Where to today?

Today was once again about exploring beyond Rome. We even considered going as far as Pompeii or Florence, but quickly realized we’d spend half the day just getting there. On top of that, tickets bought this late would have been painfully expensive.

Tivoli turned out to be the most sensible choice.
Both in terms of time and cost.

Yesterday, we were left standing at the gates of Ostia Antica because I hadn’t checked the opening hours. On the way back to Rome, I decided to take matters into my own hands, looked a bit more closely into Tivoli, and sorted everything out right away. I bought the tickets and train fares so nothing would be left to chance.

Even so, something came up that made the morning…
well, let’s just say exciting.

Rome’s trains and metro

Rome’s metro is actually quite simple. In practice, you mostly rely on just two lines, which take you to most of the main sights.

Line A runs towards the Vatican and stops at Spagna, right by the Spanish Steps. Line B takes you to the Colosseum and further south across the city. The two lines intersect at Roma Termini, the main transport hub.

Children under the age of 10 travel for free.

With Line B, you can use the same ticket to reach Piramide station, where you transfer to the Lido train. It takes you towards the sea, stopping first at Ostia Antica. If you’re lucky and it’s not Monday, you’ll find the gates open to one of the best-preserved ancient sites near Rome.

The other type of trains in Rome are those operated by Italy’s national railway, Trenitalia. These take you out of the city, either towards Fiumicino Airport, like the Leonardo Express, or into the surrounding areas, for example towards Tivoli.

These are no longer city trains, but regular regional or high-speed services, which require a separate railway ticket. Children no longer travel for free here. Tickets can easily be purchased through their app, and conductors checked them regularly.

If instead of heading towards the sea you go inland, towards the hills, the most practical departure point for Tivoli is Roma Tiburtina station.

And this is where things got complicated.

How you can easily miss a train in Rome

After using the metro systems in London, Paris, Washington, and New York, it’s easy to underestimate Rome’s metro with just two lines.

But Line B splits towards the end. If you’re not paying attention, it’s very easy to get on the wrong train.
And that’s exactly what we did.

At the station, we tried to find a taxi. No luck. As if by design, there wasn’t a single one in sight.

Since we had left the metro, we couldn’t re-enter with the same ticket. So we bought new ones.
One stop back, then one forward to the right line.

When we got off, we had five minutes left before our train.
But which platform?

Platform 28.
Of course, on the complete opposite side of the station.

And just like that, we missed our train.

Tivoli

While we were waiting for the next train, I gave the girls a quick explanation of where we were actually heading.

Tivoli is a small town about 30 kilometers from Rome. Even in Roman times, it was known as a place to escape to, mainly because of the views and the abundance of water, which has always played an important role here. As you approach it, a beautiful view opens up over the town and the valley of the Aniene River.

Among the most famous sights in Tivoli is Villa Adriana, the former residence of Emperor Hadrian. In reality, it’s not just a single villa, but a vast complex of buildings, pools, colonnades, and open spaces spread across a large area. It was developed over several years and is considered one of the most important archaeological sites from the time of the Roman Empire.

Another highlight is Parco Villa Gregoriana, a park more focused on nature. Well-maintained paths lead you into a gorge filled with waterfalls, rock formations, and dense greenery.

When planning today’s trip, both of these options felt a bit too much, so I chose a third one instead.

Villa d’Este

Gravity is the basic force that drives the entire system of fountains at Villa d’Este.
No pumps, no modern technology.

The water flows naturally from one terrace to another, which is why the entire complex had to be built high above the town. And, above all, with remarkable precision.

It is one of the most famous Renaissance villas in Italy, now also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known especially for its gardens and extraordinary design. Behind it all stood a cardinal who, in the mid-16th century, envisioned something quite ambitious.

Not just a villa, but a garden that would demonstrate power, knowledge, and influence.

The construction and landscaping took decades, and the system of fountains was, for its time, almost unbelievable.

It is precisely this simple principle, water flowing downward, that elevates everything to another level.

When you step off the train, you find yourself at the bottom. To truly understand how the system works, you first have to make your way up.

You’re looking at about a half-hour walk. And honestly, it’s nothing too demanding.

As you start the climb, you move through narrow streets, under passageways, over worn cobblestones. There are hardly any people around. From the station, we were pretty much on our own.

At the top, you’re greeted by shops, restaurants, and cafés.
A clear sign you’ve arrived in a tourist town.

I had bought the tickets the day before, right on the train as we were heading back to Rome. In the end, it turned out to be completely unnecessary. And, if I’m honest, a bit silly. There was no line. No one made an issue, even though we were running over an hour late.

And then came the irony of the day.

The place best known for its fountains, where water driven by gravity creates the very scenes people come here to see… had no water today. That’s what it said at the ticket office. They were offering a €5 discount on the spot, of course not for those of us who had bought tickets in advance. You couldn’t make it up. All that effort just to get here, and then… no water. Well, at least let’s go and see the gardens.

Fountains without water

You first step into a charming courtyard, where a fountain stands with a statue of a sleeping Venus, the goddess of love.

Then, through long corridors and a series of rooms with remarkably beautiful ceilings, you slowly make your way towards the exit.

That’s where the gardens reveal themselves for the first time. They cascade down in terraces far below you, almost a hundred meters by feel, connected by stairways, pathways, and long axes lined with fountains.

Oval Fountain

The first one we stopped at was the Oval Fountain. You reach it through an open passage.

In front of you, a wide semicircular space unfolds, surrounded by greenery and rock.

The whole area feels like a kind of water stage. Above the fountain rises an artificial mountain, from which water is meant to flow.

You can walk all the way around it and even pass through a tunnel behind the fountain. It must be quite an experience when the water is flowing, with torrents cascading in front of you while everything around you echoes, sprays, and foams.

With no water, of course, you miss all of that. Still, we liked this place. Enclosed by rock and greenery, with an unusual tree standing to the side, it carries a strong sense of nature, clearly something they were trying to create here.

Fountain of the Dragons

As you descend one level further, you come across the Fountain of the Dragons. Four dragons stand in a circle, each facing a different direction, like guardians. They symbolize power and influence.

Above them, terraces rise in perfect symmetry, along with the staircase from which we first caught sight of the gardens.

The Hundred Fountains

Somewhere, at least according to the signs, there should have been the Hundred Fountains, a long walkway lined with small water outlets creating an almost continuous sound of flowing water.

Despite the effort, Nara and I couldn’t find them, even though there are supposed to be a hundred. With no water, they’re just openings hidden among the greenery, easy to overlook.

Neptune Fountain

At the very end, there’s one more fountain. Large, imposing, set at the far edge of the lower gardens. This is meant to be the grand finale of water.

But instead, you’re left looking at a few statues gazing out over the gardens towards Rome, as if they too are wondering where all the water has gone.

I later found a photo online of how it’s supposed to look. The difference is obvious.

The exit is where you started, so all those steps we had already walked were waiting for us again. At the top, a wide view opens over the plain below, and you begin to understand why they chose to build their villas here.

Trastevere

By one o’clock, we were already on the train back to Rome. After a few changes between metro lines and buses, we found ourselves in Trastevere. The name means “across the Tiber,” and this part of the city is often described as more lively and relaxed compared to the other side of the river. To us, it felt quite similar to elsewhere.

One of the oldest churches in Rome stands here, the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, known for its golden mosaics. We spent some time lingering in the square in front of it, then made our way through the narrow streets back towards the Tiber.

You cross it via a small island that has been associated with healing since ancient times. A tiny island, home to a hospital that still carries on that tradition today.

It is connected to the other side of the river by the oldest bridge in Rome, more than 2,000 years old.

If we still had plenty of energy in Tivoli, Trastevere clearly drained what was left of it, and even that “healing” island didn’t help much.

We passed by the ancient Theatre of Marcellus and headed towards the steps of the Capitoline Museums, but by then we had no energy left to climb them.

We took a taxi back to Monti, and later in the evening treated ourselves to gelato, something you simply can’t get enough of here.

We really needed the rest, though, because tomorrow is a big day. We’re visiting the smallest country in the world, the Vatican.