Orvieto to Florence

Arezzo would make an interesting stop right off the railway! No idea what you would do with luggage though, but maybe somebody knows about storage options there?

I've been to a couple of towns/cities where the regional train stops: Cortona and Arezzo. Cortona is a hill town and much smaller than Arezzo--though as hill-towns go it's a decent size. There is no train station right at Cortona. One takes a bus (or I guess a taxi might be waiting) up to the town from either Camucia-Cortona station or Teronotola-Cortona station. I'm sure someone here can tell you which one has more bus service. If not, Rome2Rio.com will--after some clicking--deliver to you the name of the bus company serving Cortona. You can then go to its website for detailed schedule information. Do not trust the fare (which will be negligible), travel time or frequency shown on Rome2Rio. Note: I have no idea whether there is any place to store luggage at either of those two rail stations.

Arezzo is much larger (about four times the size of Cortona) and may be more likely to have luggage-storage facilities. That's something you'd need to Google. Unless you happen to hit the once-a-month antique market, Arezzo will not feel as touristy as Cortona. It has a handsome historic center, but it is not a cute hill town.

A fair number of the train routings from Orvieto to Florence send you back to Rome to pick up a super-fast Freccia train to Florence. Doing that would be borderline-insane. It generally takes longer and is always much more expensive.

Perhaps you could take the train to Florence (Firenze Santa Maria Novella), leave your luggage there at the station, then take a quick train ride to Prato, or Pistoia, or both, do your day trip, then return to Florence and retrieve your luggage.

Sorry to hijack this thread but just wondering-is Orvieto a reasonable day trip from Florence? thanks.

Travelslow I know you will have a great time. The cathedral in Orvieto is a wow.

The minimum travel time from Florence to Orvieto is about 2 hours, so it would mean a lot of time on a train. And there's actually quite a lot to see in Orvieto. But if one got an early start, it's not a crazy idea. The trip from Rome is shorter, on average.

Thank you for the helpful information! This is our first time to Orvieto so looking forward to the Duomo and other points of interest. I will check RS book to see about luggage storage in Arezzo but also like the idea of the storage at SMN in Florence!

What about Fiesole? You can leave your luggage at the train station in Florence, then hop a bus to Fiesole.

You probably already know this, but wanted to mention that if you check your luggage at a train station, you need to have your passport ready so that they can copy it.

I would add another vote for Cortona ( for the stopping between Orvieto and Florence).
You might also consider Perugia. It is a little more out of the way for you but easy train connections.

Arezzo would be a logical and efficient stop between Orvieto and Florence. We went the opposite way from Firenze S.M. Novella to Orvieto on the Regional in 2019, but we did not jump off at any of the 11 stops in between. TrentItalia is showing a Regional Veloce #4098 as follows: Go on their website, specify English, and put in your exact date of travel and party size.
Arrival Departure Station
10:29 Orvieto
10:44 10:45 Fabro-Ficulle
10:56 10:58 Chiusi-Chianciano Terme
11:08 11:09 Castiglione Del Lago
11:18 11:19 Terontola-Cortona
11:23 11:24 Camucia-Cortona
11:30 11:31 Castiglion Fiorentino
11:44 11:45 Arezzo
12:06 12:07 Montevarchi-Terranuova
12:11 12:12 S. Giovanni Valdarno
12:17 12:18 Figline Valdarno
12:38 12:39 Firenze Campo Di Marte
12:50 Firenze S. M. Novella
Of course as the prior person said, I have no idea if Arezzo has lockers available, and now much luggage you are hauling.

Thank you! We are leaning towards Arezzo but will need to store luggage. We only have a backpack each. We travel light when we are in Italy and stay in Air bnb’s so we wash our clothes at each location.

Bag storage options in Arezzo (please inquire first as service may have been suspended due to Covid):

https://www.bagmedo.com/en/about-us
https://www.bagmedo.com/en/luggage-storage/Arezzo
(This company manages luggage storage inside many stations including Arezzo. They have a relationship with Trenitalia. This one is the only one actually inside the station. Online booking is mandatory)

https://radicalstorage.com/luggage-storage/arezzo
(This one is located on Piazza Grande, Arezzo’s most famous historic piazza. This company is the one used by Italotreno train company. Online booking needed.)

https://www.daybreakhotels.com/IT/en-GB
https://www.daybreakhotels.com/IT/en-GB/3/luggage-storage/train-station
(This company allows you to enjoy hotel services for the day, including spa service, meeting rooms, office use by hour, and also luggage storage, at participating hotels, including a couple of hotels in Arezzo).

I love Orvieto and never miss an opportunity to promote it. This may be helpful with respect to bag storage,

https://www.orvietoviva.com/en/orvieto-train-station/

This is why I LOVE this forum! Thank you for all the information and suggestions. Cannot wait to arrive. We are counting the days and hope the new regulations that come out Aug 30 will still allow vaccinated individuals to travel there.