Visit the historic vacation homes of the Roman elite on a Rome to Tivoli day trip. The full-day guided excursion includes tours of Tivoli’s two UNESCO-listed sites: Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este. Hear Renaissance and Ancient Roman history and scandal, admire archaeological ruins and explore some of Italy’s most extravagant private gardens.

Learn intriguing Renaissance history on a guided walking tour of two villas east of Rome
Explore the archaeological ruins of Hadrian's Villa, former home to 2nd-century Emperor Hadrian
Admire the stunning gardens of Villa d'Este and see the famous Fountain of Neptune
Transport from Rome to Tivoli by air-conditioned coach

What's Included

Professional guide
Air-conditioned vehicle
Headsets to ear the guide clearly

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Via Cavour, 224
Via Cavour, 224, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is at the bus stop at Via Cavour 224. The nearest metro station: “Cavour” (Line B). Please remember to show up 20 minutes before the tour departure time. Return point: Returns to original departure point

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Travel from Rome to Tivoli by air-conditioned coach to start your day trip. As you travel, listen to your guide’s commentary about Tivoli, a historic town in the Monti Tiburtini hills. A prestigious vacation spot in the days of Ancient Rome, the town is now popular for its two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este.

Your first stop in Tivoli is at Hadrian’s Villa for a walking tour. Hear how the villa belonged to Emperor Hadrian who desired an unassuming vacation home as a tribute to his lover. By modern standards, his ‘humble abode’ could be considered a town in its own right.

The ruins of the emperor’s impressive estate consist of more than 30 buildings, and you’ll see the highlights as you explore. Discover the complex ruins of the old imperial palace as well as thermal baths, temples, libraries and subterranean passages that are wide enough for vehicles.

Enjoy lunch at your own expense, and then continue to Villa d'Este: explore the former Benedictine convent, and see why many consider the villa to be one of the finest of the Renaissance era.

As you explore, hear how Villa d’Este was built as an opulent abode for the son of Lucretia Borgia, a 15th-century duchess who attracted drama and gossip wherever she went. Make your way past the Fountain of Neptune, and wander through the gardens to see waterfalls, fountains and centenary trees.

Leave Villa d’Este after your tour, and then relax on your journey back to Rome.

Villa Adriana

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Villa Adriana (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Luggage storage NOT available
Please note: Stairs at both villas are quite steep and a moderate amount of walking is involved
This tour is not recommended to people with disabilities

Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Individuals with Disabilities MUST NOTE it on their booking.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 32 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Try to take the trip on the weekend as you have no traffic.

This Tivoli Day Trip to see Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este is a must!

Be prepared to do a lot of walking on uneven surfaces.

Reviews

4.5

1,307 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,307 reviews

Lovely Villa De'Estes

Betty_J, Mar 2023

I highly recommend this tour. It's a short drive via bus from Rome & it's a great way to see the countryside. Location for bus pickup was a 15 minute walk from our hotel. The 1st stop was Hadrian's Villa & Guiseppe our guide was extremely knowledgeable on history, which brought the ruins to life. Next stop was Tivoli where we lunched. We didn't eat with the tour, we ventured off ourselves, there's plenty of restaurants in town & had an hour before we met again & started the Villa De'Estes tour. It didn't disappoint - beautiful grounds & astounding engineering for glorious fountains. We had plenty of time to walk around the Villa on our own, visit museum shop & have a few minutes to grab a souvenir or two from local shops. Note there's alot of stairs, inclines in the Villa, be prepared.

Tivoli villas, worth seeing

Meri_D, Mar 2023

Hadrian villa is interesting from historical perspective. Villa d'Este, on another hand, has amazing gardens and fountains, especially Organ Fountain. It has a hidden mechanism playing music without human intervention, using water pressure.

Nice break from Rome

Laura_M, Mar 2023

We enjoyed getting out of Rome and taking in Hadrian’s Palace Ruins and Villa d’Este. We rode on tour bus alone to the sites. Local guide was kind, if a bit repetitive. Lunch was OK, filled the void. We liked hearing the history then having time to explore on our own. Fun local tips shared. Gardens weren’t in bloom but water features were stunning. Small fountains were undergoing renovations.

Extremely informative

Anna_K, Mar 2023

Everything was great and well organised. Giuseppe is the best guide I have ever met. Thanks for the wonderful tour. ❤️

Great locations, average guided tour

Paul_P, Mar 2023

The locations are amazing and definitely worth visiting. The tour guide could have been better: while friendly, he was sparse on details and did not provide a lot of historical context.

Good trip

Prashanth_S, Mar 2023

Good trip to Tivoli. The guide Josef was knowledgeable about the sites. Wish the tour guide could have covered more aspects of the Villa along with explanation

Beautiful and breathtaking

Christina_P, Feb 2023

A wonderful tour of the countryside that gets you away from the hustle of the city only a 45min drive away. The ruins and remnants are breathtakingly beautiful and we learned a lot from our incredible tour guide.

A great day trip outside of Rome

Kimberly_B, Feb 2023

This day trip was the perfect way to see some sites outside of Rome. It was very easy and well-organized. We had a wonderful day in Tivoli visiting these villas. We did not do lunch through the tour, but instead enjoyed purchasing sandwiches from a local shop and sitting in the town square. The independent time was perfect. Our tour guide Giuseppe was wonderful.

A highly recommended tour!

Brian_T, Feb 2023

On time bus transport from Rome and met by our very accomplished local guide for both Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este.

Great Day

BJ_E, Feb 2023

Great day out of Rome. Local guide was knowledgble and interesting. Scenery was fantastic. Villas were a great slice of history. Highly recommend!

Good investment of time

Fernando_H, Feb 2023

Fully recommend, great way to spend a day and still get back to Rome with some time to spend in the late afternoon. Amazing places, you can definitely spend more time there but for a day trip you get to know at least some basics. We did not buy the option with lunch included but at the end decided to stay with the group and have lunch there… we Recommend buying the option with recommend buying that option, food was good and plenty!

Fun day trip from Rome

Patricia_Z, Dec 2022

We took this day trip from Rome in November. The bus was nice and comfortable. Hadrian's Villa was very interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable. We opted for the tour that included lunch in Tivoli and we enjoyed it. The Villa d"Este part of the tour was very nice- the grounds of the estate are beautiful. The working pipe organ run by the water of the fountains was amazing. Over all it was a good tour and we would recommend it.

Great day excursion from Rome

Anup_P, Nov 2022

Our guide Giuseppe was great- very knowledgeable. Beautiful sites- highly recommend the day excursion

Highly recommend

Michelle_B, Nov 2022

Great day trip out of Rome, it’s about a 45 minute drive, first visiting Hadrians Villa which is just an incredible site of ruins. Warning that there is a lot of walking and to get to the actual villa area there is a walk up a decent size hill. From the villa you go to Tivoli, about 15-20 minute drive. You can opt for included lunch or lunch on your own. We did included lunch which was a fantastic multi course meal at a local family restaurant. But I there’s preferred on your own to grab a quick bite and explore the little village on their own. After lunch, a tour of Villa d’este. The palace is incredible with frescoes covering many rooms. The highlight is the gardens with fountains. But again it is multiple stairs down to the gardens (and therefore back up), gardens are not handicapped accessible but there is much to enjoy in the palace if you can’t go down. Giuseppe was our guide, he was fantastic. Tour was done at a comfortable walking pace. Only issue we had was the motor coach, it was dirty (still water and soda bottles on our seats from the previous day tour), ripped seats, and smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. Bus driver does not interact with group at all (the tour organizers put you on the bus in Rome, the tour guide meets you when you arrive at Hadrians). All in all it was a fantastic day, we highly enjoyed

Beautiful historic Villas on well organized tour

Charlene_S, Nov 2022

Great tour. Well organized and excellent informative tour guide. Beautiful villas. Only dissappointment was water fountains were off at D’Este due to rainy weather days leading up to our tour making water dirty and bad for fountain valves but mother nature cant be helped. D’Este was still beautiful as well as Hadrian. Would recommend to everyone.

A must see experience!

Kenny_K, Nov 2022

Guiseppe was a wonderful tour guide and you can tell he enjoys talking about the history and beauty of Tivoli. My husband and I enjoyed our time and would recommend everyone taking time to visit this place.

Great day

Timothy_P, Nov 2022

Giuseppe was wonderful as a guide. Very knowledgeable about the history of Hadrian's villa and also the Villa d'este

Really worth seeing Tivoli.

PatriciaH, Nov 2022

Amazing place. We visited two entirely different places, but both fantastic. There was so much to see and the tour guide was efficient, knowledgeable and friendly.

Astonishing and beautiful tour.

herbert_a, Nov 2022

Pleasant bus ride with fun and knowledgeable guide. Hadrian’s Billa was very educational and the grounds and ruins are beautiful. Villa d’Este was absolutely gorgeous. The interiors are replete with amazing art and sculptures and each room has unique frescoes, tiled and rich wood floors. The painted ceilings are in themselves works of art. Then you experience the spectacular gardens with hundreds of fountains, splendid pools and lovely tended hedges. Classically aligned potted fruit trees, allays of tall cedars and whimsical pathways meander forever. All beside a sweet mountain village. It’s incredible! Go!

Great Day Out

TM_W, Nov 2022

Excellent, exciting, invigorating tour. Wish we had known at the beginning how steep the climb would be at the end. That was the only down side to this tour. The guide was local and passionate about all parts of what we saw. Definitely a tour worth doing. Unless you are reasonably fit, the Villa d'Este part may not suit, although you can see quite a bit from the top but it is nowhere as stunning as from the bottom.

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