Tivoli Day Trip: Villa D’Este & Cooking Class
Description
This is not your typical day trip—it's a boutique, intimate journey into the heart of Italy set on a peaceful family-owned farmhouse surrounded by olive trees. Led by a local chef, you’ll spend the day immersed in nature, good food, and genuine hospitality. More than a class, it’s a rare opportunity to cook, eat, and connect in a real working farmhouse, far from the tourist trail. From garden to table, you'll prepare traditional Roman dishes with fresh local ingredients and enjoy them over wine and conversation. Visit Villa d’Este, a UNESCO World Heritage site of magical fountains and Renaissance gardens—a perfect spot to soak in beauty and take the best photos of your trip. This is the kind of day that stays with you.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
IMPORTANT: If your hotel/BnB is not listed among the options, please select a random address. You will be contacted for further confirmation. You will be contacted via SMS/WhatsApp for further pickup details.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
Reviews(96)
We ended up being the only couple on this tour and appreciated that Chef Davide and his wife Elena did not cancel because of this. Had so much fun making our own pasta and learning about Tivoli and olive oil process. Food was wonderful and it was such an honor to be invited in their home. Wish they had dined with us so we could chat more. It’s a pricey experience but glad we did it once.
Ciao :) Thank you for your kind words. I am glad you chose to treat yourself with our experience Chef Davide
Our day with Chef Davide and Elena at their beautiful home in Tivoli was a true high point of our trip to Rome. We brought our three kids, aged 9 to 15, who all had a ton of fun. Davide and Elena were great with the kids. Every step of the visit was well organized and easy to navigate. I’m not new to cooking and I’m not new to Italy, but I still managed to learn quite a bit from our hosts. It was really quite a good time. Oh, and of course, the food was top notch. Many thanks and best wishes to our wonderful hosts!
Ciao Peter, It was amazing hosting your beautiful family Chef Davide
Davide and Elena entertain you as well as instruct how to make genuine Italian dishes. Tivoli gardens are amazing and transport to and from Rome was seamless,
Ciao Rick! Smooth as butter
The gardens at Villa d’Estes was on my bucket list. I want to see the top 10 gardens in the world (according to National Geographic) and these gardens were rated number 5. They were beautiful and I have never seen so many fountains! But even better than the gardens was the cooking class with Chef Davide. He was absolutely wonderful. We met his mother and his wife and they were very nice too. The two puppies were so cute and very well behaved! They made a charming addition to the visit. Chef Davide taught us how to make pasta and then we cut our pasta into fettuccine noodles and also made ravioli. They served different appetizers and lots of wonderful wine. Then we had an awesome dessert. This was an awesome tour and I suggest you book it!
Ciao Cindy :) National Geographic is always spot on!
This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The sommelier and the chef go above and beyond to give you a personalized treatment while feeding you amazing food and providing amazing wine. I would do this a 1000 times.
Ciao :) We hope to see you the next 1000 times
If we could give this experience extra stars we would! Davide was such a generous host and we enjoyed every moment of our day.
Ciao Raina! Grazie mille :)
Davide is a perfectionist starting with all the communication preceding the tour including advising us of the weather and recommending that we bring umbrellas and rain jackets. He and his wife, Elena, make a great team and treated us wonderfully. We learned to make two types of pasta and were treated to a delicious lunch which included two appetizers, two pasta dishes, dessert, and wine. At the end of lunch they drove us to the city center where we strolled on our own through the Tivoli Gardens which were stunning. Finally, the drive to Tivoli and back was very comfortable in a large Mercedes Benz van.
Ciao Maria :) Grazie, we like to take care of you
David and Elena are welcoming, wonderful hosts. We made pasta and ravioli, drank delicious wine and had the best time! You will never want to leave their beautiful property. We felt like we were in a movie while being there. Villa d'Este is also gorgeous and it was great to explore and stroll through the gardens after our meal. This was our favorite experience while visiting Rome. Eight thumbs up from us!
Ciao Cindy :) Oh it's such a perfect day I'm glad I spend it with you!
This is a great escape from the city. Not only do you learn to make and enjoy wonderful food, Davide abd Elans couldn’t be more welcoming.
Ciao :) We like to think of it as your day off from Rome!
The best experience! Chef David was wonderful. Professional, knowledgeable, and patient. Welcomed us into his home and made us feel like family.
Ciao Whitney :) bellissimo!
