Civita Di Banoregio Day trip or overnight stay from Siena

I don't have my guidebook handy and I can't quite recall how far it is from Siena to Civita. I think it is doable as a day trip, but for me, I would probably prefer to spend the night in Civita to get the "full" experience.

Where are you starting from? It doesn't geographically make a lot of sense to put Civita in the middle of Florence - Siena.

I would suggest staying in or near Orvieto or in the main (new)village of Banoregio. I think it is a ways away from Siena since it is not on main roads.

We stayed at Locanda Rosetti - between Chivita and Orvieto.

I have reservations to travel from venice to cinque terre to florence to sienna (then hopefully Civita) and on to Rome to finish the trip. I will only be using the train and the bus as I don't plan to rent a car. The train stops in Orvieto then it sound like you take a funicular up to the town. Then it is a bus ride one hour to civita di Bagnoregio. I will look up the location of Locanda Rosetti so far I have only found Lucca. How did you travel to civita?
Thanks for your help

Hi Joselyn, Just returned from that area and saw what you are questioning about. I would definitely stay in Orvieto for 2 nights. So much to see and do and it's a beautiful, charming hilltown with very easy to access. The train drops you off right in front of the funicular. You can buy a punch card at that time for 18 Euro which pays for the funicular, bus into town, and pretty much every site there is to see (well worth it). Then your second day take the bus, which is easy to catch in town, and daytrip to Civita. It's about an hour ride but brings you only to Bagnoregio. From there you can walk to Civita. The bus is the only way to reach Civita unless you drive (no train). There isn't that much to do in the town but is definitely worth going to just for the beauty that you will see and capture in pictures...do have a camera! We only spent about 2 hours there and was ready to come back on the bus to Orvieto. So figure a complete morning or afternoon. Just make sure you check the bus schedule to make sure you catch a bus back. I would read up on what RS says on staying in Orvieto and seeing Civita...valuable info.

Joselyn,
We had a rental car. I'm not sure Locanda Rosati is near a bus stop - but you can check... http://www.locandarosati.it/

They are closer to Orvieto than to Civita.

Joselyn, as the others mentioned, if you're planning to visit Civita di Bagnoregio, planning to spend two nights in Orvieto would probably be a good idea. I'd suggest travelling Florence > Siena (by Bus) > Orvieto (with day trip to Civita) > Rome (you indicated your trip would end in Rome). Orvieto is a wonderful city to explore, so if possible try to fit that in.

When you arrive at Orvieto via train, buy a ticket at the Tabachi for the short Funicular ride up to town (about €1 - I believe it's good for 70 minutes). When you get off the Funicular, you should be able to walk to your Hotel.

For the trip to Bagnoregio, but a return ticket for the Blue Bus (as I recall, the line was Cotral) at a Tabachi. When you reach Bagnoregio, you'll arrive in the main Piazza and will probably be able to see the small shuttle Bus which will take you to the base of the bridge at Civita (again about €1 each way for the shuttle - buy your ticket from the driver).

It's only a short (10 minutes?) trip to the Civita stop. As you start down the hill, you'll see Civita and the long footbridge (also inhabited by motorcycles at times). It's about a 5-10 minute walk across the bridge and through the arch into the small piazza (Antico Forno will be on your left - a great place for lunch!).

Be sure to note the return times of both the shuttle and the Cotral Bus to Orvieto. The shuttle sometimes takes a "siesta" in the afternoon (I just about got soaked waiting for it to return!) so make allowance for that in your planning.

When in Civita, if an older woman offers you a "fantastic view" from her back yard, be advised that she will expect a "donation" (the view is pretty impressive, so well worth a Euro or two). She doesn't speak much (any?) English.

More specific details on the Bus times, costs, etc. are listed in Rick's Italy book. From Orvieto into Roma Termini, it's only a short (1 hour?) trip by rail.

Happy travels!

I'm so thankful for all of this information. Becouse I only have one night between Florence and Siena. I will travel from Florence to Orvieto by train early in the morning. I will check my bags into a hotel in Orvieto (Hopefully by 11:00)then make my way up to the hilltown of Civita Di Banoregio. I should be able to tour the town and be back in Orvieto befor dark. I hope it I have time to get the sights and photos that afternoon as I should be able to do the Hilltown in 4 hours.(Do you think I can go to Civita Di Banoregio and back to Orvieto in 4 hours if the buses are running?) Then we will spend the night in Orvieto then leave for Siena the next day. :-)

Hi Joselyn, it's me again. Your plan might work...4 hrs.(in the P.M.) is feasible but rather tight. Your biggest problem will be the bus schedule. As Ken stated the bus takes a break for a few hours. Unfortunately, I don't remember what hours that is. But assuming you can catch the first bus going out in the p.m., then just make sure you are there in plenty of time to catch the last bus. You don't want to get stranded there. You memtioned you have 2 or 3 nights in Siena. If it's 3, I would definitely take one of those nights and add it on to Orvieto. This way you can take in Civita the next morning and not feel rushed. Also, FYI, the Orvieto punch card I memtioned does not cover the bus ride to Civita.

Thanks for the advice I've already booked Siena so we only have one night. It may be best to travel to Orvieto spend the night there and then in the morning take the bus up to Civita Di Banoregio this way we can take our time and not miss the bus. We should be able to store my bag at the hotel while we travel up there.
If you only had one night.......
Would you chose a night in Orvieto over the small town of Banoregio?

Joselyn, Bagnoregio is very nice, but YES, I would definitely recommend at least one night in Orvieto. It's a larger town and has a greater selection of restaurants and other facilities.

Be sure to visit the incredible "striped" Duomo, and don't miss the incredible frescoes on the ceiling (off to the right side).

Cheers!

Yes Joselyn, Definitely stay the night in Orvieto. You will love it there. I also love your idea of staying completely in Orvieto the first day you arrive and leaving Civita for the following morning. Great idea. I'm sure your hotel will have no problem storing your luggage. Then when you get back to Orvieto, just hop the train to your next stop in Siena. Have a fantastic trip!

Thanks to everyone for your help in planning my stay in this area. I will take your advise and stay in Orvieto. It sounds like the town has a lot to offer. I'm more excited then ever that I will at least get to stay in this area for one night!

Yes- stay in Orvieto. Civita is wonderful, but since I have no memory or photos of Banoregio it did not leave an impression.

I was in Civita 2 weeks ago and the population there is 14 people. You can walk the entire village in about 30 minutes to an hour.
I stayed in Orvieto and did a short trip to Civita.

Just wondering....what was the total amount of time for your short trip to Civita from Orieto? Thanks!!

We did a daytrip to Civita in the summer of 2007 (from Assisi). If you have a rental car, you can park it at the base of the bridge that connects Civita to Bagnareggio. We enjoyed seeing Civita and spent several hrs. here as we also had lunch. I believe there is only 1 place to stay in Civita so I would probably stay in Orvieto. There is much more to see in Orvieto.

Thanks everyone....I finished my trip and your information really helped. I checked into my hotel early in Orvieto. I had plenty of time to take the bus to Citiva Di Banoregio and see Civita in the afternoon. We ate some delishious bread toped with tomatoes in the town. Many people suggested that I stay in Orvieto for two nights and I regret that I was only able to stay in Orvieto one night. Orvieto is wonderful!! I wished that I did not already book the two nights in Siena because I liked Orvieto better and the hotels are much less expensive in Orvieto then in Siena.

Welcome back Joselyn, so happy to hear you enjoyed Orvieto. I know the exact rest. you had the tomatoes on bread in Civita. We ate there too and you're right...it was soooo good! I had 2 nights in Orvieto and still want to go back, I loved it that much.

Joselyn,
Didn't you just love Civita? Orvieto was much more than I expected, we really enjoy it too, but I think I'll just move to Civita!
Dana

These hilltown areas of Orvieto and Civita were amazing and should not be missed by anyone who is visiting in this part of Italy. It was more incredible then I ever expected!I chose a wonderful hotel with fantastic rates (La Magnolia B & B) I would recommend it to anyone staying in Orvieto. I only wish that I had plans to return to the area again soon, I enjoyed it sooooooo much!

Joselyn, Welcome back! It's good to hear that you had such a fantastic (albeit brief) time in Civita di Bagnoregio. It's small but certainly very memorable. I'm assuming you had no problems with the Bus transportation to/from Orvieto? The lunch you had sounds somewhat like the "classic" Bruschetta served in Civita (which restaurant did you visit?).

Although you indicated in your last post that you have no plans to return, I suspect if you're like most of us here, thoughts of Italy will be in your thoughts frequently. Time to start planning that next trip!!!

Cheers!