rome day trips
 

Hello- my hubby and i are planning our first trip to rome in late sept. already have a lovely apt with terrace in southern trastevere. we will be there 6days. i would like to break up the week with a day trip out of the city. anyone have any favorites? would love to manage without getting a car. has anyone had any luck hiring a driver for an outing? i have been told that can be a relaxing way to go. or maybe trains?
i think it would be nice to take a break from cities, traffic, monuments and ruins. is there anywhere to go with lovely scenery, or small town feeling, or countryside or beaches? oh, and has anyone ever heard of visiting the summer home of the pope? thanks.

Take the train to Orvieto, a hilltown about an hour away. Search for 'Orvieto" for many threads describing such a daytrip.

Or take the train to the beach at Sperlonga.

Or Anzio.

Or Ostia Antica, which would be less than a full day.

Or Tivoli, to see Hadrian's villa (astounding ancient country estate of Emporer Hadrian) and Villa D'Este, a renaissance villa with the most amazing garden of fountains -- hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes! Look at http://www.romeartlover.it/Tivoli3.html. For Villa d'Este, scroll about halfway down the page to see some of the fountains.

Or Ostia Antica, which would be less than a full day. snip

You will be amazed I was. Just a good or even better than Pompeii. Skip the ride down the river its long and somewhat boring. Take the train is 3.25e each way
20 minutes from station to station. If you want some photos email me and I will be happy to send.

I agree with going to Ostia Antica. Bring a picnic lunch, a nice bottle of wine and enjoy the serenity among the ruins. Very few tourists go there. As has been said many times in the past, this place is kind of like Pompei in a Park.

It is really easy to get to. Take the Metro B to the Piramide station. Change over to the Ostia line. This is the starting point, so you can get a good seat here. Take it south to the Ostia Antica stop. Cross the road, the ruins are about 1.5 km away.

Now, if you want more, get back on the train and go down to Ostia Lido and walk over to the water. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I can't remember if the better stop is Lido Central or Lido Polare.

After your day, hop the train back to Rome.

dave

The summer home of the Pope is at Castel Gandolfo in the Castelli Romano. The biggest town is the area is Frascati, and the towns surround Lago Albano, more or less.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Gandolfo

Any good guide book for Rome ought to include information on this area. We had a car, and so touring the area was easy, but I think it wouldn't be too hard to hire a driver to take you there.

It would be a real change of pace from Rome, but all the suggestions on this thread are good.

For me, the best day trips are those that don't eat up too much time, cover too much distance, or cost too much money.

We took a daytrip from Rome to Orvieto... That day became, out of the 30 or so we were in Europe, our very favorite. Those hours in Orvieto were magical.

My favorites have already been mentioned -- Orvieto, Ostia Antica, and Tivoli/Hadrian's Villa.

We also did a day trip by train and boat to the island of Ponza one day. That was fun and different.

lucybell: Could you provide some information on your apartment? We're going to be looking in that area in the future.
Thanks, Nancy

OOOH- I'm so excited by all the responses. Thank you all. I am emailing it all to myself to crossreference with my books/internet.
As far as our apt, after reading so much on this forum I decided on Southern Trastevere for the quieter location, local color and convenience. I went thru Romanreference.com and had excellent experience so far. Quick and thorough responses, etc. I chose apt#130. Its pricey, but I am doing this without much lead time and selection was becoming limited. We really wanted a terrace and home away from home where we could spread out and relax, and as this is our 10th anniversary we decided to splurge little. they had lots of nice choices but most where all taken on my dates.

Hi Lucy - So many options :)

Assisi
Orvieto
Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa, Villa d'Este (fountain gardens)
Ostia Antica
Castel Gandolfo/ Lake Albano
Pompeii/Herculaneum/Vesuvius
Capri
Amalfi Coast/ Positano
Spoleto
Cortona
Lake Bracciano
Anzio
Montecassino
Caserta
Viterbo
Tarquinia
Subiaco
Lake Bolsena
Sperlonga

... to name a few.

Steve

More information from Frommer's about
Frascati:

About 21km (13 miles) from Rome on Via Tuscolana and some 322m (1,056 ft.) above sea level, Frascati is one of the most beautiful hill towns. It's known for the wine to which it lends its name, as well as for its villas, which were restored after the severe destruction caused by World War II bombers. To get here, take one of the CoTral buses leaving from the Anagina stop of Metro Line A in Rome. From there, take the blue CoTral bus to Frascati. Again, the transportation situation in Italy is constantly in a state of flux, so check your route at the station.

Although Frascati wine is exported and served in many of Rome's restaurants and trattorie, tradition holds that it's best near the vineyards from which it came. Romans drive up on Sunday just to drink it.

Stand in the heart of Frascati, at Piazza Marconi, to see the most important of the estates: Villa Aldobrandini, Via Massala. The finishing touches to this 16th-century villa were added by Maderno, who designed the facade of St. Peter's in Rome. You can visit only the gardens, not the interior, but still, with its grottoes, yew hedges, statuary, and splashing fountains, it's a nice outing. The gardens are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm and 3 to 5pm (to 6pm in summer), although you must go to the Informazzione e Accoglienza Turistica, Piazza Marconi 1 (tel. 06-9420331), to ask for a free pass. The office is open in summer Monday to Saturday 8am to 2pm and Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 4 to 7pm. Off-season hours are Monday to Saturday 8am to 2pm and Wednesday to Friday 3 to 6pm.

You also might want to visit the bombed-out Villa Torlonia, adjacent to Piazza Marconi. Its grounds have been converted into a public park whose chief treasure is the Theater of the Fountains, designed by Maderno.

If you have a car, you can continue about 5km (3 miles) past the Villa Aldobrandini to Tuscolo, an ancient spot with the ruins of an amphitheater dating from about the 1st century B.C. It offers what may be one of Italy's most panoramic views.

Along with other posters, I recommend Ostia Antica as one of the easiest and most interesting day trips. If you go, you should be sure to have a good guide book. the ruins are extensive and are not well-marked/explained at the site. IMO Pompeii is too far for an enjoyable day trip from Rome, although many people visit it that way.

Thanks for the apartment information. It looks wonderful...have a great time!
Nancy

For My October trip to Rome, I was planning to do a trip to Tivoli. Now I'm not sure sure. Frascati sounds great. And of course Ostia Antica. I'll have 3.5 days in Rome, so if I do a day trip it will be on my last day. This way I can decide to spend more time in Rome or do a day trip.

Monica ((F))

Hmmm - I wouldn't put Frascati in my top 30 trips from Rome.

JMHO ...

Steve