Places
Where to go, sorted by how far you would drive
Somewhere you have already heard of, or somewhere you have not. 62 places within a morning of Rome, 500 days out between them, each one with the operator who runs it and the way you book. Times are driving times, checked against the road network.
Under 45 minutes
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37 min drive
Castel Gandolfo
The Pope's summer town sits on the rim of a dead volcano, and the lake at the bottom is the quietest water this close to Rome.
16 days outthe nearest is a 37 min drive from Rome
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41 min drive
Ariccia
A Bernini bridge, a Bernini square, and the town Romans drive to for lunch.
11 days outthe nearest is a 41 min drive from Rome
- 33 min drive Fiumicino The nearest coast to Rome, and the wind that makes it worth the half hour. 10 days outthe nearest is a 33 min drive from Rome
- 41 min drive Rocca di Papa The highest of the Castelli towns, on the cone inside the crater. 8 days outthe nearest is a 41 min drive from Rome
- 34 min drive Monte Porzio Catone A Roman town on the ridge above Frascati, in the middle of the wine. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 34 min drive from Rome
- 38 min drive Ostia The sea end of Rome, reached by the train from Piramide, with a pine forest behind the beach that goes on for kilometres. 5 days outthe nearest is a 38 min drive from Rome
Under an hour and a quarter
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47 min drive
Nemi
A village on a cliff above a crater lake, and the strawberry country underneath it.
15 days outthe nearest is a 47 min drive from Rome
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1 h 13 drive
Latina
The town at the middle of the reclaimed plain, and the way into the buffalo country around it.
13 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 13 drive from Rome
- 51 min drive Cerveteri A city of Etruscan tombs laid out in streets, half an hour from the sea. 11 days outthe nearest is a 51 min drive from Rome
- 1 h 12 drive Cori A hill town with a Roman temple still standing in it, above the vineyards of the Lepini foothills. 11 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 12 drive from Rome
- 54 min drive Palombara Sabina The gateway to the Lucretili mountains, with the sulphur springs of the Sabina underneath. 10 days outthe nearest is a 54 min drive from Rome
- 1 h 10 drive Piglio The Cesanese country — the one red wine the hills east of Rome are known for. 9 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 10 drive from Rome
- 1 h 01 drive Anagni The town of the popes, with a frescoed crypt underneath and Cesanese vines around it. 9 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 01 drive from Rome
- 1 h 15 drive Narni A hill town over the Nera gorge with a sealed room under a convent, found by accident by a group of local cavers. 8 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 15 drive from Rome
- 1 h 04 drive Magliano Sabina A balcony over the Tiber valley, and the field the balloons go up from. 7 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 04 drive from Rome
- 1 h 01 drive Tarano Olive country in the Sabina hills, where the oil is the reason to come and the reason to stay for lunch. 7 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 01 drive from Rome
- 1 h drive Trevignano Romano The quiet side of Lake Bracciano, under the rim of the crater. 7 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h drive from Rome
- 1 h 08 drive Civita Castellana A fortress on a tufa island, in a town that has made ceramics for two thousand years. 7 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 08 drive from Rome
- 1 h 11 drive Tarquinia Painted Etruscan tombs under a field, and a beach with wind on it. 7 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 11 drive from Rome
- 49 min drive Anguillara Sabazia A promontory into Lake Bracciano, and the small lake behind it. 6 days outthe nearest is a 49 min drive from Rome
- 1 h 11 drive Nettuno A walled seaside village with an airfield behind it, which is why most people who come here end up in the air rather than in the water. 6 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 11 drive from Rome
- 1 h 13 drive Canale Monterano Sulphur springs in the woods, and a ghost town Bernini worked on. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 13 drive from Rome
- 1 h 12 drive Cervara di Roma The highest village in Lazio, cut into the rock of the Simbruini. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 12 drive from Rome
- 51 min drive Lanuvio Wine cellars cut into the volcanic rock, on the outer rim of the crater. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 51 min drive from Rome
- 53 min drive Palestrina A modern town built inside the terraces of an enormous Roman sanctuary, which you only see once somebody points at the streets. 6 days outthe nearest is a 53 min drive from Rome
- 1 h drive Velletri The far end of the Castelli, where the vineyards start and the coach parties stop. 6 days outthe nearest is a 1 h drive from Rome
- 59 min drive Nepi A tufa town with a Borgia fortress on one side and a gorge full of running water on the other. 6 days outthe nearest is a 59 min drive from Rome
- 1 h drive Santa Marinella A sheltered bay north of Rome, and the clearest water within an hour of the city. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h drive from Rome
- 1 h 14 drive Castel di Tora A stone village over Lake Turano, with a drowned one across the water. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 14 drive from Rome
- 1 h 09 drive Manziana Oak woods on the far side of Lake Bracciano, with a sulphur spring bubbling in a clearing and a Roman aqueduct running under it all. 5 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 09 drive from Rome
- 1 h 03 drive Torrita Tiberina The Tiber where it slows down, in a nature reserve with a path along the bank. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 03 drive from Rome
Under two hours
-
1 h 31 drive
Norma
A balcony over the Pontine plain, and the place people come to when they want to fly.
16 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 31 drive from Rome
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1 h 59 drive
Orbetello
A town on a sandbar between two lagoons, with Monte Argentario across the water.
16 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 59 drive from Rome
- 1 h 32 drive Orvieto A city on a slab of volcanic rock, with a second city cut into the rock underneath it. 13 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 32 drive from Rome
- 1 h 53 drive Terracina A Roman temple on the headland, a long beach under it, and the sea route to Circeo. 12 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 53 drive from Rome
- 1 h 40 drive Bassiano A walled village high in the Lepini, and the ham that is named after it. 12 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 40 drive from Rome
- 1 h 54 drive Bolsena The largest volcanic lake in Europe, with two islands in it and hill towns all the way round. 12 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 54 drive from Rome
- 1 h 56 drive Spoleto A Roman arch at the top of the main street, a cathedral at the bottom of a flight of steps, and a bridge across the gorge that is really an aqueduct. 12 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 56 drive from Rome
- 1 h 41 drive Sabaudia Twenty-five kilometres of dune between the sea and four coastal lakes, with a mountain at the end of it. 11 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 41 drive from Rome
- 1 h 24 drive Montalto di Castro The Maremma coast where Lazio ends, with the Etruscan city of Vulci behind it. 9 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 24 drive from Rome
- 1 h 31 drive Lago di Vico The smallest of the volcanic lakes and the one with nothing built on its shore. 8 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 31 drive from Rome
- 1 h 30 drive Collepardo A sinkhole the size of a stadium, a charterhouse, and the herb lore of the Ernici. 7 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 30 drive from Rome
- 1 h 31 drive Priverno A Cistercian abbey in the plain, and the Roman town it was built out of. 7 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 31 drive from Rome
- 1 h 20 drive Veroli A hill town of the Ernici, with a Cistercian abbey below and a library nobody expects. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 20 drive from Rome
- 1 h 37 drive Sermoneta A Caetani castle above the Pontine plain, with an abbey in the woods below. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 37 drive from Rome
- 1 h 33 drive Castiglione in Teverina Wine country above the Tiber, where the cellars go down six floors. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 33 drive from Rome
- 1 h 38 drive Montecchio The Umbrian side of the Tiber valley, and the cellars in it. 6 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 38 drive from Rome
- 1 h 31 drive Pontinia Buffalo country on the reclaimed plain, where the mozzarella is made the same morning. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 31 drive from Rome
- 1 h 46 drive Civita di Bagnoregio A town on a pillar of tufa, reached by a footbridge, with the ground falling away around it. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 46 drive from Rome
- 1 h 37 drive Cassino A Roman town at the bottom of the hill, an abbey on top of it, and the whole thing rebuilt from photographs after the war. 5 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 37 drive from Rome
- 1 h 33 drive Papigno The bottom of the Marmore falls, where the whitewater starts. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 33 drive from Rome
- 1 h 53 drive Terminillo The mountain Rome learned to ski on, and the snow that is nearest to the city. 5 things to bookthe nearest is a 1 h 53 drive from Rome
- 1 h 37 drive Poggio Bustone A village on a shelf above the Rieti plain, with the take-off ramp a short drive higher and a lake reserve on the flat below. 5 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 37 drive from Rome
- 1 h 18 drive Bomarzo A wood full of stone monsters, carved in the sixteenth century by a duke who had just lost his wife and never explained any of it. 5 days outthe nearest is a 1 h 18 drive from Rome
Further out, or reached by sea
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2 h 22 drive
Gaeta
A headland split by a crack in the rock, with the best swimming on the southern coast on either side of it.
15 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 22 drive from Rome
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2 h 18 drive
Pitigliano
A town growing straight out of a tufa cliff, with roads cut down into the rock around it by people nobody can fully explain.
8 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 18 drive from Rome
- 2 h 02 drive Manciano Maremma hill country: pecorino, natural wine, and the hot springs down the road. 8 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 02 drive from Rome
- 2 h 11 drive Sperlonga A white hill town over the sea, with the emperor Tiberius's dining cave underneath it. 7 things to bookthe nearest is a 2 h 11 drive from Rome
- 2 h 21 drive Alberese The gate into the Maremma park: pine forest, dunes, and long-horned cattle in the marsh. 7 things to bookthe nearest is a 2 h 21 drive from Rome
- 2 h 14 drive Caserta The largest royal palace in Europe, and a hill town behind it that the palace made everyone forget. 6 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 14 drive from Rome
- 2 h 08 drive Montefalco The balcony of Umbria, and the only place the Sagrantino grape has ever really grown. 5 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 08 drive from Rome
- 2 h 19 drive Sorano Tufa country at its emptiest: three walled villages within sight of each other, and a hot spring running between them. 5 days outthe nearest is a 2 h 19 drive from Rome
Getting there
Most of these are a drive, and the drive is the good part
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Rent a car for the day
The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.
- You pick it up in Rome and drop it back in Rome
- No timetable to build the day around
- The stops on the way are the good part, and they need a car
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on Localrent -
Have a driver take you, door to door
No parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.
- Picked up where you are staying, dropped back there
- No parking to find and no ZTL to worry about
- Nobody spends the day driving
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on Welcome Pickups