Rome Travel Answers

We very much enjoyed Orvietto (easily reached by train). once you arrive at the station, you can combine it with a visit to Civita di Bagnoregio - an incredible, almost abandoned hill town which we were unable to visit due to a holiday and buses not running. If I ever return to Rome, this is my main objective.

We took a side trip to Tivoli to see the Gardens. We took the train which took about an hour, however as we found out later if you take the bus you will be dropped off almost by the entrance. With the train we had to walk through the old city which really was kind of fun, especially getting lost and there were absolutely no tourists in the old city except my wife and I of course.

We spent a week in Rome and what we really missed was the Ostica Antica (spell??) which I believe is almost as good as Pompeii without the volcano - maybe worth considering for a day out of Rome.

Ostia Antica is certainly a superb site, a a sort of mini-Pompeii. It was the ancient port of Rome. Here's a useful website: http://www.ostia-antica.org/ and my Ostia pages have info and tips. Take the Metro to Pyramide then get the overground commuter train from the adjoining Ostiense railway station. journey time is about 30 minutes..get off at Ostia Scavi station (train will be going to Ostia Lido). Fare will be less than 5 euro but if you have a transport pass for Rome this fare is included. The site is about 5 minutes walk from Ostia Scavi station and well-signed. It has a cafe and large grassy areas...a nice place for a picnic, perhaps? Tivoli is also worth a visit, for the magnificent Villa d'Este and its gardens villadestetivoli.info/storia... and for the Roman Villa Adriana: http://www.villa-adriana.net/ Tivoli is a pleasant little town in itself. You can take the train from Termini, but Tivoli's railway station is on the other side of the town to the villas. It might be easier to take the Metro to Ponte Mammolo and take the blue Cotral bus form the adjoining bus station. You buy tickets from the little office inside the afe at the Metro/bus station exit (it is signed). Cotral timetables: cotralspa.it/PDF_Orari_Comun... Scroll down to page 192 for Ponte Mammmolo>Tivoli buses.

I'd agree with visiting Ostia Antica, but from what I remember having been there in 2006, it was closed on a Monday. You could easily 'do' Ostia Antica in a few hours in the morning and then head to the beach at Lido di Ostia for a few hours in the afternoon.

what great help everyone has been. This site is so very helpful with little tips I would have missed with out it. Thanks for taking time to help make our trip a great one.

Bracciano is a lovely location, it is not very well known by many people, but it is close to Rome and next to an awesome lake here is a interesting article about Bracciano I strongly recommend to read and consider this beautiful medieval town. thejoysoftraveling.com/bracc... I believe that in that same website are some articles about other destinations such as Tivoli and Orvieto

Hopefully you wll report back to us when your trip is completed and let us know what you decided and how it was.

Do you want to see a city perched high on a rock, that has history and more? One hour north of Rome, you can go by train... or car...is Orvieto. When you see this town from the highway from below, you will WANT to go and take a look. Once you take the tram to the top (from the train station) you can walk around easily, visit a beautiful cathedral, see how the collected water long ago and eat some great local food. Take a look here.... "Close to Rome And Worth a Visit" - Orvieto by painterdave You can easily spend a day there, and return without being too tired. Great views of the valley from up there, walk around the entire city along the wall. Good luck, Dave

I will definitely report back. I am so excited about this trip and will be eager to share what I find. Thanks again for all the great input.