Farnese Palace in Caprarola
1 h 30All ages; €2 reduced rateAll year, Tuesday to Sunday
Visit · 1 h 30 · €10 with the park · Vignola's pentagonal villa-fortress, with the royal staircase, the Map Room and rooms painted by the Zuccari
From Rome1 h 15 by car
Minimum time1 day
TicketsPalace €10 · Sacro Bosco €15
Best timeApril – June · September – November
What to do
What to do in Caprarola and Bomarzo
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, the Monster Park
1 h 30All ages; ages 4 to 13, €9All year; closed only on 25 December
Visit · 1 h 30 · €15 · A 16th-century wood with giants, an ogre, a leaning house and stone animals carved in the rock
The secret gardens and park of the Farnese Palace
1 hAll agesAll year; closes earlier in winter
Walk · 1 h · Included in the ticket · Terraced gardens, a woodland with fountains and the cardinal's summer palazzina
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Caprarola and Bomarzo, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Caprarola and Bomarzo
From April to June and from September to November: green gardens, temperatures for walking and, in October and November, the Cimini beech and chestnut woods in red. The Sacro Bosco opens every day of the year except Christmas; the palace, Tuesday to Sunday.
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How you travel
Caprarola and Bomarzo your way
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Fly to Rome and drive through the Cimini mountains
Caprarola and Bomarzo are reached by flying to Rome: there are direct flights to Fiumicino from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and to Ciampino from several. From Fiumicino it is about an hour and a quarter to Caprarola and an hour and a half to Bomarzo. Public transport does not link the two places in a day: hire a car at the airport or in Rome.
- Getting thereRome Fiumicino (FCO): hire car…
- Getting aroundCar: Caprarola, Lake Vico, Monte…
- Where to stayLa Valle di Vico, in…
- ServicesLake Vico reserve headquarters
Getting there
- Rome Fiumicino (FCO): hire car, ring road (GRA) and the Cassia towards Viterbo
- Rome Ciampino (CIA): hire car and the A1 towards Orte to start with Bomarzo
Getting around
- Car: Caprarola, Lake Vico, Monte Cimino and Bomarzo are less than forty minutes from one another
Where to stay
- La Valle di Vico, in the lake reserve
- Casale La Concia, next to the Sacro Bosco
Services
- Lake Vico reserve headquarters
By car through the Cimini mountains
A car is the only reasonable way to combine the Farnese palace and the Sacro Bosco in one day. The Cimini road crosses chestnut and beech woods, passes beside Lake Vico and climbs Monte Cimino. Parking is not a problem except on spring Sundays.
70–150 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to stayLa Valle di Vico, farm…
- Getting aroundRome–Caprarola, about an hour and…
- Where to eatTrattoria del Cimino, in Caprarola
- ServicesLake Vico reserve headquarters
Where to stay
- La Valle di Vico, farm stay with a pool beside the lake
- Casale La Concia, stone house next to the Bomarzo park
Getting around
- Rome–Caprarola, about an hour and a quarter
- Caprarola–Bomarzo, about 30 km
- Park below in Caprarola and walk up the Via Dritta
Where to eat
- Trattoria del Cimino, in Caprarola
- La Locanda del Mostro, inside the Sacro Bosco
Services
- Lake Vico reserve headquarters
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights3
Who you're with
Caprarola and Bomarzo for whoever you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Stone monsters and a palace of maps
Few trips from Rome please children as much as the Sacro Bosco: a wood full of giants, an ogre whose mouth you walk into and a crooked house. Combine it with Lake Vico for running about and eating outdoors, and leave the Farnese palace for when they can stand a visit.
- What works bestThe Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo…
- Where to stayLa Valle di Vico, with…
- Where to eatPicnic in the Sacro Bosco…
- Good to knowDogs may not enter the…
What works best
- The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, ages 4 to 13, €9
- Lake Vico, for eating on the shore
- The beech forest of Monte Cimino, an easy walk under the beeches
- The Map Room of the Farnese palace, with the painted maps
Where to stay
- La Valle di Vico, with apartments for up to six and a pool
- Casale La Concia, the whole house for six
Where to eat
- Picnic in the Sacro Bosco area, with tables and barbecues
- La Locanda del Mostro, inside the park
Good to know
- Dogs may not enter the Sacro Bosco: there are free kennels at the entrance
- The Farnese palace park closes at 16:00 in winter
What to do as a family
A strange garden, a volcano and a painted palace
With teenagers, the Sacro Bosco works because it is truly strange, and the Farnese palace because of the spiral staircase and the maps. To burn off energy, the climb of Monte Venere or the beech forest of Monte Cimino.
- What works bestThe Sacro Bosco: the leaning…
- Where to stayCasale La Concia, with an…
- Where to eatTrattoria del Cimino, with the…
- Good to knowThe palace and gardens take…
What works best
- The Sacro Bosco: the leaning house and the ogre
- The royal staircase and the Map Room of the Farnese palace
- The climb of Monte Venere, the volcano inside the crater of Lake Vico
- The beech forest of Monte Cimino, a World Heritage site
Where to stay
- Casale La Concia, with an outdoor jacuzzi
- La Valle di Vico, with a pool
Where to eat
- Trattoria del Cimino, with the hazelnut tart
Good to know
- The palace and gardens take a good hour and a half
- Monte Venere is half a day on the mountain: footwear and water
What to do with teenagers
Where to stay
Where to stay if you're flyingif you're driving
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
La Valle di Vico
Why we like it: Farm stay and B&B in the Lake Vico reserve, with nine apartments for two to six, a pool in the park and a hazelnut shop.
Casale La Concia
Why we like it: A stone house next to the entrance of the Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, with three bedrooms with bathroom, kitchen, private garden and outdoor jacuzzi; by the room or the whole house.
From €85
View details
Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Caprarola and Bomarzo
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Trattoria del Cimino
What to order: a home-made pasta with produce from the Cimini and Caprarola's hazelnut tart
La Locanda del Mostro
What to order: a simple meal halfway through the visit, or pizza on Friday or Saturday night
Map
Everything on the map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Nearby
Near Caprarola and Bomarzo
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
42.42° N · 12.11° E
Viterbo and Villa Lante
By carBy plane
42.21° N · 12.40° E
Calcata and the Treja Valley
42.63° N · 12.11° E
Civita di Bagnoregio
42.56° N · 11.93° E
Lake Bolsena and Tuscania
By planeBy car
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1The palace in the morning
It closes on Mondays, and the park closes early in winter. The Sacro Bosco stays open later.
- 2Caprarola hazelnuts
It's Roman hazelnut country: hazelnut cake at the trattoria and bags in the shops.
- 3With a dog, you can't enter the Sacro Bosco
There are free kennels at the entrance.
- 4Sunday is a good day
The palace, the Sacro Bosco and the Trattoria del Cimino open on Sunday.
Monday
The Farnese palace and the Trattoria del Cimino are closed.
Caprarola and Bomarzo are two faces of the Tuscia Renaissance, an hour and a quarter from Rome, in the Cimini mountains, in the north of Lazio. In Caprarola, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese built a pentagonal palace, half fortress and half villa, which crowns the whole village. Thirty kilometres away, in Bomarzo, his contemporary Vicino Orsini did the opposite: he filled a wood with monsters, giants and a crooked house carved in the rock. Between the two, Lake Vico, a volcanic crater ringed by beech and chestnut trees.
It's a day trip from Rome that works for anyone: the palace for those who come for the art, the Sacro Bosco for children and for those seeking something odd, and the lake and woods for eating outdoors. Nearby, in the same province, are Viterbo, with Villa Lante, and Civita di Bagnoregio, if you stay a night.
How do you get there from Rome?
By car, which is the practical way. To Caprarola, around an hour and a quarter along the Cassia to Monterosi and the Cimina. To Bomarzo, another hour and a quarter on the A1 motorway, exiting at Orte or Attigliano. Between Caprarola and Bomarzo it's about 30 km on the Cimini road, which passes beside Lake Vico; allow forty minutes. In Caprarola, park below and walk up; in Bomarzo, the park has free parking.
Without a car, regional buses don't let you combine the two in a day. If you don't drive, choose one, or look at Viterbo, which has a train from Rome.
What can you see in Caprarola?
The Farnese palace, by Vignola, from 1559 to 1575. Inside, a circular courtyard, the royal spiral staircase with its painted dome and rooms with frescoes by the Zuccari brothers, among them the Room of the World Map, with the world as known in the 16th century and a ceiling of constellations. Behind, the secret gardens and the park, with fountains and a summer casino. Arrive along Via Dritta, the straight street laid out to look up at the palace from below.
Afterwards, go down to Lake Vico, a 4,109-hectare nature reserve a few minutes away by car, and if you have the legs, climb Monte Venere, the volcano that grew inside the crater.
What can you see in Bomarzo?
The Sacro Bosco, the Park of the Monsters: an ogre with an open mouth, fighting giants, an elephant with a tower, a tortoise, a dragon and a tilted house in which you lose your balance, all carved from blocks of volcanic stone in the 16th century. It opens every day of the year except 25 December. On leaving, climb to the village and the Orsini palace.
Between the two villages, on top of Monte Cimino, the Monte Cimino beech forest has been a World Heritage Site since 2017.
How much time and when to go?
A full day covers both: the palace in the morning, lunch in Caprarola or by the lake and the Sacro Bosco in the afternoon, which closes later. With a night, you add the lake, Monte Cimino and the village of Bomarzo unhurried. April, May and June are the best months for the gardens; October and November, for the woods. In winter, note: the palace park closes at 16:00.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you see Caprarola and Bomarzo in one day?
Yes, by car: they're about 30 km apart, forty minutes through the Cimini mountains.
How much does the Farnese palace cost?
€10 with the park and gardens; €8 for the palace alone when the park is closed; reduced, €2.
How much does the Sacro Bosco cost?
€15 for adults and €9 for ages 4 to 13.
Can you go without a car?
Not on the same day: buses are scarce. The practical option is a hire car.
Can dogs enter the Sacro Bosco?
No; there are free kennels at the entrance.
Where should I sleep?
At the farm stay La Valle di Vico, beside the lake, or at Casale La Concia, next to the Sacro Bosco.