The cold months
Winter is the season this country is best at, and almost nobody comes for it.
50 things to book24 placesthe nearest is in Rome itself
The single best day out of Rome is a cold clear one at a hot spring. The water is the same temperature it always is, the air is not, and the steam comes off the surface in sheets. In August the same pool is merely warm; in January it is extraordinary, and there is nobody in it.
The rest follows the same logic. The hill towns belong to the people who live in them again. The light is hard and clean and you can see the sea from the Castelli. The caves and the underground towns are exactly as they were in July. And an hour east there is snow, with snowshoes and a couple of small ski areas.
Two honest notes. Some small operators and family places take a winter break, so the phone call matters more than usual. And the days are short: plan one thing, not three.
What winter actually changes is who else is there. The hill towns belong to the people who live in them, the thermal pools have four people in them instead of forty, the estates have time to talk to you, and the archaeological sites — which in July are an endurance test in full sun — are a pleasure to walk round. Nothing about the country is worse; only the daylight is shorter.
The light is the underrated part. After rain the air over the Castelli goes completely clear and you can see the sea from the crater rim, which does not happen in the summer haze. January and February are when you can see furthest, and the low sun on stone towns at three in the afternoon is a different thing from the flat glare of August.
Two adjustments and the season works. Plan one thing rather than three, because the useful daylight runs to about five. And ring ahead rather than turning up: some family operations take a winter break, several museums shorten their hours, and the phone call that would be optional in June is the one that saves the drive in January.
Free open-air pools and built spas. Cold air, hot sulphur water, steam — the best version of this day is in the coldest weather you can find.
Closest to Rome first. Never by who pays us.
In the hot waterThree hours in a spa set in a cave, reserved for one party at a time, in the old centre of Ariccia.
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In the hot waterA day pass to the thermal spa fed by the sulphurous Acque Albule springs on the road between Rome and Tivoli.
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In the hot waterSix pools at a steady 23°C, and the station is right behind the park.
€16 per person
Books on termediroma.org
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In the hot waterSulphur pools open till 18:30, and the operator publishes the train to get there.
€12 per person
Books on Terme Sabine di Cretone
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In the hot waterThree large sulphur-water pools, one of them for children, continuously fed with fresh water, in the countryside of Palombara Sabina about 30 km from Rome.
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In the hot waterThe medical side of the Ferentino thermal centre: inhalation cures for the respiratory system, treatments for the locomotor system and rehabilitation, using the sulphurous water…
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In the hot waterA thermal day spa at Ferentino built on a sulphurous hot spring.
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In the hot waterA wellness session in an apiary set inside the beech forest of the Simbruini park, built on apitherapy practices: bee humming, api-aromatherapy and api-sound.
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In the hot waterA three-hour late-afternoon slot in the Stigliano thermal park, from 17:00 to 20:00, that combines the pools and thermal lakes with an aperitivo.
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In the hot waterA full day, 10:00 to 20:00, with access to the whole spa and the outdoor thermal park.
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In the hot waterDay access to the outdoor thermal park at Stigliano, in the countryside of Canale Monterano about 50 km from Rome.
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In the hot waterA five-hour morning slot, 10:00 to 15:00, with the sauna, salt room, infrared rooms, cold chamber, sensory showers, the heated indoor pool, the thermal basin and the outdoor the…
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In the hot waterFive hours in a thermal park, and cold weather is the reason to go.
€25 per person
Books on termedistigliano.it
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In the hot waterThe second thermal park at Fiuggi, also called Fonte Nova, laid out among sequoias, chestnut trees, small bridges, ponds and flower beds.
See the daySnowshoeing in the Simbruini and on the Terminillo, cross-country tracks and lessons. Conditions are what they are: the guides know, and their number is on the card.
Best fit for this section first, then whatever you can book today. Closest to Rome breaks a tie. Never by who pays us.
On the trailGuided snowshoe outings on off-trail routes in the Simbruini, with TSL snowshoes and winter Nordic walking poles included in the price, sanitised after each use.
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On the trailGuided snowshoe walks in the snow-covered woods of the Monti Simbruini, on routes of different difficulty from beginner outings on packed snow to longer hikes.
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On the trailCross-country skiing lessons on the FISI-approved loops at Monte Livata and on the touring route linking Campo dell'Osso to Monna dell'Orso.
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On the trailGuided snowshoe outings on Monte Terminillo, with occasional itineraries on the Gran Sasso, Monti della Laga and Monti del Cicolano.
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On the trailA snowshoe route from near Campoforgna through snow-covered beech woods to the Rifugio Sebastiani and the Sella di Leonessa, led by two qualified environmental hiking guides.
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On the trailA morning snowshoe hike from Pian de' Valli with an AIGAE environmental hiking guide.
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On the trailLessons at Pian de' Valli from the largest ski school in Lazio, founded in 1960, with forty instructors covering alpine skiing, snowboard and nordic skiing.
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On the trailGuided snowshoe outings on Monte Terminillo run by a company of qualified hiking guides, in a plain version and in a version ending with dinner in a mountain refuge.
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On the trailSnowshoes, poles and a guide are included: you turn up and walk onto the snow.
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Off roadA two-hour guided quad ride after dark from Campaegli across to Livata and Campo dell'Osso, the ski area of the Monti Simbruini.
See the dayCaves, cellars, museums, abbeys and underground towns. None of them notice the weather, and several are warmer than the street.
Closest to Rome first. Never by who pays us.
Under the groundA six-hour guided day around the underground hydraulic works of the Lake Nemi basin — horizontal wells and tunnels, some still carrying water.
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Under the groundA guided visit to the cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata at Anagni and its museum: the chapter library, the old treasury, the Caetani chapel, the oratory of Saint Thomas Becket…
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Under the groundThe tourist office of Orte runs guided descents into the tunnels under the old town: the Etruscan-Roman aqueduct, the medieval dovecote and the snow well, and on the third weeke…
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Under the groundA 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…
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Under the groundA guided visit to natural caves inside the Monti Simbruini park, wearing a helmet and head torch, through tunnels and narrow passages.
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Under the groundInside the Lacus, a vaulted thirteenth-century room under Piazza Garibaldi, an indoor adventure course with rope bridges, a zip line and an artificial climbing wall, built with …
A sports club — you join them for the day
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Under the groundA guided visit to the rooms under the former convent of San Domenico: a frescoed church, a Roman cistern and the cell used by the Holy Office, whose graffiti are still being res…
A sports club — you join them for the day
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Under the groundA combined visit: the Ruspoli castle and its gardens, then the tunnels dug under Vignanello known as 'I Connutti'.
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Under the groundA caving trip on foot through the active branch of the Falvaterra system, walking in water at about 14-15 degrees.
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Under the groundThe longer caving route through the active Falvaterra system.
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Under the groundA short guided walk along an underground river inside the Falvaterra and Rio Obaco natural monument.
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Under the groundA viewing visit to a karst sinkhole about 60 metres deep and roughly 300 metres wide, formed when the roof of a cave collapsed.
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Under the groundA one-hour guided route covering about a kilometre of tunnels under Viterbo plus entry to the Templar Museum, with a tasting of local products.
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Under the groundA 25-minute walk through about 250 metres of tunnels cut into the tufa under Piazza della Morte, on two levels at three and eight metres below the square, lit by LEDs.
See the dayThe season for the food that takes hours. Cellars, mills, farm kitchens and the towns around them, with the summer crowds gone.
Closest to Rome first. Never by who pays us.
With your handsA morning in the apiary inside the Veio regional park: watching how the bees live and work, then a guided tasting of several honeys, millefiori, chestnut and honeydew, led by th…
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With your handsA working farm inside Rome, ten minutes from the Appia Antica park, with hectares of cultivated land and farm animals.
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With your handsAn organic farm inside Rome producing organic wine, olive oil and grapes.
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With your handsAbout two hours led by the brewer or one of the partners: a walk through the hop rows and the fields, the brewery itself, and a guided tasting of three beers chosen on the day a…
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With your handsThe estate sits in an eighteenth-century casale on a hill at Monte Porzio Catone, thirty hectares of Frascati DOCG vineyard in front and the skyline of Rome beyond.
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With your handsVilla Simone at Monte Porzio Catone sells six tastings that can be booked and paid on its own site, from a wine-only flight to wine with food.
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With your handsA private visit that starts in the vineyard and ends in the eighteenth-century rooms of the estate, led by a dedicated sommelier or by the owners.
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With your handsA wine tasting in the cellar which can be combined with a massage.
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With your handsAbout two hours of truffle hunting in the hills with the truffle dogs, then a seven-course truffle lunch at the host's home with wine from his own production.
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With your handsMetro C to the end of the line, two hours hunting, then a seven-course lunch.
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With your handsCut the grapes yourself. The window opens 1 September and shuts 15 October.
€40 per person
Books on Casale Mattia
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With your handsThe estate has a dedicated events and tastings page on its own site.
See the dayDriving time from the middle of Rome, on the road network and without traffic. It tells you whether the day stands up; it is not a timetable.
Getting there
The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.
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 LocalrentYou come out of the water warm and slow, which is a bad state to drive back in.
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 PickupsIt is the season with the biggest gap between what people expect and what they get. Hot springs in cold air, empty towns, clear light, and prices that are not summer prices.
Not usually in the city, and regularly in the mountains an hour east — the Simbruini and the Terminillo have snowshoe guides and small ski areas. How much and when varies year to year, which is why the guides are the ones to ask.
Most of the year-round places, yes; some family-run ones close for a stretch. We do not republish opening dates we have not verified, and every card carries the operator's own number for exactly this.
Whatever you are happy walking twenty metres in when it is five degrees, plus flip-flops and a towel. At the free open-air pools there is often no changing room at all.
Hot springs, which are at their best in cold air; the caves and underground towns, which do not have a season; snow an hour and a bit east in the Simbruini and on the Terminillo; and long lunches in hill towns that have their streets back. The four grids above are those four things.
Mild on the coast and in the city, properly cold up in the hills and mountains, and the difference between the two is bigger than the map suggests. Dress for the altitude of where you are going rather than for the forecast in Rome.
Some family-run places take a break and some museums shorten their hours; the thermal parks, the caves and much of the guided walking carry on through the winter, and where an operator publishes a season it is on the card. We do not republish opening dates we have not verified, and every card carries the operator's own number for exactly this.
In hot sulphur water, yes, and it is the single best day out of the city in cold weather. The sea is a different question and the answer is no for most people. The first grid above is a selection of the thermal pools we list — the full list is longer than fits one page.
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