I'm a solo female traveler in my late 50's who will be staying in Florence from 28 Sept thru 5 Oct. I have one day trip planned to Lucca already. I'm thinking about going to Cortona for another day trip and wanted advice from anyone who's been there. What are some of the best places to visit? Is is worth spending a whole day there?
I will be using public transportation only - tips for the train and bus appreciated. I can walk about 4 miles at once fairly easily, but have to be careful with having too many stairs or steep hills due to hip arthritis. Will Cortona be too hilly for me? Thanks for your input.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10715 posts
I drove, so I can't help you with public transportation. The old town is up a steep hill, but there are exterior escalators to take you up. There may be some slight hills once in town, but nothing of significance. I quite liked Cortona.
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1688 posts
I also used a car to get there but it appears trains are quite frequent to Terontola-Cortona, then bus SU4 to get into town. Cortona is nice little place but the east (?) side off the main drag was a bit too steep for my wife, up to the basilica and convent.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16205 posts
The train station is called CAMUCÌA-CORTONA in the town of Camucìa, on the flat Chiana plain down the hill from Cortona. There is a city bus that can take you up to Cortona from the Camucia station.
Coming from Florence the TERONTOLA-CORTONA station would be the next station, which is however farther from Cortona proper, therefore get off at Camucia.
The town is on a steep slope. The bus will drop you off on Piazza Garibaldi and from there to The main part of the historical center is not too bad. Pretty flat. But if you want to walk all the way up to the Medici Fortress of the Girifalco, it is a major climb. My wife and I did it last year in scorching July and we were pooped. For sure, the higher you climb the fewer tourists you see.
Cortona will occupy a few hours of your stay, more so if you climb to the fortress and the basilica there. If you get bored and leave early, you might consider stopping in Arezzo on the way back to Florence. Arezzo is a small city (a bit bigger than Siena), one of the 10 provincial capitals of Tuscany, and has quite a bit to offer. There are numerous trains back to Florence from Arezzo and the last one departs at 10:30pm, therefore I would definitely dine in Arezzo.
Posted by
OP
Tampa, FL
641 posts
Thanks for the info! I didn't know about the escalators. Roberto, really appreciate the detailed info and the tip to go to Arezzo. I will put Cortona on my day trip list.