ITALY BLOG SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2025 - TIVOLI

 

9/3/25– This will be our last full day in Rome, and there’s no better way to spend it than with a daytrip to Tivoli. We eat our breakfast and walk the ten minutes to Termini Train Station around 8:35am.

Initially, we get turned around going down into the metro area before realizing the train station is a bit further ahead. We rush to make sure we don’t miss our 9:03am train only to find it’s delayed and still waiting for a platform number. In fact, it doesn’t even arrive until several minutes past the time. All of us are waiting at the board and when the platform number is finally announced, it’s a mad rush to the train for the better seats. At least we know how this system works for when we are back here tomorrow.

   

The train takes around forty-five minutes with six stops and we are on our way to explore. Our first destination is toward Villa Gregoriana as it’s only six minutes away. When we reach the entrance we realize it’s a huge hiking area with waterfalls and trails (not something we want to kill our legs over at the moment), so we continue on.

Next up is the Temple of the Sybil. Nestled through a winding path of this medieval town, it’s quite interesting as we navigate the stone mason archways and dodge a few cars coming down the narrow corridors. Soon enough we see the temple columns looming overhead like it’s a hidden oasis overlooking the valley. Sadly, it seems to be blocked to enter with half of the grounds sectioned off by the local restaurant.

We continue walking toward Tivoli Cathedral, which is a bit of an uphill and downhill trek through the heart of town. When we arrive we find it eerily empty. Come to think of it the entire town seems to be pretty dead right now. Interesting.

We walk through the large, wooden door and are taken back by how elaborate it is inside. I mean, we’ve seen better cathedrals but I wasn’t expecting this in Tivoli to be honest. It becomes a great resting spot for us to rejuvenate our legs, spending a good half hour doing so. Side trick: when sitting down in a place that has marble floors, take off your shoes if possible and enjoy the cool, numbing sensation. It feels so good on sore feet.  

Ready to tackle the rest of the day, we journey another ten minutes or so to Villa d’Este. This is the one thing here that has a ticket cost and looks pretty massive on the map. Upon entering the museum section, we soon see the vast hillside in the distance and a decent view of town. This has already become worth the money.

Soon, we are led downstairs to the garden and even more amazed over the lush green paths and splendid waterfalls thrown around. Upon getting a closer look, we notice one waterfall has a tunnel that wraps around the backside, allowing us to go completely behind it. We take turns snapping slow-motion videos of the falls as it trickles and sprays out into the fountain.

We then venture further down and walk the garden paths for a spell before climbing back up toward the main building, where we buy what we thought was an ice coffee but turns out to be mocha ice cream in a cup. It is good regardless. With our time complete, we jump on the trenitalia app to purchase the return train ticket to Rome and walk fifteen minutes to the station. On the way we find a large castle lurking almost out of place. It’s closed to the public so a picture is all we are able to get.

Finally, we reach the train station with still time to sit and relax. It takes roughly fifty minutes for the return journey and stumble into our hotel room ready for the day to be over. Overall, I’m pleased with our time here in Rome and happy to be able to find more interesting things to do that we missed before.