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Ostia Antica archaeological site and Borghetto experience: the walking tour takes you through the site where you will enjoy a 3 hours itinerary that shows the site's most relevant places and tells you a lot about the history of ancient Rome and its most important harbour.
Ostia Antica is the largest archeological site in Europe: it perfectly shows the way an ancient roman city was built and how the inhabitants lived and worked; it has marvellous remnants of majestic temples, thermal baths, popular buildings and wealthy people villas along with a great necropolis and an ancient roman theatre with a four thousand seats still used today for live gigs during summer season.
Perfectly preserved mosaics and frescoes, statues and colonnades surrounded by beautiful Mediterranean pines complete the scenery.
The walking tour then takes you to and through the "Borghetto": a charming medieval village, dating back to the 9th century a.D, with its perfectly preserved 15th century "Giulio II castle", built on a Michelangelo design, to help the papal state control the trading on the river Tevere and defend the farmers from the raids by the Saracens.
After a light stroll and lot of pictures, it's time for an Italian Gelato!
You will enjoy your drink served with different kind of cheeses and cold cuts chatting and having a good time talking about Italy and the Italian way of life.
Are you travelling alone, on a business trip, or on family trip?
Here’s a perfect choice:
- A walking tour easy to join by public transport or a private transfer (ask us if you need it).
- A small group, up to 6 people, so that conversation will flow nice and smooth.
- The company of locals from the meeting point to the final "Ciao, till next time!".
The 3 steps of an Ideas 4 Travellers experience:
- Meet & greet:
"Ciao! Welcome It's a perfect day to walk in Rome!", let's be friends. - Walk and discover:
let's take a look at the eternal city through our eyes, get a real roman insight, let the chit chat flow. - Eat, drink and talk:
it says it all!
COVID-19 Rules.
2025: no COVID restriction.
From Rome center
By train (UPDATE MAY 2025):
take the "Metromare" from Stazione "Porta San Paolo" (connection with B line at "Piramide" station) direction -> Lido di Ostia and get off at Stazione "Ostia Antica", you can use the same ticket as the one of the B line.
Example: with a 1,5 Euro ticket you can get on a B line or A line and as long as you stay inside the stations you can use it to reach Ostia Antica station (changing up to 3 different lines A line to B line to Metromare), to get back to your hotel you would need another simple 1,5 Euro ticket (changing up to 3 different lines: Metromare line to B line to A line).
Meeting point: Ostia Antica Metromare Station (See map)
or you can ask us for a private transfer from your accommodation to the Park and back.
Meeting point: Archaeological site entrance (gate in front of the castle).
From Lido di Ostia
By train (UPDATE MAY 2025):
take the "Metromare" from any Lido di Ostia station direction --> Rome and get off at Stazione "Ostia Antica".
Meeting point: Ostia Antica Metromare Station (See map)
By taxi:
direction "Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica".
Meeting point: Archaeological site entrance (gate in front of the castle).
From Fiumicino (city and/or airport)
By taxi:
direction "Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica".
Meeting point: Archaeological site entrance (gate in front of the castle).
or you can ask us for a private transfer from your accommodation to the Park and back.
Meeting point:
Ostia Antica Metromare Station (See map)
or you can ask us for a private transfer from your accommodation to the Park and back.
Meeting point: Archaeological site entrance (gate in front of the castle).
Itineraries
Meeting Point
We'll meet you at "Ostia Antica" railway station (Metromare line) and walk you (5 minutes) to the entrance of "Ostia Antica archaeological park".
Your Guides
We are your guides for this unique journey from the 4th century bc (foundation of Ostia Antica) to the 15th ad (Giulio II castle construction).
Entrance to the Archaelogical park
Once purchased your tickets (remember they are not included in our tour price) we enter the park heading to the Necropolis.
Necropolis
The Necropolis of Ostia on the left side of the Via Ostiensis outside the city walls: monumental tombs and mausoleums
Neptune Thermal Baths
The Thermal Baths of Neptune with its beautiful mosaics
Roman Theatre
One of our stops is this perfectly preserved Roman theatre still used in summertime for comedy, dramas and live concerts.
Forum
The centre of the City: where Justice was administered and the most important cults were worshipped
Capitolium
Another highlight of our tour is the Capitoline triad: a temple erected to honour the three major divinities of Rome: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.
Mosaics
Ostia Antica shows so many beautiful mosaics: we will find them in public baths, luxurious mansions and on public square.
Thermopolium
The local diner and B&B: where travelers from all the Empire could rest, have something to eat and be entertained
Mills
The bakery of Ostia where most of the bread was produced: from grinding the grain to baking the loaves of bred into ovens
Borghetto and the Castle
We'll walk you to and through the Borghetto: we pass the arched wall entrance and enter the unique and quiet setting of the medieval village and its perfectly preserved "Pope Giulio II Castle".
Farewell
After the "Italian Gelato" we'll walk you to the railway station and bid goodbye till next time!
INCLUDES:
Meet, walk to and through the archeological park, walk to and through the Borghetto, GELATO, chatting and smiling.
EXCLUDES:
Entrance Fee at Ostia Antica Archeological park.
Everything not included under: "Trip includes".
TAKE NOTE:
During winter time, from late October until early April, most of the mosaics are covered to protect them from chilling temperatures and avoid risk of ruptures.
We will provide pictures of those on the Itinerary.
Walking shoes, from April to October sun lotion, sunglasses and a hat.
All the itineraries can be slightly modified due to: road work, monuments improvements, very bad weather conditions, or any external condition that could affect the experience full enjoyment.
If your party is 4 or less: you can decide to make your Experience exclusive.
From the date you choose, select the price that better suits the size of your group and book it!
SPRING 2025: no more restriction and no COVID pass is required to access the Park.
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Maia Wendell– :
I’ve been to Rome some other times and I liked to do something different, so I booked an experience with I4T to visit Ostia antica with lunch: it was a lovely morning spent with two gracious hosts and I had one of the best carbonara ever. I happened to share the experience with three other travellers coming from Ireland and that added some extra quality to the day.
Steve Daniel, Washington D.C. USA– :
Chiara and Federico who live nearby in Ostia Lido met us at the Ostia Antica train station and walked us to the site gate where we picked up official site audio guides which were excellent. Ostia reminds one very much of Pompeii, but while it is almost as large, it is a great deal more convenient to visit, and much, much less crowded. It was the port for the city of Rome from around 80 BCE through the early 100s CE when due to siltation problems a new port was built nearby, after which Ostia was gradually abandoned and figuratively and literally sank into obscurity. Like Pompeii, the city includes a theatre, a forum, temples, baths, tenements and mansions, a much larger site than we have the energy to explore completely at our age. Our hosts very tactfully guided us through the process of prioritizing our time and energies. After a comfortable, yet informative time in the ruins, we moved on to excellent lunch in the shadow of a castle built by Pope Julius II (think Rex Harrison in Agony and the Ecstasy). Lunch included great local food and a surprisingly lively conversation about things to love and things to hate about living in Italy.
Val Halvorsen– :
What a great day . beautiful scenery, knowledgeable hosts and fabulous food. They were kind and patient with me and made my day special. Thank you for helping me a wonderful memory.
Elaine Oakley– :
Absolutely the way to Ostia Antica. They answered all our questions as we toured the city. Lunch was fabulous and we enjoyed their company. They also helped us go back into Ostia Antica after lunch which I would recommend. We spent another 4 hours and saw so much more and had the place to our ourselves. Just make sure you have water and lots of it. Would definitely recommend taking this tour
Shelly Knox– :
Absolutely one of the best tours I have ever been on. The insight and knowledge of hosts was perfect, they really took us back in time to see Ostia Antica as it was. The restaurant was fabulous, food and atmosphere great. If you are looking for a tour that gives you a personal experience that is fun, friendly and unique you can not do better!
Janice Sperling– :
Chiara and Frederico’s walking tour of Ostia Antica was very well organized. Walking thru this ancient port city and hearing the history was very special. Every cornered turned was another amazing site. Chiara and Frederico were very knowledgable to explain the workings of this great ancient port city. The walking tour was private and any questioned asked was answered. This is one of the best tours I have ever taken. And the lunch @ Borghetto was amazing. Do not miss Ostia Antica and do not miss seeing it thru the eyes of Chiara & Frederico. Wonderful guides.
Gregory and Nancy Pritz– :
Very few experiences will surpass this one. I have been around for a long time and have traveled often and taken quite a few tours. This tour was offered with a freshness and openness that let us know that they were genuinely interested in what we thought and wanted to know. As much as I have studied the history of Rome, I discovered several new things on this tour. I have been to Pompei but found this tour to be far more interesting and without the hassle of traveling from Rome to Naples to Pompei. After the tour we had a wonderful lunch in Ostia where we were able to talk at length about the area and its history as well as our personal lives and experiences. I feel as though we made two new friends from Rome. Well done Chiara and Frederico!!
Donna Maria– :
My tour of Ostia Antica with Chiara and Federico was a wonderful experience. They are very friendly and knowledgeable Romans who live in the Ostia area and really know their history. Thank you for such an enjoyable afternoon!
Sorin Laiu– :
The most important thing is that Chiara and Federico are very nice and careful people. They just wanted me to feel good, they are very good communicators and they talk about Ostia with passion and knowledge. The choice of the restaurant was also very good, a small family restaurant with delicious food. And on the Ostia Antica site, pines and flowers smell so good! You really need to take this tour! Enjoy:)
Daniel Para– :
We had a personal tour which was very fortunate. A lovely afternoon stroll through Ostia Antica toward sunset was spectacular. Hosts were very knowledgeable and personable. Wish we had even more time for the exceptional tour of these priceless Roman ruins. A nice glass of wine and antipasti was lovely at the end! Highly recommended experience for any traveler through Rome!
Lynn– :
Take this tour! Fantastic! So happy with the guides: knowledgeable, good communicators, caring. Very interesting! Want to come back! I enjoyed this experience so much! Highly recommend.
Emily– :
We had such a good time with Chiara and Federico on this experience! They are so passionate and knowledgeable about Ostia Antica and it really makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable. The pace of the tour was great, we saw a lot but didn’t feel rushed. The tour of Ostia Antica alone would be worth the money, but ending with a short walk through a secluded little enclave of Ostia and the aperitif was really icing on the cake. We felt like old friends by the end which was really wonderful!
Tresta– :
Chiara and Federico were really personable and kind hosts. It is clear they know a lot about Ostia Antica and communicated their knowledge in an interesting, thorough way. The pace of the tour was not strenuous at all, yet it felt like we still covered a good amount of the site. The hosts have thoughtful things to share and answer as many questions as you may have. The site itself is magical, a great mix of history and nature. It is so big that you can really imagine the magnitude of the old city. In addition to the tour, the village we went to after was lovely. The castle is really well preserved, and inside the village walls was like walking in a sweet little dream, so quaint! The restaurant we ate at had delicious food. I really appreciated the overall thoughtfulness of the tour. It wasn’t just a walk through an old site, it was a nicely planned and paced excursion not only to see Ostia Antica but also to enjoy the village, food and most of all the company of the hosts. I have never been on a tour where hosts would sit and chat afterwards, and this was a really nice touch, most appreciated. It felt more personal and interesting than other tours. I really loved this experience and would highly recommend it!