What Hill Towns to visit if in Orvieto for 3 days/wine tour?

Denise, You have the whole of Tuscany and the hill towns before you from Orvieto! You need to check Rick's books and decide what you want to see - wine, churches, towers, etc. In Montepulciano, Montalcino and area (easy drive from Orvieto and back) for wine; Assisi, Pienza, for church history; Cortona, San Gimigniano, Volterra for Italian history; there is no such thing as an uninteresting hill town. But remember, the hill towns are not the mall - the shops (and some restaurants) close down from noon to about 3 pm. Go early - relax (or travel between) and then see the next one! And enjoy...I know - three days isn't nearly enough to see all of them!

Denise,
you will be around 40 mi from Montepulcino,from there 10 mi to Pienza and another 20 miles from Montalcino...some of the best wines in the world!

Civita is closer to 30 minutes away from Orvieto, and may take longer if you are uncomfortable with particularly serpentine roads. If you're near Civita, you might also want to check out the hill towns of Vitorchiano and Bomarzo... they are equally dramatic. Bagnaia, which is right near Vitorchiano, is home to Villa Lante, one of the loveliest Renaissance gardens in all of Italy. The drive to Siena is best if you follow SS438 from Sinalunga through Asciano, instead of staying on the main highway from Sinalunga to Siena. Asciano isn't far from the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, which is worth at least an hour and a half of your time. You'll be in the heart of the Colli Senesi, which is truly some breathtakingly beautiful countryside. Montalcino isn't that much further, and not only is the countryside gorgeous, but it is THE spot if you like red wine.

Michael, those are beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. Funny you should make a comment about failing to stay in the town we're in because I just said that to my husband. We have three full nights there so we are going to do one to one 1/2 days on other hill towns and we'll always be back in Orvieto at night too. Recommendations on favorite restaurants? Thanks again.

This is perfect! Thank you so much!

My advice is to not make the same mistake that many tourists do - They fail to explore the town they're staying in. Orvieto is marvelous. We stayed there for two nights in 2011 and felt we needed three nights to really do the place justice. Here are some of the photos I took, in case you're interested: Orvieto in May 2011

Denise,
Look at Viterbo, Pitigliano, Sorano, Sovano

If you want to have a good meal with the locals, then Ristorante Charlie. If you want to have an outstanding meal but with other tourists, go to Trattoria La Palomba.

Trattoria dell'Orso! It's on via della Misericordia, right off Piazza della Republica.

And if you're in Civita di Bagnoregio, have a real sit-down meal at Almacivita. Yes, the bruschetta is fantastic, but after nearly a week of eating there, I can tell you without a doubt that the rest of the menu is even better. You must try the panzanella, and the polpette are crazy good. The absolute best, however, is the tiramisu'. I haven't had any desert even half so good anywhere else in Italy. But the gelateria on the way out of town in Bagnoregio (that's on the way out of Bagnoregio proper, not Civita, mind you) is mind-blowingly good, too. It's called Gelateria Rugiada, and it's just across from the little park with the pyramid-shaped memorial by the gas station. If they have the cinnamon flavor (cannella) is delicious... it tastes more like a snickerdoodle cookie than a Red Hot.