Orvieto: day trip vs stopover?

Can you spend 1 night in Orvieto?
It’s lovely in the evening
As for how much time needed what do you plan to do while there?

Have you checked train schedules to see what time you’ll need to leave if you do as a stopever? Also check luggage storage hours

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/orvieto-well-and-luggage-storage

Spend 1 or 2 nights in Orvieto, continue to Florence after that.

Thanks, we were hoping to avoid changing hotels so many times on this trip (our whole trip is only going to be 9 days), so ideally we wanted to do 2 home bases with some day trips. Looks like from that link there is luggage storage but I'll email them to make sure it's open (looks like it was closed at one point in 2023)

And no we have not planned what we want to do there yet - I'm at the beginning stages of my planning so need to look more into everything, but just trying to get a general sense of logistics. Will of course look more into specific train times as I continue planning

There is a baggage storage in Orvieto at the Bon Italy Coffee bar and mini market (two shops, one at the train station and one at the bus terminal across the tracks). For sure the bus terminal/parking lot side has the luggage storage, so if they don’t have it on the station side, all you have to do is go on tho other side of the train tracks through the pedestrian passageway.

It’s really up to you what you want to do. En route you save money (regional trains are cheaper than the Frecciarossa), so if you don’t mind carrying the luggage along you might as well do it en route.

Orvieto is a nice destination either way. Unlike Florence, it does not absolutely require an overnight to do justice to. OPINION.

I personally don't consider Florence with no car as a base for "all of Tuscany." We only saw Florence, Rome, and Venice by train on our first visit to Italy, saw Tuscany by rental car 20 years later.

We did Orvieto as a day trip, but it is a lovely town to spend a night.

Thank you for that very helpful information!!

And yes I’m still deciding how I want to do Tuscany, whether that be with a few guided tour day trips or rent a car once I get to Florence. I don’t think we want to do the drive from Rome to Florence though so the Orvieto part of it will be car-less either way.

Although one night stays are often discouraged on this forum, I have lovely memories of an evening in Orvieto after the daytrippers and tourbuses left, and a morning before they arrived.

My boyfriend and his mom enjoyed staying in Orvieto the most on our Italy tour. She said it was like being in a castle and he enjoyed the small town local feel. Very nice at night. So I would recommend to stay an evening at least.

While Florence is very popular with tourists because of its great museums, it isn’t my favorite city. It’s great for art history lovers and renaissance seekers. So unless you only want to experience big city life, I’d pick one small town to soak in the atmosphere.

Thank you for the input. We are still getting our itinerary together so I’m still considering all of this. The only set thing so far is going to Rome. Orvieto piqued our interest so definitely want to try and fit that in. Other than that I keep going back and forth on what to do for the next half of our trip. I figured Florence would serve as a nice home base to allow day trips out to the country side / wineries but by staying there (and not an agrotourism place) it gives us the options for dinners, bars, and walking around in the evenings. We like our fair share of touristy things, but we aren’t huge into art and don’t plan on visiting every museum in Florence. This is why I keep going back and forth as to whether we even do Florence/tuscany or do something completely different. As I continue researching I’ll start to narrow this down more.

Good morning! I vote for lovely Orvieto 1-2 nights.
I stayed for an enjoyable 2 days, easy train from Rome. Orvieto cathedral’s mosaic facade is striking
On my first afternoon staying at BB Magnolia I was awakened from my nap by a parade. Memorable!
Or check out Assisi hill town. I loved it

Thanks for the suggestion! Definitely weighing all the options and trying to figure out how to best structure this. Generally like to have fewer home bases, but we'll see what I can finagle. My husband just told me he'd rather do 9 nights instead of 10 nights, so that may change a bit of what I had planned so far.

Original plan was 4 nights Rome (with Orvieto day trip vs stopover on way to Florence), 4 nights Florence (with Tuscany countryside day trip and Siena day trip), and 2 nights Venice. With 1 night less, that may be a little too much jumping around, especially if I add Orvieto as an overnight. I'm not sure if I would want to drop Florence altogether as a home base and maybe do a day trip from Rome instead? I suppose I could drop Venice, but that makes me sad. Hmmm so many options, so little time! Will get there eventually!

Hi, do you have your flights already? If so, where are you flying into and out of in Italy?

I don't have flights yet - was waiting to get specific dates that my husband can take from work. We're looking to do our trip in November. Was thinking of flying into Rome and out of Venice (or vice versa) however if we don't end up including Venice into our trip, obviously that would not be the best flight option. Part of the reason I'm trying to figure out where we are going and how to structure it prior to purchasing flights

If you don't go to Venice, you can also fly back from Florence. The Florence airport is really easy to use-small, close to town.

Spent an afternoon in Orvieto once, definitely felt cheated and would love to go back :)

Oh that's a good point, I don't know why I haven't considered Florence's airport. Will look more into prices there.
And ahh yeah it seems like Orvieto is amazing. Maybe I'll adjust and do 4 nights in Rome, 2 nights in Orvieto, and 3 nights in Venice. Could perhaps do a Tuscan day trip from Rome, which would of course be a long day, but I'm sure it's do-able. I really only have Florence in there as a home base as a way to do day trips (Siena / Tuscany). We are not as interested in going to the museums there (I've been before and my husband isn't as much into art). So many decisions! We're getting there. This trip has evolved 80 times already, I'm sure it will continue to change haha

Hey all, returning with some info in case it helps anyone who is also in the planning stages and wrestling with similar logistical issues:

My final itinerary is 4 nights Rome, 3 nights Flornece, and 2 nights Venice. Will be doing a stopover to Orvieto from Rome to Florence using the regional trains. The only thing to keep in mind is check in times in Florence sometimes end early depending on the accommodation, so need to look at that when making plans and looking at train times.

I emailed regarding luggage storage luggage location and hours and this was the response: storage deposit is located in the bon-italy cafeteria at the parking lot under Orvieto train station, opening time from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Reservation is not necessary.

Thank you everyone for all of your incredibly helpful and sound advice, for anyone who suggested an overnight or two, I’m sure you’re right in that it’s better, but this is all we’ll have time for! I’ll try to remember to report back after my trip to let the forum know how it went!

Florence is an excellent base as it is easy to visit many smaller cities via train or bus -- Siena, Bologna, Arrezo, Pisa, Lucca etc.

We did Orvieto for lunch between FCO and Florence and didn't worry about the luggage. (this is not wise -- I would now either find storage in Orvieto for luggage or do it as a day trip from Rome which is easy.). We didn't visit the tufa caves and wish we had but we had time in our brief stop to see the Cathedral which is quite singular and walk around the center. Orvieto is a fine stopover if you can secure the luggage.

Thanks!! According to the email I received, it should be feasible to store our luggage near the train station. Will report back after my trip to let everyone know how it goes! Hoping to go underground as well when there!

So are you flying home from Venice( which we did by flying to Paris and then the US)? You will need to spend the previous night in whatever city you're flying home from.

Yes I am flying into Rome and out of Venice. Will be in Venice the two nights prior before my flight home