Day trips from Rome in February

Debbie - You can do a day trip to Orvieto from Rome and enjoy a Tuscan town and you can also go to Assisi and visit the Basilica of St. Francis there.

You may also may consider taking a trip to Castel Gandolfo, which is just a 40 minutes train ride from Rome. It's a charming town.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/how-to-spend-a-day-in-castel-gandolfo/

Orvieto (Umbria) is lovely. Only a little over an hour by train from Rome.

We had visited Rome several times and most recently took a day to see Ostia Antica. It was very, very easy to reach by metro and no more than one hour total travel time. There is a cafeteria for a quick meal. Pompeii kept us enthralled for eight hours, Ostia was good for about three but it was very convenient and an easy day trip. No idea what February will be like. Safe travels!

On my February visits to Rome (that's all my Roman visits), I've been to Ostia Antica and (on a small group tour) to Hadrian's Villa and Tivoli. Assisi may be too far as a day trip but definitely doable as an overnight. You may be able to spend the better part of a day in Assisi and then visit Orvieto on the way back to Rome.

If you're in Rome on a Saturday or Sunday visit Domus Aurea.

I loved Orvieto but felt that Assisi was more a place for pilgrims with a strong interest in the life of St. Francis.

The area right near the basilica in Assisi is focused on pilgrims, right down to the tacky-religious-souvenir shops, but at the time of my June 2015 visit, the area farther up the hill was lovely, atmospheric and nearly bereft of tourists. The basilica is beautiful, of course. I'm not at all religious, but I think Assisi is a great day-trip or even overnight destination. It may be too long a trip from Rome just for a day, though; train time alone is over 2 hours, then you need to add the time required to get to either Termini or Tiburtina Station from your hotel and for the bus ride uphill from the Assisi train station.

If you want an urban day trip, go to Naples.

Agree with RJean, this area is delightful.
https://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/castelli-romani.html

I'll second Chani, if you have a nice sunny day head to Tivoli. Along with the Haridans Villa, if you like gardens, see Villa d'Este.
https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/villa_deste

For more info, "Rome the Second time Around" by Dianne Bennett has some great suggestions.

hey hey debbie
oldfrascati.com
small countryside village about 30 minutes from rome known for it's wine. walk around the town of frascati, stop at ceralli.it, oldest bakery/pizza oven with nonna age 93 still baking. (read about her at lacucinaitaliana.com search nonna rosanna's pupazza frascatana)
tinello28.it pasta making and wine tasting in frascati
email them at [email protected]
withlocals.com
a day in calcata: picturesque bohemian town
castelli romani, where the pope has his summer villa. stop at a tourist kiosk in town center and if there is a tour around the area and the 2 lakes. the village of nemi, known for it's wild strawberry and lake nemi, and roman deity diana.
italymagazine.com search lake nemi and it's wild berry. an older article but gives you lots of info about the area.
marketsofrome.com
eatwith.com maybe a dinner in a local's home.
a few more ideas for you to check on.
aloha
GO NINERS!

Thanks for all the great information. I've got some research to do now. :-)

Just wanted to give you a head's up--if you do decide to go check out Ostia Antica, make sure it's NOT on a Monday, when the ruins are closed. Otherwise, it's super convenient from Rome--there'a a train line through Pyrimide station that goes to Ostia as a commuter line and is still part of the city's bus/tram/subway network, so you can use a regular bus ticket/pass to get there.

One other idea would be Villa D'este in Tivoli, about 20 miles away. Rick gives very precise instructions for a day trip there in his Rome guidebook, and it did NOT disappoint! If you want to learn a little beforehand (and get in the mood), the British landscape architect Monty Don had a delightful series on Italian gardens on Netflix last winter, and one episode features Vila D'Este extensively. (It's on YouTube as well if you search for Monty Don and Villa D'Este). We also happily discovered that the fortress in Tivoli offered free tours (in English!) at certain times, which was a nice (closer) alternative to Hadrian's Villa.