Hi everyone,

I am considering the possiblilty of making a day trip to Tivoli from Rome. From the pictures, it looks beautiful and very interesting. I was wondering if anyone has gone and if so if they have any suggestions. I know that I want to see the Villa d'Este and perhaps a castle as well.

Andrea

My wife and I along with our friends stayed in Tivoli for one afternoon and night in 2002. We spent some time in the Villa d'Este gardens, walked along a shopping street in the evening and had a lovely dinner. We enjoyed our time in Tivoli very much.

The trip is definitely worth it primarily to see Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli and also the Villa d'Este in the town. Hadrian's Villa is a big place and IMO better to see with a knowledgeable guide. (Consider Context/Rome perhaps?) Also, make sure to check in advance re dates and times when the sites are open. In Tivoli, we ate at a good restaurant directly overlooking some interesting ruins of the temples of Vesta and Sybil (can't recall the name of the restaurant). Beyond that, we found the town of Tivoli less than idyllic, with a lot of post-WWII construction.

I am pretty sure that Jim Zurer was in Tivoli on his most recent trip. You can read about it on his website. ... Okay, it was not his most recent trip, but his 2003 trip. Here is the link:

Zurer - Tivoli

Other than Villa Adriana and the gardens, Tivoli is quite disappointing.

The gardens and the villa worth a trip themselves anyway, but the rest of the town is ugly.

Great veterinarians though...I had my old Fox Terrier CAT scanned there...and came back with also a stray dog abandoned there in front of us.

Hi,
The last time we were in Rome we took a bus to Tivoli. This was quite easy except that the bus was absolutely full so we stood all the way.
We went for the purpose of visting the gardens of Villa D'Este, a world heritage site. We were lucky to choose a day when the fountains were running as that addedd to the feel of the garden, especially the "jokes" ie spraying passers by!
The gardens,are,in our opinion sublime.
Villa Hadrian is on our list for June when we return to Rome and Lazio.
We returnd to Rome by train and that was very easy.
Here is a link to a transport website but I am certain there are better ones on ST and also that Alice Twain will help out.
http://www.bandbinrome.com/Transportation.htm
Wendy

>>The gardens and the villa worth a trip themselves anyway, but the rest of the town is ugly<<

I have to disagree with this assessment. Granted that Tivoli is not as scenic as Cortona, there are some beautiful parts of town--the Villa Gregoriana (even if you can't get inside) with its deep gorge and wateralls, the temples of Vesta and Sibilla, a riverfront walk and a reasonably intact "centro storico"

There are some nice pictures on this web site.

http://www.romeartlover.it/Tivoli.html

This was the view (below left) from the terrace of our balcony at the Hotel Sirene.

The Villa Gregoriana has become a FAI (Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano) site and is presently being restored and readied for opening in the spring. See their website www.fondoambiente.it for precise dates. FAI is Italy's National Trust (what would be comparable in the USA ?) and those of us in the newly opened Viterbo delegation are setting up some very interesting Open Days for the Spring weekend March 20-21 which I'm not allowed to reveal until the national press conference. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the suggestions! I definetely think we will be taking a day trip to Tivoli. Does anyone know when the fountains are open? It would be very disappointing if they were not.

Andrea

Hi Andrea,
Check it out here
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/1025.htm and follow the links.
Wendy

Thanks Wendyash! I found the site very informative.

Andrea

quote:

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Originally posted by Andrea V:
Thanks for the suggestions! I definetely think we will be taking a day trip to Tivoli. Does anyone know when the fountains are open? It would be very disappointing if they were not.

Andrea

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I also recommend both a visit to Villa D'Este and Hadrian's Villa. I concur that you get more satisfaction if you have a guide for Hadrian's Villa.
A nice place for lunch is "Il Canopo". Wonderful food and wine!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Wendash I am having a hard time understanding the bus routes on this site. To reach Tivoli, requires more than one bus? From what I understand I have to take route B? And from there I don't know. Also, I am having a hard time decifering the rates.

Any assistance in translating Romes transportation system would be greatly appreciated.

Andrea

Here is a Tivoli web site with links for bus and train information and schedules. I didn't see an English version but you only need a little Italian to understand the transportation information.

Thanks Ellen.

I also had a question concerning the Villa Hadrian near Tivoli. Although I have found many site discussing the villa, I cannot not find any rates for it. Also, this villa is a bus ride from Tivoli? Can I buy the tickets there? Does anyone recall the price of the bus tickets?

I am also assuming that this villa and Villa Adriana are the same thing? Am I right?

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

Yes, Villa Adriana is the same as Villa Hadrian, Hadrian's Villa. It is a beautiful park with extraordinary ruins (I uploaded some pictures of it here (bottom of page) and here).

Although I personally would rather spend most of the day there that at the Villa d'Este, in spite of all the fountains at the latter, I would warn you that unless I missed something, it seems to be quite a lot easier to get close to the Villa D'Este in Tivoli by public transportation than to Hadrian's Villa, which is about a half hour walk from where the bus (leaving from the Metro terminal Rebibia) drops you off. On the other hand, there does seem to be direct transportation between Hadrian's Villa and a stop right near the Villa d'Este.Not quite sure how it works, but it's worth taking into consideration in planning your day.

Maybe you would like to start at Tivoli, trying not to get too sidetracked by the gardens, and pick up some goodies at the local shops for a picnic at Hadrian's Villa. The day I was there in September was a National Heritage Day, so it was free, and there were just enough people sauntering and picnicking to be neighborly. I rented an audio guide, for about E4 I think, which was interesting and gave you a route to follow, but there are informative signs posted at most of the main sites anyway.

In my case I spent 4-5 hours at Hadrian's Villa, had an excellent lunch at Adriano's right near the entrance, and took an inexpensive local bus directly from there to Tivoli. By the time I left the gardens it was passegiata time. I really did enjoy wandering around the town of Tivoli, and saw a memorable sunset over the ravine and little circular temple, although it took me a long time to get back to Rome from there, because it was after dark and I got lost as usual.

The bus trip back, though crowded, was fun because it put me right in the middle of a group of Romans (mostly under 20) I would not ordinarily have been part of. Don't remember how much it cost; I *think* it was just one metro ticket, or maybe two.

Before you go, you might enjoy readingThe Memoirs of Hadrian, by Marguerite Yourcenar, a really good book.

We go to Tivoli once a year and always enjoy dining at La Sibilla. Go back up and look at Jim Zurer's 2 photos - these photos both actually show the grounds of the restaurant.

We mainly like to dine there when the weather is nice and we can sit on the terrace. The wisteria that covers the terrace dates from the 1700s. We have never looked at the menu, instead just eating whatever the waiter brings us. Ice cold limoncella and grapa for desert.

Here is a photo taken from the monument in Jim's photo - looking back at the terrace.

Bill and Patty, This is the Ristorante Sibilla where we had lunch (and I couldn't remember the restaurant name until you mentioned it). http://www.ristorantesibilla.com/en/index.shtml
It is the same as your La Sibilla, yes?

Zia,
Yes it is the same. Thanks for posting their website. I know how to get to the restaurant, but could NEVER explain it to anyone.

On their webpage showing the map of "where they are" - Jim was standing at #9 taking his photos.

My wife and I took a guided bus tour from Rome that went to both Hadrians Villa and Villa D'Este in Tivoli. It included a guide and all admittances so it really covered all the bases. We returned a couple of years later and spent the night in Tivoli but in retrospect, the guided tour was a good value. I think any hotel could set this up for you.