Day trip to the Etruscan necropolises: tombs like houses in the morning, painted tombs in the afternoon.

The Etruscan necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia are World Heritage together, and together they make sense: in Cerveteri you see what the tombs were like, dug out like houses; in Tarquinia, how they were painted. This day joins them by car, with the morning at the Banditaccia, lunch in Tarquinia and the afternoon between the museum and the painted tombs.

The day, hour by hour

8:15 · Leave Rome. A12 motorway towards Civitavecchia, Cerveteri-Ladispoli exit. About 45 minutes to the necropolis, which has parking.

9:00 · Banditaccia necropolis. Buy the circuit of the four sites of the park, €21, valid for four months; under-18s do not pay. Walk the Via dei Sepolcri between the tumuli and go into the open tombs; do not miss the Tomb of the Reliefs. Two and a half hours.

11:45 · To Tarquinia. About 45 minutes by the A12 and the Aurelia. Park outside the walls.

12:45 · Lunch at Namo Ristobottega. Seasonal cooking with Tuscia produce, recommended by the Michelin Guide. In winter it opens at lunchtime Tuesday to Sunday; in summer, dinner only: then eat at Arcadia, next to the museum.

14:30 · Tarquinia National Museum. In the Palazzo Vitelleschi: the winged horses, the sarcophagi and, on the top floor, the reconstructed painted tombs.

16:00 · Monterozzi necropolis. About 2 km from the centre. Go down to the tombs by the stairs of the huts and look at the paintings behind the glass. In winter the last admission is at 16:00: do not be late.

17:15 · Santa Maria in Castello. Sunset at the end of the hill, with the sea in front.

18:00 · Return. About an hour and a quarter to Rome.

With children and teenagers

Under-18s go in free. They like the Banditaccia more: you go into the tombs and run among the tumuli. In Tarquinia, if they get tired, stay with the museum and skip Monterozzi.