Day trips from Rome - Ostia Antica, Tivoli and the Castelli Romani

In a nutshell: Rome's countryside is where the Eternal City exhales. The pine-shaded ruins of Ostia Antica, the fountains and frescoes of Tivoli and the wine towns of the Castelli Romani each merit a page of their own, and each sits within an hour or two of the centre. Beyond the big three, the painted Etruscan tombs of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, volcanic lakes for swimming and the beach days of Anzio round out the menu. When the crowds of Ancient Rome or the Centro Storico start to wear, these are the escapes Romans themselves have used for two thousand years.

For millennia, Romans have headed for the surrounding hills in summer, drawn by the lakes, the country villas and the gastronomy. It is gloriously refreshing to get out of the capital: relax in rolling hills, swim or boat in lapis-blue lakes, or wander remarkable ancient Etruscan and Roman sites. You can visit the pope's summer villa and gardens, with dazzling views over Lago Albano at Castel Gandolfo, and drink fresh white wine in Frascati. To the southwest, Ostia Antica preserves the well-restored Roman port; to the northwest lie the mysterious Etruscan tombs of Cerveteri and Tarquinia; to the northeast, Tivoli holds two extravagantly lavish villas built millennia apart, Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este with its playful fountains and frescoes. And for a beach day, Anzio, a fishing port with fine golden sands, is an easy trip by train.

Day trips at a glance

Tickets and prices

Etruscan country - Cerveteri and Tarquinia

To the northwest of Rome lie two UNESCO-listed Etruscan necropolises, the mysterious cities of the dead of Cerveteri and Tarquinia. Both are reachable by train or bus, and a combined ticket covers the pair.

Cerveteri - the city of the dead

Around 2km outside the small town of Cerveteri, the 12-hectare Etruscan Necropoli di Banditaccia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You walk along its narrow streets with grass-covered burial mounds on either side; these tumuli (circular tombs cut into the earth and capped by turf) are endearingly laid out in terraces, as if their former inhabitants were alive rather than dead. Some tombs, including the 6th-century-BCE Tomba dei Rilievi, retain traces of painted reliefs, and several have carved chairs and beams overhead. Look out for the 7th-century-BCE Tumulo Mengarelli, whose plain interior shows how the tombs were originally structured. It is usually quiet here - you can get lost among the ghosts of the past in this idyllic resting place.

Cerveteri itself has a walled historic centre called La Boccetta, so named because it is shaped like a small bottle. Housed in a medieval fortress on the acropolis of ancient Caere (the Roman name for the town), its museum displays domestic items and jewellery hinting at the ancient lives of the Etruscans, with the highlight being the Euphronios Krater, a 1st-century-BCE vase. A combined ticket covers both Tarquinia and Cerveteri, costing €18 and valid for four months; the sites and museums are closed on Mondays.

Wandering Cerveteri is bewitching: the site is so large that it never feels crowded, and wildflowers carpet the tumuli in spring and early summer. It is a strange thrill to think how these tombs have stood for thousands of years, and to feel a connection with the people who created homelike tombs, with carved chairs and beams, in an attempt to make sense of life after death. Tarquinia is equally wonderful but completely different: exploring that site feels like a treasure hunt, with each tomb uniquely decorated and a sense of intimacy that brings you closer to the real Etruscans than any other place.

Eating and drinking in Cerveteri

For breakfast, Bar Mezzopane has great coffee and the town's best cornetti, just out of the historic centre; it opens 6am-2pm on Mondays, to 7.30pm Tuesday to Saturday and 7am-1pm on Sundays.

Tarquinia - painted tombs

At first sight the UNESCO site at Tarquinia does not look that promising: a green field pocked by corrugated huts. Start to explore, and you will discover an extraordinary underworld, the 7th-century-BCE Necropoli di Tarquinia. The novelist DH Lawrence wrote about his visit in his 1932 book Etruscan Places, comparing the scramble down into the tombs to rabbits popping down a hole - and the experience is very similar today.

See the lively hunting and fishing scenes in the Tomba della Leonessa and the Tomba della Caccia e della Pesca; the Tomba dei Leopardi has a banquet scene topped by decorative leopards. Other tombs depict games and jugglers, entertainment for the afterlife, while the Tomba della Fustigazione ('tomb of the whipping') is named after a scratchy scene of an S&M threesome. The necropolis is about 1.5km from the centre, and there are intermittent shuttle buses from near the tourist office.

Don't miss lovely, medieval Tarquinia itself, centred on the 15th-century Palazzo Vitelleschi, which houses the treasure-trove Etruscan Tarquiniense National Archaeological Museum (adult/reduced €6/2, or €10/4 including the necropolis). Look out for the Cavalli alati, a magnificent frieze of two winged horses, and the Mitra tauroctono, a striking sculpture of the headless, handless god Mithras killing a bull, as well as several reconstructed, climate-controlled tombs.

Eating and drinking in Tarquinia

Capolinea Caffè has outdoor tables next to the medieval walls, ideal for an aperitif - once lubricated, pop up to the nearby belvedere for the view. It opens 5.30am-10pm, later in summer.

Lakes and beaches - Bracciano and Anzio

Lago di Bracciano

Lazio's second-biggest lake makes a rewarding escape from central Rome and is a much-loved summer destination for weekending Romans. It is a reservoir, so motorboats are not permitted, and its clean waters are ideal for a refreshing swim. Anguillara Sabazia is the prettiest of the three towns around its edge, a medieval pile at the lakeside with some good B&Bs and a small gravelly beach.

The town centre of Bracciano sits high above the lake, a steep haul uphill from the lakeside restaurants, and is topped by a 15th-century picture-book castle. A short walk from the castle, the panoramic Belvedere Sentinella offers grandstand views of the lake and the rolling green countryside around it. On the north bank, the small medieval town of Trevignano Romano is another handsome spot, with a broad promenade along the lakefront.

Regular trains run from Roma Ostiense to both Anguillara (55 minutes) and Bracciano (70 minutes), and Cotral buses also serve both destinations from Rome's Saxa Rubra station. By car from Rome, take Via Cassia (SR2) and then Via Braccianense (SS493).

Best lake activities

• ✦Walking - the best lake walks start in Trevignano, with some challenging countryside treks plus an easy lakeside walk.
• ✦SUP, windsurfing and kayaking - various outfits around the lake offer wind- or paddle-powered watersports; try Centro Surf Bracciano.
• ✦Swimming - there are some grassy lidos around the lake, while Anguillara has a gravelly beach, Spiaggia Vigna di Valle.
• ✦Belvedere Sentinella - a short, signposted walk off Via Umberto 1 in Bracciano, with superb lake views.
• ✦Cycling - cycle around the lake on the provincial road that rings it (no cycle lane); Red Bicycle offers bike hire and tours.

Eating near Lago di Bracciano

Anzio - sun, sea and seafood

For a relaxing beach day somewhere more scenic than Ostia, head 40km south to Anzio, a fishing port that is easy to reach by train (one hour from Termini) and ringed by fantastic seafood restaurants. The harbour is filled with working fishing boats, and you will likely see the daily catch on sale to a huddle of local shoppers. It is a small, ordinary seaside town, popular with day-trippers who pile in on summer weekends for its beach life and food.

Anzio's long, golden-sanded beach shelves gently into the Tyrrhenian Sea, with shallow swimming areas ideal for small kids. For the best beach, though, walk around 600m west of the port to reach Nero's Grotte di Nerone beach. At the time of research, access to this beach was closed from above, but it is still reachable via the private Lido di Nerone - you can either hire a sunbed here (€9) or skirt around a little further west. The scant remains of Nero's villa sit above the beach, overlooked by a 19th-century whitewashed lighthouse; more dramatic than the ruins themselves are the deep grottoes in the soft-stone cliffs, which were used as the villa's storage cellars.

From Nero to Nazis

Anzio was once Antium, a key ancient port said to have been founded by Anthias, son of Odysseus and the sorceress Circe. Emperors Nero and Caligula were born here, and it was a holiday hot spot for Roman glitterati such as Cicero; Nero's villa stretched for almost a kilometre along the coast. The town's next moment in the spotlight came 2000 years later: on 22 January 1944 the Allies unleashed the bold 'Operation Shingle', landing 36,000 troops and 3000 vehicles here. The ensuing Battle of Anzio resulted in 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis deaths; the fighting contributed to the weakening of the German defence, and the Allies captured Rome on 4 June.

Eating and drinking in Anzio

When to go

There is no bad time for a day out of Rome, but a few seasonal notes help.

• ✦June is peak strawberry season, crowned by Nemi's strawberry festival on the first weekend of the month.
• ✦Summer weekends bring crowds to the beaches - Ostia Lido is packed and Anzio fills with day-trippers - though extra bus services run from May to September.
• ✦Weekdays are quieter at Ostia Antica, which is never overly crowded except on the first Sunday of the month, when entry is free; Villa Adriana is free on the last Sunday of the month.
• ✦Winter brings earlier closing times: last admission at Ostia Antica can sometimes be as early as 3.30pm.
• ✦Spring is glorious in the countryside: wildflowers carpet the tumuli at Cerveteri, and Piazza d'Oro at Villa Adriana is a prime photo spot.

Practical questions