Central Italy Strategy

Joel,

If Orvieto is a "must see", then I'd consider spending more time there. It's a larger city and there are some interesting sights there. Spending just an evening and then sleeping one night won't allow you to see much of anything, other than the inside of a restaurant and your hotel room.

I would choose option 2. Orvieto is nice, worth seeing, but one night is not going to give you a feel for it and as Ken said, an evening and an overnight do not give you time to do anything. That night can be just as charming in Montalcino, which IMO, is a great place to stay and explore the Val d'Orcia. We love the drive from Montalcino through Pienza to Montepulciano.

Orvieto is one of my favorite places. I would give it a minimum of 24 hours, so one night there can include a full day. It is different at night and in the early morning than when it is crammed with tourists between 10am-5pm.

If you can get a room at Hotel Virgilio, most rooms have a view of the Duomo. I cannot tell you how many times I have awoken just to look at it at night. I don't know if the hotel has a/c, you can check the website.

Thanks very much everyone, I'm going to have to think about this. From formulating this response, I realize that our "must-see" attitude toward Orvieto is due primarily to the cathedral (facade, frescoes), and the amazing site of the city on such a large, flat, plateau so high above its surroundings. That being the case, I think we could get a sense of the place in those particular respects in just a few hours. However, come to think of it, in our limited European experience we have avoided such very brief visits, and there must be some reason for that. I guess it comes down to balancing something like "respect for place and people" with the desire to accumulate experiences. In this case I am tempted to avoid the dilemma by cannibalizing a day from somewhere else, but whether that is possible remains to be seen. (If so, that Hotel Virgilio sounds nice :-)
best, Joel

I'm inclined to guess that you have a car. Is that so? Even if you do, you have to assume that each town you want to see will be at least 1/2 hour from where you are when you set off. Many towns will require a hunt for a parking space outside the ZTL, except the smallest. If there is a chance to validate your PARKING ticket for a local bus ride (rarely, but we saw one), use the validation machine as soon as you see it. There won't be another one downtown!

Orvieto is terrific, not least because it is able to absorb its number of visitors better than the most crowded towns, San G and Siena. I think 24 hours in Orvieto is OK, but not essential. It can be seen well in one full day-trip. It's perhaps to the southeast of the most-visited towns. If you are coming from Rome, you could stop for 2 hours in Viterbo or another place and then head to Orvieto is you are anxious to see a lot of town.

Sometimes when people write "explore the .... " on this board, they mean drive around without a plan. I urge you to use, perhaps, Google Images to compile a list of towns you want to visit and landscapes you want to see. That is the best way to make a good use of your limited time.

Tim,
We plan to rent a car, but only in Orvieto, so a stop in Viterbo is not in the cards. After Orvieto we plan to visit the towns on the Montalcino-Pienza (or Montepulciano) axis, plus two or three very small towns like Montisi or Monticchiello; it will be tough to choose from among the dozen or more (probably many more) of these candidate small towns. We will drop off the car in Siena, but I have no desire to drive around that city otherwise.

Thanks for the bus advice. We are big walkers, but we'll take a bus ride from a distant parking lot if one is available.
best,
Joel

I tend to consider hotel changes a big waste of time, therefore a one nighter would not be my first choice.
You could visit Orvieto a whole day, then drive to the Val d'Orcia in the evening and spend your 3 nights there. The only issue might be where to store the luggage while touring Orvieto. The Orvieto station doesn't have a luggage storage, but maybe there are other options available (sometimes local shops offer that service for a fee). Or you could pick up the rental car early and store the luggage in the trunk. If you choose this option, I recommend to park in a well guarded garage, even if more expensive.

Roberto, thank you. If we visit Orvieto for the day only, we had planned to use the rental car trunk for storage. Another option that I have read of recently is that some local hotels (Hotel Picchio in particular) will store luggage for a small fee.

The bar at the Orvieto train station now advertises luggage storage, but I don't know details. The escalator also works. I was there two weeks ago.