Only 1 day trip from Rome - Florence or Orvieto - which one?

Orvieto is a lot closer and can be reached by unreserved regional trains. Florence is further away and really needs to be done with a Freccia high speed train. These are more expensive, but discounts are available for advance nonrefundable tickets.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Or alternative high speed rail operator Italo.

https://www.italotreno.it/en

Orvieto is a lovely hilltop town about a one hour train ride from Rome. Nice duomo, interesting museum dedicated to the Etruscans, some Etruscan sites within easy reach. Nice restaurants and wineries galore where they make good wine. Good viewpoints along the city walls to look over the vineyards and olive groves. It’s got a a country town vibe rather than a city. ,

I think it would.be a nice easy day after what sounds like a busy time in Rome. Enjoy!

Although Florence has some lovely architecture, and some Roman sights in Fiesole overlooking Florence, you are right that Renaissance art is the main reason for going there. I see only opera listed for Maggio Musicale 2022, otherwise a pre-Pandemic attraction.

Orvieto is worth an entire day out, or even an overnight. It's not exactly a substitute for a few days in Tuscany with a car, but it's still very nice. May be wise to reserve for dinner if you're staying that late.

I make it a point to not ever be a referee between a pair of spouses.

It is about an hour to Orvieto and about half again as long to Firenze SMN. But, by the time you've got tickets either for the bus up the hill, or for walkers I would have thought the funicular and then walk to the centre in Orvieto vs. walk out of the SMN station and you are practically in the thick of things, I'd say they are about a wash, time wise... The super zippy trains to Florence are pretty nice inside, whereas the Regionals on the Orvieto are, well its a shortish ride, But you can just walk up and pop on any Regionale as long as your ticket is validated. There are more frequent services to Florence by two operators.

Florence isn't my favourite city in Italy, but there is certainly plenty to see and do even if your thing isn't Renaissance art. By the way, my favourite David is the Donatello one.

The Last Judgement wall in Orvieto is amazing. Giotto's tower and the dome on the Duomo in Florence is amazing.

ok - Seconds out, 3 rounds, last man or woman standing wins. Keep it clean - ring the bell!

They both have plenty to do besides museums. I love just wandering around Florence. But as it is much bigger I would probably be frustrated with just a day trip - there would be so much I'd want to see that I didn't get to (not even counting museums). Orvieto is not a "small" town. It is compared to Rome and Florence, but there's plenty to see to keep you occupied for a day. It's only an hour by train that you don't have to reserve ahead so its really not a "long way to go for a quite small town?"

Here's my photos of each of them: Orvieto - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p768910330
Florence - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p798557837

There are far more quality sights in Orvieto than one would expect in a place of its size. Rick has a good chapter on Orvieto in his "Italy" book. For some reason, he doesn't include it in the "Rome" book (which does cover Naples).

I'm of the "There's too much to see in Florence to treat it as a day trip, especially from Rome" school of thought.

For day trips I pay attention to transportation cost, and that will be a lot lower for Orvieto than for Florence.

I just got back from Rome; it is getting crowded and will probably be more so by the time you get there. Florence is also a very crowded place. If you're not so much into the art, i would explore a different kind of city. Orvieto sounds very nice- i think it would be nice to have a day with less tourists, so i vote for that!

You can take a direct train from Rome’s Termini station to Florence SM Novella station (1h 45m) and tour the Uffizi Gallery. You’ll need to buy tickets before leaving home. Before COVID it was recommended to buy tickets two months out. Afterwards visit Michelangelo’s David at Accademia. There’ll be a line but it moves fast. I vote for Florence!

I have the impression Orvieto is a popular weekend trip (for one day or overnight) for Romans. If you want to try for a somewhat less crowded experience, you might try making that trip on a weekday (assuming there's no major difference in the weather forecast).

Thank you so much for all the feedback. We are going to Munich before Rome and doing a few train trips from there so I think the shorter trip to Orvieto might win! I often think before I go away that I won’t mind a lot of transport but it does get tiring. Thanks!