Orvieto

Easy peasy daytrip from Rome. We did it March of last year--took a Freccia train out of Termini about 10:30 AM, got to Orvieto just before noon. Took the funicular up to the plateau-town and started wandering. Walked for awhile, then sat down at some no-name cafe known to our Roman friends for some homemade pasta with cinghiale (wild boar), and vino rosso. Smashing.

Afterwards, we toured the wonderful cathedral, did a little shopping along the winding rabbit-warren streets, then finally caught a 4:00 train back to Rome. Arrived before 5:30. Great day.

People stay in Orvieto as well, and it must be simply wonderful at night after the daytrippers have left.

Rick Steves has a great section on Orvieto in his guidebook Italy 2019. It will answer all your questions and more.

Caution! Board the correct train. Those super-fast trains don't stop in Orvieto. It's doable as a day trip but I would recommend more, at least one night. Nearby (about 20 km) is another famous hill town Civita and countless other less known hill towns.

IT is easy to do as a day trip and easy to do as an overnight base. Good fun.

Great information in the book, and Rick has a video at
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/italy-hill-towns

Caution! Board the correct train. Those super-fast trains don't stop
in Orvieto.

I stand corrected, Ilja. Not the Freccia train. I'll leave my original post as is, however, so it makes sense.

I love Orvieto, and if your schedule allows, I would encourage at least an overnight. There are many choices of things to see and do, for such a small town (meaning, the old city, up top), there is ample selection of good eating and shopping, and like most interesting towns, it is most magical in the evening and early morning, when all the day trippers are absent. The facade of the cathedral is especially beautiful late in the day as the sun begins to go down, and I remember the Cathedral’s museum, just beside/behind, as being excellent.

Larry took the words out of my head. The underground tour is very interesting. I got my ticket at the TI opposite the Duomo. The English tours sell out.

Sorry Chani, hope I didn’t hurt your head in the process. Lots going on in there, I noticed.

As the others have mentioned, Orvieto is easily seen as a day trip from Rome, although at least one night would allow a better look. You can easily check train times at https://www.trenitalia.com/ . One important reminder though..... many of the trains will be Regionale so you must validate locallly purchased tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel.

The three sites I found most interesting in Orvieto were St. Patrick's Well, the magnificent Duomo and the Chapel of the Madonna di San Brizio with the Signorelli frescoes, and the Underground Tour.