42.56° N · 11.93° E
Europe's largest volcanic lake, with beaches, Bisentina island by boat and the Rocca of Bolsena, and the Romanesque churches of Tuscania, two hours from Rome.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Boat and visit · 2 h 30 to 3 h · €20 · The Farnese island in Lake Bolsena, with churches and chapels among woodland
Visit · 45 min · The great Romanesque church on the Etruscan hill, with a rose-window façade, frescoes and a crypt of columns; by reservation
Museum · 1 h · The castle above the village, with finds from the lake, Roman Volsinii, an aquarium of lake fish and views from the towers
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
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
From May to September for swimming in the lake, and from April to October for Bisentina island, which opens from 5 April to 1 November. In August many Romans arrive; in spring and autumn the churches of Tuscania and the villages are almost empty.
How you travel
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.
Lake Bolsena and Tuscania 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 130 km to Bolsena, about an hour and three quarters by car. Public transport to the lake shore is scarce, so the practical thing is to pick up a car at the airport or leave Rome in a hire car.
A car is the way to see the lake and Tuscania in a day or a weekend: Bolsena, Capodimonte, Marta and Tuscania are less than half an hour from one another on quiet roads, and parking is easy outside August.
Who 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.
Bolsena is a summer plan with children that is much calmer than the sea: fresh water, beaches that deepen gradually and a boat to an island with chapels in the woods.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Four-star hotel on the Bolsena lakefront, 50 m from the beach and 400 from the old town, with 36 rooms, a garden and free parking.
Why we like it: Hotel in the centre of Bolsena, next to the basilica of Santa Cristina and close to the lake, with family rooms, private parking and a lake restaurant.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a lake fish, such as coregone, and house pasta
What to order: the coffee tagliolini with prawns and porcini, or the grilled meat
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.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
42.63° N · 12.11° E
42.42° N · 12.11° E
By carBy plane
42.72° N · 12.11° E
Car-freeBy carBy plane
42.41° N · 12.24° E
By planeBy car
Tips
Bisentina is booked on its website; San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore, by phone.
Even if you're coming for the churches, a swim in the lake rounds off the day nicely.
The lake museum, the Tuscania museum and the island are closed.
Whitefish, eel and perch: order them in Bolsena.
Buses are scarce and you lose the day waiting. Without a car, choose Orvieto or Viterbo.
Lake Bolsena fills the crater of an ancient volcano in the north of Lazio, in the Tuscia, about 115 km from Rome. It's the largest volcanic lake in Europe: more than 40 kilometres of shoreline, clean fresh water, two islands and medieval villages peering over the water. To the south-west, twenty minutes by car, Tuscania is a small Etruscan and medieval town with two of Italy's great Romanesque churches, San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore.
It's a day trip from Rome very different from the classics: no queues and no major monuments, but a lake to swim in, a boat to an island and unhurried villages. It works in summer, when Romans come to swim, and in spring and autumn, with the churches to yourself. With a night, you can combine it with Civita di Bagnoregio or with Orvieto, on the other side of the lake.
By car, around an hour and three quarters to Bolsena: along the Cassia, which is the old road, or the A1 motorway to Orvieto and down to the lake. Tuscania is about 95 km from Rome via the Cassia and Vetralla. Within the area, everything is under half an hour away: Bolsena to Capodimonte, about 20 km along the shore; Capodimonte to Tuscania, another 20.
Without a car it's difficult: regional buses to the lakeshore and to Tuscania are scarce and don't allow a full day. If you don't drive, better Orvieto by train or Viterbo.
Start in Bolsena, the largest village on the shore. Above, the Rocca Monaldeschi, the castle that houses the lake museum, with an aquarium of the lake's fish and finds recovered from the bed. Below, the basilica of Santa Cristina, where the miracle took place that gave rise to the feast of Corpus Christi, with catacombs visited on a guided tour. And between the two, the lungolago, with free beaches and lidos.
The big excursion is Bisentina island, the Farnese island: a boat from Capodimonte or Bolsena and a two-and-a-half-hour guided visit through churches and chapels among the woods, from April to November. Leave from Capodimonte, the village on the promontory, and take a stroll before boarding.
Tuscania has two exceptional Romanesque churches. San Pietro stands alone on the hill of the Etruscan acropolis, with its rose-window façade and a crypt of columns. Santa Maria Maggiore, at the foot of the hill, has a sculpted portal and a large painted Last Judgement. Both open by reservation: call ahead. In the centre, the Archaeological Museum holds the sarcophagi of the city's Etruscan families in a 13th-century convent.
One day covers Bolsena and the island, or Bolsena in the morning and Tuscania in the afternoon. With a night, you do both and swim in the lake. From May to September the water is good; the island is open from 5 April to 1 November, every day except Monday and Wednesday. In winter the lake is beautiful but many hotels and restaurants on the shore close.
Questions
Yes, there are free beaches and lidos on the lungolago of Bolsena and at Capodimonte, Marta and other villages.
Only on the island's own guided visit, with a boat from Capodimonte or Bolsena; €20 per adult, from April to November.
It's difficult: buses are scarce. The practical option is a hire car.
About an hour and three quarters by car.
Yes, San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore open by reservation by phone.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lazio/lake-bolsena-tuscania
