A caver with a headlamp inside a cave passage Under the ground

Catacomb of Santa Cristina, Bolsena

Bolsena

Under the basilica at Bolsena the tuff is cut into corridors that branch like a tree, lined with graves from the first Christian centuries, monograms and names still readable on the slabs.

How the day goes

  1. In from the basilica, past the altar of the Eucharistic Miracle that made the town's name.
  2. Down into the galleries, where the burials run in tiers along both walls.
  3. The antiquarium upstairs: oil lamps, vessels and inscribed marble brought up from below.
  4. Out onto Lake Bolsena, which starts at the bottom of the street.

Visits go in as small guided groups on the days it opens, so telephone ahead rather than arriving on spec.

Where it is

Bolsena at its real position from Rome, with everywhere else we list behind it — so you can see how far out this one is.

Bolsena, and where it is from Rome Bolsena drawn at its real position relative to Rome, about 114 minutes by car. The faint dots are the other places we list, so you can see how far out this one is. 114 min Rome Bolsena

Open it where the roads are

Takes you to Piazza Matteotti 9A, 01023 Bolsena VT, the address the operator publishes.

Getting there

Getting there, the comfortable way

  • 1 h 54drive from the middle of Rome
  • 142 kmeach way

  • 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

Also around Bolsena

A kitesurfer riding across the water with a power kite overhead On the water

Snorkelling Trip to the Lake Islands

Boat trip to swimming and snorkelling spots around Bisentina and Martana islands, plus coastal points away from the summer crowds.

See the day
Three sailing dinghies under way near a pier On the water

Lake Circumnavigation by Rib Boat

Full circuit of Lake Bolsena by rib boat from the Porto Turistico di Bolsena, calling at Bisentina and Martana islands with stops for swimming, snorkelling and lunch.

See the day

More under the ground

Stalactites lit inside a show cave Under the ground

Pastena caves

Walk into the hill on wet steps, in a guided group of no more than twelve.

€10 per person

Books on grottepastenacollepardo.it

See the day
Cavers with kit bags in a lit cave passage Under the ground

Speleo-canyoning in a hidden cave

A trip that combines caving with canyoning progression techniques: you walk through underground chambers, cross fixed sections and rope traverses with a helmet, harness and head…

See the day

We have not verified this one yet. Everything below comes from the operator and we have not checked it — treat it as a lead, not as a listing.

Photograph by Eddyl, Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0. Not this place: it shows what the day looks like, and will be replaced with the operator's own photograph or ours from the field.

Links marked affiliate pay us a commission — you pay the operator's own price and we never take your money. How we rank