To visit Villa Adriana and Villa del Este from Rome In one day, it is one of the best excursions you can do during your trip to the Eternal City, which we are sure you will not regret.
These two places, World Heritage, are very close to the beautiful city of Tivoli, just over 30 kilometers from Rome and both Villa Adriana and Villa del Este, can be visited perfectly in a single day from Rome by proximity and as a perfect complement to each other, since they are two completely different and surprising places.
Despite what we liked and that we can only recommend it, we believe that this excursion to Villa Adriana and Villa del Este It is perfect as long as you already know the most important things in Rome or want to spend a day a little away from the bustle of the city, knowing two places that will leave you speechless.
Based on the experience of our last trip, during which we wrote this travel guide to Rome and made the excursion to Villa Adriana and Villa del Este from Rome in one day, we explain the best way to make this visit.
How to go to Villa Adriana and Villa del Este
The best way to go to Villa Adriana and Villa del Este from Rome is by bus or on a guided tour in Spanish.
If you choose to go by public transport you have to arrive with the metro line B or by bus to the Ponte Mammolo station. In our case, when staying at Trastevere, we chose to walk to the Circus Máximo metro station that connects with Ponte Mammolo.
We recommend buying the subway ticket that has a price of 1.5 euros in a kiosk instead of the subway machines, since sometimes they swallow the money and do not give the tickets, so if you go with the money in Just coins, you can't pay by card, this is a problem.
Upon arriving at Ponte Mammolo station, just at the exit, you will see a kiosk of the Cotral company, in which you must buy the tickets for 2 euros per person. We advise you to buy back and forth, since this way you will not have to be looking for the place to buy them and then validate them on the bus.
Once you have the tickets, you must go up to the top floor of the station, from where this company works and look for the platform where yours leaves.
Remember that if you have the OMNIA Vatican and Roma Card, public transport is included.
For this excursion, we recommend you take the bus early in the day to visit Villa Adriana in the morning, eat in Tivoli and visit Villa del Este in the afternoon. If you follow this itinerary, before reaching Tivoli you can get off at the stop of the village of Villa Adriana and walk about 20 minutes to the archaeological complex. Another option is to reach Tivoli and there, on Piazza Garibaldi, take the bus line 4 that will take you in 10 minutes to the entrance of the enclosure. After the visit to Villa Adriana, you can take the same bus that will take you back to Tivoli. At this point it is important to look carefully at the schedules of these buses since they are not very frequent, especially on Sundays.
Another more comfortable and interesting way to visit Villa Adriana and Villa del Este is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish that includes transportation and tickets. This option allows you, especially in Villa Adriana that less remains are preserved, to know better the history and curiosities of these two incredible places.
Visit Villa Adriana and Villa del Este from Rome
What to see in Villa Adriana
The excursion to Villa Adriana in one day is one of the best excursions from Rome that you can do, being considered one of the best preserved archaeological complexes of the Roman Empire. This villa was built in the second century by the great emperor Adriano as a place of retreat and by having more space than on the Palatine Hill of Rome, he was able to create a small city full of gardens, palaces, theaters, thermal baths, temples and even a circus.
Due to the looting and disuse of the complex for several centuries, much of the marbles and statues of the town were taken to the Villa del Este by order of a cardinal, where they can be seen today.
Maritime Theater in Villa Adriana
In spite of all these circumstances, there are still several incredible places to see in Villa Adriana such as the Maritime Theater, the Hall of the Philosophers, the Canopus, the Gold Square, the Hundred Quarters, the Circular Temple of Venus and the Great and Small Baths, among other large buildings.
Visiting Hours: every day from 9 am to 7:30 pm from May to August. As winter approaches, they close sooner, so it is important to check the schedules. The ticket price is 8 euros.
The Canopus in Villa Adriana
What to see in Villa del Este
The excursion to Villa del Este is another of the best things to do in Rome if you have enough time. This huge residence, located in the interior of Tivoli, was built by the powerful Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este from 1550 and stands out for the frescoes that are concentrated in the palace located on the top of a hillside and for the beautiful gardens Italian and Renaissance style.
In the palace you can visit several rooms of the Superior Apartment that was the cardinal's residence for later, going down some stairs to reach the Lower Apartment, in which we are sure, you will be speechless when you see its fantastic frescoes that decorate all the walls of its rooms .
Lower Apartment in Villa del Este
Although the highlights of Villa del Este are its impressive gardens, located among the most beautiful in the world in which beautiful fountains full of sculptures that are spread over different levels next to the careful vegetation stand out and that made this garden a whole reference for the design of Renaissance gardens that populated all the great European palaces.
Do not miss an hour to walk through the gardens without missing the Oval Fountain, the Fontana della Rometta and Le Cento Fontane which has more than 100 small fountains.
Visiting hours: every day from 8:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. from May to August. As winter approaches, they are closing sooner, as is the case in Villa Adriana. The ticket price is 8 euros.
Villa del Este Gardens
