Hello,
Has anyone taken a walk or bike ride on the appian way. I read somewhere that on sunday the road is closed to cars and it would be a good walk or bike ride of the anciet road.(near the parco dell'appia antica )suggestions??

thganks.
neal

From Porta S. Sebastiano it is closed to traffic on Sundays. For a stretch it is OK for bike rides because it is asphalt, but there isn't much to see (unless you are into visiting catacombs) and you are riding between too walls.

Once the pretty part starts, it's too bumby on a bike. It is a beautiful walk. You could take the Archeobus, which is one of those get-on-and-off anywhere you want buses. This would get you to the nice part and you could get off and take a walk. Don't miss Villa dei Quintili.

See the Archeobus site for info. Only in Italian, though. Click on vedi il percorso for the route and stops. Buy tickets at Termini, 8 Euro.

I've never taken this bus. I have biked the smooth part and once ended up the bumpy part it once in a car; took a wrong turn.

Steph

Nealpt,

Odd you should ask this question. Kerri and I were discussing this at breakfast this morning. We wish to spend some time on the Via Appia Antica. We have come up with two alternatives, one which would involve much walking, and the other might not.

From what I can read one can take the Metro line A south to Station Ostiense and then take Bus 118 to the Tomb of Cecilia. Depending on your ambition you can walk or bus back, and perhaps make at stop at Porta San Sebastiano, which I gather has an excellent museum, great views of the Via Appia Antica, and the ability to walk a bit on the Aurelian Wall.

Another choice I read in Hiking Italy was to take the regional train out of the Roma Termini station south and exit at the first stop Torricola. A short walk will put you right on the Via Appia Antica, but you will be quite a ways out of the city. From the map it appears to be about 5 to 7K to get to the Tomb of Cecilia and the 118 bus line if you wanted to not walk all the way back into Rome.

What I don’t know, and I’m hoping someone may, is how far out the route the 118 line goes away from Rome toward Torricola. It would be great to walk from Torricola and know we could catch the bus at some point and perhaps make a few stops on our way back into Rome. If memory serves me correctly, I believe I read it is about 8 miles from Torricola to the Colosseum.

Cheers,

Robert & Kerri

Yes, diary account Oct. 19-20, 1997. Read both pages: the first is how not to do it, the second is a more successful walk.

Bill

Gazetteer of Rome

quote:

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Originally Posted by: WebFabbrica:
Once the pretty part starts, it's too bumby on a bike.

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I don't think it is bad at all! Yes, the actuall road gets very bumby due to the fact that you are riding on the ancient stones of the Appia Antica. However, on either side of the road is a dirt path. I like to ride out there for picnics. Some of my friends only have road bikes and they manage quite fine. There is definitely not much to see, but it is empty of people and very tranquil.

Bill

Gazetteer of Rome

Here is the link to a map that shows exactly where the original pavement is along the Appia Antica in the Parco Appia Antica. Once you get to the page, click on the first selection.

Parco Appia Antica Map

It becomes virtually traffic free much further after Domine Quo Vadis. For the most part it starts at the tomb of Cecilia Metella, but maybe another 200 yards past at the intersection of Via Appia Antica and Via Cecilia Metella is where the traffic becomes mostly non-exsistant.

There is a water fountain across the street from the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. In addition, at the above mentioned intersection, there is a small cafe that has a few tables, drinks and sandwiches.

Tony,

Thank You for the link to the Parco Appia Antica Map! It is a great map.

It would appear from the map that the Archeobus runs all the way out to the intersection with Via Casal Rotondo. This intersection is a very small distance from the Torricola train station, meaning it goes out there a LONG way, at least 10K. Bus 118 parallels Appia Antica on Via Appia Pignatelli where you would get off at and walk southwest on Via Erode Attico to intersect with Via Appia Antica, and then walk north back toward Rome.

There was no distance scale on the map, but it appears the Archeobus adds another 5K past where Bus 118 ends. This is good info to know, as if one was to walk out for a tranquil walk south to take in the significance of what you were walking on, you could easily catch the Archeobus at the end of however long you wanted to walk back to Porta San Sebastiano where a city bus could get you back to the Metro line easily.

Of course they may not just let you flag down the Archeobus along the way, meaning the driver would just grin at you oddly as he passed you by if you weren’t one of the tourists that bought and boarded at Termini train station. Since my Italian reading skills are almost non existent, the Archeobus site remains to be deciphered. However the Parco Appia Antica Map shows three red circle A’s out past the Tomb of Cecilia. I don’t know if these are there to inform you of how far out the bus goes, or if they are official Archeobus stops. Stay tuned.

Nealpt… have we answered your question??

Cheers,

Robert & Kerri

The stops of the Archeobus are:

Piazza Venezia
Bocca della Verita
Circo Massimo
Terme di Caracalla
Porta San Sebastiano
Sede Parco Appia Antica
Valle delle Caffarella
Catacombe di S. Callisto
Catacombe di S. Sebastiano
Circo di Massenzio - Cecilia Metella
Sant'Urbano
Ninfeo di Villa dei Quintili
Casal Rotondo
Villa dei Quintili
Acquedotti Romani

I doubt they will stop for you anywhere but the designated stops.