Driving from Orvieto to Venice

And which places in Central Italy have you visited already in the past?

I'd say Gubbio and Urbino, but that is just me.

This area is new to us so all recommendations are welcome! Thanks

The options are infinite.

Cortona
Montepulciano, Pienza, Val D'Orcia
Siena
Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Chianti zone
Florence (I'd return the car here if you plan to spend any nights in Florence)

I'd limit my visit to areas of Tuscany, or maybe Umbria (Assisi, Spello, Gubbio, etc.) if you want to take the Perugia/Cesena freeway route.

North of the Apennines is a boring plain (Po Valley) all the way to Venice.

Thank you for your suggestions - very helpful. I was wondering why there were no real recommendations north of Tuscany.
Marie

Ravenna is worth it for the mosaics.
https://mandalameadow.com/ravenna-mosaics/

Mantova (Mantua) and Ferrara are worth stops as well, but you are running out of time in 5 days. Watch out for ZTL's.

Hello marieoclasen, and welcome to the forum!

Is there any particular reason your are using a rental car for this segment of your trip? Depending on what you want to see many of the interesting places - at least 5 days worth - are easily accessible by train. A car is nothing but a burden while you are in Venice so I was just curious about the presence of the car.

If, for instance you decided on Siena and Bologna or Verona or any city served by train you could easily take the train to these cities from Orvieto and then onto Venice the same way.

Not criticizing - just wondering how you decided on the transportation before the destination. Given the expense and trouble a car can be people usually only end up renting when they 'have to' to reach a specific destination.

Personally if you are going rent a car I would do rural Tuscany since you need a car to explore this area. I have rented a car in Orvieto and done the RS "Heart of Tuscany" drive and it is as beautiful as advertised.

I would stay in Pienza or that area and visit Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia and Montepulciano over a couple of days before heading to the Siena area and checking out Radda, Greve and Castellina (all suffixed "in Chianti") and/or Volterra and the inevitable touristy stop of San Gimignano.

Alternately if you wanted to do to Ravenna you could look at Arezzo which is on the east side of Tuscany and then proceed onto Ravenna before Venice. Bologna and Verona are both very much worth visiting but I find it hard to recommend either with a car unless you have made provisions ahead of time.

I would then probably return the car in Florence and then train to Venice but if you wanted to drive onto Venice you could break it up staying in Modena or Ravenna. The drive from Tuscany is doable in a day (probably 4-5 hours) but if you're taking the time to drive I would take it easy and explore.

Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod

Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough response. We’re renting a car so that we can hit the smaller towns and then we’ll ditch the car in Venice. I like your suggestion of driving the heart of Tuscany and will research that option.thanks again!!

These town selections were based on my tastes - these are small, ancient, picturesque towns and several of them are world famous for their wines. Your criteria may be different but these are some of the Tuscan classics if that is what you are interested in.

There are plenty of "most beautiful towns in Tuscany" lists if you want to sift through them and pick some to visit. I like the Pienza cluster because they are close together it limits your day trips. A southern and northern center makes sense since you need to start working your way to Venice as your days go on.

Arezzo is an interesting town that puts you on the other side of the valley that bisects Tuscany and 2 hours to Ravenna - if you want to see the mosaics - and then 2 hours onto Venice from Ravenna. Verona is a very charming city but it is brutal for parking so I can't recommend it for use with a car.

Some practical tips:
Really look into ZTLs - zones of limited traffic - in these small towns. If you drive into them - or in some cases drive into them at the wrong time - you'll get a ticket. The information isn't secret and you can find ZTL information and hours on-line but it is a step towns have taken to limit traffic in their centers. If you see a parking lot outside a town with parking for X and arrows just use it. Don't think "I'll take a swing through town and come back." because that's how you get ZTL tickets.

Get an International Driver's License for anyone who will be driving. You generally get them from AAA and they are a silly formality but rental companies have started to require them to rent cars and you can get a ticket for not having one. In previous years no one cared but in the last couple of years they have begun to matter again.

You can use Google maps to plot routes in Tuscany but I would add 25% or so to their time estimates to be safe.

It's a beautiful area - have a great trip,
=Tod