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, 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)

Villa d'Este

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

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
Stroller accessible

This tour is not recommended to people with disabilities
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

Featured review

Bruce_S

Our guide, Joseph was very knowledgeable and personable. He made the trip very informative. I would recommend this tour to anyone.

Reviews

4.5

1,520 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 1,520 reviews

Fast paced

Maya_M, Apr 2024

Matzi was a great guide and very informative. The tour itself didn't spend a lot of time at Hadrian's Villa, but after we got to Villa D'Este I understood why we zoomed through the morning. Villa D'Este had absolutely stunning gardens and we were left about 45 minutes to enjoy them after the tour.

Nice Day in Tivoli

Rebecca_M, Apr 2024

Seeing all the gardens and fountains at Villa D'Este was the best. Hadrian's Villa was also interesting. Our tour guide struggled with English, making the tour less perfect.

Waste of time and money.

Lynn_B, Apr 2024

Left late. Too many customers for size of bus. Guide spoke very poor English and struggled to communicate. Guide could not count customers and spent much time trying to figure out if she had lost customers. A lot of time spent waiting for her to count! Less than one hour at Hadrian’s Villa. Did not see majority of site. Did not get brochure or map. Very disappointing for many customers. At Villa D’Este most customers went off on own rather than waste time on poor guide. Frustrating and disappointing tour.

Definitely worth seeing.

Janice_S, Apr 2024

Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d Este were really worth seeing. Our driver was great. Our guide rushed us and we did not have the full hour and a half at Hadrian’s Villa. Our guide also struggled with the English having to search for every word.

Fun knowledgeable tour guides.

nndrake, Apr 2024

Our group had a very good leader who was quite knowledgeable of all the things she was showing us. I was especially impressed by Villa D'Este and it's 400 gravity spring fed fountains. The gardens were stupendous.

Underwhelming

Michael_R, Apr 2024

This tour was nice but it was a little disappointing for me. I suggest don't book this tour, I gave highest praises for all other tours I have done both in italy and in spain. But not this one. Roma is so beautiful with some of craziest architecture in the world and most of them for free. Coming to Tivoli and I was very underwhelmed and wished I just stayed in Roma and not waste time. Sure nice gardens and pretty village but I recommend to stay in Rome and enjoy the increeible city and don't waste time coming to Tivoli. Or just go to other Italian cities. To conclude, Tivoli for me was abit of a waste of time.

Incredible places to visit but less time for lunch.

Alex_G, Apr 2024

Both places were stunning, amazing. Definitely will go back. The scenery’s was spectacular. Good tour guide as well.

A Great Day Spoilt

Roslyn_M, Apr 2024

The locations - Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este were spectacular. Our guide was terrific too. She was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and extremely helpful to everyone in our group. A very good communicator. However, what spoiled what could have been a 5 star day was the bus driver. He had a very public dispute with a guide before departure which led to a 30 minute delay despite the fact that all participants were on the bus ready to go. He drove recklessly and was frequently on the phone speaking extremely loudly even on the autostrada. He was also rude to some of the passengers and appeared to be completely unhinged.

Worthwhile visit to Hadrians villa, exhausting experience in villa d Este

Olga_L, Apr 2024

I enjoyed Hadrians villa very much. I wish more was included, like the maritime theater. Villa d Este is in very bad repair and not worth the time. I found the interminable stairs very trying. Visitors should be warned about the stairs.

Great tour

Ben_L, Apr 2024

Very good tour, learnt a lot about Hadrian's Villa and Villa D'Este. The food we were served at the restaurant on the day in Tivoli wasn't the best we had on our trip to Rome. It's likely there are better places in Tivoli to eat, but if you'd like to have a trusted safer option, then the lunch is worth it.

Excellent but rushed experience

John_T, Apr 2024

The tour was excellent but I think the pace was too fast. There wasn’t enough time to view the wonderful sights at Hadrian’s Villa. The guides were excellent. The included lunch was ok but there are better options on your own.

Unique blend of ruins of a large estate and stunning gardens with unique fountains

Stefany_V, Apr 2024

Giuseppe was a wonderful guide who provided so much useful information and was so pleasant to be with for the tours. He was easy to understand and obviously loves to share his knowledge of the area he is from. I wish we had more time to explore Villa D`Este, maybe just 30 minutes more would have been good. It was also an unusual set up where all the tourists rode the bus from Rome to Tivoli and met the guide in Tivoli. I think the tour group missed an opportunity to share more about Rome and the region during the 45 minute rides in each direction.

An awesome excursion from beginning to end!

Grace_R, Apr 2024

Hadian's Villa was amazing but what made it memorable was the narration by Giuseppe our guide who was extremely knowledgeable had a pleasant manner and a good sense of humour. Just when we thought it fould not get any better we went to Tivoli. Tivoli is a quaint town where we stopped for lunch. Our lunch was included with the tour but the food was the least impressive experience of the day. Enough negatativity, we went on to the Tivoli E'state. This was the highlight for me, the villa was awe inspiring and the grounds with it's numerous fountains and colourful gardens was simply breathtaking! This is a must do tour for anyone coming to Rome.

A wonderful quiet day that was absolutely amazing

Ilona_C, Apr 2024

Just amazing see the size of what was the villa and what would have gone into the making of it. Then seeing alot of Hadrian's Villa in the make up of the D'Este Villa.

Garden paradise

Kim_T, Apr 2024

The gardens and the fountains/waterfalls. We loved getting out Rome into the countryside. Our guide was a wealth of information so interesting. A wonderful day. Very relaxing on the bus and lots of free time at Villa d’Este

Good place to go. Poor guide.

Karen_P, Apr 2024

The villas were amazing and worth the tour. The guide was mediocre at best. She went too fast and, for an English tour, was very difficult to understand. Even after being asked to give time for photos, she didn’t change her pace. The “free time” was used getting to the meeting point. Other tour guides have shown an enthusiasm for the subject that she lacked.

Tivoli trip

Robert_S, Apr 2024

Seeing the ruins and then the recreation of the fountains at the estate. The size of the fountains are extraordinary.

Great Day

Stephen_B, Mar 2024

Hadrians Villa was great but Villa D'Este far exceeded expectations, not as informative as I thought, plenty of free time, maybe a little too much .. overall was good

Covered the key highlights l

Kels_M, Mar 2024

Whistle stop tour of hadrians villa which may have been slightly shorter than normal as we were delayed leaving rome due to a demonstration on the day of the tour, but covered key highlights to give context. Paid the extra for lunch with our trip and food was beautiful at a local trattoria in Tivoli. Just enough time at villa d'este to appreciate the gardens and fountains. Good taster of both locations and tour walking pace was good not too fast. While you could spend much longer at both locations it was a good overview and introduction to the sites to help decide that they would be worth visiting in more depth in the future.

A great way to spend a day outside Rome

Timothy_C, Mar 2024

Giuseppe our guide is a Tivoli local who gave great insight to the history of the entire area. The villa and grounds are beautiful and layered with history.

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