DAY TRIPS -From ORVIETO via train/bus

What you may not realize about the walking part of the access to Civita di Bagnoregio is that it is slightly uphill; therefore, pretty taxing, and on a plank and rope bridge. After expending the effort to get there, there is, to borrow a phrase, “no there there.” That is, it is a tiny, mostly uninhabited hamlet. Montepulciano, Cortona, and Arezzo are all much more worthwhile.

Montepulciano would be difficult; also more than 2 hours [doubled plus a couple of hours more for the 4 trips to and from stations]. Cortona the station is Camucia-Cortona. Taxi fare up to the center of town [Piazza della Repubblica] is €12. Castiglione Del Lago is a stop on the train line. This is a regional train, so if purchasing tickets locally you need to put them through the date-stamping machine.

The Orvieto Funicular Railway runs from the railway station to Piazza Cahen, partly up to town.

Useful bus routes:
Bus 1: Railway Station to Piazza della Repubblica.
Bus A: Piazza Cahen to Piazza del Duomo.
Bus B: Piazza Cahen to Piazza della Repubblica.

Don't forget that Rome Termini is just 70 minutes by local train--if you missed some of the sights there.

Intercity trains you take to Roma Termini. Regional trains you get off at Tibertina [previous stop], because the Termini platform is a long way from the station exit.

Thank you all for you replies.
Rosalyn Yes, I did know that the approach to Civita was uphill but I didn't realize that it was a plank and rope bridge. Yikes! That might not be the best for someone who is bothered by heights. RS says this is his favorite Hill Town , but I see that you & others beg to differ. Perhaps not our best option. Thank you for your input.

N_Kingdom We will be staying at a B & B called Ripa Medici which is almost at the other end of town from the funicular. So we will have to factor in about 3/4 of an hour to get to the Orvieto train station I imagine. Is that what you meant by the "4 trips to & from the train stations"? RE Cortona - I thought I had read that there was a shuttle bus that would take you up to the town. That is a good thing to know that a taxi would cost 12 Euro , thank you for that info.

David - We will be returning to Rome the day before our flight home so we will have an afternoon & evening to walk down memory lane as we were there in 2003 & saw all the major sights at that time! Perhaps , just enough time to wet our appetites for a return journey!

Ashley Mia Thank you for all your information. That was a very interesting article on Civita di Bagnoregio that you sent me! And good to know it is not a plank bridge!! You have done all the day trips from Orvieto that we were considering & more. I appreciate your assessment of each. I was leaning towards Cortona, as it seemed the easiest destination to get to ( we are 73 & 75 so are not quite as adventurous as we once were) but now, after reading your note, I am not so sure. The siesta time is always a concern if you are traveling by train as , what can you do during that time?? Too early to take the train back to Orvieto & my biggest concern - where can you find a bathroom when everything is closed?!? We will give these day trips more thought and thank you again for taking the time to share your opinion.
Lynne

When many things are closed, places to eat are usually not, so we eat a long, leisurely, late lunch (not eating more food, just savoring it and talking and not being in a hurry). That solves the bathroom problem, too.

It would be so much easier to rent a car. You’d see so much more off the beaten path.

We loved B&B Ripa Medici and they offered us free parking in the town ramp. We had no problems getting there but you do have to watch carefully for the ZTLs.

Nancys8 That is a good thing to know regarding the restaurants, as we didn't find that to be the case in France when we were there some years ago. We will take your suggestion & look for a nice restaurant & enjoy a nice meal & maybe a little glass of wine! And yes that will solve the bathroom problem won't it!!
Thank you.

AshleyMia Hmmm, I knew Montepulciano was steep but didn't realize Cortona was that steep as well. My knees are fine but I do get huffy puffy on the hills. If everything closes down then Cortona might not be our best day-trip.

Suki I know it would be so much easier to get around by car, but at 75 my husband wants to hang up the car keys while traveling abroad. He has, in the past, driven all over Provence, Turkey, Great Britain, Tuscany, Puglia, & New Zealand but is ready for a break. I have not driven abroad & don't think I want to start now! And I don't think Italy is ready for me to start now either!!

Laurel So nice to hear from someone who has stayed at Ripa Medici! Do you remember how long it takes to walk from the B & B to the funicular?

Thank you everybody for your comments.
Lynne

Lynne, I think it was about 20 minutes. We didn’t mind it at all.

Thank you for the youtube link Ashley. it was helpful to watch it. I believe I may have seen this awhile back but obviously didn't zero in on the "on flat street" . I watched one on Montepulciano as well. I guess we will have to wait & see what the weather is like at the time. I had not heard of Viterbo before, perhaps we could tie that in with a day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio, as you did.

We took a day trip to Cortona by train last October. As luck would have it, the day allotted for the trip was gray and drizzly, but we all agreed that it was enjoyable. I don't recall the streets being that steep — some uphill, yes, but not punishing. Maybe being warm and dry added to its appeal, but we loved our lunch at Osteria del Teatro. Since almost all of our travel has been by car, a day trip by train was a fairly new experience. It worked out well.

To get to Cortona we took the CC bus from the Via del Caccia stop to the funicular. Then the funicular down to the station (allow enough time for cappuccino and pastry at Nando, just down the street from the funicular). I don't know where the CC bus stops in relation to where you are staying, but you can pick it up at the Duomo. It's free, and actually is a fun ride around town if you get it outside of “commute” hours. At the Cortona train station (second Cortona stop as someone has mentioned) there is a shuttle bus up the hill to the old town. As I recall, the tickets are about 2 euros and you buy them at the Bar on your right as you come out of the station.

I love Orvieto and hope you have a wonderful visit.

Ellen Thank you so much for your very detailed reply regarding your day trip to Cortona. I found it very helpful indeed to know that there is a shuttle bus up to the town & instructions on where to buy the tickets. Nice to have a recommendation for a restaurant for lunch in Cortona as well. And we will be sure to watch out for Nando's!
I may PM you for more tips on Orvieto if you don't mind.
Lynne

Lynne, by all means ask any questions. I'll try to answer and if I don't know, my sister and brother-in-law probably will. I'll also put in a plug for my favorite restaurant in Orvieto.

I've been to most of the places mentioned in this thread--not always as day-trips from Orvieto--and believe you'd enjoy any of them. However, I recommend checking the train/bus time carefully. Assisi, which I found very atmospheric and not touristy once away from the basilica (take bus uphill and walk down), seems to be a 2-1/4 hour trip each way by train. Viterbo, which is distinctly non-touristy despite being a walled city, is about 1-3/4 hours away by train (transferring in Attigliano-Bomarzo) with apparently just one morning departure. I believe a bus might be faster for the Orvieto-Viterbo trip, but again there seems to be just one usable departure per day (8:45 AM outbound, 2:25 PM return; no buses on Sunday).

acraven I am so pleased to hear from you! I have read a lot of your posts & was going to PM you regarding day trips to Ragusa & Modica from Ortigia ( I won't digress now but will PM you soon re this) Thank you for your input on our day trips from Orvieto - I believe you have said in your posts that you always travel via train/bus. I did check the travel times for Assisi, and because of the 2 1/4 hours we have ruled that city out. I also saw on RometoRio that there only appeared to be one bus a day to Viterbo. It seems at this point, that Montepulciano & Cortona might be the two towns that are easiest to get to. Which website do you use for bus schedules please?
Thank you again for your input.

Be very careful about using Rome2Rio. I have found it generally accurate about the mere existence of rail or bus service, and I haven't encountered incorrect information about where one would need to transfer. However, it can be wildly off-base about fares, trip durations and frequencies. I don't know what the problem is, but the details are so often seriously wrong that I totally ignore them. What I do is keep clicking through the website until I find the name of the company operating the service (there's usually a link provided), then I go there to find accurate information. You still have to be wary about dates, though. Some bus websites just post a route and a schedule without any indication as to whether winter and summer schedules are different. And you must pay attention to footnotes. That's where the gotchas are likely to be--no service on Sunday, no service on holidays (what's a holiday?), no or less service on non-school days, etc.

It goes without saying, I hope, that for multi-mode trips involving both buses and trains, travel times provided by Rome2Rio can be laughably inaccurate because connection time can vary so much.

Because of the inaccuracies on Rome2Rio, if I know from the beginning that I'm going to need to take a bus, I sometimes just Google something like bus Orvieto to Viterbo and take a look at the most useful-looking 2 or 3 links. Even there you must be careful, because a Google search structured like that may return a schedule for Viterbo to Orvieto rather than what you asked for.

There's no single website for Italian bus schedules that I've used; I am most comfortable using the website of the bus company whose name is on the outside of the bus.

Thank you again acraven! And thank you again to all for your helpful advice.
This forum really is the best.
Lynne

We spent a week in Orvieto and I would love to go back. Before I forget, the one VERY important thing you need to know is that there is no way to get back up to your lodging after the gates are locked at night and you cannot walk up either, as it is completely closed off. I don't remember what the closing time is, but do find out! Rick may tell you in his book. (We had gone to Florence for the day and stayed too late watching street entertainment.) A little ticket station store was open but they could offer no information. When we thought all was lost, eventually a last, totally empty bus showed up and got us to the loading area above.

We got many day trip suggestions from our exceptionally wonderful apartment host. Do relax and just enjoy Orvieto...the markets, Duomo, galleries and museums, nice shops, the gelato, a nice little dessert restaurant, and some very good food. We thoroughly enjoyed an underground tour of the catacombs that are under the village, the tour including an explanation of the ancient history of Orvieto, including the use of homing pigeons that were used in war tactics. Just walking all over the town was so enjoyable, When you get to an edge of the village, there are nice views of the scenes at ground level.

As for the villages, fun to explore but a lot of sameness and VERY quiet. We were often the only ones walking around the smaller ones, but enjoyed all the beautiful flowers and pretty alleys. It was not tourist season, so many things were closed. Probably best to use Steve's Village Italy stops as a guide and chose your favorites.

I want to add that the bus ride and walk to Orvieto was one of our favorite things. We are older than you and the bridge is fun. Just take your time. We used the efficient train and buses for everything. Just get schedules ahead of time. I think car rental would be a total waste of time and energy. Relax and enjoy!

Barbara Thank you so much for taking to time to reply to my posting. That is a good thing to know about the gates being closed at night. I will check Rick's book as to what time the funicular closes. And thank you for all the suggestions on what to do in Orvieto. The underground tour does sound interesting - thanks for the tip.
Lynne

We spent three wonderful weeks in Orvieto last September. We travelled without a car with the intention of being a local.

We did a few day trips by train. Cortona was very worthwhile with beautiful views, shops and dining.

Arezzo was largely disappointing. Just not that interesting.

Spello which is very doable from Orvieto was great. It’s very quaint, extremely clean and easily assessable. If I recall correctly it’s a little over two hours (one connection) from Orvieto.

We skipped Assisi because we were there a few years ago and found it too touristy. We considered Montepulciano but passed without a car. The logistics just looked too difficult to have an enjoyable day.

We also spent some time in Civita do Bagnoregio. We used a private transfer company since it was on a Sunday (buses don’t run). The cost was €70 for the day. It is a ver small town that can be seen in an hour. We loved it. The views in all directions are amazing the small village atmosphere won’t be seen elsewhere. Our visit was timed to take in a donkey race festival. It celebrates the donkey as the only way into this ancient village for most of it’s early history.

Thank you for your input Dean5! Very helpful information, indeed. I have read good things about Spello from other people on this forum as well, so maybe we will give that a try. Glad to hear that you enjoyed Cortona, too, as that town looks fairly easy to get to.
Thank you once again for your tidbits.
Lynne

The area right around the (gorgeous) basilica in Assisi does have a lot of tacky religious-souvenir shops. Uphill form the basilica, though, is a totally different story. I wandered up and down the medieval streets and saw almost no other tourists.