The best Rome day trips | Explore the top picks
Are you looking for the best Rome day trips? There are so many wonderful options within easy reach of the city. You can choose from visiting ancient Roman ruins, must-see Italian cities, small, cute, picturesque towns, going wine tasting, visiting stunning gardens, and going to a beach. In this blog, I’m going to share the best of these options with you, and I’ll tell you how to get there. Most of the day trips in this blog are places you can easily reach by train, bus, or a combination of the two.
However, I am going to share a few places that you really need a car to visit. For some of these day trips from Rome, you may want to take a guided tour. I’ll be putting links in the description below for some of the tours that I recommend. Most of the places in this blog can be visited year-round; there are very few exceptions, and I’ll share them with you when we come to them.
Ancient Roman sites
One tip I want to share with you before we get started is a website that I find really handy for figuring out how to get from point A to point B anywhere in the world.
Alright, we’ve got a lot of places to cover, so without further ado, let’s get into it. Obviously, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to visiting ancient Roman ruins within Rome, but we also have some pretty amazing ancient Roman ruins near Rome that you can visit as a day trip. Pompeii is one of the most popular day trips from Rome. In the year 79 CE, the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the devastating eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius.
The volcano spews ash, hot lava, and gases that plowed through Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum with so much force and speed that people and animals were literally stopped in their tracks. Today, we can visit these cities and their ancient victims, frozen in time. Both cities make for an excellent day trip from Rome. To visit Pompeii and Herculaneum as a day trip from Rome, you can take public transportation, or you can take a guided tour. I have a whole blog where I took a day trip from Rome to Pompeii.
Guided tour, so you can check that out if you want to see what it’s like. I find that a lot of people have not heard of Ostia Antica, but it is actually one of the most amazing ancient Roman sites that you can visit near Rome. Ostia was once one of the most important river ports of ancient Rome. In the years during and after the decline of the Roman Empire, Ostia fell into disuse and was eventually abandoned.
So, it does not have the drama and the dead bodies that you find in Pompeii, but it is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman cities, and it’s only half an hour from Rome, making it one of the easiest places you can visit as a day trip. You could even decide to combine your visit to Ostia Antica with a visit to Ostia Beach nearby.
Hadrian’s Villa is for true ancient Rome lovers. The site is enormous—it’s even bigger than Pompeii, so there is a lot of ground to cover. This particular site is not that easy to get to on your own using public transportation. The best suggestion I have for you when visiting Hadrian’s Villa is to go by car or on a tour. Tours to Hadrian’s Villa as a day trip from Rome normally also include a visit to Villa d’Este in nearby Tivoli. Both Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este are open year-round, but you should know that in summer, Hadrian’s Villa can be pretty hot, and in winter, you’re not going to get the best of the fountains at Villa d’Este.
Day trips from Rome
There are plenty of other ancient sites you can visit as day trips from Rome, including Etruscan tombs and sites like Vulci, but they’re a bit further afield and harder to get to. I have a whole blog where I visited a bunch of sites like these, so you can check that out if you want some ideas for unusual day trips to ancient Roman sites near Rome. For sites like these, you will need a car or you’ll need to book a private tour.
This way, you want to try to see as much as you can. And because some of these cities that I’m going to share with you are so close to Rome, of course, you want to try to see them all if you can. While I think that each of these cities deserves at least a week, if not more, sometimes all you have time for is a day trip.
Florence is probably one of the most popular day trips from Rome, and it’s easy to get there as it’s only 1.5 hours away by train. Even though there’s obviously so much to see and do in Florence, it’s relatively small compared to Rome, and you can really see a lot just by walking around. I have two dedicated blogs on this topic: one is how to take the train from Rome to Florence, and the other is how to spend a day in Florence as a day trip from Rome.
Another must-see city that you can easily visit as a day trip from Rome is Naples. I think a lot of people view Naples as a stopping-off point so they can get to Capri, Pompeii, or Sorrento, but I love Naples and I think it warrants a visit on its own. If you’re not sure what to do on a day trip from Rome to Naples, I recommend taking a tour. For ideas on things to see and do in Naples, we have a whole Naples Wise playlist on this channel. There’s even a blog called “One Day in Naples.” And for lots more ideas for things to do in Naples and the surrounding region of Campania.
Is Venice an easy day trip from Rome? No, it is not. The fast train takes 4 hours from Rome to Venice one way, so to take a day trip from Rome to Venice, that’s 8 hours on a train in one day. I’m only including it in this blog because I get so many people asking all the time if they can take a day trip from Rome to Venice. And again, I get it—you have limited time and you really want to see these places.
Venice is one of those cities that’s sort of a fantasy for a lot of people, so if the only way you can see it is by taking a day trip from Rome to Venice, then by all means, go ahead. And if you’re going to do this, just plan accordingly, check the train schedules, and make sure to set a schedule that’s right for you. As for what to do in Venice, you can either decide to just walk around, get lost, and enjoy the beauty of the city, or you could book a tour for when you’re there.
As I mentioned, most places that I talk about in this blog you can visit year-round, but with Venice, you should be aware that the only really quiet time is in the dead of winter—obviously, not during Carnival and not during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Bologna day trip
I think one of the best, most underrated day trips from Rome is Bologna. You can reach Bologna on a direct train from Rome in just 2 hours. It’s not just a beautiful city to walk around and visit churches and wonderful museums, it’s also considered one of the best places to eat in all of Italy.
Many people consider the region of Emilia-Romagna, where Bologna is, to be the food capital of Italy. Think Parma ham, Parmesan cheese, tortellini, lasagna, balsamic vinegar—these all come from this region. If you’ve watched enough of my blog , you probably know by now how much I love Roman food. I also love Florentine cuisine, and I love Neapolitan cuisine, but I have to agree, I could die and go to heaven eating my way through Bologna.
So, why not consider Bologna as one of your day trips from Rome? If you’re looking for something different, you can pop up for the day, stroll under the beautiful porticos, visit some churches, eat some life-changing pasta, climb the Asinelli Tower, and then make your way back to Rome.
Of course, you can go wine tasting in Rome, but if you want to go wine tasting as a day trip from Rome, you have lots of options—from staying in the Lazio countryside to visiting the nearby regions of Umbria and Tuscany, world-famous for their Italian wine. Probably the most famous wine-tasting day trips from Rome are to Tuscany. The region of Tuscany is just northwest of Lazio, the region where Rome is, and it’s pretty easy to get there.
Wine-tasting day trips from Rome to Tuscany tend to go from March through November. The wineries are open in winter, but there’s less demand, so you’ll find fewer tours then. To go wine-tasting in Tuscany from Rome, you can go by train, by car, or on a guided tour. If you decide to go on your own by train, just pick a town that’s easy to get to, like Montepulciano, then do your research ahead of time and maybe book ahead so you know you have wine-tasting options for when you get there.
Frascati wine tasting
The town of Frascati is only half an hour away from Rome, but it’s like entering another world—a world of peace, quiet, beauty, and wine. The ancient Romans knew what they were doing when they built their summer homes here to beat the heat in Rome.
Frascati is a town where people live, so you can visit it year-round. On the other hand, if you go in winter, you may find that wineries have limited hours and there are fewer tours available. It is ridiculously easy to get to Frascati from Rome. Trains leave regularly from Termini station and cost less than €1 one way, and the ride itself is only half an hour. One of the great things about visiting Frascati for a wine-tasting tour is that you can do it in half a day.
Maybe one of the things you’re looking for in a day trip from Rome is to escape the hustle and bustle of a big city. We are blessed to have so many wonderful, cute, little picturesque towns.
Far from us, obviously, there’s almost no limit to the number of cute little places you could visit not far from Rome. Some of these you can easily reach with public transportation, but I am going to include a few places that you would really need a car to visit, just because I think they’re so special. For those of you traveling around Italy with a car, you could even consider visiting some of these places on your way to your next destination.
Orvieto is one of the loveliest day trips from Rome and one of my favorites. Orvieto was once an Etruscan-era settlement. Eventually, it was turned into a medieval fortress and hideaway for popes escaping sieges and sacks of Rome. The cathedral of this Umbrian town is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful in all of Italy.
For me, it’s reason enough to visit Orvieto from Rome as a day trip, but there are actually more things to do. There are some fascinating underground sites you can visit, and this being Umbria, there are also some wonderful restaurants as well. It’s super easy to reach Orvieto from Rome by train.
Normally, I wouldn’t tell you to visit Assisi as a day trip from Rome, as it’s a bit far, but you can visit Orvieto and Assisi together on a day trip if you take a guided tour. If you have a car, one of my favorite day trips you can easily visit from Rome is the town of Fara with its beautiful abbey. It is the quintessential cute, picturesque town.
The abbey is the main reason to visit Fara, but I love the two little streets that make up this town and some of the little shops there, especially the linen shop. And if you go on a weekend, you’ll find some vendors there selling things like antiques, olive oils, and other items that make the trip even more worthwhile.
American War Cemetery
I’m not sure about lumping Nettuno and Anzio into this section about small picturesque towns, although they are picturesque. Once you get off the train, you could visit both Nettuno and Anzio in the same visit. They’re so close to each other, it’s almost like two neighborhoods of the same town. The picturesque part is obviously the beach.
But also, the port is really lovely, and it’s a wonderful place to go to eat some seafood. But I think the main reason that people choose to visit Anzio and Nettuno as a day trip from Rome, in particular Americans, is to visit the American War Cemetery there. In World War II, the Allies landed on Anzio beach. It was one of the most important and one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The American cemetery for war dead in Nettuno is one of two such cemeteries in Italy.
It’s a beautiful, peaceful place to visit and can be meaningful for anyone, especially for those who have relatives who fought in the war. The cemetery is open year-round, and it’s an easy 1-hour train ride from Rome.
Not far from Rome, we have some extraordinary gardens you can visit as day trips. These unique, specially curated gardens are a must for anyone who loves extraordinary landscaping or for anyone who’s just looking for a greener, quieter day outside Rome. It’s pretty easy to visit Tivoli as a day trip from Rome. Here, you can visit the Renaissance Villa d’Este and its extraordinary gardens.
The beautifully frescoed Villa d’Este is worth seeing, but the main attraction is the garden with its sloping landscape and amazing fountains. You could also combine a visit to Villa d’Este with a visit to Hadrian’s Villa, but to do so, I really recommend a tour because the logistics of doing it on your own are pretty complicated. This is one of those sites that, while it’s open year-round, I would recommend visiting sometime between spring and fall so you can see the flowers in bloom and the fountains at their best.
My favorite gardens to visit as a day trip from Rome are the Gardens of Ninfa. Ninfa was once a Roman settlement, then a medieval village, and eventually, it became the gardens you see today. The gardens today are made up of plants and flowers from all over the world, and they’re landscaped in what they call “organized chaos.” Besides the ruins of the original medieval village, you’ll also find a medieval bridge and a Roman-era bridge. This particular site is probably the most difficult of all the day trips I’m sharing with you today.
Gardens of Ninfa
But because I love it so much, I did want to include it in this blog. The gardens are only open on weekends from April through July, and from July through November, they’re only open once a month.
This is one of those sites you’ll need to book well in advance because, in addition to the limited opening hours, they also limit the number of visitors to protect the delicate environment. On top of all that, getting to Ninfa is not that easy unless you have a car. But you can easily take the train from Rome to Latina, and from there, it’s a five-minute taxi ride to the gardens.
On the other hand, I do think it’s helpful to visit Ninfa with a car, in particular so you could include a visit to the nearby town of Sermoneta. It’s a pretty typical thing to do after you visit the Gardens of Ninfa—come up here to Sermoneta, which is less than a 10-minute drive, and visit the castle, which is really amazing. You can actually visit it and eat some lunch in one of the cute little trattorias. It’s a great way to spend half a day outside of Rome.
One more day trip from Rome where you can see beautiful gardens is to visit Castel Gandolfo and the Apostolic Palace there. The town of Castel Gandolfo is really cute all by itself, and visiting the Apostolic Palace is lovely because it was once the Pope’s summer residence. But you can also take a bus tour through the Pope’s gardens. Castel Gandolfo is only half an hour from Rome by train, making it an easy day trip or even a half-day trip. Finally, a pretty obvious day trip to take from Rome is to go to the beach.
And while most people think of visiting the beach in summer, you can actually visit them year-round; you just might find fewer services in the winter. I have a page on the Rome Wise website, and I have a blog on this website where I talk about the best beaches to visit near Rome.
But for the purposes of today’s blog, I’m just going to share with you the top three beaches you can easily visit from Rome by train. For all three of these beaches, you just take the direct train from Rome to the main town, get off the train, and then walk to the beach. Most of them are about a 5 to 10-minute walk from the train station.
We’ll start with Ostia Beach because it is the easiest and the closest. Ostia Beach is only half an hour from Rome by train, and as I mentioned earlier in this blog, you could combine a visit to Ostia Beach with a visit to Ostia Antica nearby. Anzio Beach is, of course, famous for the battle that was fought there in World War II, and as I mentioned earlier in this blog, you can visit the American War Cemetery in the nearby town of Nettuno. But today, Anzio Beach is popular with locals, and you can easily visit it as a day trip from Rome.
Santa Marinella Beach is about an hour north of Rome by train, and it’s very easy to get to. Santa Marinella also has a lovely port you can walk around, and there are some excellent places for seafood in the town.
So, what do you guys think? Are there places that I’ve shared with you in this blog that you might not have heard of or thought about? Are there places that I didn’t cover that you want me to talk about? Please drop me a line in the comments below; I would love to hear from you. For more day trip ideas and lots more details about some of the places I’ve shared with you today, check out my Day Trips playlist right here.
Thank you, and that wraps up The best Rome day trips | Explore the top picks. Do you agree with the places we chose, or is there somewhere you visited that you feel should be on the list? leave us a comment.
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