I absolutely love this board and how helpful people have been, but there is one thing I have noticed. When mentioning day trips outside of Rome, people will often say, "Well, if you only have (insert number here) days in Rome, you should just stay in Rome." So, I'm wondering when it is good to go to the villas in Tivoli (I will already be doing Ostia Antica later on)?
I will give a very specific example from my own itinerary. Once we have seen St Peter's, the Vatican Museum, the main branch of the National Museum of Rome (none of the three other branches), the Capitoline Museums, the Borghese Gallery, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, Trajan's Markets (from the road on that one), Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, San Clemente, St. Peter in Chains, Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria della Vittoria, the Capuchin Crypt, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, and we've done the Trastevere and night walk through Rome... Is it then time for a day trip to Tivoli? Or are the remaining sites in Rome worthy of keeping us there OVER the villas of Tivoli?
And finally, is it possible to do Villa D'Esta and Hadrian's Villa justice in a half day trip? Thanks.