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OSTIA ANTICA
At the EPT office in Via Parigi 5 (near the line A metro stop Repubblica) you can find a brochure about Ostia Antica. Getting there is easy. From the metro station Magliana, on line B, take the train and get off at Ostia Antica. Conveniently there is a list of the stations in each train over the doors.
To get to excavations walk straight out of the station and cross the busy main road by the pedestrian foot bridge. On the other side of the bridge there is a bar selling sandwiches and cold drinks.
It is advisable to take a picnic as you won't find a bar on site. Surrounded by the silent and beautiful remains of the ancient port of Ostia it could be one of the most enjoyable days out of the busy city centre.
HADRIAN'S VILLA
A few lines are insufficient to describe one of the most wonderful archaeological sites that you can visit during your stay in Rome: the villa of the emperor Hadrian near modern Tivoli.
I'm sure your guide book will help you with what there is to see there. The villa was begun in 118 A.D. while the emperor Hadrian was away from Rome visiting the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. Its construction took ten years and was the favourite residence of the emperor. He lived there for the last years of his life. Today the villa is a beautiful and peaceful park of ruins which were once the libraries, porticos, baths of the emperor's household eighteen centuries ago.
Again take along sandwiches and drinks for a snack lunch.
As there are no frequent direct coaches to Hadrian's villa it is advisable to take the bus to Tivoli and get off along the main road (Via Tiburtina) near the entrance to the Villa (ask the driver exactly where). There is then about a 1 Km walk to the entrance and the ticket office. Coaches for Tivoli leave Rebibbia, the terminus of metro line B, every 10 minutes. A return ticket costs 6.000 lire and can be bought from a kiosk at the bus station.
In November the opening times are 9am-4pm when the ticket office closes. The gate closes at 5pm.
Tickets costs lire 8.000 but the entrance is fre if under 18 or over 60 years aged.
VILLA D'ESTE (TIVOLI)
Follow the same itinerary as for Hadrian's villa but, obviosely, stay on the bus until the centre of Tivoli. The Villa d'Este and its water-gardens are open everyday from 9am to 5pm.
The ticket office closes at 4:15pm. Entrance costs lire 8.000 but the visit is free for under 18s and over 60s (an identity document is required if this is not obvious!)
CERVETERI
Coaches to Cerveteri leave regularly from Via Lepanto coach station (metro line A or bus number 280 from Viale Trastevere or from Piazza Mancini).
The destination of each blue coach is clearly marked on the windscreen. A bus timetable can be found on the drivers' kiosk window.
VITERBO
Whilst the Baroque period changed the appearance of much of medieval Rome, many villages in the countryside preserved their medieval aspect. Viterbo is a good example, located about 70 km N-NW of Rome. There you can walk among sites which haven't changed their appearence for the last 6 centuries as for example the area of San Pellegrino. Here the entire urban structure of medieval Viterbo has survived. Trains leave San Pietro station (Via Stazione di San Pietro; tel. 631391) and Flaminio train station (metro line A).
By car, takeing the Via Cassia from Corso Francia, it's about one hour drive. On the way you'll get to the lake of Vico where, on the hills above the west shore, there are beautiful walks. From there you can then drive through the pretty village of San Martino al Cimino.
On your return from Viterbo back to Rome it could be worth taking the Via Ortana, past Bomarzo and its famous Park of the Monsters, and then take the motorway back to Rome.
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