Day trips
Fountains in the morning, an emperor's retreat in the afternoon.
Tivoli is where Romans have gone to escape Rome for two thousand years. The emperor Hadrian built a country estate here the size of a small town, and a sixteenth-century cardinal built a garden of fountains on the hillside above. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites, both are a short drive from the city, and they could hardly be more different.
We keep this private because it works better. Your own driver means no waiting for buses, and your own guide means the day runs at your pace, not the schedule's.
8:30
Your driver collects you from your hotel in central Rome. The drive to Tivoli takes about an hour, and your guide uses it to set the scene.
10:00
We walk the terraced gardens from top to bottom: the Organ Fountain, the Avenue of the Hundred Fountains, the Fountain of the Dragons. Your guide explains how water pressure alone drives every jet.
12:30
A long, unhurried lunch in a family restaurant in the old town: pasta, grilled meat or fish, and local wine.
14:30
We drive a few kilometres to the ruins and walk the main sites: the Canopus pool, the Maritime Theatre, the baths. Your guide reads the layout of the buildings so the ruins make sense.
17:30
Your driver takes you back to your hotel, arriving around 18:30.
Your hotel in central Rome
We pick you up at your hotelYour driver will wait at the entrance at 8:30. We confirm the exact time and the driver's number the evening before.
Open in mapsYes. Villa d'Este opens at 14:00 on Mondays, so we visit Hadrian's Villa first and Villa d'Este in the afternoon, and lunch moves to the middle.
A fair amount, on uneven ground. Villa d'Este's garden is steep. We pace it slowly, and we can shorten the route if you ask.
Yes. We can end at a viewpoint or a restaurant in the city. Tell us when you enquire.
Outdoors
from€99per personRide the old Roman road through the regional park by e-bike, with stops at tombs, an aqueduct and a catacomb, and a long lunch at a farm along the way.
Journeys
from€3,150per personTwo nights in Rome, two in Florence and two in Venice, with high-speed trains, small-group guiding and plenty of unplanned afternoons.
