# Lake Bolsena and Tuscania 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. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lazio/lake-bolsena-tuscania · Revisado: 2026-11-12 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. ## How do you get there from Rome? 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. ## What to do at the lake? 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. ## What can you see in Tuscania? 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. ## How much time and when to go? 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. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Civita di Bagnoregio (a 16.8 km), Viterbo and Villa Lante (a 21.4 km), Orvieto (a 23.0 km), Caprarola and Bomarzo (a 30.4 km) ## Qué hacer - **Boat and guided tour of Bisentina island** (2 h 45 · Families; shoes with soles, not suitable for wheelchairs in the high areas · Desde 20 € adult): What it is The Bisentina is the larger of the two islands in Lake Bolsena, a wooded island with churches, chapels and a harbour built by the Farnese. It is private and can only be visited on the guided tour organised by the island itself, with a boat from Capodimonte or from Bolsena. You see the church of Saints James and Christopher, the chapel of the Crucifix on Mount Calvary, Santa Catalina and the Malta of the Popes, a former prison dug in the rock. Price and season €20 per adult and €15 for ages 6 to 15, boat included; free up to age 6. It is open from 5 April to 1 November, every day except Monday and Wednesday. Book on the island's website; the visit lasts between two and a half and three hours. What you need to know Wear shoes with a good sole: heels and flip-flops are not allowed. There is no drinking water on the island and no drinks are sold, so bring water. The visit also goes ahead in rain. The high areas, such as Mount Calvary, are not wheelchair accessible. - **The church of San Pietro in Tuscania** (45 min · All ages): San Pietro stands alone on the hill of the Etruscan acropolis, outside the walls of Tuscania, in front of a meadow and two towers. It is one of the great Romanesque churches of Lazio: a façade with a rose window and reliefs, naves of columns, frescoes and a crypt with a forest of small columns. It is run by the Ministry of Culture, which opens it by reservation: call +39 347 8838069 before you go. On public holidays there are usually special openings. - **The Rocca Monaldeschi and the Lake Bolsena Territorial Museum** (1 h · All ages; children like the aquarium): The Rocca Monaldeschi della Cervara dominates Bolsena from the top of the old town, and inside is the lake museum: Bronze and Iron Age finds taken from the lake bed, Etruscan pieces from the nearby necropolises, remains of Roman Volsinii, a large freshwater aquarium with the lake's fish and the medieval pottery of the fortress itself. Open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 without a break. From the top you see the whole lake. - **Basilica of Santa Cristina and its catacombs** (1 h · All ages): In this basilica, at the entrance to the old town of Bolsena, a priest from Prague who doubted the real presence of Christ saw the host bleed during mass. Pope Urban IV had the miracle examined and afterwards extended the feast of Corpus Domini to the whole Church. Inside is the tomb of St Christina, virgin and martyr, and beneath it the catacombs, which can be seen on scheduled guided tours; individuals and families can sign up on the basilica's website, and only groups of more than 15 need to book. Check the mass times before you go. - **The lakefront and beaches of Bolsena** (3 h · Families; fresh water and a bed that slopes gently in many stretches): Lake Bolsena is the largest volcanic lake in Europe, and in summer the Romans come to swim in it. At the foot of the village runs the lungolago, a long promenade of pines and plane trees with free beaches and establishments with sun loungers. The water is fresh and clean, and in many stretches it deepens gradually. At sunset, the sun goes down behind the islands. - **Capodimonte, the village on the promontory** (1 h · All ages): Capodimonte, on the south shore of the lake, about 20 km from Bolsena, looks out over the water from a promontory, with the Farnese rocca above and a lakeside promenade with beaches below. It is the nearest landing stage to Bisentina island: if you are doing the island visit, come a little earlier and walk round the village. - **Santa Maria Maggiore in Tuscania** (30 min · All ages): At the foot of the hill of San Pietro, the other great Romanesque church of Tuscania has a sculpted portal and, inside, a great fresco of the Last Judgement. It is also run by the Ministry of Culture and the visit requires a reservation: call +39 328 2350218. The two churches are five minutes' walk from each other; ask to see them one after the other. - **Tuscania National Archaeological Museum** (1 h · All ages; €2 reduced rate · 5): The museum is in the Franciscan convent of Santa Maria del Riposo, founded in 1247, in Largo Mario Moretti. On the ground floor, the nenfro sarcophagi of the Etruscan families of Tuscania, such as the Curunas, from the 4th to the 2nd centuries BC, with their grave goods and banquet bronzes. Upstairs, the oldest finds from the necropolises, from the 7th century BC. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 19:30. Ticket, €5; reduced, €2. ## Dónde comer - **La Conchiglia** (Restaurant, Bolsena, €€). Qué pedir: a lake fish, such as coregone, and house pasta - **Il Pinzale** (Restaurant, Bolsena, €€). Qué pedir: the coffee tagliolini with prawns and porcini, or the grilled meat ## By plane: Fly to Rome and hire a car for the Tuscia 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. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Columbus** (Hotel): On the lake promenade The Hotel Columbus is a four-star hotel at Viale Nicola Colesanti, 27, on the Bolsena lungolago: about 50 metres from the water, where there is a free beach and an establishment with sun loungers, and 400 from the old town. The rooms 36 rooms in three categories, Economy, Standard and Classic with balcony, with one to four beds, with bathroom, television, safe, minibar, individual heating and air conditioning in summer. Breakfast is a sweet and savoury buffet in a room with a view of the lake. It has a 24-hour reception, a bar and the restaurant La Conchiglia, with a terrace. Getting there and parking By car, along the Cassia. The hotel has free car parking with video surveillance and a space to keep bicycles and motorbikes: handy if you cycle round the lake or come by motorbike. - **Platani Hotel & Spa** (Hotel): In the centre, next to Santa Cristina The Platani is at Via Roma, 2, in the historic centre of Bolsena, close to the lake and the basilica of Santa Cristina. It is a smoke-free hotel, with a lift, family rooms and adapted rooms. The rooms Singles, doubles, triples and double-bed rooms, with air conditioning, television, minibar, hairdryer and free wifi. Guests can use the pool of the Hotel Holiday, of the same group. It offers room service, picnics to take away and a paid shuttle, also to the airport. Eating The hotel restaurant cooks fish, international dishes and recipes of the area, above all lake fish, such as coregone and eel, and vegetables from Bolsena's volcanic soil. ### Servicios - **Getting there from Rome by car**: About 115 km to Bolsena on the Cassia or by the A1 to Orvieto; Tuscania is about 95 km away by the Cassia and Vetralla. ## By car: By car around the lake and the Tuscia 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. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–150 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Columbus** (Hotel): On the lake promenade The Hotel Columbus is a four-star hotel at Viale Nicola Colesanti, 27, on the Bolsena lungolago: about 50 metres from the water, where there is a free beach and an establishment with sun loungers, and 400 from the old town. The rooms 36 rooms in three categories, Economy, Standard and Classic with balcony, with one to four beds, with bathroom, television, safe, minibar, individual heating and air conditioning in summer. Breakfast is a sweet and savoury buffet in a room with a view of the lake. It has a 24-hour reception, a bar and the restaurant La Conchiglia, with a terrace. Getting there and parking By car, along the Cassia. The hotel has free car parking with video surveillance and a space to keep bicycles and motorbikes: handy if you cycle round the lake or come by motorbike. - **Platani Hotel & Spa** (Hotel): In the centre, next to Santa Cristina The Platani is at Via Roma, 2, in the historic centre of Bolsena, close to the lake and the basilica of Santa Cristina. It is a smoke-free hotel, with a lift, family rooms and adapted rooms. The rooms Singles, doubles, triples and double-bed rooms, with air conditioning, television, minibar, hairdryer and free wifi. Guests can use the pool of the Hotel Holiday, of the same group. It offers room service, picnics to take away and a paid shuttle, also to the airport. Eating The hotel restaurant cooks fish, international dishes and recipes of the area, above all lake fish, such as coregone and eel, and vegetables from Bolsena's volcanic soil. ### Servicios - **Getting there from Rome by car**: About 115 km to Bolsena on the Cassia or by the A1 to Orvieto; Tuscania is about 95 km away by the Cassia and Vetralla. ## As a family: A lake to swim in and an island by boat 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. ### What works best The lungolago beaches, of volcanic sand The aquarium of the Rocca Monaldeschi museum, with the lake's fish The boat and visit to Bisentina island, free up to age 6 and €15 up to 15 Capodimonte, with its promenade and landing stage ### Where to stay Hotel Columbus, on the lungolago, with rooms of up to four beds Platani Hotel & Spa, with family rooms ### Where to eat La Conchiglia, on the promenade, for lunch after the beach ### Good to know The Bisentina visit lasts a good two and a half hours and there is no water on the island The churches of Tuscania bore the little ones: leave them for the morning ### Qué hacer as a family - Boat and guided tour of Bisentina island - The Rocca Monaldeschi and the Lake Bolsena Territorial Museum - The lakefront and beaches of Bolsena - Capodimonte, the village on the promontory ## Consejos ### Book the island and the churches Bisentina is booked on its website; San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore, by phone. ### Bring swimwear Even if you're coming for the churches, a swim in the lake rounds off the day nicely. ### Monday, a bad day The lake museum, the Tuscania museum and the island are closed. ### Lake fish Whitefish, eel and perch: order them in Bolsena. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Can you swim in Lake Bolsena? Yes, there are free beaches and lidos on the lungolago of Bolsena and at Capodimonte, Marta and other villages. ### How do you visit Bisentina island? Only on the island's own guided visit, with a boat from Capodimonte or Bolsena; €20 per adult, from April to November. ### Can you go from Rome without a car? It's difficult: buses are scarce. The practical option is a hire car. ### How long does it take from Rome to Bolsena? About an hour and three quarters by car. ### Do you have to book the churches in Tuscania? Yes, San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore open by reservation by phone.