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Number 18 of 20 in Rome

Tivoli: a garden of fountains and an emperor's villa

Tivoli is a town in the hills east of Rome where the rich have gone to escape the summer since antiquity. Two of them left behind something extraordinary.

The Canopus at Hadrian's Villa: a long pool lined with columns and statues.
Daderot, Public domain
What it is
Day trip
Time to allow
A full day
Cost
Tickets, and the journey
Best time
Spring or early autumn, on a weekday

Rome this week

    Why Tivoli is worth it

    The Villa d'Este was made in the sixteenth century for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia, who wanted to be pope and was made governor of Tivoli as a consolation. He turned a steep hillside under his palace into terraces of water: fountains, jets, cascades and pools, all driven by gravity alone from a river diverted through the garden. It set the fashion for gardens across Europe, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

    Hadrian's Villa, in the plain below the town, is fourteen centuries older. The emperor Hadrian built it from around the year 120 as his retreat from Rome, and ended up governing the empire from it. It was less a villa than a small city: more than thirty buildings over at least a square kilometre, an area larger than Pompeii, with palaces, baths, theatres and pools.

    The two are opposites, one all water and shade, the other all space and stone, and together they make the best day out of Rome.

    What to see

    1. The Hundred Fountains

      At the Villa d'Este: a long straight walk beside three tiers of spouts, moss and carved eagles.

    2. The Fountain of the Organ

      Also at the Villa d'Este. Water pressure plays a real organ hidden inside it, several times a day.

    3. The Canopus

      At Hadrian's Villa: a long pool lined with columns and statues, ending in a half-domed banqueting hall. It is the image of the villa.

    4. The Maritime Theatre

      Hadrian's private retreat within his retreat: a round island with a tiny house on it, ringed by a moat and a colonnade.

    How to do it well

    • The two villas are about five kilometres apart, and Hadrian's is outside the town. Without a car or a tour, allow time for the local bus between them.
    • See Hadrian's Villa in the morning, before the heat: there is little shade. Keep the Villa d'Este and its cool for the afternoon.
    • Regional trains run from Roma Tiburtina to Tivoli in about an hour. The Villa d'Este is a fifteen-minute walk from the station.
    • Hadrian's Villa is large. Two hours is the least it needs.
    • A coach tour from Rome does both with transport between them, which is the hard part to arrange alone.

    Where it is

    Address

    Tivoli, 30 km east of Rome

    Nearest station

    Regional train from Roma Tiburtina, on line B, to Tivoli

    Tickets and tours: Tivoli

    Tivoli: common questions

    Is Tivoli worth a day trip from Rome?
    Yes. It has two World Heritage Sites, the Renaissance water gardens of the Villa d'Este and the ruins of the emperor Hadrian's country palace, and it is about an hour from the city.
    Can you visit the Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa in one day?
    Yes, with an early start. They are about five kilometres apart. Allow two hours or more for Hadrian's Villa and an hour and a half for the Villa d'Este, plus the bus or taxi between them.
    How do you get from Rome to Tivoli?
    By regional train from Roma Tiburtina station, in about an hour, or by bus from the Ponte Mammolo stop on metro line B. Organised day tours leave from the centre of Rome.
    How much time do you need for Tivoli?
    Allow a full day. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

    What visitors say about Tivoli

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    35,517 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 6 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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    Hotels near Tivoli

    The five-star hotels closest to it, of those this site lists in Rome. Distances are in a straight line.

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