Ostia Antica is fantastic

 Ostia Antica is an archaeological site south of Rome that functioned as the port for the city. It is a fantastic way to get out of the hustle and bustle of Rome and see some very cool ruins. You can get there easily with a cheap 1.5 euro metro ticket, and it makes an excellent day trip from Rome.

I really do think Ostia Antica is cooler than Pompeii. Pompeii is amazing, of course, but Ostia has a different feel. It's far, far less crowded, for one thing. We have been to Ostia twice now, and both time there were several groups of Italian school children obviously going on school trips. Even with that and the other tourists, it was easy to find parts of the site where you were essentially alone and it's quiet and peaceful. You have the freedom to wander around all over the place and I encourage visitors to do so. If you see something with a modern roof over it, go check it out-that roof is probably protecting something cool to see.

A selection of the many, many pictures we took during or day at Ostia. Seriously, just go here.