In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Tivoli is a €3 regional train from Roma Tiburtina, 50 minutes to an hour. It has two villas: Villa d’Este, a Renaissance garden of fountains a walk from the station (€15), and Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana), the emperor’s country palace on the plain below, reached by local bus. On Mondays Villa d’Este opens only at 14:00, so go on another day. Both close earlier in winter: last entry at Villa d’Este is 16:00 in November and December, and 15:30 at Hadrian’s Villa. Or book a tour: the Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa day tourad (from £55.71) links the two by coach, which saves working out the local bus.
Getting there on your own
Trenitalia’s times and fares, searched on 30 September 2026 for Tuesday 13 and Saturday 17 October. Regional fares are fixed.
| Leg | Train | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roma Tiburtina to Tivoli | Regional, direct | 50 minutes to 1 hour 11 | €3 |
- Morning trains from Tiburtina: 7:10 (arrives 8:07), 8:10 (9:00), 8:20 (9:20), 9:20 (10:18) and 11:10 (12:03), on weekdays and Saturdays alike.
- Trains back from Tivoli: 14:06, 14:38, 15:08, 16:05, 16:42, 17:21 and 18:04, about an hour to Tiburtina.
- From Termini, a few trains run direct: the 9:03 takes 47 minutes and costs €2.60 (Tuesday 13 October 2026).
- Roma Tiburtina is on metro line B.
- By coach: Cotral buses to Tivoli leave from Ponte Mammolo, also on metro line B, and stop at Largo delle Nazioni Unite, a few steps from Villa d’Este (villae.cultura.gov.it, 30 September 2026).
From Tivoli station, Villa d’Este is signposted on foot. For Hadrian’s Villa, take the local CAT bus 4 or 4X from the station; it stops in front of the entrance. Cotral’s Rome–Tivoli buses via the Via Prenestina stop about 300 m from Hadrian’s Villa (villae.cultura.gov.it, 30 September 2026).
Tours from Rome
A tour from Rome links the two villas by coach, which is the awkward part on your own. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price on 30 September 2026.
Both villas by coach
From £55.71 · 4.5 stars from 2,430 reviews
From Rome: Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa Tivoli Day Tourad visits the gardens of Villa d’Este and the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa, with the coach between them and back to Rome.
Transport and entry tickets
From £51.43 · 4.5 stars from 294 reviews · 6 hours
From Rome: Round-trip Tivoli Transfer with Entry Ticketsad is the return transport from Rome with entry tickets to both villas, and leaves you to explore them on your own.
Both villas, with lunch
From £81.42 · 4.4 stars from 490 reviews · 7 hours
From Rome: Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa Tour with Lunchad adds lunch at a restaurant in Tivoli.
The ticket alone costs more on GetYourGuide
A skip-the-line Villa d’Este ticketad sells from £25.71. The official ticket is €15, about £13 at the ECB rate of 29 September 2026 (€1 = £0.857), at the gate or from the villas’ official seller, MidaTicket.
Villa d’Este
€15 · ticket office at Piazza Trento 5 · Mondays from 14:00
Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este’s villa, whose garden is built round water: by the Ministry of Culture’s count, 50 fountains, 255 waterfalls and 100 basins, fed through a 600 m tunnel dug under the town from the river Aniene (cultura.gov.it, 30 September 2026). The Fountain of the Organ plays its water-driven organ every two hours from 10:30.
The Organ Fountain at Villa d’Este. Photo: Anna Eden 86, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Month | Entry | Gardens close |
|---|---|---|
| October, until the clocks change on 25 October 2026 | 8:30 to 17:30 | 18:30 |
| Late October, after the clocks change | 8:30 to 16:30 | 17:30 |
| November to January | 8:30 to 16:00 | 17:00 |
| February | 8:30 to 16:30 | 17:30 |
| March, until the clocks change | 8:30 to 17:15 | 18:15 |
| March, after the clocks change | 8:30 to 18:15 | 19:15 |
| April | 8:30 to 18:30 | 19:30 |
| May to August | 8:30 to 18:45 | 19:45 |
| September | 8:30 to 18:15 | 19:15 |
- Mondays: opens at 14:00. On a Monday public holiday it opens at 8:45 instead, and the Tuesday after opens at 14:00.
- Closed on 1 January and 25 December.
- Free on the first Sunday of the month, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November, and for women on 8 March.
- Busy days: entry can be limited and some rooms closed. You leave by the gate on Piazza Campitelli.
- After heavy rain the fountains can be switched off while the Aniene is high.
Hours from villae.cultura.gov.it, 30 September 2026.
The Hundred Fountains at Villa d’Este. Photo: Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Hadrian’s Villa
Ticket office at Largo Marguerite Yourcenar 1 · open every day
The country palace the emperor Hadrian built between 118 and 138 AD: baths, fountain houses, pavilions and gardens spread over at least 120 hectares, joined by underground roads for the servants (midaticket.it, 30 September 2026). It is a big, uneven site of paths and slopes, so wear walking shoes.
The Canopus pool at Hadrian’s Villa. Photo: Carole Raddato, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
| Month | Entry | Site closes |
|---|---|---|
| October, until the clocks change on 25 October 2026 | 8:30 to 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Late October, after the clocks change | 8:30 to 16:00 | 17:30 |
| November to January | 8:30 to 15:30 | 17:00 |
| February | 8:30 to 16:00 | 17:30 |
| March, until the clocks change | 8:30 to 17:00 | 18:30 |
| March, after the clocks change, to September | 8:30 to 18:00 | 19:30 |
- Closed on 1 January and 25 December. Free on the same days as Villa d’Este.
- Some areas can be closed for restoration; the ticket office says which.
- Tickets are sold at the entrance and online from MidaTicket.
A day, hour by hour
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 8:10 | Regional train from Roma Tiburtina, arriving in Tivoli at 9:00 |
| Morning | CAT bus 4 or 4X from the station to Hadrian’s Villa |
| Early afternoon | Back up to the town; lunch in Tivoli |
| Afternoon | Villa d’Este and its fountains, catching the organ at 14:30 or 16:30 |
| 16:05 to 18:04 | Trains back to Tiburtina, about an hour |
Visit Hadrian’s Villa first: the big open site is in the cooler morning, and the gardens come in the afternoon. On a Monday, when Villa d’Este opens at 14:00, this is the only order that works.
Combining it with somewhere else
Tivoli is one of the day trips from Rome: the same page compares Pompeii, Florence and Orvieto on train time and cost. For a shorter trip, Ostia Antica is a 26-minute city train to a Roman port town. If Tivoli is your fourth day, the 3-day Rome itinerary plans the first three. For what to book in Rome itself, see what to book before you go.
Common questions
How do I get from Rome to Tivoli by train?
Regional trains leave Roma Tiburtina, on metro line B, for Tivoli about once an hour in the morning; the journey takes 50 minutes to 1 hour 11 and the fare is €3. From Tivoli station you walk up to Villa d'Este. Hadrian's Villa is below the town: take local CAT bus 4 or 4X from the station, which stops at its entrance.
How much is a ticket to Villa d'Este?
€15, or €2 reduced, from the Ministry of Culture's listing on 30 September 2026. Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month, on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November, and for women on 8 March.
Is Villa d'Este open on Mondays?
Only in the afternoon: it opens at 14:00 on Mondays. On a Monday that is a public holiday it opens at 8:45, and the following Tuesday opens at 14:00. It is closed on 1 January and 25 December.
Can you see Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa in one day?
Yes, but they are separate sites with separate tickets, Villa d'Este in the town on the hill and Hadrian's Villa on the plain below, linked by local bus. Tours from Rome with lunch visit both in about 7 hours.
