42.12° N · 12.23° E
A day trip from Rome on the FL3 train: the Odescalchi castle in Bracciano, the Trevignano promenade, Anguillara and the aircraft museum at Vigna di Valle.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Renaissance fortress of the Orsini above the lake, with furnished rooms, frescoes, armour and the sentry walk; open every day and with a guide included on Sundays.
Seaplanes, fighters and historic aircraft in the hangars of Italy's first air base, on the shore of Lake Bracciano; closed on Mondays.
The quietest village on the lake: a seafront promenade with benches and beaches of volcanic sand, the old town on a slope and the church of the Assumption above.
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
The castle is open all year. For swimming and eating by the water, from May to September; avoid July and August Sundays if you don't like crowds. In autumn the lake is quiet and the light is very beautiful.
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 Bracciano is north-west of Rome, about 40 km from the centre and an hour by car from Fiumicino airport (FCO), which has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, Palma and the Canary Islands, among others. Ciampino (CIA) is on the other side of Rome. Without a car, the FL3 regional train takes you to Bracciano from the Roman stations of Tiburtina, Ostiense, Trastevere and San Pietro.
By car you see the whole lake in a day: the full circuit is about 35 kilometres and the three villages and the museum are fifteen minutes from one another. It is worth it if you are going to swim, if you are with children or if you want to sleep in the countryside.
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.
Bracciano is one of the most rewarding day trips from Rome with children: a whole castle with armour and ramparts, an aircraft museum at the water's edge and, in summer, lake beaches without waves. It fits into an unhurried day.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Albergo diffuso with 12 rooms in houses and former workshops in the old town of Trevignano Romano, several with lake views and balconies, and massages with views.
Why we like it: Organic farm stay in the countryside of Sambuco, west of Bracciano: three rooms and two apartments among meadows, vegetable garden and farm animals.
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 dish and a fresh pasta; ask about the tasting menu
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.
42.21° N · 12.40° E
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42.41° N · 12.24° E
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41.89° N · 12.48° E
Car-freeBy planeBackpackingLuxury
Tips
The guided tour is included and leaves four times a day.
If you're sleeping near the Vatican, the station is a short walk away.
On summer Sundays the lake fills up.
Lake Bracciano is a large, round volcanic lake, about 40 kilometres north-west of Rome, where internal-combustion motor boating is banned. Three villages surround it: Bracciano, with its castle; Trevignano Romano, on the north shore; and Anguillara Sabazia, on a promontory. It's the Romans' summer excursion, and also one of the few that can be made by train from the Vatican.
The Odescalchi castle is the reason to come. The Orsini built it in the late 15th century and it has belonged to the Odescalchi since the 17th. You tour it inside like a house: rooms with frescoes and wooden ceilings, armour, furniture and the wall walk above the ramparts, with the lake below. It opens every day; on Sundays the guided tour is included in the €10 ticket.
The village of Bracciano surrounds the castle, and from Piazza Mazzini you go down to the shore, with boats, dark-sand beaches and kiosks in summer.
Trevignano Romano has the most pleasant lakeside promenade, with terraces for eating, and a sloping old town. Anguillara Sabazia huddles on a point of rock jutting into the water. Between the two, on the south shore, the Vigna di Valle Air Force museum keeps seaplanes and historic aircraft in the hangars of Italy's first air base.
A good order by car: the castle in the morning, lunch in Bracciano or Trevignano, the museum or a swim in the afternoon and sunset in Anguillara.
By train, the FL3 regional line Rome–Viterbo stops at Anguillara and Bracciano. It leaves from Roma Tiburtina and passes through Ostiense, Trastevere and San Pietro, the station next to the Vatican; from San Pietro the journey takes about an hour and a quarter. Bracciano station is below the village, about a quarter of an hour's walk from the castle. Without a car you can see Bracciano well; the other villages and the museum have few buses.
By car, around an hour from the centre via the Via Cassia or the Braccianese, longer on summer Sundays, when traffic to the lake is heavy. Going round the lake takes about 35 kilometres. Park in the car parks at the entrance to each village: the old towns are narrow or pedestrian.
The castle is open all year, except 25 December. For the lake, from May to September: the water is clean, with no waves or speedboats, and there are free beaches and signposted swimming areas. On July and August Sundays many Romans arrive; on weekdays it's quiet. In autumn and spring, the Trevignano promenade and the light on the water make up for the weather not being right for swimming.
In Bracciano, Il Ristorantino del Castello, on the square below the towers, cooks lake fish and fresh pasta. To sleep by the water, Borgo Vista Lago, an albergo diffuso in Trevignano's old town with rooms facing the lake, or, in the countryside and with children, the agriturismo Agrihouse, with farm animals.
Questions
On the FL3 regional train from Tiburtina, Ostiense, Trastevere or San Pietro to Bracciano.
€10; €8 for ages 6 to 12; free up to 5.
Yes, in summer, at free beaches and signposted areas. Motor boating is banned.
Trevignano Romano, for its waterfront promenade, and Anguillara, for its old town on the promontory.
Yes, by car: castle, lunch, one more village and the museum or a swim.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lazio/lake-bracciano
