Civita di Bagnoregio and surrounding?

I think you need to do some investigation about C d B. First of all, you will NOT use a car in that tiny hamlet. The only access is via a pedestrian bridge. Second, since access is pretty cumbersome, I advise you to rethink spending 4 nights there. IMO, half an hour would be sufficient to see the town. Then you’ll be crossing that bridge for every day trip and again for the return. I doubt that there’s any night life, so once you return, you’ll be stuck in your hotel (Are there any hotels, or just b&bs?) ‘til morning.
Orvieto, on the other hand, has an atmospheric historic center with a splendid duomo, a museum of Etruscan finds, and lots of shops, restaurants and cafes, I believe there’s a tour of underground tunnels that you can take, but we haven’t done that.
Other places of interest nearby are Pitigliano, Sovana, Sorano, and Saturnia.

Mack,

I agree with the previous reply that spending four nights in Civita di Bagnoregio is three nights too long. It's best seen as a day trip from Orvieto as there's really nothing there. If you're planning on using that as a base for day trips, you may find this article interesting - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/19/civita-di-bagnoregio-italy-dying-town-tourist-toll . You'll be paying each time you cross the pedestrian bridge. I'd suggest staying in Orvieto as it's much larger and has more to see as well as some good hotels and restaurants.

AFAIK, the only lodging in Civita is Antica Forno, which is also a restaurant - https://www.civitadibagnoregio.it/index.htm

As you're planning on renting a car, note that each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit. You can obtain an IDP at any CAA / AAA office for a small fee. These are valid for one year and must be used in conjunction with your home D.L.

It would also be prudent to check other posts here regarding the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, which exist in many Italian towns and cities. Each pass through one of these areas will result in hefty fines, which you won't know about until several months after you return home.

If you're not already using it, I'd suggest buying a copy of the RS Italy 2018 guidebook as that will be an excellent resource, both for planning and during your trip.

Google is your friend. You will find lots of info on all the places you want to go by Googling them. This 2015 PBS bit about Civita di Bagnoregio is just one of many.

Doing a Google Images search will provide tons of great pictures for all those places, too.

You are going to have a great time so long as you do enough research to avoid any nasty surprises, especially about renting a car and driving in Italy. If you have never rented a car to drive in Italy, you have a very steep learning curve ahead of you. You can get started by reading all the tips about Driving at this Rick Steves Travel Tips section on Transportation.

Hmmmm! Mack, out of interest I just went to seek out what lodging booking.com had listed for Civita di Bagnoregio. There were actually about 223 facilities listed, but then I went through the list and NONE were in Civita di Bagnoregio. Most were in Orvieto, a number were in Bagnoregio, and some were in other towns at a distance, maybe you have found an apartment. Unless you were going there to meditate or maybe to paint, I can’t see staying 4 nights in that tiny former town, accessible by quite a lengthy, somewhat uphill, pedestrian bridge from Bagnoregio, and where virtually no one actually lives. Will you have safe parking in Bagnoregio? Have you made arrangements to get your baggage to your lodging, or willing you be carrying backpacks? As others have said, it is a very strange base for day trips. On the other hand, nearby Orvieto is an absolutely wonderful community, full of interesting sites, shops and restaurants, with various types of hotels and inns, and also nearby agriturismos. When I enjoyed a short stay in Orvieto, I visited Civita di Bagnoregio, where I spent about an hour, plus the walk to and from over the pedestrian bridge. Like the others, I encourage you to re-assess, unless maybe your plan is actually to stay in Bagnoregio, rather than Civita di Bagnoregio.

You might consider Todi as a base and daytrip to Civita di Bagnoregio.

We rented a car in Orvieto and stayed there. Ovieto is beautiful, with great places to eat and I would recommend it over Civita. If you have never been to Ovieto stay there instead. We took a 1/2 day trip to Cascate del Molino, Saturnia hot springs. It was fantastic! If you put Cascate del Molino into google maps and will get directions directly to the parking lot there. It is beautiful, free, there is a restaurant and pay showers too. We did not have luck using the gps in the car we rented but I had access to google maps. The ride from Orvieto was just under 1.5 hours with lovely scenery and will take you close to Lake Balsena which is a nice stop too. If you do go to the hot springs, bring an old bathing suit, the sulfur smell from the springs is tough to get out of your clothing even if you wash them in a washer right away.

Hm...let's circle back, take a deep breath and start all over from the beginning. I knw exactly what Civita is and is not.
The address of the place we are staying is as noted but it is in the adjoining countryside...not up on the hill requiring daily trips over the bridge etc. Our accommodation has parking onsite and offers views of the town on the hill... we will stay in the countryside for four nights between our more hectic stays in other locations.............

I'm not asking for advice about how long to stay in the area, I've already made a my decision about that and I am simply asking if any of you have experiences in the surrounding areas, within an hour or two. We will use our (very nice) accommodation in Civita as a launch point.

So, if you think that there is a nice winery in Tuscany to the North, we'd like to hear about it (there are many). If there is a nice place to eat in Orvieto, please recommend it.
If there is a nice nearby lake with a cafe for lunch that you would recommend, let us know.

The hot springs sound like exactly the sort of thing we are interested in. Recommendations for Pitigliano, Sovana, Sorano, and Saturnia will get my follow-up.
I do have the Italy 2018 guide as well as several other guide books. Frankly, I'm trying to fill in some time that is focused on the fringes of RS recommendations. As much as I appreciate and use RS guides, I have seen that they have formed herd paths throughout many of Europe's special places. Between cruise ship cattle and RS door to door guides it's getting harder and harder to see Europe without constantly being exposed to army's of guidebook carrying tourists.

Driving in Italy not for the faint of heart and there are many opportunities to drive in the wrong place, park in the wrong spot etc....My first experience 20 plus years ago was driving from Milano to Sienna and then on to Forenza... it was interesting to say the least. That said, I find driving in China or India to be more of a challenge... I also have more trouble in country's that drive in the left lane. It takes some getting used to.

As I write I am remembering the time my wife and I drove our rental Fiat Panda up a snowcat access trail on the Eiger... it was quite interesting. Eventually we turned around when the incline became too steep. It would have been really hard to explain to the rental company how their car became buried in snow two thirds of the way up the mountain.. on the way down we enjoyed looking that the advertising signs attached to the catch fences on the turns. I'm not worried about driving in Italy... but I do not plan to venture into any of the large cities. Public transportation is more than adequate.

"Hm…let's circle back, take a deep breath and start all over from the beginning. I know exactly what Civita is and is not."

Good advice. It's amazing how quickly misinformation and false assumptions can appear in just one seven-post thread.

Even though you're not staying in Civita di Bagnoregio, I can highly recommend the experience to readers who stand among the true adventurers. My favorite place to stay is Corte della Maestà. During certain hours, they will provide an electric vehicle for your luggage. The cart is it not permitted to take passengers. The Corte della Maestà serves one of the most glamorous breakfasts I have ever had in Italy.

If you stay overnight in Civita di Bagnoregio, you do not have to pay the €1.50 to cross the bridge. Even if you did, the cost is only €1.50. If you stay overnight in Civita di Bagnoregio and you have a car, you are permitted to park in the convenient parking lot beneath the pedestrian bridge. This is the closest parking lot to the bridge.

While it's true that many tourists simply drop in for five minutes to say they've seen it, staying overnight is an experience unlike any other. One night would never be enough for me. I love the precious solitude of Civita di Bagnoregio during late night and early morning.

The pedestrian bridge is not for all visitors. The climb will demand a cardio workout from everyone who dares to ascend. If you have a mild heart condition (and your doctor agrees), you can accomplish the climb, but you'll need to do it more slowly. No one will rush you or care how long you take. If you are disabled, seriously overweight, deal with bad knees or aching hips, or heart/cardio compromised, the challenging climb may not be good for you. If an accident occurred, I would not want to be on the pedestrian bridge or in Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio can be a fascinating base for exploration, but getting to-and-from the car lot beneath the pedestrian walkway will require a serious amount of fitness capability.

My two favorite places to eat in Civita di Bagnoregio are Alma Civita and L'Arco del Gusto. L'Arco del Gusto sells local food items that no other store seems to carry. I go there simply to purchase some of my one-of-a-kind favorites. They make the best gifts for some of my food snob friends.

With a car, there are other spectacular places to stay in the area, but if you plan to visit Civita di Bagnoregio, then you need to prepare yourself for the lengthy walk or the amount of stairs necessary to get from your car to the pedestrian walkway.

I'll add more when I have time.

the town of Bolsensa on Lake Bolsena is a nice quaint afternoon. Not many american tourists at all. It's a short drive from Civita

I'm not sure this is a case of misunderstanding; the original post refers to "Civita", not to "Bagnoregio", so I think it was natural for respondents to assume that the lodging was actually located in Civita. I certainly did.

In addition to Bolsena (which has a visitable castle), I've been to and can recommend these two additional spots that should be a bit less than a 1-hour drive from Bagnoregio:

• Viterbo: a good-sized city rather than a cute little town, but surrounded by a wall and with a nice historic district. Blessedly non-touristy as of 2015. I did not seek out specific sights in the city (there may be some), but I went out to the Villa Lante to see the garden. Not spectacular by English standards, but nice enough.

• Tuscania: a small, very old town that would probably appeal to fans of Civita. I saw no tourists at all, but I believe I was there during the siesta. Zoe went to Tuscania this summer and wrote a detailed report. Her discussion of Tuscania is in her second post in the thread to which I've linked. Tuscania is in the same general direction as Viterbo.

• The hill town of Montesfiascone near Lake Bolsena looked picturesque as I went past it on a bus.

• The Park of Monsters at Bomarzo is also within a 1-hour radius of Bagnoregio. I haven't been there, and it gets quite mixed reviews.

• With a drive of a bit over an hour, you could get to Tarquinia (Etruscan sites) and--in a different direction--Pitigliano, which I believe has been mentioned positively on the forum. I haven't been to either of those.

The OP did say, "In April my wife and I will spend 4 nights in Civita." Then he went on to say, "We will use the car in Civita…" That's when I assumed he meant Bagnoregio and not Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio, otherwise known as Civita, is the tiny, vehicle-less city built atop ancient volcanic tufo. Civita is only accessible on foot via a pedestrian bridge. So the OP's words were not clear.

Todi is very near, there is public parking and a little bus goes up to the town, but you could also walk to it.

Bolsena has a beautiful volcanic crater lake, with a couple of restaurant choices. Best gelato ever at the beginning of via Santa Cristina.