City: Lazio
Top Things to do in Lazio
Top 10 Ancient Ruins in Lazio, Italy
Lazio (UK: /ˈlætsioʊ/, US: /ˈlɑːtsioʊ/; Italian: [ˈlatsjo]; Latin: Latium) is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has almost 5.9 million inhabitants – making it the second most populated region of Italy (after Lombardy and just a little ahead of Campania) – and its GDP of more than 170 billion euros per annum means that it has the nation's second largest regional economy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also Italy's capital and the country's largest city.
Restaurants in Lazio
1. Villa Adriana
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,290 reviews
This is an exceptional complex of classical buildings built in the 2nd century AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which reproduces the best elements of the cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an "ideal city."
Reviewed By Fazziefritz - York, United Kingdom
What a site(sight)! For 1 Euro 30 we purchased a bus ticket to the stop in Tivoli for Hadrian’s Villa. We caught the bus from the ponte de Mammalo stop on the B metro line. The driver of the bus stopped at a stop which was signposted for the Villa Adriana. Following the signs we arrived at the villa’s ticket office after a 20 minute walk.The walk was well worth the effort. Paying 10 euros each and another 5 euros for a mobile commentary we entered the grounds of the emperor’s Villa. Take your time looking at the model of the Villa because it gives you a great impression of the sheer size of the place. There are about 27 information boards dotted around the grounds giving you information about the building or scene you are looking at. Be prepared to do do a lot of walking if you want to explore. Hadrian’s visionary Villa. Having refreshments to hand would be a good idea and there are plenty of seating areas to enjoy your picnic. We returned to Rome using the same route, after purchasing our ticket from a tobacconist near the bus stop. We were surprised to find we had spent a good 3 hours enjoyed visiting this iconic historical site.
2. Palatine Hill
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24,994 reviews
The commercial, political and religious center of ancient Rome, which features the Arch of Septimus Severus, Temple of Saturn, Arch of Titus and the House of the Vestals.
Reviewed By genie26c - Plymouth, United Kingdom
I would certainly advise pre-booking your tickets, or join a group tour to avoid the very long queues and group tours get to use a separate entrance too, which makes it even easier. We'd just been on an express tour of the Colosseum with 'Tour in the City' and wanted to see the Palentine Hill and Forum as well (your Colosseum ticket includes entry to Palentine Hill and Forum) so our Colosseum guide was able to arrange for us go with another tour company that they are affiliated with ('Fun Tours'), which meant we were able to get into the Palentine Hill/Forum and also tag onto that tour too - which was really informative and didn't take too long, maybe about 45 mins. Then we were left to our own devices. The Palentine Hill is surprisingly tranquil and has some beautiful views. it wasn't crowded and it was nice to simply walk about and take in the scenery and history of everything at our own pace. Thoroughly enjoyed it here and if we'd been a bit more organised, it would have been nice to bring refreshments/food and find a quiet place to sit and have a picnic.
3. Domus Aurea
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,324 reviews
The imperial estate of Nero was built in 64AD, which is comprised of a series of pavilions, set in an articulated garden with an artificial lake in its center.
Reviewed By Lesleyjane71 - Kent, United Kingdom
If you love archaeology and Ancient Rome is your thing, and if you are lucky enough to visit Rome over the course of a weekend then please do make sure you book for a guided visit of Domus Aurea. It is only open on a Saturday and Sunday and tickets must be booked on line, which can be a little daunting but well worth it. Despite what some people have written, the site entrance is easy enough to find. Head to the Piazza Del Colosseo and if you use the Oppio Café and the metro across from the Colosseum as your marker you can not go wrong. Turn Left and take a very short walk up the hill to the entrance of a Parco delle Colle Oppio. As you go in the entrance turn left and walk about 50 paces and you will see the entrance to the Domus Aurea and there will be guides and assistants waiting. Ignore the positioning of it on google maps. It will through you right of course! If you are early, do not be scared to walk around the park, there are fine ruins there of Trajan's baths which sit atop the buried ruins of the Domus. For some reason, people think that this is the Domus it is not. Yes there are some refugees sleeping in the park but to be honest they pose no threat. In fact you are more than likely to see them cleaning up the place. The area is full of dog walkers and runners and as a single female traveller, I felt absolutely safe in there. So now that the whereabouts of the entrance has hopefully been demystified, on to the visit. You go in your designated time group and don fetching hairnets and hard hats before being led underground by one of the archaeologists fortunate enough to work at the site and who will be very passionate about their work, so some may find this a little boring others will relish it. To be able to traverse the corridors of a fraction of this once vast and oppulent palace is phenominal. It is damp but well lit so take a light weight jacket or sweater, you may need it. You are free to take as many photos as you like. The VR is amazing and puts you right in the heart of the palace as it may once have been as well as giving you an idea of what the view across Rome from here would have been like. Word of advise, if you are light sensitive or suffer a bit of vertigo or balance problems then the VR headset is likely to make you feel a bit weasy. I had to lift mine up a few times just to get my head back straight. You are sitting down for the VR session so don't panic and it is well worth persevering with. You carry on with your tour and it is hard to believe that you are walking in the footsteps of Nero no matter how sadistic and twisted he was. There are a few wall frescos still visible, the rest having been removed to safe them from being completely ruined by the damp. Unfortnatuely they have now desided not excavate further as the cost of preserving the rest of the underground network of rooms and corridors is just to expensive both in monetary terms, manpower and the tecnologies needed to keep it from deteriorating but please rest assured, what you see is well worth it. Have a great trip!
4. Necropoli della Banditaccia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 896 reviews
Necropolis of Cerveteri A major centre of Etruscan civilisation that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the Necropolis stretches for more than two kilometres. This certainly makes it the most imposing in all Etruria and one of the most magnificent monuments of its kind anywhere in the Mediterranean basin. These monumental tombs are located inside tumuli, partly cut into the tufa rock and partly built over it. The purpose of theseedifices was to illustrate the desire of a handful of aristocratic families to make a statement about their wealth and to perpetuate a lifestyle of the highest quality also after death. This may explain the abundance of luxury goods found in these tombs, such as tableware made of precious metal, goldsmith’s work, illustrated vases, bronzes and pieces imported from Greece and the Near East, as well as weapons, belts, razors, buckles and jewellery. The interiors are eerily evocative, imitating the houses where their occupants spent their lives, with several rooms, shaped doors and windows, columns and pillars, beamed and coffered ceilings, furnishings, funerary beds and sometimes grave goods. It is also interesting to visit the tombs known locally as a dado(like dice), which describes how they line the streets of the necropolis in regular patterns, looking uncannily like a modern housing estate. Discover how the tombs come to life!
Reviewed By ujio
A jump in the past! it is very well kept, and very large, you can spend hours looking and taking pictures of this fascinating site!
5. Necropoli di Tarquinia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,329 reviews
Reviewed By AndMafArt - London, United Kingdom
Incredible experience. Frescos that are 2500 years and are beautifully preserved. A very interesting visit, surrounded by nature.
6. Vulci
7. Villa of Tiberius
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 681 reviews
Reviewed By N_E_Mids - Birmingham, United Kingdom
A quiet, inexpensive attraction on the coast at Sperlonga. Very much enjoyed a visit here, and the walk along the beach to get there. A must-see when visiting the area.
8. Terme Taurine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 172 reviews
Reviewed By B9283SCjohnd - London, United Kingdom
What a find. You can completely submerse yourself in this place. It's quiet and peaceful, yet the site has wonderfully preserved features. One of the highlights of our trip.
9. Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,410 reviews
Present day site of sprawling ruins of a densely populated Roman city at the mouth of the river Tiber.
Reviewed By patrickn775 - London, United Kingdom
After days of rain the weather broke and we headed for Ostia. It is a short journey from central Rome by Metro, with one change to an overground line. The site is a five minute walk from the station. This ancient town was once the port hub for goods from across the Roman Empire and must have been a busy commercial town. This is in evidence in the many Horea, or warehouse complexes dotted around. The site is vast with many buildings easily recognisable from antiquity. Highlights for me included a smart Tabernae that could almost still be serving wine and snacks today. Shopping arcades, designated emporia selling fish (with marble tanks), a complete theatre behind which is a big piazza with mosaics identifying each guild where merchants did business and deals were made. It is different from Pompeii where the dramatic death and destruction visited on a whole city over two days makes for a sometimes chilling but utterly compelling visit. The crowds are can be daunting there but you can still find quiet spots off the main tracks. However, I would say nearby Herculaneum is an even more unmissable visit with stunning, vivid colour and survival of wooden furniture and roofs plus even paper scrolls from the boiling mud and the dead still situ. Ostia feels far more alive than both, however, even though the former were frozen in time—Vesuvius’ devastation took a heavy toll. At Ostia Antica the crowds when we went were totally absent. Much of the site we had entirely to ourselves. You will need a map and the talk through device if you are to make your visit work. The site is cheap to visit and deserves more support than it gets. Let your imagination take over and enjoy this big, rare ancient marvel for its superb preservation, diversity of architecture and critical role in feeding, clothing and building of Ancient Rome.
10. District Archaeological Minturnae
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 159 reviews
Reviewed By AngeloP_SF - San Francisco, United States
Heard about this marvelous place and spent a couple of hours from Rome to get there: worth every minute! The site is very well maintained, clean, and all the historic stuff is amazing. The amphitheater and the columns along the main road are amazing. Strongly advised
