More Italy Information

In checking around there are two basic day trips from Rome that it appears are good visits if you have enough time to see Rome proper. I am going to be in Rome for around a week and most itineraries filling a week seem to include visiting these sites so currently they are locations I am planning to visit.

First is the seaside location of Ostia Antica. The website has a nice PDF tourist guide of the location. The trip should be right through the Metro, much like the visit to Versailles was right off the Parisian subway system. There appears to be a less than $10 entrance fee and the location is closed on Mondays (as with most places around the world it seems). The site seems quite large and they suggest that it will take a full day for most people to see what needs to be seen. Mostly we are dealing with ancient Roman ruins and they appear to be quite spectacular. They say to grab lunch at the small village right outside the ruins. Apparently their is a bar right off the train station as well.

The second location external to Rome is Tivoli. Of course I visited Tivoli Gardens in Denmark (a couple times now) and this city is apparently the inspiration for the name of the park by way of France (according to Wikipedia). Tivoli includes Hadrian's Villa amongst other sites and is considered one of the better and most popular day trips out of Rome. Instead of heading towards the sea the trip is inland into the hills outside of the city. Like Ostia it is best to expect to use a full day to visit the location and public transport is again the way to go. It appears there are a couple buses that need to be used to visit both Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa. The first will get you from a Metro station to the main area of Tivoli. The second is a bus ride down from Tivoli to Hadrian's Villa. Secondarily is the Villa d'Este which is also just below the town but I am not sure if you need transit or can walk to it. Based on there being no mention of transit it must be a walkable distance. Where Hadrian's Villa appears to be mainly ruins that have been preserved. Villa d'Este is a more recent construction (approximately 430 years) with a palace and some very nice looking gardens and fountains (at least based on the publicity pictures).

There are other locations outside of Rome but nearby that are worthy of visit but I want to make sure I have enough time to see Rome proper. I will probably do research for one more location but only use it if I think I have seen what I need to see in Rome with time to spare by the last Friday there. I will be visiting the Vatican as well, as previously mentioned, and that is a day in and of itself.