeing Vila d'Este (gorgeous!) and Hadrian's Villa, breaking for lunch in the middle. You can go to Florence for a whole day to take in some more great works of art, or you can go to Orvieto and see the cathedral. Pompeii is do-able, but it would definitely be a full day involving some train travel. (Florence would too, but on Eurostar it's a shorter trip, I believe, and directly to the destination without changing trains.) Ostia in Antica is another possibility, the ruins of "the port of Rome" are there, so there's quite a bit to do. A lot just depends on your tastes and what you'd like to do.

BC
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:05 PM
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Pompeii is possible, but it would be a very long day.

Ostia Antica and the Villa d'Este lie in different directions; Villa d'Este is normally paired with Hadrian's Villa. I think one has to take a bus part of the way to any of the three.

Many people enjoy a day trip to the Umbrian town of Orvieto, about an hour from Rome by train.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:18 PM
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I LOVED Hadrian's Villa. I wanted to move in except it doesn't have a roof and a lot of the walls anymore but the setting is gorgous!!! I think we got lucky because we went late in the day and there was no one there but us!!!! Just a wonderful break from the mad house of Rome.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:19 PM
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During our week in Rome, we went to Tivoli to the Villa D'este and to Ostia antica. THey are both 3/4 to full days.
To get to Ostia, you get metro line B to piramide then the local train and follow the signs from the station.
To get to Tivoli, get metro line B to Ponte Mammolo, then catch the bus. Not all the buses to Tivoli call at Hadrian's villa, but they all go to the centre of Tivoli; get off opposite the tourist office and collect a plan from them. THen walk towards the town on the same side of the road - the villa is on the same side. THere is a restaurant in the villa, or a lot of cafes/ restaurants in the town. The tourist office has a map of the town showing several walks of varying lengths.
Hadrian's villa is outside tivoli, and I'm not sure how you would get into tivoli from there as we didn't try and just concentrated on the Villa D'Este.
Unless you are desperate to see Pompeii, ostia is almost as good and you don't spend all that valuable time traveling!
Good luck!
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:27 PM
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thanks for the ideas - sounds like I should save Pompeii for another trip. I was supposed to go last year, but the day the trip was scheduled (cruise stopping in Naples) was when they closed the site due to finding unexploded bombs from WWII!! I pointed out that they had waited 60 years - two more days wasn't going to hurt anything but no one seemed to agree with my logic!!) Did enjoy Naples, however, just wandering the city and stumbling into a wedding at the Cathedral. National Museum was awesome and just whetted my appetite for Pompeii even more...

Glad to know not to pair Ostia and Villa D'Este.

Orvieto is a great idea - I was there in 98, and everything was under scaffolding getting ready for the Jubilee. Found my all time favorite red wine is made there - Orvieto Clasico. Any other town like this that would be nearby, for a fairly slow-paced day?
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 02:35 PM
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I would say if you've never been to Pompeii, it is well worth the trip. It is 2 hours to Naples and then half an hour on the commuter train. It is very easy to do. You take the high speed train to Naples, then take the circumversuviana train on the lowest floor (usually on track 4) to the Pompeii Scavi stop. If you want, you can also visit Herculaneum, the other city destroyed by Vesuvius. It is smaller but better preserved.
This would be a full day trip, if you left at 7am, you would get to the site no later than 10am. Leaving all day to explore. You could be back in Rome by 8pm if you left the ruins by 5 or 5:30. Also, when you tell people you have been to Pompeii, they will know what you are talking about and be really impressed!!
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 03:56 PM
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I'll echo that Orvieto is a lovely destination that I hope to visit again someday, but what about Spoleto for a slow-paced visit. According to mapquest it's about 1 hr 40 mins from Rome. We did it by car from Orvieto through some stunning scenery. I'm not sure what the public transportation would be like. There's an incredible Roman aqueduct above the city. And the best bruschetta to be had in Italy was in a charming Spoleto restaurant.
This site should give you an overview of the town.
http://www.bellaumbria.net/Spoleto/home_eng.ht
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 04:48 PM
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Love Orvieto; Florence is hard to beat. Pompeii is really worth the long day. Part of the fun of Pompeii is the trip to Naples (basically chaos) and the Circumvesuviana commuter train. I have done this several times and usually take the 8/8:30 E* train back to Rome. Gives you some time in Naples to wander around. All the other posts are correct also, just trying to add a little confusion. Any of the choices will really be enjoyed by you.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 04:57 PM
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I am also from Indiana. I was in Europe in June. We were with a tour and traveling by bus so I'm not sure how far it is, but on the way to Florence from Rome we stopped for a few hours in Asissi. What a neat place. We loved the town and the cathedral is magnificent. Not sure about traveling there by train, but I'm sure someone on this board could help you if that is what you should choose to do.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2006, 05:01 PM
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Wow!!!! Now I'm really confused = I want to go to ALL of these spots! Spoleto looks wonderful and just what I think of when I try to envision hill town away from the chaos, wonderful though it is, of Rome.

And Pompeii.... I'd accepted that it was not the best idea, then y'all go and get me all revved up again!! I'm now trying to figure out how to pack this all in.

While I'm picking your brains = has anyone stayed at the convent of Santa Brigida? It appears to be near the Colosseum. I am also looking at the Hotel Mimosa, nearer the Pantheon, where I plan to spend much time drinking wine and staring at one of my favorite buildings in the world.
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 04:44 AM
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Let me throw my opinion into the ring: I found Spoleto depressing and boring. It's made of a dark gray stone that casts a pall on the whole town.

The only convent of Santa Brigida that I know of in Rome is on the Piazza Farnese, and it's as expensive as most three-star hotels in the area.
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 01:21 PM
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sorry - wrong convent!! I'm looking at Santa Sofia - run by an order of Portuguese speaking Ukranian nuns! Am waiting to here back from Hotel Mimosa = if they have openiungs, the location looks great (even if the rooms aren't!) Being by myself, I do not plan to spend any time in my room except for sleeping/bathing/dressing. Any other suggestions would be great!

On a totally different thought - I just got my first pair of Mephistos for a walking shoe, based on numerous recommendation from fellow Fodorites. Thanks to all -= my pair was $18.00 on Ebay and they fit like a dream!!
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 02:16 PM
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People are certainly entitled to their opinions of Sploeto but I just wanted to defend the town by saying that we were there on a bright, sunny day in August and the pictures evidenced on the website I referenced are identical to the views we experienced.
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 03:39 PM
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Momo, we did Ostia as a day trip and it was well worth the time. Made it back in time for dinner. Pompeii is a long, long ride from Rome.

If you want a tour to Ostia there are many that take you by motor coach. There is a restaurant in the museum at the site where you can have lunch. We went on our own by train and it was not difficult. You can read about our trip there and see some photos at this site: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/95245/


The paragraphs concerning Ostia are about halfway down.


I don't know if you can go by the Tiber River in October--we were too late for it in Nov., but really wanted to go by boat one way.


What an exciting reason to be in Rome, and I wish you a wonderful trip!
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 09:04 PM
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Make sure it's Ostia Antica, not Ostia, if you decide on that. Ostia's a very ordinary beach resort town.
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Old Aug 5th, 2006, 05:09 AM
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I have a day trip to the Castelli Romani towns - Frascati in particular.

You can get the train to individual towns, or there is a bus service that goes to them all so you can see more than one in a day.

You might find this website useful

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/daytrips.html
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Old Aug 5th, 2006, 05:18 AM
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Hi momo,

With so many interesting options, I suggest that you leave Pompei for a time when you are visiting farther South.

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Old Aug 5th, 2006, 05:44 AM
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Here's more on the Castelli Romani

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/lazio/castelliromani.html
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Old Aug 5th, 2006, 06:33 AM
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thanks for so many wonderful ideas!! I have definiely decided to save Pompeii for next time - the Amalfi Coast is on my list of places to go, so I'll make it there one day!!

Julia t - great site on the Lazio towns. I recently saw a show on the History Channel about the golden boats at Lake Nemi, and Frescati also sounds lovely.

Tivoli and Villa d'Este are still high on my list and Spoleto looks lovely (I'm a sucker for aquaducts (sp?) Pretty funny if I use my three extra full days in Rome to get out of town, no? My fourth day (arrival on a Sunday morning) is planned on easy visiting - ie. sitting at the Piazza della Rotondo - I love the Pantheon!! There's also a choral concert at S Ignazio around the corner that evening - what a perfect first day!!

Once I join up with the tour group, it's more organized visits, but there are several free afternoons. Have one afteroon planned as "cool churches I have not yet seen - San Clemente with the mithraeum, the church with the Capuchin monk bones, and the "dan brown tour" of Berninin's St therese in Ecstasy and the Chigi Chapel.

Keep the great ideas coming!!
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