Lazio is the region nobody visits, because everybody goes to Rome.
It is a paradox with a very concrete consequence: around the most visited city in Italy there are dozens of villages that anywhere else in central Italy would be packed, and that instead you walk around in silence even in August. The Tuscia, the lake district, the Prenestini hills and the coast to the south are an hour or so from the ring road, and they are empty.
Let me state the criterion behind this selection straight away, because it is what makes it different from the lists you find elsewhere:
- it is not a ranking. No “the most beautiful”, no order of merit;
- the nine are different from one another. Not nine medieval villages with the same stones: one that is collapsing, one Etruscan, one with a garden of monsters, one with a castle still lived in, one of fishermen;
- for each one I say how you get there, and when the only honest answer is “you need a car”, I write it.
And first of all, the note every article on this subject avoids: the title says “most beautiful” and that needs explaining. Of these nine, three are in the official Borghi più belli d’Italia association, namely Civita di Bagnoregio, Sperlonga and Sutri; Bomarzo, Caprarola, Sutri and Tuscania hold the Touring Club’s orange flag. Bracciano, Palestrina and Marta have neither, and they are here by my choice, with the reason written into their entry. Now you know exactly what you are reading.
1 – Civita di Bagnoregio
Why it is different from the other eight: it is the only village on this list that is physically disappearing. It sits on an isolated tufa spur in the middle of eroded badlands, connected to the world by a pedestrian bridge, and the flanks of the cliff are crumbling. They call it “the dying city”, and that is not a marketing line: it is a geological description.
The art-historical detail that justifies the trip: the landscape. What you are looking at is not a view, it is erosion in progress on clay and tufa, and the medieval village on top is the only part that holds because it is built on rock. It is the one place in Italy where town planning and geology look each other in the face.
The ticket: crossing the bridge costs 5 euros, buyable online too, with some exemptions. It is not a tourist tax: it is in practice the only resource with which the town funds the restoration work and keeps the village accessible despite the landslips. The bridge is on foot only.
How you get there: by car, Orvieto exit from the A1 and then 18 km, or the Attigliano exit and 30 km. Without a car you reach Orvieto by train and then take the bus to Bagnoregio, but there are few services: it is doable in a day only if you plan the return times before you set off.
On the UNESCO status, because the question always comes up: the candidacy of the Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio was approved in January 2021 and the dossier delivered to the UNESCO centre in Paris in January 2022. As of today Civita is not inscribed on the World Heritage List: the file is open, and anyone telling you it is already a UNESCO site is wrong.
The full account is in the article on Civita di Bagnoregio.
2 – Tuscania
Why it is different: because the best part is not in the village, it is outside. Tuscania has two Romanesque basilicas isolated on a hill a kilometre from the town, San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore, and they are among the finest things in the Romanesque of central Italy.
The detail that justifies the trip: the façade of San Pietro, with its rose window and reliefs, and the fact that it stands on an Etruscan acropolis. In Tuscania the layering is not theoretical: under the Romanesque there is the Etruscan town, and in the area there are necropolises with tombs cut into the tufa. The civic museum holds the sarcophagi.
How you get there: by car from the A12 and then the Via Aurelia, or from the Cassia via Vetralla; from the A1 take the Orte exit towards Viterbo. Without a car: train to Viterbo or Tarquinia and then a bus. It is one of the three entries on this list where public transport works reasonably.
It holds the Touring Club orange flag.
The account is in the article on Tuscania.
3 – Sutri
Why it is different: because it is carved out, not built. In Sutri tufa is both material and method: the Roman amphitheatre is cut entirely out of the rock, not constructed, and in the same tufa wall there is a mithraeum that later became a rock-cut church, the Madonna del Parto.
The detail that justifies the trip: going into that dark crypt, with medieval frescoes on the walls of a structure built for an eastern cult. It is the most physical religious superimposition you can see in Lazio: the same space, three religions in a row.
How you get there: it is 50 kilometres from Rome on the Via Cassia, between 40 minutes and an hour by car from the ring road. By car it is trivial and there is parking. Without a car it is awkward: there are Cotral buses from the Saxa Rubra station of the Roma Nord line, with long journey times. Half a day is enough for the archaeological park, the cathedral and the village.
It is the only one of the nine with both accolades, the Borghi più belli d’Italia and the orange flag.
The account is in the article on Sutri and the dark crypt.
4 – Bomarzo and the Park of the Monsters
Why it is different: because it is not a village with a monument, it is a sixteenth-century garden designed to frighten. The Sacro Bosco, commissioned by Vicino Orsini, is full of colossal sculptures cut from blocks of peperino: the Orc with its mouth gaping open, the dragon, the leaning house, the elephant crushing a legionary.
The detail that justifies the trip: the leaning house, deliberately built out of plumb. Going into it produces an immediate and real dizziness, and it is a calculated architectural effect: the Sacro Bosco is a Mannerist garden that uses disorientation as a design material, four centuries before contemporary installations.
The ticket: 15 euros full, 9 euros reduced for children aged 4 to 13. Open every day from 9 am until sunset, with hours that change with the seasons. The visit takes about an hour, but you can stay as long as you like. No animals, except guide dogs.
How you get there: by car is the natural way; without a car, train to Viterbo or Orte and then a local bus. It holds the orange flag.
The account is in the article on the Park of the Monsters at Bomarzo.
5 – Caprarola and Palazzo Farnese
Why it is different: because the village exists for the palace. Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola is a sixteenth-century villa-fortress that dominates the town, and Caprarola’s main street was cut straight to serve as its approach perspective: a whole settlement redesigned as an entrance avenue.
The detail that justifies the trip: Vignola’s Scala Regia, a helical staircase on columns, and the fresco cycles in the rooms. It is one of the best-preserved sixteenth-century palaces in Italy and it has practically no queue.
The ticket and hours: open every day except Monday, 8.30 am to 7.30 pm, last entry 6.45. Full 10 euros (8 euros when the park is closed), reduced 2 euros for 18 to 25-year-olds, free under 18. ⚠️ Free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, so go early. Allow at least an hour and a half.
How you get there: there is a Cotral coach from Rome, but there are not many services, especially for the return. This is one of those entries where the honest answer is: better by car, taking the chance to visit the Lake Vico nature reserve. It holds the orange flag.
The account is in the article on Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola.
6 – Bracciano
Why it is different: because the castle is neither a ruin nor a state museum: it is the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, privately owned by the Odescalchi family, furnished and in use, and you visit rooms with the furniture still in them.
The detail that justifies the trip: the fifteenth-century military structure, which still reads perfectly with its five cylindrical towers, and the fact that from the top you see the whole of Lake Bracciano, which is a volcanic lake. What distinguishes it from other castles in Lazio is that this house is lived in, and that changes the atmosphere of the rooms.
The ticket and hours, verified for 2026: full 10 euros, reduced adult 9 euros, children aged 6 to 12 8 euros. Monday to Friday 10 am to 6 pm (last entry 5), Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10 am to 7 pm (last entry 6). Open every day except 25 December. On Sundays and public holidays there is a free guided route offered by the Odescalchi Foundation, which I recommend.
How you get there, and here is the good news: by train. From Roma Ostiense or Roma San Pietro the regional trains to Viterbo stop at Bracciano; the journey takes little more than an hour and the station is a short walk uphill from the historic centre and the castle. It is the easiest of the nine without a car, and that is why I recommend it if you do not drive.
It has neither the Borghi più belli nor the orange flag, and it is on this list for precisely the reason just given: it is the only one you can comfortably do in a day on a train ticket.
The account is in the article on Bracciano castle.
7 – Palestrina
Why it is different: because the town is the monument. Palestrina is built on top of the terraces of the gigantic Hellenistic sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, and the modern houses rest on its ramps. There is no separate archaeological area: you walk through the sanctuary without noticing.
The art-historical detail that justifies the trip: the Nile mosaic, kept in the museum inside the Palazzo Barberini at the top, which shows the course of the Nile with animals, buildings and scenes of daily life. It is one of the most extraordinary ancient mosaics in existence, and it is in a museum where there is often nobody at all.
The ticket: entry to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Prenestino costs a modest amount, around 10 euros, free on the first Sunday of the month; the museum is closed on some days of the week, so check before you set off.
How you get there: it is 35 kilometres from Rome, about 40 minutes. By public transport: Cotral bus from the Anagnina or Ponte Mammolo metro stations, or the regional train from Roma Termini to Zagarolo with a connecting bus. By car from the A24, Tivoli exit, or the A1, Valmontone exit. It is the second entry, after Bracciano, where public transport holds up.
It has neither accolade, and it is here for the mosaic and the layering, which are worth the trip on their own.
The account is in the article on the sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina.
8 – Sperlonga
Why it is different: it is the only one on the sea, and the only white one. Sperlonga is a village of lime-washed houses on a promontory, with alleys, arches and stairways, and it looks more like a Greek village than a village in Lazio.
The detail that justifies the trip: just outside the town is the villa of Tiberius, with the cave that gives the place its name (spelonca) and from which the famous sculptural groups on the Odysseus cycle come, now in the museum next door. It is the perfect case where the sea and archaeology are on the same ticket.
The ticket: full 5 euros, a reduced rate in force during the refurbishment works; 2 euros for EU citizens aged 18 to 25, free for under 18s. A single ticket gives access to the museum, the cave and the remains of the villa. Museum open 8.30 am to 7.30 pm (last entry 7), archaeological area with shorter seasonal hours. Closed Monday, plus 1 January and 25 December. Free parking along the Via Flacca.
How you get there: by car along the Via Flacca it is very simple. Without a car it is the furthest of the nine: you take the train to Fondi-Sperlonga station and then need a bus, so it has to be planned.
It is in the Borghi più belli d’Italia.
The account is in the article on the villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga.
9 – Marta
Why it is different: because it is the smallest and the least “monumental” of them all, and it is here by contrast. Marta is a fishing village on Lake Bolsena, with a harbour, coloured houses and a clock tower. It has no masterpiece: it has a way of living.
The detail that justifies the trip: the Martana island, in front of the village, and the story attached to it. It is there that, according to tradition, Amalasuntha, daughter of Theodoric and queen of the Ostrogoths, was held prisoner and killed in the sixth century. Looking at that island knowing what happened on it is a different experience from looking at an island.
How you get there: by car, from the Cassia towards Viterbo and then towards the lake. Without a car you have to reach Viterbo and then take a bus to Lake Bolsena: it is the least convenient of the nine by public transport, and I would not recommend it to non-drivers except as a stop on a wider tour of the lake.
It has no official accolade and I put it on the list openly for one reason: it is the right place to understand what Lazio is like when it is not doing tourism. If you want the postcard, skip this entry. If you want an afternoon by the lake in a real village, this is the one.
The account is in the article on Marta and Lake Bolsena.
How to organise a tour without a car
This is the section missing from every article about villages, and I will write it without mincing words.
Public transport works well for two out of nine.
- Bracciano: regional train from Roma Ostiense or Roma San Pietro, a little over an hour, and the station is an uphill walk from the castle. It is the only one you can do in a day without thinking about it;
- Palestrina: Cotral bus from Anagnina or Ponte Mammolo, or a train to Zagarolo with a connecting bus, about 40 minutes.
Doable by public transport but requiring planning: Tuscania (train to Viterbo or Tarquinia plus bus), Sutri (Cotral from Saxa Rubra, long journey), Bomarzo (train to Viterbo or Orte plus local bus), Sperlonga (train to Fondi-Sperlonga plus bus).
Awkward by public transport: Civita di Bagnoregio (few services to Bagnoregio), Caprarola (few Cotral services for the return, and that is the real problem) and Marta.
The practical rule this produces: the constraint is not getting there, it is getting back. In the province of Viterbo the last return services towards Rome are in the early afternoon or shortly after, so a village that is reachable on the way out may not be on the way back. Before buying the outward ticket, look at the time of the last return: it is the one piece of advice that genuinely changes the day.
The pairings that make sense, if you have a car:
- Sutri + Caprarola in one day: they are close and completely different, one carved and one built;
- Bomarzo + Civita di Bagnoregio: upper Viterbese, the garden of monsters and the dying city;
- Tuscania + Marta: the Romanesque basilicas and the lake;
- Bracciano on its own, by train, for a day without driving;
- Sperlonga on its own, because it is to the south and does not combine with the other eight.
Practical information
Details verified on 30 July 2026 on the official sites of the individual monuments, on the register of the I Borghi più belli d’Italia association and on that of the Touring Club’s orange flags. Prices and hours change: check before you travel, especially for the state museums, which have different weekly closing days from one another.
The summary of the official accolades, so that you do not have to take my word for it:
- Borghi più belli d’Italia: Civita di Bagnoregio, Sperlonga, Sutri;
- Touring Club orange flag: Bomarzo, Caprarola, Sutri, Tuscania;
- Neither: Bracciano, Palestrina, Marta, which are on the list for the inhabited castle, for the Nile mosaic and for the lake.
The first Sunday of the month is free at state museums, and on this list that means Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola and the museum at Palestrina. It does not apply to Civita di Bagnoregio, where the bridge toll is municipal, nor to Bomarzo and Bracciano, which are private.
The tickets in summary: the Civita bridge 5 euros, the Park of the Monsters 15 euros, Palazzo Farnese 10 euros (8 with the park closed), Bracciano castle 10 euros, the Palestrina museum around 10 euros, the villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga 5 euros. Tuscania, Sutri and Marta can largely be walked for nothing, with tickets only for the individual museums and archaeological areas.
When to go. Spring and early autumn, for two concrete reasons: in summer the Tuscia gets very hot and the archaeological areas have no shade, and the lake villages are at their best when the water is not low. Sperlonga is the exception: being on the sea, it works in July too, but in August it is the only one of the nine that genuinely gets crowded.
What to allow for. Closed shoes: at Civita you walk uphill, at Palestrina you climb the terraces on foot, at Sutri the archaeological park is on uneven ground. And water, because in small villages the bars close in the early afternoon.
If you want the no-car, no-worries version, there are day trips from Rome to the one stop on this list that the agencies genuinely cover, namely Civita di Bagnoregio: you can check the day trip from Rome to Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio and see whether the timings suit you.
Let me be clear about it, because this is the point: that excursion concerns Civita and not the itinerary, and it pairs it with Orvieto, which is in Umbria and not on this list. For the other eight villages an organised trip from Rome effectively does not exist, and the rule above stands: train for Bracciano and Palestrina, car for the rest.
One last thing
If I had to send you to a single place on this list, I would send you to Civita di Bagnoregio, because it is an experience that in twenty years may not exist in the form you see today.
But if you do not drive and want a fine day with no complications, the answer is Bracciano: a train from Roma San Pietro, an hour, a walk uphill, an inhabited castle and a volcanic lake. It is the simplest day trip Lazio has to offer, and hardly anyone does it.
And if you have a car and a weekend, the tour I recommend is the Tuscia: Sutri on the first day with Caprarola, Bomarzo and Civita on the second. Eighty kilometres in all, four places that resemble each other not at all, and no queue anywhere.
