Getaways from Rome: day trips and destinations close by.

Do you need a car in Rome?

There are direct flights to Fiumicino airport (FCO) from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Asturias, Tenerife South, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. The Leonardo Express reaches Termini in 32 minutes without stops. In Rome you do not need a car, and in the centre, a restricted-traffic zone, it is a nuisance. Sleeping near Termini helps: at the door you have the airport train and those for almost all the excursions.

You can get to almost everything by train. From Termini, the FL4 regional goes up to the Castelli Romani in about half an hour on each of its branches, the Frascati one and the Albano one; other regional trains go to Orvieto, on the Florence line, and to Assisi, and those on the Naples line stop at Latina Scalo, a taxi ride from Ninfa and Sermoneta. To Fondi-Sperlonga there is a regional in about 1 h 15. Frecciarossa and Italo reach Naples in about 1 h 10, Florence in 1 h 30 and Bologna in about 2 h 15. Outside Termini, the Roma–Lido train leaves from Piramide for Ostia Antica, the FL3 goes to Lake Bracciano from Tiburtina, Ostiense, Trastevere or San Pietro, and from Ostiense leaves the train to Viterbo. With metro line B to Ponte Mammolo you catch the Cotral buses to Tivoli and Subiaco.

You need a car for the Treja valley, the Etruscan necropolises, Caprarola and Bomarzo, Lake Bolsena and the Val d'Orcia. Pick it up at Fiumicino the day you leave Rome. The A24 leads east, towards Subiaco; the Pontina, south, towards Latina; the Cassia bis and the Flaminia, north, towards the Treja, and the A1, to Umbria and Tuscany.

Apart from the necropolises and the Treja, everything by train or metro

Under an hour away are Ostia Antica and the Castelli Romani (35 minutes), Tivoli and its two villas (45), the necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (50) and the Treja valley with Calcata (55). Apart from the necropolises and the Treja, everything is done by train or metro and bus.

A little further, between one and one and a half hours: Lake Bracciano and its castle (60), the monasteries of Subiaco (65), Ninfa and Sermoneta and the Farnese palace at Caprarola with Bomarzo (75) and Viterbo with its hot springs (85).

Between one and a half and two hours: Orvieto by train (95), Lake Bolsena (105) and Sperlonga (115).

From two and a half hours onwards: Assisi by train or by car (147), the Val d'Orcia (149), Naples and Pompeii (155), Florence (185) and Bologna (243). The last three are closer by high-speed train than by car, and fit into a day: Florence with the Uffizi, the Oltrarno and Boboli or Bologna and San Luca. Several call for a night: Assisi with the walk to Spello, Naples with Herculaneum, Vesuvius and Procida, Florence with the dome and Bologna in two nights. Closer, with a single night, Ninfa and Sermoneta and the Treja with a night on a farm.

Sermoneta for the months without Ninfa

In winter the hot-water and stone plans work. The free pools of Bagni San Filippo and Monticchiello and the thermal pool of Viterbo with Villa Lante are good all winter, and Sermoneta and Norba is designed for the months when Ninfa is closed, with a guided visit to Caetani castle. Naples in a day, with the Veiled Christ and the underground city, is also a winter one.

In spring the Garden of Ninfa opens, only on its opening days and with a booked visit. April and May, like September and October, are also the months for Tivoli with its fountains, for Bracciano castle and for Florence.

In summer it is best to head for the water: Sperlonga, Tiberius's villa and the caves by boat, from May to September; Lake Bolsena and Bisentina island, from May to October, and the Aniene river at Subiaco, with rafting. The Castelli Romani are not recommended in July.

In autumn, the Val d'Orcia with Sant'Antimo and a Brunello tasting and two nights with hot springs and pecorino; and, an hour away, the Treja trail to Calcata or the Sunday on a farm with children, for which October and November suit well.

Pompeii and pizza by high-speed train

• Without a car, half an hour away: Castel Gandolfo and Frascati by train. The FL4 from Termini, the Apostolic Palace above Lake Albano, lunch on the terrace at Cacciani and the afternoon in Frascati.
• By high-speed train: Pompeii and pizza by train. Frecciarossa or Italo to Naples, the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii, four hours among the forum, the baths and the amphitheatre, and pizza before the train back.
• With two nights: Assisi and the walk to Spello. Train from Termini, the city of St Francis empty at night and a path among olive trees to Spello, with a train back.

What to book in the city and where to sleep is on the Rome page.