Hello All,
My family and I will be making a stop at Leonardo de Vince Airport in July 2018 for am 8 hour layover before we fly out. I am wondering if there something around the airport that we can do a quick tour so we can safely make it back to our departure.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Take a cab to nearby Ostia Antica, vast Roman archeolgical site of ancient Rome's port - kind of like Pompeii. Then maybe head to a nearby seaside town for lunch/dinner.

The Leonardo Airport Express train is reliable in getting into Rome and back to airport quickly - so could visit Colosseum/Forum area not far from station or just stroll around downtown Rome.

If you want a nice meal, take a taxi into the town of Fiumicino and relax at one of the dozens of seafood restaurants in this coastal town. There is also a beach.

First you have to compute how much time you really have. Assuming the arrival flight is on time, if both flights are inside Schengen zone, you have most time. If your departure flight is out the Schengen zone especially if it is flying back to the US, you have less time. If you are laying over coming from out the Schengen zone and flying back to the US, you have the least time available.
You are constrained time wise. Look at the destination based on time and not necessarily by the distance.

Ostia Antica is close in distance, but not necessarily by time unless you have a car waiting for you as soon as you are done visiting. Taxi's don't always wait at Ostia Antica. You might have to call and wait for a taxi or take bus/train to Ostia Lido Centro main train station which is a transportation hub with transports to the airport.
Rome is further away, but has multitudes of ways to get back to the airport including fast frequent trains.
Fiumicino is close both in terms of time and distance.

I agree with this, don't waste time going into the super touristy spots, it'll eat up your entire day and its more hectic than anything.

Thank you All for your feedback.

We will be heading back to Canada from Rome. We arrive at (FCO) at 7:00 AM and are scheduled to fly-out back to Toronto, Canada at 3:10 PM.

I am told that we need to be back in the airport at least 2.5 hours back at the airport to get through security. Assuming we arrive on time and it takes some time to get to a taxi or bus and we leave the airport by 8:00 AM and need to return by 12:00 PM at the airport gives us 4 hours out and about.

Based on Greg's comments Ostia Antica may not be the best and quickest place to get to and get back from.

Based on this information, should we still stick with Ostia Antica?

I hate to sit in the airport for the 8 hours but I certainly do not want to miss our plane.

Any additional suggestions would be a great help.

Thank you All.

I am afraid that with that time frame, lunch in Fiumicino is all but impossible since most restaurants won't open before 1pm. But you could grab some sandwiches or picnic stuff and go to the beach there....surely there are cafes open for a light bite, or a nice cafe breakfast along the water. I will be heading to Fiumicino town in late May from the airport, by taxi, so I will try to take note of exact time to exit plane, get bags, find taxi, and arrive in the town. Our flight arrives at about 7am as well so traffic might be similar to your conditions. I am assuming the cab ride is only a few minutes there and back.

If you really want to see Ostia Antica, I think it would probably be quicker and easier on the way back to take the Ostia train to Ostiense station (the end of the line) and then get the airport bus there. At least you'd be dealing with transportation that runs regularly. The buses have a very scanty schedule, and many of them don't stop at the archaeological site.

Maybe a better idea, especially if you've never visited Rome before, is to take the FL1 train to the Ostiense station, and then catch the metro (direction Rebibbia or Conca D'Oro) two stops to Colosseo. You can spend an hour or two walking around and viewing the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Imperial Forums from the street level. Leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the airport. On the way back you'll take the metro in direction Laurentina, get off at Piramide, and get the Ostia train to the airport.

I don't think there's much in the way of beach in Fiumicino. There's a long beach at Ostia Lido, and there are regular buses that go there.