Private Tivoli: Villa Adriana & Villa D’Este With Transfers
Description
This is the ideal tailor-made tour that will take you away from the city chaos of Rome, for an inspiring countryside & cultural experience in Tivoli. This small town, located approximately 50 minutes drive from Rome, is home to Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s villa) and Villa d’Este which are both UNESCO World Heritage sites and masterpieces of opulence and delight. Your private tour guide will tell you how the “Ancient Versailles”, the Villa of Hadrian, was covered by wood and wild vegetation once abbandoned after the decline of the Roman empire and how the various marbles were recycled and used to build other complexes. Hadrian was the most widely travelled emperor as well as as amateur architect and the villa is full of innovative designs based on iconic places he had visited throughout the empire. Walk where thermal baths and dining halls became like wild greenhouses, feel the romantic estrangement that the Emperor sought when he created his Villa, marking the soil with beauty, forever.
Your tour guide and private English-speaking driver will then take you to Villa d’Este, the most daring landscape building of the Renaissance, designed for Cardinal Ippolito d’Este by architects who forced a natural creek to run between thousand of fountains before reaching the valley. The intricate pattern carved by the waters makes a huge waterfall on the marble-tiled plain, often creating rainbow effects and blowing the pipes of a water organ, which plays at given times. This is a perfect opportunity to learn about the lavish and extravagant lifestyle of rich noble families during the Renaissance!
Meeting Point
At check-out, before your purchase is confirmed, you will be kindly asked to leave the written address of your accommodation or potential meeting point. This implies the name of the hotel, bed & breakfast or residence in which you will be staying as long as it is situated within the city centre. Such requirements are necessary for pick-up and private services only.
What's Included
- Admission tickets for Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Private English-speaking driver with luxury transportation
- Licensed Tour Guide
- Complimentary bottled water
What's Not
- Optional gratuities
- Lunch or snacks
Languages Available
English, Spanish, Italian, French
What You'll Do
- Enjoy a complimentary pick-up from your accommodation and drive east towards Tivoli
- First stop is Hadrian's villa where you will gasp at the lavish home of the emperor
- Visit the well preserved courtyard of the "Canopo" with its egyptian decorations
- Explore the complex "Maritime theater": A villa within a villa being the emperor's private retreat
- Your private driver will then take you to Villa d'Este
- Explore the beautiful gardens and its iconic fountains
- Enter the villa and learn about its major 16th century frescoes
- Transfer back to Rome and hotel drop-off
What To Remember
- The driver or tour guide will meet you at the start time and location you have indicated and will wait for a maximum of 30 minutes. Missed tours cannot be refunded.
- Comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended since this tour involves a fair amount of walking.
- Please remember to bring with you a bottle of water.
- This tour is wheelchair accesible. Please advise if assistance is needed.
- The tour operator is not responsible for last minute, unpredictable closures, strikes or union meetings. Nevertheless, the tour operator will be happy to offer customers an extended tour for the remaining time.
- The tour is free of charge for children under the age of 6.